**HOLDEN**
Something all warm and fuzzy is happening in my chest as I watch the kid bound around his new home. It’s not my fucking home, so why the hell am I getting all weird and sensitive about it?
Katherine’s realtor friend was able to get Bode into a place pretty quickly. It’s a two-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a building a few blocks over from our apartment. The kid is most excited by the fact that it has access to the roof, which has been neglected, but with a little work, it could be made into a really nice outdoor space. He keeps going on about telescopes like a fucking nerd, but whatever, all the power to him.
Bode and Cameron got a little emotional when they were setting the little shit up in his new bedroom. He likes it, obviously, but his first question about it was ‘where’s my spot?’ and I think that broke them a little.
They reassured him that he wouldn’t need a spot anymore, that they lived in a secure building and that kind of danger wasn’t going to be in their lives anymore. I hope that’s the damn truth, but I could tell the kid was skeptical about it. I hope he gets the chance to be an actual kid and use his damn telescope rather than worrying about a safe hiding place.
“You ready to go, Holden?” Cameron runs her hand down my back; it sends tingles of desire flooding through my system. Will this feeling ever lessen? I fucking hope not.
“Yeah, let’s go, love.” I kiss her cheek.
Cameron grabs her shit from the kitchen counter and gives the kid a million kisses. She says goodbye to Bode and they set up their phones to sync with his medication schedule. Cameron is going to help him get off these pain pills as soon as his leg is better.
“See you tomorrow, Uncle Holden?” The little fucker wraps his arms around my legs and tries to hide his saucy smirk.
Fuck it, he needs to sweat a little. I grab him and hold him upside down by his ankles. “Call me uncle one more time, kid,” I tease him as he struggles to get a witty retort out through his giggles.
“Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!” he chirps through his laughter.
This four-year-old is a pain in my ass. I set him down and mess up his dark-blonde hair. “You need a haircut,” I say like a dick, but it also stirs up those weird-as-hell fatherly instincts again. Haircuts aren’t my department, so why the hell am I even worrying about this fucker’s hair?
I walk out the front door with my girl before I can say anything else that pushes the bounds of our relationship.
It’s Friday afternoon and Cameron and I are supposed to be going to Dean’s new apartment for a damn ‘dinner party’ tonight. Whatever the fuck that means. Madison, Allie, and Nick will be there. I’ve never been to a dinner party in my entire life; the whole idea of it sounds boring and monotonous. I’ve been complaining about it for a week, but Cameron keeps reminding me that they are our friends, and it will be fun.
How the fuck do you have fun eating dinner?
“What do you say we add in a little crazy before our pretentious dinner party?” She turns to me with danger in her eyes.
Settle down, desire.
“What did you have in mind, love?” Fuck, I love this girl. She’s always keeping me on my toes.
“Ivan gets back from Moscow tomorrow, which means it’s only Viktor and his men guarding my family today.” She leans her back against my Camaro and looks sexy as hell while doing it. “You want to meet my dead sister?” She cocks a brow.
I don’t know why, but her mood is playful. She’s acting like this is all a joke, like she can’t be bothered to take it seriously anymore. I can’t say I blame her. This whole thing is crazy with a dash of insanity, but if playfulness is how she wants to cope with it, then I’m on board with that. It beats fear and depression, which I know she feels, but any bit of humour she wants to add to the situation is fine by me.
“I thought you’d never ask.” I lean into her body and kiss her lips.
I’ve wanted to look into Anna’s eyes ever since we found out she was alive. How does someone do that to their own sister and brother? A part of me wants to believe that it wasn’t her choice, that she was forced into Svetlana’s games and made just as much of a pawn as Cameron was. I haven’t gone to see her family yet, mostly because Cameron has been avoiding them, but if she’s ready now, then I’m here for her every step of the way. I’m a person who can handle this shit now.
