“The bookstore?”
Devin nodded.
“So you want to burn it down with her in it?” Evangeline asked, giggling uncontrollably now. Very soon she was going to forget about the syringe, Devin thought, but she was still holding on to it.
Devin nodded in response and Evangeline clapped her hands again with delight. To her, this was proof that Devin was indeed back in her life for good.
***
Camille screamed when she heard that while Evangeline continued to laugh. Devin tried to smile, but he couldn’t.
“Let’s do it, Devin. Set fire to this place!” Evangeline laughed deliriously. Devin was convinced now that Evangeline was high on drugs, which might make it easy for him to operate. But he still couldn’t be sure; she still had the syringe in her hands. Camille continued to scream
“Shut up bitch!” Evangeline yelled at her, but Camille didn’t shut up. She was fighting for her life again.
“How are we going to do this?” Evangeline asked sweetly, turning to Devin.
He thrust his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a Zippo. “I came prepared,” he said laughing and Evangeline was pleased again.
He threw a nervous look at Camille who was screaming with a red face. She was banging her back against the desk, trying to wriggle free, break the desk, and do anything to get out of the place. But her hands were handcuffed; any struggle was futile.
“Hurry up, Devin, I want to get out of here,” Evangeline whined, and Devin turned to her again, forcing a smile on his face.
“Let’s start with that poster there,” he said, pointing at the comic book poster taped to the wall behind the desk. Camille craned her neck to look up at the poster too. She knew what that meant. The fire would start with a poster, then they’d set fire to the books, and once that happened, it would be very easy for the fire to spread.
Evangeline licked her lips in excitement and Devin walked over to the desk. He was even closer to Camille now, and a whiff of her vanilla scent overwhelmed him for a few moments. He could sense her fear; it was in the air between them.
“Please don’t do it, Devin. I promise I won’t tell anyone if you just let me go. Please, Devin!” Camille was begging now as she looked up at him. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and her lips and eyes were swollen from all the crying. Devin was sure that she’d faint from exhaustion soon if he didn’t act fast.
“Shut up, bitch! I told you to shut the fuck up!” Evangeline had walked up behind him and was also staring down at her now. Camille cried again, hanging her head low. She was giving up. She knew there was no escape. Her bookstore was going to be burned down, and she was going to be burned down with it.
Devin flipped the Zippo open and threw a look at Evangeline. He could see the excitement in her eyes; she wanted him to do it right away. Devin stepped around Camille and moved closer to the poster on the wall.
“Do it, Devin. Just do it. Forget about her,” Evangeline squealed, and Devin held up the lighter to the edge of the poster. He needed to do this. He hadn’t lied. This is what Figueroa and The Choppers wanted him to do as proof that he was loyal to the biker code, above everything else. They hadn’t asked him to kill Camille, though. They only wanted him to burn down the store to prove that he didn’t sympathize with a girl he had just met. That his loyalty to the gangs surpassed all his loyalty to any woman.
“Devin!” Evangeline screamed, trying to urge him on. He brought the lighter up closer to the poster so that now the flame licked the edge of it. It caught fire immediately, and Evangeline squealed again with excitement. Camille screamed too.
Devin turned to look at Evangeline who was laughing loudly. The flame of the burning poster was reflected in her eyes as her shoulders shook. He had finally proved to her that he didn’t care about Camille.
Devin laughed too and took a few quick steps towards Evangeline. She hadn’t noticed, but he had also slid off a mask from one of the shelves when he walked towards her.
Evangeline was enjoying herself and wanted to kiss Devin again. He came up to her and brought his face close to her, but instead of kissing her lips, in one quick motion he slid the mask on over her head.
“What are you doing?!” Evangeline shouted. The poster crackled as it burned behind them while Camille continued to scream. The mask was a big comic hero mask, and Evangeline was disoriented by what Devin had just done.
He forced the mask down, and Evangeline’s hands clawed at it, but Devin held it down.
“Devin! What the hell? Stop joking around!” She struggled to get the mask off, and then Devin saw what he needed to see. The syringe fell out of Evangeline’s hand and onto the ground. Devin used his feet to kick it out of their way, and it slid across the floor to a corner underneath one of the bookshelves, way out of everyone’s reach.
“Devin!” Evangeline had obviously heard the sound of him kicking the syringe away. Devin had managed to get her to bring her guard down so that he could trick her into dropping her defenses.
With one hand Devin kept the mask on her head, and as she struggled, with his other hand, he twisted her arm around to her back. The poster was still burning; it would be safe there, burning on the wall behind them, isolated.
“Where’s the key?!” he thundered, right up to her face. He knew she couldn’t see well through the mask, it covered all her face and was stifling her breathing. He kept her arm twisted behind her back, pinning her to his body. Even though Evangeline knew he was stronger than her, that she couldn’t possibly escape now, she still struggled.
