Page 84 of Bloodlust

My chest rises, my breathing heavy, heady, and hungry as I look up at him. "Move," I say through my teeth, tone strained and controlled. "I have business to take care of."

"We have unfinished business ourselves." Hayden grabs my chin between his fingers, tilting my head back. His dilated pupils flit across my flushed face as he licks his bottom lip. "Everything else can wait."

"Actually,Agent, it can't," I say, counting the taste buds on the tip of his tempting tongue. "And we don't have any business..." My gaze snaps up to meet his darkened eyes. "Not anymore."

"Your mouth..." He trails the pad of his thumb across my lower lip. "And your body..." He rakes his fingers through my hair, tugging my head back. "Don't seem to be on the same page, Camilla."

"Call it a temporary glitch." I coil my fingers around his forearm and dig my nails into his flesh. His neck muscles tighten as I increase the pressure. "I'm sure one will catch up with the other." Swiftly, I duck under his arm using a technique Frankie taught me. Hayden staggers back a foot as I grab my jacket and purse. My pulse races with adrenaline and need as I give his disheveled appearance a once over, begging my body to fuckingstop. "Talk soon, Doc."

"Where are you going?" Hayden grunts. "From now on, your businessismy business."

I sigh, taking a sharp breath as I head toward the door. "I'm going to go tell a bunch of old Italians that their new business partners are from a little further east than usual."

Hayden frowns. "Youdoalready have an alliance with The Dragons,do you not?"

"I will." I shrug, fiddling with the knob as I hover in the doorway. "In like a day."

"Camilla!" he roars, eyes alarmingly wide. "What the fuc?—"

I quickly slam the door shut, run down the stairs, and pull out my phone.

"Zoey," I say into the phone, giving Frankie a fake smile as he opens the car door for me. "I need you to set up a Council meeting for tomorrow. I've made up my mind."

"Did you kill him?" she whispers. "You didn't kill him, did you? You said you wouldn't!"

"No, Zoey, I didn't," I mutter into the receiver as Frankie hops into the car.

"Good." She breathes a sigh of relief. "I'll set it up." She pauses. "Are you going to tell them about Hayden?"

"No," I say. Poor girl is always in the dark. Ignorance is often bliss. But it's time to wake up. "Something else." And I hang up.

"Where to, princess?" Frankie cranes his neck back at me as he starts the car. "The Club? Home?"

I bite my tongue as tears threaten to well up in my eyes. I trusted him. I trusted all of them. They were my home.

And now I'm homeless.

"Home," I say quietly, looking out the window at Hayden's office. "Take me home."

Wherever that means.

Chapter 23

Dragons

Everyone knows that even the most carefully calculated plans often go awry. If any piece of the puzzle gets ruined or destroyed, then the entire picture is ruined. That's the thing with puzzles; each piece is perfectly shaped to fit into another.

Rigid planning has never been my strong suit. I prefer to improvise as I go. It allows the pieces tomypuzzle to be made of plaster rather than steel.

Malleable. Adaptable. Flexible.

Leaning against my office chair, I scan the three computer monitors Zoella installed on my desk.Ifmy puzzle was made of steel, I'd be choked that The Council opted for a virtual conference call rather than an in-person meeting. I was hoping they'd all come back into the city. My father included. But the bastard refuses to return despite accepting the invitation to today's meeting. He never attends. He must be itching to find out what his dearest daughter decided.

I'll get him here. One way or another.

"Everything's ready to go on my end," Zoey says, sitting in the chair across from me, only a sliver of her young face visible between the monitors as she clacks away on her keyboard. "You ready, Cami?"

"Yeah." I check the time and whip out my cellphone. "Let the games begin," I mutter, dialing Malik's number.