Camp Crim: Walker Hills #3
CAMP CRIM
BELLA JEWEL 2022
Also by Bella Jewel
Dark Brothers
Dark Poison (Coming Soon)
Jokers' Wrath MC
Bestie
Rumblin' Knights
Knights Rising
Knights Fury
Knights Lady
Knights Burden
Walker Hills
Camp Crim (Coming Soon)
Standalone
Amore - Boxed Set
Wild Child
Table of Contents
Title Page
Also By Bella Jewel
DEDICATION | To my loyal readers, | This series is for each and every one of you. | Without you, I would be nothing. | Thank you xx
~*CAMP CRIM*~
CAMP CRIM | Copyright © 2022 Bella Jewel
~*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*~
PROLOGUE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
THE END
Dark Poison: Dark Brothers #1 | All Platforms: https://books2read.com/darkpoisonBB
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1 | A FEW MONTHS EARLIER
Also By Bella Jewel
DEDICATION
To my loyal readers,
This series is for each and every one of you.
Without you, I would be nothing.
Thank you xx
~*CAMP CRIM*~
All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
CAMP CRIM
Copyright © 2022 Bella Jewel
CAMP CRIM is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, establishments, events, or location is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
~*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*~
As always, my heartfelt thanks to every single blogger, reader and author that has supported my journey. From reading my books, to sharing them, to raving about them, to being there for me. Thank you. My career would be nothing without any of you.
A massive thanks to the team at Valentine PR for taking me on, especially to Kim and Nina for helping me with this release and this new series. I am looking forward to working with you all on this book and future books, and I’m incredibly grateful for the hard work you all do.
A massive thanks to Ben Ellis from Tall Story Designs for this gorgeous cover. You’re the easiest, most efficient person I’ve ever worked with. You make my covers absolutely gorgeous every single time. I couldn’t do it without you.
To my favorite editor Wendi from Ready, set, edit, for always coming through for me on my edits, whenever I need them. You’re amazing and I’m so thankful to you. You’re super easy to work with and so nice. I’m glad to team up with you for these things.
And of course, to my admin, MJ, for ALWAYS keeping my page running beautifully. I couldn’t do it without you, girly. I love your teasers and your passion; thank you for taking the time out of your life to help this poor girl keep everything running.
To my good friend Melissa from next door, for always reading my books. I hope you see this, and I hope it makes your day. Thank you for giving my work a chance and always being the first in to get my books when they come out. You’re awesome!!
And, last but certainly not least, to my loyal readers. To each and every one of you that picks up my books and give me a chance. To the reviews you write, good or bad. To the time you take to make me a better person. You make this real for me; never stop giving such love and passion. You make our journey so amazing.
PROLOGUE
Rain trickles down over my forehead and I blow it off with a whoosh of air from my lips. It’s not heavy enough to drench, but enough to be annoying. The dim lights of the gas station in front of us has a lump forming in my throat. I’ve spent the last five minutes trying to figure out what to say, to get this to stop.
So far, nothing is working.
“You need to stop, Davina,” my voice comes out croaky, quiet, “this is a bad idea. Someone is going to get hurt.”
My hands fumble together as I try to stop my longtime friend, Davina, from doing something crazy. Something as crazy as standing up a gas station for money. Things are hard, they’ve been hard for some time, but this plan ... it’s dangerous. It’s not the kind of plan you actually carry out. Sure, we’ve spoken about it, we have even worked out how we’re going to do it, but now that we’re here I’m not so sure.
It doesn’t feel right.
The cold gun in my hand.
The look on the young girl’s face at the counter as she shuffles through some stock items, oblivious to what’s about to happen.
Mostly, the cold stare in my friend’s eyes.
We haven’t eaten for two days, not for a lack of trying, but we’re struggling, and we’re broke, and by the time we pay rent and Davina pays for her habit, there is nothing left. Nobody will hire her, or me for that matter. We’re from the rougher side of town, a place nobody wants their staff coming from. I have no experience; my life isn’t that grand. I haven’t had the chance to work and create a name for myself.
No. The path laid out for me is much, much more dangerous than that.
We’re the kids from broken homes, tossed around in a system that doesn’t care about you. They’ll do anything to just move you on and forget your name. You’re nothing more than a number and they’ll be sure to make you know it. Davina and I are all each other has ever had, but right now, the choice she’s making...it’s killing me.
“Nobody is going to get hurt,” Davina says, pressing the gun closer to her chest so any passersby won’t see it. “Just stick to the plan. We’ll be in and out.”
