Page 11 of The Riders’ Reign

“I’m not with three men and trying to get your daddy into bed as well, though, am I? There’s a fucking difference, Camile. A big one. Plus, you’re manipulating them all.”

“Manipulating?” My voice is screechy now.

“Yes. You’re a manipulative bitch.”

I don’t even think. Pure instinct has me moving before I can stop myself. I dart my hand out and snatch a fistful of her thick curls and pull, yanking her head to one side.

“Ouch! Get the fuck off my hair.”

A sharp crack rings out in the room, and the pain registers a second later. She slapped me, and God does it hurt.

Pushing me as hard as she can, Vani sends me stumbling back, but I still have hold of her hair, so she staggers after me. For a moment, we kind of wrestle, neither of us getting anywhere. She’s grasping for my upper arms, and I’m trying to pull her head farther down with her hair.

“Christ,” a male voice grumbles.

Two big, strong arms come around me, and Ace speaks in a low, calm tone.

“Let go of her hair, Camile. We’re at the hospital. You don’t want to get thrown out, do you?”

He’s right, I know he is, so reluctantly, I let go of Vani’s soft curls. The girl has great hair; I have to admit that, even if right now I don’t like her.

Zane has Vani by the waist, his massive arms holding her back from doing anything else.

Suddenly, tears prick at my eyes, and I know I can’t hold them back any longer.

“Let me go,” I cry out and push Ace off me, before turning and running out of the waiting room door, my face burning in mortification. I won’t let her see me cry.

I stagger down the corridor, looking for signs for the restroom and, when I find them, I push my way inside. Storming into a stall, I grab some paper before I sit down on the closed seat, with the stall door still open, and let the tears come.

Please don’t let Jack die, I pray to a God I’m not sure I believe in. Please, please, please, don’t let him die.

The door to the restroom bursts open, and I brace myself for more attacks from Vani, but it’s Ace who sweeps in.

“Hey, Camile, come here.” He hauls me up and pulls me into his arms.

His scent washes over me, familiar and reassuring, but that only makes me cry more. I’ve held back so much of my recent fear, grief, and loss, but now it’s all pouring out of me.

“She’ll never accept it,” I sob against his chest, “and I’ve lost a good friend.”

“First, I do believe, eventually, she’ll come around. She will want Jack in her life, and when she sees he wants to be with us, then Vani will accept it.”

“We don’t even know if he does! We don’t even know if he’s going to get out of surgery okay.”

“Don’t say that. This is Jack. He’s such a tough son-of-a-bitch. He will be back to normal in no time. As for us? Yeah, he does want it, and he just needs to get his head out of his ass.”

“Vani was such a good friend, and now she hates me.”

“Was she? I mean she’s with a bunch of guys who did horrible stuff to you. And by the way, this isn’t going to be forgotten. I want to know what they did.”

Oh, God, this can’t become a whole other thing. I can’t cope with it. Pulling myself away from his shoulder with great effort, because I could stay there forever, I lift my gaze to study him.

“Ace, listen to me. It was before they met her, and it was ages ago. They were assholes. Still are, if you ask me, but it’s gone and in the past. I dealt with it myself, and I don’t want any more trouble. If you care about me, you’ll leave it.”

His eyes search mine, then he nods. “Okay. Understood.”

Wow, I got through to Ace when he’s on a mission. Maybe I really am finding my power.

“I want you to listen to me now.” Ace tips my chin up gently, brushes his lips over mine, then pulls away and carries on speaking. “Jack is in good hands here. The nurse at the desk has my number. I gave it to her on my way to you, and she’s promised to call as soon as there’s any news. But Ghost isn’t in safe hands. We don’t know where he is. Jack will be in surgery for some time, and then in recovery. So, he’s not going back to his room anytime soon. I think we should head back to the compound and try to help them find Ghost. Plus, I think Rook could do with a hug, you know?”