“Where’s the key to the handcuffs Evangeline?” he asked and twisted her arm even more. Evangeline yelped in pain. Her rage had finally turned to fright, which was what Devin needed.
Camille had stopped screaming now, which made him feel better, but he still needed to set her free.
“I’ll never tell you. She can rot there for all I care,” Evangeline spat, her voice a little muffled by the mask now. She had stopped struggling, and Devin felt her shoulders relax.
Now he used both hands to hold her wrists tightly behind her back. He was still twisting her arms, which he knew was painful for her. A few more minutes and he knew she would break.
“You’re going to tell me where the keys are,” he growled right in her ear and dragged her by the arms towards the desk where Camille was. Evangeline continued to scream. She still wasn’t willing to divulge the information.
Devin yanked her down to the ground next to Camille. Still holding her hands together with one hand, he reached into his pockets where he had put some plastic tags earlier. These were impossible to get out of. He wrapped two around Evangeline’s hands and stood back from her. She still had the mask on her head so he couldn’t see her face, but he knew she was crying.
He got out some more plastic tags and started tying her feet together as well.
“I told you I came prepared,” he said to Evangeline.
When he turned to Camille, he noticed that she still looked fearful, but also a little relieved too.
“Where’s the key, Evangeline? Make it easy for me, or I swear I’ll burn this place down with you in it.”
“It’s in my bra, okay? It’s in my bra!” Evangeline yelled when she sensed Devin stand up and hover over her.
He breathed in deeply and reached for her breasts. He slipped his hand into the top of her jumpsuit and in between her cleavage to reach for the bottom of her wire. He found the key.
“You’re crazy, Evangeline,” he said and turned to Camille, who was whimpering again. It looked like she was feeling a mixture of emotions – most likely rage, fright, and relief.
Devin didn’t waste any time to get her free. He unlocked her handcuffs and unexpectedly, Camille threw her arms around him and started crying again.
Devin stroked Camille’s head and held her close.
“I’m so sorry I put you through this Camille, it’ll be alright now, I promise,” he told her softly.
She was crying on h
is shoulder, and her body shook. Devin finally had her in his arms and was relieved. Camille was safe, Evangeline was tied up, and he could now breathe.
“Let me go!” Evangeline screamed, interrupting them. Devin didn’t turn to her and instead continued to stroke Camille’s head. She remained in his arms, still shaking from the experience.
“Devin, I was so scared. I thought you were going to kill me. I thought she was going to kill me.”
Devin gently kissed her cheeks. “I would never allow that to happen. I had to do this. I had to play along with her to make sure that I could get you out of here safely,” he said, and she pulled away from him but still clutched his arms. Camille nodded and wiped her cheeks. He could see where the handcuffs had bruised her wrists and he wanted to punch the wall. How could he have allowed this to happen? He had come so close to losing her. How could he have put her in this much danger?
“I know that now, but I thought it was all over,” Camille said and finally smiled. “Are you still going to have to burn this place down?”
He heard the strain in her voice. This was her life’s work, her investment, and her only source of income. He looked into her eyes and shook his head. “I’ll figure something out. No, I won’t burn this place down. Don’t worry,” he replied and stroked her cheek.
Evangeline screamed again. Camille was free and looking at her with disgust.
“So, what are we going to do about her?” Camille asked, turning to face Devin again.
He grinned at her and nodded. “I have an idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Camille
Devin had taped Evangeline’s mouth and was now dragging her by the shoulders. Camille stood in the center of the store watching him, still shaking and reeling from the events of the evening.
She had come very close to losing her life and her store, and she thought she had lost Devin too - that he had betrayed her and wasn’t the man she thought he was. But once again, Devin had proven her wrong. He was more than the man she thought he was. As painful as it was to watch him kissing Evangeline, feeling her breasts, laughing with her… he had done all of that so he could protect Camille.
“Camille?” Devin yelled, snapping her out of her thoughts. Evangeline was still struggling in his arms, but her mouth was taped, and her hands and feet were tied. She was going nowhere.
“Do you have the keys to your car?” he asked, and she nodded. “Let’s go. Are you okay to go?”
Camille nodded again and whipped around to go look for her car keys. She still wasn’t sure what Devin’s plan was, but she knew she could trust her life with him.
She found the keys and followed Devin outside. He had now flung Evangeline over his shoulder and was carrying her towards Camille’s car parked outside the store.
Camille pointed the clicker at the car to unlock the doors. Devin flung the back door open and shifted Evangeline in. There were still muffled protests and screams coming from Evangeline, but it was late now, nobody was around, and no cars had gone by either. Whatever Devin’s plan was, they could carry it out without being caught.