It’s late, the flickering streetlight is the only sound that can be heard. There are no cars, no people, nothing around at this time of the night. It’s just a cold, empty, deserted place.
That’s why we picked it.
It’s in the rundown neighborhood, where nobody cares about the people living and working here.
We have it on good authority the security system is currently down. You know things when you live the way we do. You can find out practically anything you want, and you are sure to always be one step ahead of the law.
We have much working in our favor tonight, yet everything about it feels wrong.
“She’s in there all alone, something will go wrong,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t want to do this.”
“It’s too late for that,” Davina growls, glaring at me before turning and striding right toward the front door.
I have only seconds to stop her and my attempts are futile. She’s going in there, and my gut tells me something is going to go wrong. I have to stop her because that girl in there doesn’t deserve to be scared in the way she’s about to.
She doesn’t deserve to be afraid to come to work. This was a bad idea, and I’m not going to let it continue. I should have never even let her tell me about it to begin with.
What was I thinking?
This was never going to work.
Not ever.
Davina walks in the front door, and I’m on her tail, reaching out to stop her, to pull her arm down, to stop her flashing her gun around.
“No,” I say, just as she holds the weapon up. “Davina, stop.”
The girl looks up from the counter and her eyes widen. It’s too late to prevent the fear. I can see it written all over her face. Labored breaths leave my body as I freeze, watching as Davina screams at the girl to open the register. I can’t move, my legs are numb, and it’s only then that I realize I have a gun in my hand.
Snap out of it, Willa.
I shove the gun into my coat and step toward Davina. “Stop,” I plead, my eyes scanning her cold face as she doesn’t take her eyes off the girl who is frantically fumbling to get the money out. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“You’re either with me, or against me, Willa. If you’re against me, get the fuck out and find your own food.”
My hand trembles as I place it on my friend's arm. “Just lower the gun, there is another way.”
“There is no other way.”
“Please,” the girl at the counter says, pulling out as much cash as she can, “just take anything you want, but don’t hurt me.”
“Nobody is going to hurt you,” I say carefully to her. “It’s okay.”
Davina turns to me, her eyes darting through me like tiny razors. “You need to remember your place, Willa.”
“She’s scared,” I whisper-hiss. “Remember yours. You’re not a monster, Davina.”
Sirens blare in the distance and Davina spins toward the girl. “You called the police?”
She must have an emergency button.
We have to leave.
Now.
“Davina, we need to go. Right now.”
“Not until she hands over that money.” Davina waves the gun at the girl. “Hurry up.”
Pale-faced, the girl starts shoving the money into a shopping bag.
“Move it,” Davina bellows, and when she jerks the gun, it goes off.
It’s almost like a nightmare, really.
The girl, who is standing, is suddenly on the ground. Davina goes pale and drops the gun, stammering something I can’t understand. My entire body feels like it won’t move as I stare at the scene before me, horrified. I rush around the counter toward the girl on the ground, bleeding from her stomach, her eyes wide with fear.
“Davina,” I scream. “Help!”
The front door slams.
The shop goes silent.
Davina left me.
She left me.
I look down at the girl, who is staring at me with fear in her eyes. “It’s okay,” I say to her, pressing my hands onto her stomach to stop the bleeding. “Help is coming.”
Help is coming.
It is.
God, Davina, what have you done to me?
1
“My name is Ember.”
I stare at the gorgeous, young woman I’m sharing a cabin with. She looks like she’s barely old enough to drink, let alone have been locked up in prison, but here we are. I know all these women are ex-criminals, so whatever she did, it must have been good enough to get her thrown behind bars.
It’s impossible to believe she could do anything wrong just by looking at her.
Tiny, gorgeous, with a blond bob and the prettiest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. No way in the world she is a dangerous to society.
“That’s wonderful,” I mutter, throwing my suitcase onto the bed.
“You’re Willa,” she goes on, unfazed by my snarky mood.
“Yep,” I mumble, turning toward her. “Look, no offense or anything, but I don’t want to be here, and I have no interest in making friends. I want to get this over and done with so I can go home and start my life again.”
She studies me, her eyes scanning over my face. She might be tiny and innocent looking, but in the depths of her gaze, you can see the intelligence and ability to read people. It’s rather off-putting.
I look away.
“Why were you in prison?” she asks, not at all bothered by how uncomfortable she’s making me.
“I shouldn’t have been,” is my answer.
“I got caught with drugs, a lot of them. It was a misunderstanding; I was stupid and believed my boyfriend was a good person and trusted him. He set me up so he didn’t have to go down. I did six months, nothing too major, but it’s not something I’d like to do again.”