Ivan has been in Moscow interrogating his ranks. Ever since Cameron gave him a list of people who had betrayed him, stolen from him, or been disloyal to the Bratva, he’s been cleaning house. I’m pretty sure that means he’s been killing a shit ton of people and I still can’t understand why that fact doesn’t put me off.
What is happening to me? Am I okay with it?
He gets back to Dristan tomorrow and he’s bringing some sort of professional interrogator who works for the Bratva. They are hoping to get to the bottom of Svetlana’s ploy, when it started, who is involved, and who the mastermind behind the whole thing is. Cameron wants to know those answers even if she doesn’t admit it, but I know my girl and the most pressing issue she wants answers to is if they still need to be fearful of anyone.
Another thing Cameron won’t admit is that she’s secretly hoping Anna is innocent in all of this. She’s hoping that she was brainwashed into being a part of the plan. Maybe that’s true, but Cameron is working extra hard to keep her feelings in check. She doesn’t want to place hope where there isn’t any.
My poor, conflicted, strong girl.
Maybe if I get a look into Anna’s eyes, I’ll be able to read something that Cameron can’t. My interpretation won’t be skewed by a childhood and family ties; I can be objective and look at this from the outside.
I thought my possessiveness and protectiveness towards Cameron was bad before, but now that I know these people specifically set out to hurt her and set her up to take the downfall…fuck, the intentions I have towards them are purely sinful. That old angry version of me wants to come back in full force, but for once, I think that maybe that’s the version of myself that fits in this situation the best. I can be supportive and loving towards Cameron, angry and vengeful towards her family.
Settle down, killer instincts.

Viktor doesn’t even question why we are there. Apparently, Ivan has given us and Bode free access in his efforts to earn Cameron’s trust. I don’t blame Camron for still having reservations towards Ivan, even though he wasn’t the one behind the most fucked up shit in her life, he is still a crime boss, the leader of the Bratva, and he is still a bad person when he has to be.
We walk inside the sliding barn door, and I get my first look at her family from a distance. They’re being kept in a steel-lined stall that ironically mimics a jail cell. The four of them are being kept together, despite Cameron’s protests to separate them. She thinks that if they get Anna away from David, Jeanie and Svetlana, she’s more likely to talk. Unfortunately, at this time Viktor doesn’t think they have a secure enough location to house them all separately under the radar, but they’re working on it.
The barn is mostly dark except for a few small windows high up that allow the daylight in through dust-coated streams. It smells like horses and livestock, of leather saddles and musty hay; the air is both damp and dusty—it’s stale, but it’s charged with pending confessions. There are two armed guards at the door, two more in front of the stall, two behind the stall, and there were a few we passed by the main house and around the other outbuildings.
As soon as we walk into the barn, Cameron’s demeanour changes. She goes from being jittery and nervous to calm, cool, and collected. Controlled. My girl is in control. I give her hand a squeeze for encouragement before we get within sight of her family.
She grips me tight and turns to face me, our eyes connected. “Together, Holden.”
“Always.” I give her a smile and follow her into the shaft of light in front of the stall.
Jeanie is the first to jump up from the bench in the middle. “Cam! Thank God! We’ve been worried sick about you!” she gushes her fake concern and turns to me when Cameron doesn’t respond. “Holden, talk some sense into her. Whatever they’re saying we did…it’s not true.” Her eyes are pleading with me. “Ivan has always been out to get us.”
Cameron still doesn’t speak; she stares at her family with a cool steel. This is my show; Cameron is giving me the stage.
“No?” I ask with sarcasm.
“No!” Jeanie shouts, her hands gripping the bars of the stall. “We’d never hurt our own daughter! She is the rock of our family!” She’s lying through her teeth, and it pisses me off.
“She certainly is.” I agree with the last statement. I approach the stall. “How was your trip to Moscow, Jeanie? The kidnapping?” None of us know the full extent of that story but Viktor believes it was a few of Ivan’s men who were actually working for Svetlana. They kidnapped Jeanie in an attempt to draw Cameron to Moscow; Bode ended up going instead, which threw a wrench into whatever plans Svetlana had.
