The Camp (Chateau Book 2)

by Penelope Sky

  It was a hunch. It was instinct.

  I heard a distressed voice coming from my right. “Please help me. I’m looking for my fiancé. I guess he’s in surgery?”

  I rose to my feet and walked over to the check-in counter. “He’s here. Just waiting for news.” I’d washed the blood off my hands, but there were still drops on my shirt. My clothing was black so it was hard to see, but it was there, like drops of rain.

  Melanie turned to me, her eyes already overflowing with tears, terror in her gaze, looking like she’d lost everything that mattered to her. “Is he going to be okay? What happened? Did you kill the motherfucker who did this to him?” Raven stood behind her, her hand on her sister’s arm but her eyes on mine. She wanted to move into my chest and embrace me, but I was the one clearly uninjured, and her sister needed her right now.

  I wouldn’t lie. It would just hurt more. “Melanie, I’m sorry… He’s probably not gonna make it.”

  The pain on her face was indescribable. Her whole world crashed down around her, the horror and heartbreak conveyed in the expressions she made. Her hand moved over her mouth, and she stifled a sob she couldn’t control.

  I’d already shed all my tears at the camp. I didn’t have anything left.

  Raven turned her sister into her chest and let her cry against her, holding her the way a mother held her daughter. She cupped the back of her head and rubbed her back, letting her fall apart.

  I wanted to be with my woman, to feel her comfort me because I’d already lost a part of my soul, but I knew she was pulled into two different directions and she had to choose.

  She made the same choice I would’ve made.

  I turned away and gave them their space. I went back to the chair, sat down, and stared at the floor once again.

  They stood together for fifteen minutes, Melanie cycling through sobs and hysteria before she turned quiet. But then the whole thing would start all over again. She eventually excused herself and went to the restroom to clean up.

  Raven came to me.

  I was on my feet so fast and moving into her like we were two magnets that were unable to oppose the forces that attracted our souls. My arms held her body, and I brought our faces in close together, reunited with the woman I’d worked so hard to come back to. I was covered in bruises and scars, but nothing that would change my life.

  “Are you okay?” Now it was her turn to shed tears, to release happy tears that I had returned to her. It easily could’ve been the other way around, with me on the operating room table dead, but Fender had made sure that didn’t happen.

  “Yes.”

  She examined the cut on my head where I’d been hit with the cane and saw the bruising emerge from underneath my shirt. She looked me over, visibly in pain at my discomfort but still happy that I was there and whole. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t come back to me.”

  “But I did come back.”

  Raven’s eyes watered as her hands moved to rest on my neck.

  “Napoleon was gonna kill me. Fender saved me. That’s why he’s in there…and I’m not.”

  Her eyes watered. “I’m so sorry…”

  She understood exactly how that would make me feel. Instead of wanting my happiness at being safe, she focused on the guilt and the pain that I must be feeling, knowing the cost of my life was his. It was another reason I loved her so deeply, that she understood my feelings so easily without my having to explain them. “Yeah…”

  “There’s still hope, Magnus.”

  I shook my head. “He’s lost too much blood. There’s too much damage. I’m surprised he made it until the chopper got there.”

  “Then don’t be surprised if he makes it out of surgery, too. That man has a lot to live for, and I know he will fight his hardest to live for you.” She cupped my cheeks and watched my eyes water like hers without any judgment. “Don’t give up on him.”

  “It’s just easier to assume the worst because if I get my hopes up…” I shook my head. “I know he’s done bad things, but he’s a good man. He’s always taken care of me, ever since we were kids. He told me he would sacrifice his life for mine all over again. Doesn’t matter how much we fight, how much we disagree, his love has always been unconditional. I have no idea how I’m going to go on without him.” That was something she could understand because she’d refused to leave Melanie in that camp. Raven never took the easy way out because she was always committed to being at her sister’s side. Raven and I were two sides of the same coin, two people of the same soul.

  “Fender is the kind of man you should never underestimate. Let’s not underestimate him now.”

  Melanie wasn’t able to sit the entire time. She would pace in the waiting room, take a walk through the hospital, just kept moving because sitting still was too difficult.

  Raven sat beside me and held my hand. “It’s been six hours. That’s a good sign.”

  I turned to look at her.

  “That means he’s still alive. If he’s lasted this long…”

  Maybe there was hope.

  “What happened to the girls?”

  There was another couple in the waiting room, but they sat on the opposite side, and the woman had fallen asleep on her husband’s shoulder. “They were released from the cabins. I told the men to walk them down the trail to the end of the road. Trucks will pick them up and bring them back to the city. They’ll get some money and some clothes. Then they can do whatever they want…”

  She nodded. “I wish I could’ve seen it.”

  “Me too.” But my place was here, next to my brother.

  “What will become of the camp? Will Fender continue to run it with hired labor?”

  I shook my head. “He decided to retire.”

  She couldn’t hide her surprise. “Really?”

  “It’s time for both of us to move on.”

  “I just can’t picture a man like that in retirement.”