Six months is not a bad stint for possession, someone must have got her out. I mean, anyone looking at her can tell she’s not a damned drug dealer, but still, sometimes it’s the innocent ones who are the most dangerous.
“Super,” I say, walking out of the room in an attempt to end the conversation.
Fallon, our other roommate, is standing in the kitchen, organizing things in a way that tells me right off the bat that she has OCD. She has already emptied out the cupboards and rearranged them. The cabin, which was already sparkling clean, is now even more so. She doesn’t say a lot, but she’s friendly enough.
As I said, though, I’m not here to make friends.
I walk outside and see Waylen standing on the patio, cigarette in hand. He’s gorgeous and he damn well knows it. The man is built like a linebacker and has the deepest brown eyes I’ve ever seen on a man. Matched with his cropped brown hair, olive skin and muscled build, he’s someone who turns quite a few heads.
Mine included.
But that’s a story for another day.
“Got a spare one of those?”
He stares at me, and then pulls a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and thrusts it toward me. I take one out, putting it into my mouth and leaning forward as he flicks the lighter, eyes not leaving mine as he brings it to the cigarette. I inhale as I step back, breathing in the smoke and closing my eyes. I don’t smoke often, but damn, the times when I do it brings me such comfort.
“Where’s my bodyguard?” I say, after exhaling the smoke.
Waylen nods his head toward the main house, which is a good walk away. “He’s comin’.”
“Why did you have to go ahead and open your mouth? I don’t need supervision, Waylen. That’s what you and Aaron are for, isn’t it?”
“We’ve got five girls to watch at all times, if I’m only watchin’ you then they’re goin’ to be unsupervised. Can’t have that.”
“So you set me up with surfer cowboy? You think that’s enough to stop me doing what I want?”
Waylen eyes me, his expression dark. “I don’t want to have to take you right back to where I just got you out of, Willa. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Technically,” I point out, “I’ve done my time, surely there are rules against holding us here?”
“It’s part of your release terms. Do it or go back and finish up the rest of the time in prison. Choice is yours.”
I mutter under my breath and take another inhale of the smoke.
Waylen studies me, his eyes scanning over my body.
Did I mention we fucked?
Right, we did.
On the way here we had two stops. One of those stops I got myself very, very drunk and Waylen helped me in my motel room. One thing led to another, and the man fucked me in way I haven’t been fucked before. It was incredible and, I’m fairly certain, illegal. He made it very clear it wouldn’t happen again.
We’ll see about that.
“Why are you staring at me like you want to eat me alive, Waylen?”
He slowly turns and looks over the patio, as if my words simply don’t affect him at all. “We’re not goin’ there, Willa.”
“Where? To the other night where your mouth was between my legs for so long I can still feel the tingle?”
He stiffe
ns.
I grin.
“Enough.”
“Nobody forced you there, big guy. You dove in all on your own.”
He glares at me. “I said enough, Willa. It was a mistake.”
“Tell that to my vagina.”
I lean against the wall of the cabin and stare out.
Neither of us says anything more, but I wouldn’t mind spending another evening with Waylen, mostly because it has been a while since I’ve been with a man, and I enjoyed every second of it. On the plus side, I’m sure if he doesn’t want to come to the party, one of these gorgeous cowboys will.
Not the one currently striding toward us with a scowl on his face, though.
No, that one doesn’t like me, and the feeling is mutual.
My babysitter stops when he reaches the patio, glaring up at me with those gorgeous eyes. He looks like he belongs in the ocean and not on a ranch, but who am I to judge? I grin down at him. “Fancy seeing you here, surfer boy.”
His jaw tics in a way that makes him look even more spectacular. “Get your shoes on, you’re comin’ with me.”
I stare at him with narrowed eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s not negotiable.”
“I thought this retreat was a place of relaxation and personal growth.”
His glare doesn’t waver.
I cross my arms.
“I’ve got the fuckin’ wonderful task of lookin’ after you, and I’m not goin’ to make that easy. So, my suggestion is that you get off that fuckin’ deck and start walkin’ with me or I’ll make it a whole lot harder on you when we get to where we need to go.”
I look to Waylen. “You’re not going to let him treat me like this, surely?”
Waylen shrugs. “Don’t mouth off and it’ll go well.”
I gape at him and then turn and stare back at Lake. “Listen, River, I’m not into horses and cowboys and running around acting like those things excite me.”
“It’s Lake,” he grinds out.