My main priority is to figure out what the fuck they want from Cameron.
“It was horrible.” Jeanie’s voice takes on a sad tone. “I’m so grateful to my son for rescuing me.” She tries to sound sincere, but she’s a horrible liar. She grips the bars and gives me a pleading look as if I’m going to be the one to forgive her and have the power to set her free. So much for her medicated act.
Settle down, power. I love being in this position.
I look past Jeanie and see David lying on the floor, pretending to be asleep. He has his arm draped across his eyes, but I know he’s listening to every word. Anna is sitting on the bench, her fingers fidgeting in her lap and her eyes trained on her feet; she looks…pathetic and I don’t know how I feel about that. Svetlana sits on the other end of the bench, her cold eyes staring directly at me, no expression on her face, no indication as to what she’s feeling. She scares me the most. She seems void.
“Can I ask you something, mom?” Cameron’s voice pierces the silence as she steps up to the bars. She runs her hand down my back, stands beside me, and keeps eye contact with me. Her blue eyes see into my green ones.
“Cam, I’m so happy to see you. Are you doing okay?” Jeanie laces a mother’s worry into her words.
Cameron leans into me and keeps one arm around my low back. The other hand comes up to slide down my chest; she’s putting on some sort of show, so I play along and drape my arm across her shoulders and play with her hair.
“How did it feel when I brought Holden home?” she asks her mom, her hand trails down my chest and stomach. “Did it bother you to see me with someone? Your plan to permanently damage me from physical contact just shattered before your eyes, right?”
Ah, call them on their shit, love. Keep going.
“What are you talking about, sweetie?” Jeanie looks confused. “I thought it was wonderful that you finally found someone you could be with.” Jeanie watches Cameron’s hands roam my body.
“You faked your own assault, didn’t you?” Cameron accuses.
“Of course not! Who would fake such a terrible thing?” Jeanie gasps but looks caught in a trap.
“What about you, dad?” Cameron looks to where her father lies on the floor. “We fuck, you know. Maybe you’d like to watch sometime? Like the time you had me raped and watched the whole thing. Figured you might be into it.” She spews the disgusting words like venom.
I hate that suggestion and I know she does too, but she’s trying to rile him. He betrays his sleeping disguise and scoffs.
“Did you volunteer to be there, to watch as you were tied to that chair? You’re not smart enough to have come up with the plan…” Cameron glances at Svetlana. “…but I bet you jumped at the opportunity to be in the room,” she taunts David.
David springs up from the floor and rushes the bars. “You fucking deserved it!” he screams at her, spittle flying from his lips. “You ruined everything for me, you little cunt!”
Cameron doesn’t flinch; she remains stoic, and I find myself tightening my grip around her shoulders.
Jeanie flinches a step back as David admits he’s guilty through his fit of rage. “He was going to skip over me and pass the entire fucking thing over to you!” David seethes. His face is turning red and he’s baring his teeth like a wild animal. “I needed you to be nothing! I needed to knock you down a peg, you ungrateful fucking whore. I needed you to hate my father! HA!” He laughs like a maniac. “Mission accomplished. You spent the last twelve years hating the man who wanted to give you the world!” He spits at Cameron’s feet.
Settle down, rage. Stay calm while David gives himself up.
I look at Cameron. I’m worried about her and how she’ll react to finally learning at least some of the reason behind her assault, but she just gives a weak smile to her father. I tighten my grip around her shoulders even more and she leans into me. She watches her dad as his face changes from rage, to regret, to shame for allowing his daughter to goad him into a semi-confession.
Cameron has a small smirk on her lips as her blue eyes look up at me; her dad is seething, her mom is whining, Anna is a mute, and Svetlana is staring. “I think I’m ready for that boring dinner party now.” She gives me the cutest, most deceptive little smirk I’ve ever seen.
