The Camp (Chateau 2)

And I squeezed it.

Thirty-Four

Two Hearts as One

I passed the chateau and didn’t stop. I barely had time to look at it. The sounds of gunshots and voices had stopped hours ago, but I didn’t slow down. They wouldn’t stop until they found me, so I had to get as far away from here as possible.

I kept riding until I reached a small home closer to the road, where I kept my car sometimes. I brought the horse to a stop then helped Raven off before I climbed to the ground.

Everything had happened so fast. I took a second to bring it all in, to remember the feeling of that cold metal against my forehead.

Raven didn’t ask what the plan was next. Instead, she just looked at me, looked into my eyes like she was so happy I was there with her.

We didn’t have time for this, but I couldn’t look away. I wasn’t surprised that she’d saved my life. I somehow knew she was there, having my back like she always did. But I couldn’t describe my feelings in that moment.

Neither could she.

Even though I was sweaty and my hands were dirty, I moved into her and cupped her cheeks, bringing her face close so we could treasure this feeling of victory. “I knew you were there… I just knew.”

“Because I told you I would never leave. Ever.” Tears dripped from her eyes as she planted her hands against my chest, like she just wanted to feel my solid body, to feel the lack of bullet holes. “I’ll never leave you for all my life. If you die…I die.”

I cupped the back of her head and brought our foreheads together for a moment, embracing her in a way I never had. I finally told her how I felt, said those three words I’d never said to another woman, but now they didn’t feel good enough, not strong enough. They were beneath what we had. I dropped my embrace and pulled away.

She sniffed and wiped her tears with her fingertips. “Now what?”

I grabbed the reins to the horse and handed them to her. “Put him in the stable.”

“Just leave him here?”

“When we get to the city, I’ll have Ramon fetch him and put him in the pasture.”

“Good. Rose will have another friend.” She took the horse down the path to the stables and got him situated.

I entered the code into the keypad so the garage door would open. Against the wall, there was a blue tarp over my motorcycle, so I pulled it off and rolled the bike out before I closed the garage again.

After she gave the horse hay and water, she came back to me. “Wow, are we going to ride that?”

“Yes.” I kicked the stand down to balance the motorcycle before I retrieved two helmets from the garage. I handed one to her. “Don’t be scared.”

“Do I look scared?” She smiled before she pulled the helmet over her head. “They’ll never be able to catch up to us now.”

I got onto the seat and started the engine, making sure she was still good to run. “Hop on.”

She got on the seat behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “What are we going to do now?”

“Get to Fender as quick as we can.”

Hours later, we arrived in Paris.

I had no idea how far Napoleon would go to capture me. He might not care at all because he got what he wanted. He had the camp and the prisoners, so he could operate a drug empire and collect all the revenue. Fender and I were no threat to him now. Why should he care about us?

I left the city and drove into the countryside to his estate. After checking in with the guards, I made it to the entrance, and we walked to the front door.

Raven was still in the attire of the camp, tired and sweaty after the horrific day we’d just experienced.

Gilbert answered the door. “I apologize, sir. The count is not taking visitors right now, and he wanted me to tell you that he’s not interested in your company—”

I pushed past Gilbert and walked into the house. “Fender! Get your ass down here right now!”

Fender’s voice shot back immediately from upstairs. “Fuck off!”

“Napoleon took the camp, and I’m the only survivor. So, get your motherfucking ass down here right now.”

Heavy footsteps sounded a moment later as he ran to the edge of the stairway and looked down at me, his eyes wide and fearful. He gripped the rail until his knuckles turned white.

“He hit the camp with men and guns, and he defeated us within an hour. He kept the prisoners and executed the guards. Raven and I escaped on horseback.”

Fender was still speechless, processing all that nightmarish information in a single instant. He released the rail and came down the stairs, in just his sweatpants like he’d been in his office upstairs. He reached the bottom and stared me down. “This all just happened?”