After the fire, the brothers drove in silence, the weight of everything they’d lost hanging heavy in the car. Camille’s heart ached for them, and she felt responsible for the destruction of their home, the place that had been a sanctuary for all of them. After a while, they pulled into the parking lot of a small, unassuming hotel on the outskirts of town. They checked in under false names and took a suite with adjoining rooms. It wasn’t home, but for now, it was safe.
The suite was quiet as they settled in. Noah brought Camille a cup of tea, his expression warm but tired as he sat beside her on the small couch in the living area. His shoulder brushed hers as he leaned close, and she felt a jolt of something unexpected—a sense of comfort and connection that went beyond gratitude.
“You doing okay?” he asked softly, his gaze gentle as he looked at her.
She nodded, though her mind was still spinning with everything that had happened. “I think so. I’m just… I feel guilty. Like all of this is my fault.”
Noah shook his head, his hand reaching out to rest on her shoulder. “None of this is your fault, Camille. The people who hurt your father—they’re to blame. Not you. We made a choice to protect you because it’s the right thing to do. And we’d do it again.”
His words soothed her, and she looked up, meeting his gaze. There was something soft and warm in his eyes, something she hadn’t noticed before. His hand lingered on her shoulder, and she felt her breath catch as his fingers gently traced along her arm. She looked down, trying to hide the blush she felt rising in her cheeks.
“Noah…” she began, unsure what she wanted to say.
He leaned a little closer, his voice a low murmur. “Camille, I just want you to know… you’re not alone in this. I’ll be here for you, no matter what. I promise.”
Before she could respond, the door to the suite opened, and Matthew and Leo walked in, carrying a few bags of supplies they’d picked up on the way. Matthew’s eyes narrowed as he took in the scene, his gaze settling on Noah’s hand still resting on Camille’s shoulder.
“Noah,” Matthew said, his tone clipped, “can I talk to you for a minute?”
Noah stiffened, his hand slipping away from Camille’s shoulder as he rose to his feet. “Yeah, sure,” he replied, though his voice held a hint of reluctance.
Camille watched as the brothers stepped out into the hallway, the door closing softly behind them. She could hear their voices on the other side of the door, though their words were muffled. Curiosity tugged at her, and she moved closer, pressing her ear gently to the door to catch snippets of their conversation.
“What are you doing?” Matthew’s voice was sharp, edged with frustration. “We agreed, Noah. We made a pact that Camille was off-limits.”
Noah’s voice was lower, defensive. “I’m just trying to make her feel safe. She’s been through enough, and she deserves someone who’s there for her.”
“That’s not what it looked like in there,” Leo cut in, his tone cold. “This isn’t the time to be making a move on her. We’re supposed to be protecting her, not confusing her with… whatever this is.”
“She’s not a thing, and I’m not trying to ‘confuse’ her,” Noah shot back. “I care about her. Is that such a crime?”
Matthew’s voice dropped to a stern whisper. “Yes, it is if it puts her at risk. Do you not realize the danger we’re all in? We can’t afford any distractions right now, and neither can she. Our job is to keep her safe, nothing else.”
Silence fell on the other side of the door, and Camille’s heart hammered in her chest. She backed away from the door, her mind spinning. The brothers had made some kind of pact—an agreement that she was “off-limits.” She felt a strange mixture of anger and humiliation. She wasn’t a prize or a responsibility to be passed around; she was a person with her own choices, her own agency. And here they were, arguing about her like she was some kind of burden.
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she felt a pang of betrayal. After everything she’d been through, after all the trust she’d placed in them, they still saw her as something to be managed. She couldn’t stand it anymore.
Without giving herself a chance to reconsider, she grabbed her coat and slipped quietly out of the suite’s back door, her footsteps light as she crept down the hallway. The air in the hotel felt stifling, and she needed space to think, to breathe. The city streets outside were dimly lit, but the cool night air felt refreshing as she stepped out into the open.
Camille walked quickly, her mind racing as she tried to process everything. She’d thought she could trust the brothers, but now, she felt conflicted. They’d saved her from Zach, but they were keeping her trapped in other ways. She was tired of being treated like a fragile object. All her life, her father, then Zach, and now even the brothers had tried to make decisions for her, control her path.
As she turned down a quiet street, she heard footsteps behind her, quickening as they closed in. Panic surged through her, and she started to run, her heart pounding as she darted down an alley, hoping to lose whoever was following her.
“Camille!” a familiar voice called, and she stopped, spinning around to see Noah standing at the mouth of the alley, his face etched with worry.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice tight with frustration. “Were you following me?”
He held his hands up in a gesture of peace, his eyes softening. “Camille, please, I was worried. You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
She crossed her arms, anger bubbling up inside her. “You were worried? Or you were trying to keep tabs on me, just like everyone else.”
Noah took a step closer, his expression pained. “That’s not fair. We’re just trying to protect you. You have no idea how dangerous this situation is.”
“I know exactly how dangerous it is,” she snapped, her voice trembling. “And maybe I’m tired of people deciding what’s best for me. Maybe I don’t need protecting—I need to be able to make my own choices.”
He hesitated, his eyes searching her face as if he were seeing her in a new light. “Camille, I never wanted to make you feel trapped. I… I care about you. More than I should, maybe. But we’re all just trying to do what we think is right.”
She shook her head, backing away. “I don’t need you to decide what’s right for me. I need you to trust me to make my own decisions. All of you keep talking about protecting me, but none of you trust me.”
Turning away, she took a few steps down the alley, feeling the tension release as she put distance between them. But as she moved further into the darkness, a flicker of movement caught her eye—a shadow stepping out from behind a corner, blocking her path. Her pulse quickened, and she turned back, realizing she was caught between Noah on one side and an unknown figure on the other.
“Camille,” the figure said, his voice low and unsettlingly familiar. She froze, her blood running cold as she recognized the voice.
It was Zach.