39. Hades
Hades
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
In an instant, I have Kennedy in my arms, and the next second, her warmth is ripped away from me. As if in a nightmare, while the car spins out of control, I see her being thrown against the door. She's only spared further injury because of the seatbelt.
"Kennedy."
"Hades." She seems on the verge of fainting, yet she reaches out her hand towards mine.
"What the hell is going on?" I ask the driver, holding her in my arms and lowering the window that separates us.
"Someone's trying to run us off the road." His tone is alarmed.
The car is still out of control, swerving violently, but the man maneuvers it skillfully, keeping us on the road.
Understanding dawns on me; someone wants us dead, and I suspect it's that damn family.
"Hades?"
"Shhh . . . It's going to be okay, love." I glance back, catching sight of one of the cars that guards us blocking the road, positioned to intercept whoever attacked in an effort to protect us.
As the driver accelerates even more, widening the gap between our car and the pursuers, shots ring out behind us.
Whoever is doing this waited for us to be in a remote location outside the city, which tells me they've been following us for some time.
"I'm scared. I want to go back to my son!”
King, Jesus Christ!
I grab my phone and call the only person capable of protecting our boy right now. "Beau? We were just attacked leaving a restaurant. They're still after us. I need you to protect my son. I'm entrusting my boy to you."
"Where are you?"
"I don't know. Not far from the restaurant. Get my son, Beau. Protect him and Ernest too."
"Don't worry about it. Stay alive. I'll handle everything and locate you too. Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Tell the driver to come to my house. No one will dare come near here."
I hang up and send a message to Ernest, asking him not to let anyone in except the men who identify themselves as Beau's security. I warn him that they're coming to get them. I don't think the bodyguards watching over them will be enough to escort them to Beau’s house. Until Beau's men arrive, they'll be safe inside.
I look at Kennedy, who seems on the verge of a panic attack.
"Ernest?"
"I just told him, and a friend of mine will send someone to pick them up and take them to his house."
"He's trying to kill me," she says, knowing as well as I do that the attack can only come from Ryan's side, and I know what caused it: my public support for Kennedy.
"He'll have to kill me first, and maybe even that won’t work, because I'll come back from hell to destroy him."
"And King? This friend you talked to, is he trustworthy?"
"Yes, he is."
"I think the bodyguards managed to intercept them, Dr. Kostanidis,” says the driver. “They're not after us anymore."
"Keep up the pace. I won't take any risks with her safety."
"My God, this feels like a nightmare!"
"It's okay, love. I'll take you to a place where you'll be safe."
After a few minutes, I see one of the cars with the bodyguards following us close behind, and soon, another overtakes us. Like a defensive line, they act together. The third one is probably still suppressing our attackers.
"We made it, Dr. Kostanidis. We're out of danger now," the driver says. He was recommended to me by Beau, as well as the bodyguards, and I know he must have training not only in driving but in weapons as well, in case they need to be used.
"We need to call the police," Kennedy says, squirming against my body.
"Don't worry about that."
"How can I not? Someone tried to kill us, and?—”
"You have my word that there's nothing more to fear, Kennedy." I know the police wouldn't be of any use. The king of the city already knows what happened and will take the lead.
"How can I not worry? If they killed us, King would be left without both parents!"
"That's not going to happen. We'll raise our son together."
She's so shaken that she doesn't even protest.
Her head is resting on my chest, and she squeezes my hand. I feel hers is cold, but gradually, her breathing calms.
I pick up my phone again and call Ernest.
"Hades, we're safe," he says as soon as he answers, and I'm surprised at how quickly Beau got them out of there. "I'm heading to your friend's house."
"And King?"
"He wasn't too happy about being woken up from his afternoon nap, but he's watching cartoons while the driver takes us."
"You can trust him."
"I know. The man said he was sent by Beau Carmouche-LeBlanc. I wasn't born in New Orleans, but I've lived here for almost a decade and I know that not a leaf falls to the ground in this state without his authorization."
I'm sure he has no idea that we were attacked, or he wouldn't sound so calm.
"I want to talk to him," Kennedy requests.
"One moment, Ernest. Kennedy wants to talk to you."
Without any ceremony, I put the phone on speaker because I want to hear the conversation.
"Ernest, promise me King is okay."
"What's wrong, love? Has something happened that I don't know about yet?"
I shake my head, and she understands.
"No, we're fine. I just wanted to make sure you're safe, too."
"We are, but don't think I believe what you're telling me. I can tell by your tone when you're nervous."
"I'll feel better when I can hug both of you," she says with a trembling voice. "Can you pass the phone to King?"
We hear Ernest say, "Here, my boy, your mommy wants to talk to you."
"Mommmyyyyyyy . . ."
"Yes, it's me, my baby!" Contrary to what I expected, that he wouldn't understand anything when Ernest handed him the phone, he starts making excited noises and "talks" to Kennedy.
Out of every ten words, we understand two, and about five minutes later, she hangs up and looks at me, tears in her eyes. "Promise me that if something happens to me, you'll take care of him and won't let him forget me."
"I promise, but nothing's going to happen to you. I won't let it. You're mine."
"I'm not. I hate you."
I hold her tightly, locking her in a hug. "Keep hating me, Kennedy. I don't care, as long as you never leave me."
Half an hour later, we arrive at Beau's property, a veritable fortress on the outskirts of New Orleans.
I see Amber, his wife, walking towards us with King in her arms and Ernest beside her. Kennedy lets go of me and runs to them while Beau approaches.
"I'm sorry for what happened," he says.
"It wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was. This is my city. It's a pity the bodyguards killed the attackers. I would have enjoyed interrogating them."
"So would I."
His face is serious. "You're not like your brothers."
"What does that mean?"
"I've been observing you all for some time. All of you are vengeful, but you're one step further, Hades. You don't want justice—you want Ryan's death."
"Legal justice will only be to satisfy my wife, who needs closure, and so that one day, when my son reads about what happened, he knows that no matter how long it takes, no one rises against a Kostanidis and gets away with it. But I want my time with Ryan. As soon as I'm sure Kennedy and King are safe in New York—because I intend to leave Louisiana with both of them tomorrow and convince her to marry me—I'm going after him. When I get hold of him, he'll beg me to hand him over to the law."
I approach where Amber and Ernest are, seeing King in his mother's arms. After quickly greeting the first two, I take King and kiss and hug him.
"Dude."
"Daddy," I correct.
He smiles. "Duude."
"Jesus, at two years old, he's already showing Kostanidis stubbornness," I say, kissing his head.
"Daddy Dude."
"That's better, son." I press him against my chest and inhale his scent, knowing that only he and his mother can calm me.
I put an arm around Kennedy's shoulder, and I don't know if it's to avoid making a scene in front of strangers or because she's still too shaken to argue, but she doesn't push me away.
For a few seconds, I hold them like that.
"I want to take you to New York," I tell her. "I want both of you with me in my house. It’s the only way I can be sure you'll be safe."