“Wait, what about The Choppers?” Camille asked as Devin walked around the car towards her. “Didn’t you say they were following you?”
Devin nodded and then smiled affectionately. “Yeah, but they’ll be looking for my bike, not for your car. At least not for a while and I plan on fixing all this before they catch on to what’s happening.” He placed a hand on Camille’s shoulder. She looked up at him, with all the emotions and turbulent events behind her now and she knew that she had never loved a man more before. This man had risked everything and was still risking everything for her safety.
“I didn’t think she could do such a thing, Devin,” Camille said, biting down on her lip nervously. She still couldn’t believe what Evangeline had done.
Devin touched her lips softly and ran a finger over them. “She’s more dangerous than you think. I know things about her that could get her in real trouble with the cops,” he said, and Camille’s eyes widened.
“Things like what?” she asked, and Devin breathed in deeply.
“Her gallery is a scam. She sells fakes, steals the authentic paintings, and uses the business to launder money.”
Camille chewed on her lip. “How have the cops not caught her yet?” she asked as they stood beside the car while Evangeline struggled to get free inside. The car shook with her efforts.
“She’s good at what she does. She uses aliases, and she has the support of The Choppers now, but what they don’t know is that she’s stealing money from them too,” Devin explained, and Camille shook her head in surprise.
“That’s probably why she wants to keep you close to her. Because she knows you know all these things about her,” she said, and Devin pulled her close to him. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, only for a moment, to catch a breath. Devin was stroking her hair, and she felt like she could stay in his arms forever. She found herself smiling, despite everything that had happened.
“Very soon, Camille, you won’t need to worry about all this. I promise I will make it go away,” he told her, and she looked up at him and smiled. She believed him; she believed that he could take care of it. She had no doubts.
“And I’m sorry for getting you tangled in all this, Camille. You should never have been involved. I should have kept my distance. I haven’t been as careful as I should have been. I should have known what Evangeline was capable of,” Devin continued, and Camille lifted her forefinger and placed it on his lips to silence him.
“Don’t say that, because that would mean that we couldn’t have been together. But we are, Devin. I want to be where you are, with you,” Camille said, and she felt him tighten his grip around her waist and pull her closer to his body. She could feel the warmth of his muscles and the strength of his embrace. He didn’t plan on letting her go.
“So, you’re not afraid?” he whispered in her ear, and Camille shook her head.
“Not anymore. Not when I’m with you,” she whispered back and felt his lips crush down onto hers. It was a hungry kiss; their bodies were pressed together as their mouths explored each other’s. His tongue thrust its way into her mouth while his hands traveled up her body. She clasped his biceps tightly as she felt her body sway with desire. She wanted him, right there and then. She remembered how good it felt to have him inside her.
His fingers were now entangled in her hair as they continued to kiss. When he pulled away, his mouth traveled down her neck, leaving a trail of wetness on her skin. She knew he was thinking what she was - that it had been too long, too many things had happened, and they needed to fuck to get it all out. But she stopped him, right when he was about to slip his hand under her shirt.
“We need to take care of her first,” Camille told him, with a newfound conviction in her voice.
***
“Where are we going?” Camille asked Devin when they were sitting in the front seats. Devin was driving. He had started the engine with a roar and was turning the car around.
“Somewhere she can’t escape from,” he said, without looking at her. Evangeline was still screaming in the back of the car, but her cries were muffled, and Camille had gotten used to her by now. Besides, the woman had tried to kill her, poison her with drugs, and force her to overdose. There was no way she was going to sympathize with her now.
“Hand me my phone,” Devin instructed, and Camille reached for his cell phone that was wedged in the pocket of his pants. He took it from her and dialed a number.
“It’s me,” he spoke into the phone. Camille was looking at him intently, still not fully aware of his intentions. It seemed like he was talking to a friend or an accomplice.
“I have Evangeline Fox with me,” Devin said and seemed to be waiting for the other person’s response.
“I’m ready to make a statement against her now,” he then said, and Evangeline screeched. Camille now realized whom Devin was talking to. A cop.
&nbs
p; “I’ll gather the evidence and testify against her. And if you give me a few days I can get Jimmy Figueroa to testify against her too,” Devin said, and Evangeline continued to scream.
Camille gulped and sat back in her seat.
“I’m bringing her in. Make sure that you meet me at the doors. I don’t want to go in. I have business to take care of first. I’ll swing by tomorrow again with the statement.” Devin hung up the phone.
“Was that the police?” Camille asked, and Devin clenched his jaw.
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” he said loudly, more to Evangeline than to Camille. He was glaring at her tied up figure in the rearview mirror. Evangeline had started struggling more to get out, but her hands were tied, and Devin had done a good job of restraining her.
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