  I shrugged. “We’ll see how it goes.”

  “What about you?”

  I stared into her face and admired her blue eyes. She was both brave and innocent. She was such a small part of my past, but my entire future. “I think I’ll settle down with a wife…have some kids. Walk to a coffee shop and get a few muffins in the morning. Read in bed. Go horseback riding…”

  Her hand squeezed mine as a beautiful softness filled her gaze, like I’d just described a dream come true. “That sounds nice.”

  A doctor in a white coat emerged and headed straight toward us. Our tender moment was ruined once reality announced itself.

  I rose to my feet and prepared to hear the worst news of my life, but also still hoping for the best.

  He got right to the point. “He’s stable. He had a lot of internal bleeding, but I think we addressed everything. His blood pressure is back up, his pulse is strong, and I think he’ll make a full recovery…eventually. We’re gonna keep him in the hospital for a couple days just to monitor him before we let him go. Do you have any questions for me?”

  I couldn’t speak because I hadn’t expected him to say any of that. I’d expected my brother to die on the table; I’d expected to be the last one to carry the family name.

  Raven spoke for me. “He’s just overwhelmed right now by the good news you delivered. When can we see him?”

  “He’ll be under for a few more hours, but when he wakes up, you can visit with him. We’re gonna put him in a room soon.”

  “Thank you,” Raven said.

  The doctor walked away.

  I didn’t realize how long I’d been holding my breath until my lungs started to ache. I finally released the air and felt tremors all over my body. Just hours ago, I’d watched my brother bleed out into the dirt and stare at the stars until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. But he was going to survive.

  Raven moved closer into me. She wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. “Everything’s going to be alright.”

  I squeezed her to me and rested
my forehead against hers. I somehow came out of the darkest moment of my life with everything I wanted. I got to keep my brother, and I grew my family by finding Raven. She gave me another reason to live, to aspire to be a good person, to be better than I was before. “Yeah, I think it will be.”

  I let Melanie go in first since she was the most unhinged. She was an emotional wreck, sobbing her eyes out before she even saw him. They were alone together for over an hour.

  I waited in the hall with Raven, anxious to see my brother but also patient because Melanie was a part of our family now. Now, I didn’t care that she was dumb and dull once I witnessed the sincerity of her feelings. She really loved my brother. I could see it. So, I could forgive her for being a lesser woman than her sister.

  Melanie eventually stepped out, her eyes puffy like she’d been crying in there too. “He wants to see you.”

  I moved to the door with Raven’s hand in mine.

  She pulled away and stepped back. “It should just be you. He’s been through a lot, and the last thing he wants to do is see my face.”

  “He’s moved on.” I grabbed her hand again and pulled her into the room with me. Even if Fender still didn’t like her, he would have to get used to her because she was the other half of me.

  He sat up in bed wearing a hospital gown with an IV in his hand, a monitor beeping next to him. As he looked at me, an emotional look subtly passed across his face. But then there was a smile. “You thought I was a goner, didn’t you?”

  I came closer to the bed instead and stood over him. “Well, you kept saying you were dying, so…”

  He chuckled. “I was just giving you shit.”

  I moved my hand to his and gave it a squeeze.

  His smile dropped.

  “I’m glad you’re okay. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do without you.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that…for now. I think Melanie might kill me. My fiancée is pissed.”

  I gave a slight smile and took a seat.

  His eyes shifted to Raven next. Instead of looking at her with hatred, his expression was subtle and impassive. “Truce?”

  She came closer to the bed. “Truce.”

  “Any woman who saved my brother’s life twice can’t be that bad.”

  “And a man who rights his wrongs and sacrifices his life for someone else…” She struggled to get it out, like there would never truly be forgiveness for what he’d done. “Can’t be that bad either.”

  He extended his hand to shake hers.

  She stared at it for a few seconds before she placed her hand in his palm and shook it.

  I didn’t expect Raven to ever love my brother, ever really forgive him for what he had done, so her tolerance was enough.

  “I’m glad you’re okay.” She pulled her hand away.

  “Really?” he challenged. “I thought nothing would make you happier than if I died.”

  “You’re the man my sister loves. You’re the man my man loves. So, no, it wouldn’t make me happy. What makes me happy is knowing that those girls have been given their lives back, that the camp will no longer be the setting for such terrible things, that even the most terrible men can change. I don’t think you’ve redeemed your soul because you can never give back the lives you’ve taken, but you turned back on the darkness and decided to step into the light…and that does count for something.”

  Thirty-Eight

  Give It All Away

  Weeks passed.

  Didn’t take much for us to get back into our old routine, going for walks in the morning, making dinner at night, sleeping together in the master bedroom upstairs. Now, without the sense of dread weighing on our hearts in anticipation of our return to the camp, it did feel different.

  Part of my life had ended, but it didn’t quite feel over.

  I still dreamed about it. I could still feel the dry wood under my fingertips from the railings down the steps. I could still hear Alix’s voice even though he was dead. I could still smell the trees, feel the breeze, see the Alps every time I closed my eyes. My time at the camp was so dark that I felt like it would never truly leave me. Horrible things that I’d seen would always be a part of me.

