Page 67 of Bloodlust

Leo swallows. "I miss the old you."

I cock my head to the side. "Then you shouldn't have killed her."

"Cam—"

"I'm done talking," I say, grabbing my purse off of the table. "I have five days until Malik needs an answer. Be useful and look into The Dragons for me. I want to know their organization inside and out."

"The Council will never agree?—"

"I do not need their approval," I say, glaring at Leo. "They are merely advisors."

"Be rational, Camilla," Leo says. "You need their support."

"Then find me something I can use to sway them," I say. "You wanted to help me, right?That'swhat you can do."

"You're making this harder than it needs to be," Leo says, glancing at the velvet ring box. "I might be selfish, but you are too. This is about our families, Camilla. Not your pride."

"This isn't about pride," I say. "This is about strength. And you?" I shrug. "You'd be the fall of us all."

"I am not weak," Leo grunts, abruptly standing up and towering over me.

I look up at him, smiling. "The weak run, Leo. But the strong? They stay put. They fight. Call me when you have something."

"You are just as weak as I am!" Leo calls after me as I head toward the exit. "We can all see it! You're not fooling anybody!"

Breathe.

Don't look back. Only forward.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Miss Bianco," the hostess says timidly as she hands me a bag. "Here's a little something for Pinto."

I give her a weak smile as I leave the restaurant. "Thank you."

My father was right. Love makes you weak.

Love kills. Destroys. Ruins everything.

I loved and I lost. Leo loved and he left. No matter how much love gives, in the end, it only takes.

It takes the good and turns it evil. It takes joy and creates misery. It turns hope into hopelessness.

Love never lasts.

"Pinto?" I call out his name as I get home, my temples pulsing from fatigue as I shake the goodie bag. "Pinto? I got a little treat for you." I turn on the lights on my way to the living room, grinning as I find him in the same spot I left him. "Wake up, baby." My smile fades when he doesn't move. I rush toward him, dropping down on my knees. "Pinto?"

Nothing.

No movement. No breathing. No life.

The walls close in around me. Suffocating me until I can't breathe.

Love never lasts.

It's always taken.

Chapter 18

Flood