Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2)

by S. Simone Chavous

  Cami collapsed against him, their bodies still joined as Jared reached for the shampoo. With Cami nuzzled against his chest as the water ran down her back, he squeezed a small amount of shampoo into his hand and began massaging it into her scalp. She let out a satisfied moan as his fingertips circled, applying the perfect amount of pressure.

  “Stand up and rinse your hair,” he said easing her off of his lap. As she obeyed, he grabbed his loofa and began to wash her body, taking his time appreciating every gentle curve and line of her toned figure.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered standing up straight and pulling her thoroughly-cleansed body into his arms.

  “An overrated quality,” Cami replied before placing a soft peck on his lips. “Now I really need to go. You should check on your sister and Chloe when you’re done showering.”

  Jared groaned as he pulled her even closer. “Now that I finally have you in my arms, I don’t want to let go.”

  Despite her first instinct to pull away as she felt her fear starting to creep back in, she stayed still and let Jared hold onto her.

  “Cami, you don’t have to be afraid with me. I will never hurt you. You are everything to me,” Jared promised in reply to her dark thoughts.

  “You’re going to have to stop reading my mind,” Cami said trying to sound annoyed; but in truth, she needed his comfort just then and was grateful for his gift. It wouldn’t be the last time she’d need reassurance as they navigated this new territory together. She didn’t know the first thing about being in a relationship, let alone being in one with the threat of war pressing down on them harder and harder each day.

  After several minutes holding each other under the streams of warm water, Jared loosened his grip and kissed Cami firmly on the lips before stepping back and starting to wash himself.

  “You just going to stand there and gawk at me the rest of the night? Thought you had work to do,” he teased, trying his best to lighten the mood despite the anxiety he felt about letting her out of his sight.

  As much as he wanted to keep her with him always, he knew she wasn’t the kind of woman who would put up with a possessive man. She was strong, independent, a soldier; and if he wanted to keep her, he would have to give her the room to continue to be those things.

  Cami took one last long deliberate look at him, letting her eyes travel thoroughly over his body before she winked at him, turned, and flashed to the other room to get dressed. Jared shook his head and chuckled as he lathered up his body.

  God, I love that woman.

  ✧

  Cami dressed quickly in her fatigues before strapping on her holsters and securing various weapons to her body. Just as she was finishing up with tying the lace of her combat boot, the buzzer at the door sounded.

  Cami hurriedly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and rushed to answer. She groaned as she looked back into the room, seeing the bed in complete disarray with Jared’s clothes piled haphazardly on the floor. She considered taking a moment to straighten the mess.

  Fuck it; not like it’s a secret, she thought, realizing that the whole family, and the commander, had seen them together.

  Her stomach dropped as she considered the possibility that it was the commander on the other side of the door coming to look for her because she wasn’t in her room where he could signal for her. Despite the fact that she was nearly two hundred years old and one of the toughest soldiers in The Elite forces, somehow she still felt the rush of blood in her face which outwardly showed the awkward feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, like a teenage girl being caught with a boy in her bedroom for the first time.

  Taking a deep breath, as she silently berated herself for succumbing to such foolish emotions; she disengaged the lock and yanked the door open. She couldn’t hide her surprise at finding Dante there.

  Dante’s eyes moved over her head, scanning the room behind her and prompting her to pull the door shut; a vain attempt to maintain some semblance of privacy and prevent another altercation between him and Jared. She hadn’t disengaged the soundproofing, so once the door was shut she wouldn’t have to worry about Jared overhearing and there being a repeat of the scene in the training room.

  Cami watched Dante closely as he took a step back; seeing him at Jared’s door, she expected some ridiculous display of anger or jealousy.

  “Is Jared here?” Dante asked simply.

  “It’s really none of your business; but yes, he’s in the shower,” she responded, eyeing him suspiciously.

  “One of ours was abducted by four infected from Blood Runners tonight. It was Layla.”

  “What?! When? What the fuck happened?” Cami inquired, her voice laced with concern.

  “She was grabbed a couple of hours ago. Layla, Jasmine, and Rachel all went out after you got back from Copley Place. The fuckers almost got Jasmine, too, but Rachel managed to take one of them down before they could get away.”

  “Did he die; the one she took down?” Cami asked, immediately thinking of Ethan. Getting ahold of a live infected vampire could help her father find a cure.

  “I’m guessing he didn’t, but who knows? His buddies got him out.”

  “Shit. Do we have any leads?” Cami asked.