  Raven was happy, but there was always a hint of melancholy to her presence. It seemed like she had left the past behind her.

  I called my brother to check in on him and his progress, and he said Melanie had taken good care of him and he was now back on his feet, just without a purpose. Retirement didn’t serve him well, and unless he got a hobby soon, he would go crazy.

  I wasn’t sure what to do with my time. Being with Raven felt like enough for me. She read in bed beside me, and I did the same. The Count of Monte Cristo was epically long, so I was still reading it, while she powered through books ten times quicker.

  The two of us had dinner in the city, and after we were finished, we took a walk down the sidewalk toward the Eiffel Tower. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, a beacon of hope for all Parisians. I knew it was particularly special to Raven because she never got tired of making a visit and walking down the path with the lit trees.

  We reached the grounds and walked side by side, passing other couples in the dark, enjoying their late-night decaf coffees. The first day of fall had arrived. It was hard to believe that I had known Raven for almost a year. It had passed so quickly because of all the chaos.

  She suddenly stopped in front of one of the benches while staring at the tall structure rising into the darkness, its brilliant luminescence like star fire.

  I stopped beside her. I was so deeply in tune with her moods and body language that I knew she had something to say, that it’d been on her mind for weeks. I didn’t rush her to share because I knew she would come to me when she was ready. Now, I looked down at the side of her face and watched her eyes light up as they reflected the tower.

  She finally turned her head and looked at me. “There’s something I need you to do.”

  I stared, focused on her blue eyes, and waited for more.

  “All your wealth comes from their labor, their sacrifice. I can’t enjoy it, I can’t spend it, not when I know how you earned it.”

  My hands remained in my pockets, and I stared at her with my unblinking gaze.

  “I want you to give it to the surviving girls. I want you to give it to the families of the girls who’ve passed. I want you to pay reparations for what the camp has done to them.”

  She’d just asked me for the world. “You can’t expect me to give away all my money. Some, yes. But not all.”

  Her eyes were focused on my face, saying more in her silence than she did with words.

  “If I gave it all away, then what? I won’t be able to take care of you anymore.”

  She shook her head slightly. “I’ve never wanted you to take care of me. We take care of each other. That’s how this works.”

  “We’ll have to get jobs.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll go back to university and finish my education. I’ll get a job as a professor there.”

  “And what will I do?” All I knew was drugs.

  “You can build things. Be a contractor.”

  I sighed loudly because I didn’t want to do that. “I don’t like people.”

  She nodded slightly. “What about horses? You’re good with horses. You could be a trainer, caretaker.”

  It wasn’t the worst idea in the world. “If I give all my money away, we won’t be able to keep Rose.”

  The statement really made her emotional. “We can pay to keep her in a stable. In the meantime, we’ll work and save to buy our own land. We’ll have a house, pasture, place to raise a family. We’ll do it the right way.”

  I couldn’t believe I was entertaining this idea, to give up all my money that I’d spent a decade earning…just like that. “You worked in that camp for almost a year. A portion of the pot is yours too.”

  “Then we can use that for an apartment or something.”

  Fender and I had worked so hard
to earn back our wealth after our father pissed it all away. We were supposed to have an inheritance, have something to pass on to our kids. Now, I would have nothing…again. “You’ll leave me if I don’t do this?”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s a request, not an ultimatum. But we’ll be fine, Magnus. We don’t need money to be happy. We just need each other. Let’s leave the past in the past and move into the future. Wash your hands of this completely and start over.”

  All that money never really made me happy. I liked my fancy car and my estates, but I felt lonely. Raven came into my life, and all of a sudden, I was actually happy—during the times when I could be happy. Maybe she was right. Maybe I could give it all away…and be happy with her. “Okay.”

  She looked at me in a way she never had before, like she fell in love with me all over again, deeper this time. She moved into me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me on the mouth as her fingers dug into the back of my hair. “We’ll live well. We’ll be happy.”

  Thirty-Nine

  I Do

  The girls were upstairs getting ready.

  Fender and I sat together in the sitting room, both of us wearing tuxedoes and shiny shoes. There was a bottle of scotch on the table, and we refilled our glasses and continued to drink, the sort of thing he did well in his bachelor life.

  Fender swirled his glass before he looked at me. “You gave it all away. I’ll never understand that.”

  I’d slipped the girls’ checks underneath their doors. To the family members who’d lost their daughter, wife, or mother, I did the same. It would never bring back the person they’d lost, but maybe it would make their life a little easier. After I gave away the first check, I realized it was the right thing to do. It made me feel sick, so I didn’t even want the money anymore. “We don’t need it.”

  “Where do you live now?”

  “In her old apartment. The tenant moved out, and we moved in.” It wasn’t a fancy place, but it was close to everything so we didn’t need a car, and we had a great view of the tower. It was also the place where I grew closer to her, where I had one of the most spiritual moments in my life. Maybe one day, we could buy it.