  “Yeah, we happened to get a shot of the plates on their vehicle from an ATM security camera across the street. Jester did his magic and got us an address. The place is out in the sticks and the owner is human, so I expect we’re only going to find pieces of him lying around. That’s why I was hoping you’d come along.”

  “Of course. Are you doing okay? I know you and Layla are close,” Cami asked, growing anxious. The abductors were infected, which meant they worked for Lucias, and whatever they found while searching for Layla could lead them to Ethan as well.

  “I’ll be doing a lot better when we get her back. Hey, about that; earlier when we were sparring—“

  “Dante, can we just forget it? I’m sorry if you got the wrong message, but Jared and I—”

  “No, I get it; you and the kid are together now. I just wanted to say I’m sorry; kissing you was a mistake. I’ve been confused about a lot of shit for a long time now, but I think I finally see things clearly,” he said sincerely.

  “Uh, oh, okay then,” Cami replied, a little confused, but relieved that Dante seemed to finally understand that she wasn’t interested.

  “So, listen; can you give me a minute with Martinez? The rest of your team should already be waiting in the pit. We’ll be right behind you.”

  Cami eyed Dante and glanced back at Jared’s door. Opening her mouth to protest, he beat her to it.

  “Nah; it’s not like that. I don’t have any beef with the kid, not anymore. If the situation had been reversed, I probably wouldn’t have handled it half as well as he did and I swear I won’t come between the two of you again.”

  Cami looked at Martinez, who shrugged. “I would believe him, Cami. Turns out he’s finally realized he’s in love with Layla.”

  “You should learn how to keep your mouth shut, my man,” Dante responded, though hearing someone else acknowledge the feelings he had yet to give a voice to felt good.

  “Hey, just trying to expedite the process so we can go find your woman,” Martinez replied with a smile.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you in the pit; but hurry, you know the trail only gets colder as time passes,” Cami said before disappearing down the corridor.

  “So, you want to tell me what you’re up to?” Martinez asked as soon as Cami was gone.

  “I had an idea,” Dante said as he strolled towards Jared’s room.

  “Hold on, my man; what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Cami will castrate you if you mess with the kid, and don’t forget who he is. You could get booted from The Elite, or worse,” Martinez said, trying to get between his friend and Jared’s door.

  “I appreciate the concern, Martinez. I just have a couple of things I need to say to him; to apologize.”

  Martinez’s mouth fell open.

&n
bsp; “I know; apologies aren’t usually my thing, but I owe him one. All this time we’ve been calling him kid, but I’ve been the one acting like a newbie fresh out of transition, chasing a bunch of random women because I was too much of a coward to recognize what was right in front of me.

  “Glad you came around; but can’t this wait?” Martinez asked, confused as to why Dante would delay anything that could help find Layla.

  “No, it can’t. I think he might be able to help us find her,” he said, taking a deep breath before hitting the buzzer for a second time.

  CHAPTER 20 - Jared's Help

  Jared hopped out of the shower and stepped to the mirror; unable to stop smiling as he swiped his hand over the fogged up glass to clear a spot.

  He rubbed his fingers roughly through his damp hair then surveyed his reflection in the mirror. Having achieved the desired un-styled effect, he walked into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of black pajama pants.

  It was late, or early, depending on how you looked at it, so he hoped that once he was done checking on his sister and niece, Cami would be back and waiting for him in bed. He couldn’t think of anything better than spending the rest of the night sleeping with her in his arms.

  Just as he was about to head to the door, he heard the buzz of the intercom and smiled, thinking that Cami must have forgotten something and didn’t have the code to get back in.

  The smile dropped from his face when he opened the door to find Dante and Martinez standing there, fully-clad in combat gear, and his relaxed stance immediately became defensive.

  “Hey; sorry to disturb you so late,” Dante began, putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I just need to talk to you for a minute.”

  Jared eyed Dante carefully before stepping aside to allow the two men into his suite.

  “I know we got off on the wrong foot,” Dante started, eliciting a huff from Jared as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to make amends. I realize now that I was out of line with Cami. Obviously there is something between you two, and I want to let you know that I won’t be interfering with that from now on. It was a mistake and I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that Cami made it pretty clear where she stands, and that’s with you.”

  “Okay; thanks for that, I guess,” Jared responded, with a touch of uncertainty as he looked at Dante and Martinez and started to relax.

  “That’s not really why we’re here now, though,” Dante continued. “One of our soldiers was taken tonight; a woman. The attackers were Lucias’s men, infected; and we’ve only got a small lead to go on. We’re going out now to check it out and I want you to go. I think you might be our best shot at getting her back.”

  “You want me to go with you on a mission? Why?” Jared asked, stepping closer with interest.

  “Telepathy runs in your family, right? You’re one, too, aren’t you?” Dante questioned, though he already knew the answer. It was a rather subtle gift, but Dante had the ability to detect the powers of others with a single touch and, with prolonged contact and focus, could even manifest those abilities for short periods of time.

  Jared responded with a nod.

  “The vehicle the attackers were in belongs to a human. We assume he’s already dead; but if he’s alive, or if one of the infected is still there, you could get into their heads, maybe get a bead on where they took Layla.”

  Jared considered for a second; he wasn’t sure if he trusted Dante, but he couldn’t argue his point. His gift could help them find the missing soldier and, in turn, his brother-in-law. He knew how worried his family was, how worried Cami was, and he would do anything in his power to get Ethan back for them.

  “Yeah, of course I’ll help, but I don’t know how we’ll get my father to clear me to leave. He’s ordered the whole family to remain on the compound indefinitely,” Jared replied, already trying to think of what he could say to persuade the High Commander to release him.

  Dante looked to Martinez, then back to Jared. “Did your father actually order you to stay? Did he say the words?”

  Jared smiled as he realized what Dante was thinking. “No; as a matter of fact, he didn’t.”

  “Well, then he doesn’t have to know about this little excursion. We’ll have you back in bed before dawn.”

  “Just one problem with that, Dante,” Martinez chimed in. “Commander Claesson isn’t just going to watch us walk out with Jared without hearing the High Commander actually give permission. And that’s not even your biggest problem.”

  “So, what’s the biggest problem?” Jared asked.

  “Cami. No offense, but you’re just a civilian. This is just speculation, but based on what I know about her and what I’ve seen and heard today, Cami must have some pretty strong feelings for you. I can’t really see her happily letting you stroll out on a potentially dangerous mission while disobeying a direct order from the High Commander.”

  Dante placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Guess it’s a good thing we have you, then.”

  ✧

  “Dante, you can’t be serious. You know what kind of trouble we could get in if something happens to him? And what if the High Commander is down there right now? You think you can keep your mind clear of it, because my heart is already pounding just thinking about trying to not think about it,” Martinez said, his voice laced with anxiety as he and Dante made their way to the pit.

  They left Jared behind to get dressed, but he would be meeting them in the garage before they left the compound.

  “That’s why we’re going to make damn sure nothing does happen. He won’t even have to get out of the car, and if his father is in the meeting, you can hang back and head to the garage; I can handle it,” Dante said as he stopped and turned towards Martinez. “Look, I know it’s a big risk, and I’m sorry for asking this of you, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to get her back. What would you do if it was Rachel?”

  “Shit; yeah, all right.”

  Martinez felt ill as he considered Dante’s words. Rachel had been in Blood Runners with Layla; it could have easily been her who was taken, or worse. As he thought, they covered the rest of the distance to the pit in record time. Dante peered through the glass and quickly scanned the room, while Martinez stayed out of view.

  “It’s clear,” he said as he reached for the handle.

  When they stepped through the door, all eyes turned towards them. Martinez’s immediately locked on Rachel and he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly grateful. It was all he could do not to rush to her, scoop her up in his arms and carry her off to their bed to spend the rest of the night showing her just how much he loved and needed her.

  “I love you,” he mouthed to her silently, causing a light blush to steal over her cheeks as she smiled back at him.

  “Nice of you to join us, gentlemen,” Commander Claesson said as Dante and Martinez slid into the two closest chairs.

  “I’ve been in touch with our civilian contacts in the area; everyone is keeping their eyes open for any sign of Layla. As far as they know, they’re looking for a civilian tourist, but that won’t stick for long given the number of civilians who witnessed the attack tonight,” he continued, running a hand over his drawn face. As with all of their kind, the millennia-old vampire normally didn’t look a day over thirty-five, but the stress of the last few weeks was beginning to take its toll.

  “I’d hoped to avoid this, but we cannot put off alerting the civilian population to the danger much longer. A few hours ago, I received word that two civilian males were also grabbed downtown and, according to Thompson, there have been some suspicious human disappearances over the last few months. If word gets out that Elite were taken, we’ll have widespread panic. I’m going to meet with the High Commander in the morning to discuss a communication strategy and, I think it goes without saying, breaking the news will be a lot smoother if you come back with something positive tonight,” he continued. “I also want to put you all on notice; for the time being, we’re going into full loc
kdown, meaning that no personnel leave from the base. No exceptions.”