Chapter 10
TEN
My hand is tightly on the steering wheel, the city lights passing by in a flash. My jaw is clenched tightly, and if it weren’t for Noelle’s soothing hold on my free hand, I probably would’ve sped up and ended up driving way too recklessly.
“Calm down,” Noelle’s voice reaches my ears, and I take a deep breath. “We’ll get to her in time, I promise.”
“If we lose Blair, we lose Arlo.”
“I know,” my wife says, looking out the window, her grip on my hand tightening as she continues to rub circles with her thumb. “That’s why we cannot lose him, too.”
Her words are a mere whisper, but my heart clenches.
I know that she’s referring to Aria. Thankfully, my little girl made it, but that doesn’t erase the ache that I cannot shake off.
I’m a failure as a father, and I’ll never forgive myself that Aria sought suicide as the last resort and that she didn’t feel comfortable talking to me about it.
This situation opened our eyes, and I’m grateful that it happened before it was too late.
The mental wellbeing of my daughter is my priority right now, and of course, returning Blair safely.
Knowing the shit she’s gone through at the hands of Paul Simmons and Nelson Adams, I just know that these past four months have been pure hell for her.
“Do you think she’s okay?”
I briefly glance at Noelle. “I’m not sure. Physically? I sure hope so. Mentally? I think she’ll need all the support she could possibly get once we get her back.’’
A soft sigh slips from her, and she leans back, staring aimlessly through the windshield. Neither of us speaks, because there’s nothing to be said anymore. This is, hands down, one of the worst times of our lives, and that includes the time when Luna went missing and Jane was murdered.
Because this time, we’re close to losing our children, and neither of us can seem to know how to help them.
Arlo, who thought no one had noticed, but we did, started drinking excessively.
At this point, I’m not sure how to take him off the way of alcoholism.
And Aria, whose mind is such a dark, terrible place that it scares me she’ll simply disappear tomorrow.
I’ve never felt as hopeless as I’ve been feeling the past two weeks.
“What became of the passports with Luna’s name?” I ask, trying to derail the conversation, even if only a little bit.
“Nothing.” She straightens up in her seat, her hair falling down her waist in messy Dutch braids. “Kaya helped track the man who made them. Coincidentally, he fled to Asia. I sent a few people over, but since I don’t know which country in Asia he’s in, the chances of catching him are slim.”
“You think that Luna is alive,” I state.
A beat of silence passes, and she nods. “Yes. And we’ll find her, too, and bring her home. I’ve failed to protect Jane, and Luna is all I have left of her. I need my baby back.”
“I promise, baby, we’re getting Luna back. One way or the other.”
Noelle nods at my words, bringing my knuckles to her lips. She presses a soft kiss, and electricity jolts through me. Yet again, this woman proves that with her by my side, I can do anything. She’s my whole world, the sole reason I’m the man that I am, and I can’t fail her. Not again.
My phone buzzes, interrupting the small moment of peace, the only one we’ve had in the past months. With a sigh, I pull it out of my pocket and quickly connect it to the car’s Bluetooth device.
“Yes, Arlo?”
“How far behind are you?” He asks just as I get on the highway.
“Not too far. We left about ten minutes after you. You should wait for me to catch up.”
“No time,” he responds immediately. “We’ll go first. Cove, Kaya, and Raven are riding with me. Lucas, Niko, and a handful of others are in the second car, and we have a third one, too. You’ll act as backup.”
I grit my teeth together, and Noelle squeezes my forearm, giving me a pointed look. “Alright, sweetheart. Just please, be careful, alright?”
“Yes, I promise.” The sincerity in his voice makes me relax slightly. “Kill whoever you want, but keep Simmons alive, if he’s there.”
“What about X? Has he said anything else?”
“No,” Arlo releases an exasperated sigh. “He just confirmed Blair’s location after the brief call. Most likely, he’ll dip.”
My eyes roll so far to the back of my head that I can almost see my own brain. X, as talented as he is, is a fucking menace. He’d disappear, without letting anyone know, for extended periods of time. And if he does, not even God can find him, unless he wants to be found.
“Alright,” I say, my eyes flicking to the rearview mirror.
My brows crease. It’s late, almost ten in the evening, and the highway has been empty since Arlo called.
Now, there are four cars behind us. They’re getting progressively closer, and they’re all black SUVs with tinted windows.
Noelle, following my gaze, spots them and immediately withdraws her gun, opening the window on her right.
“Yeah, your mother and I will be fashionably late.”
“Why?”
“Someone’s following us. Four cars.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. “Need someone?”
A scoff slips from me before I can stop it.
“What am I? A fucking amateur? No, I don’t need anyone.
Your mother and I are more than capable of dealing with these pests.
Now, don’t worry about us, and focus on finding Blair.
Send a message if you’re done, because from the looks of it, Noelle and I won’t be done here anytime soon. ”
“Try not to get my mother killed.’”
“Fuck off.”
Arlo ends the call, and I focus on the cars.
Noelle unbuckles her belt, loads the gun, and pushes her head through the window.
A rain of bullets ensues, and Noelle’s aim is as precise as always.
She shoots the front tire of the car, and the driver immediately loses control over the vehicle, hitting the barrier on the side of the road.
“Stop the car, Hudson.”
“What? No. Have you lost your goddamn mind?”
“Apparently, when I agreed to marry a fucking pussy.’’
A laugh slips from me, and for a moment, Noelle gets back in the car, sitting properly, and grinning at me. I shake my head, then take a deep breath. Her face gets serious, too, and she glances back again.
“We need to deal with them before they reach that house.’’
I nod. “I know. Are you ready?”
“Ready.’’
I park the car, unbuckling my belt, and preparing my guns. Noelle pulls the glove compartment open, and all of her favorite knives flood the floor of the car. She picks up a few, then snatches a few of my guns, holding onto them.
Her hand reaches for the handle, but before she can open the door, I cup her face and bring her lips to mine. Noelle kisses me back immediately, and given that we’ve lacked any sort of intimacy these past few months, the kiss feels like fire to the fuel I’ve been suppressing.
My wife has always been my kryptonite, her kisses tasting like the sweetest addiction imaginable. The source of all good, of all light in my life.
She pulls back, breathless, and softly kisses my cheek.
“I love you.’’
“I love you more, baby. Let’s get this over with.’’
Noelle nods, then exits the vehicle. I follow suit, holding the gun safely in my hands. The four cars stop, and from a distance, I can spot another two getting closer. Men leave their vehicles, all dressed in pitch-black clothes, with black masks covering their faces.
That’s quite alright. A mask has never stopped me from unraveling someone.
As always, Noelle goes headfirst into the war zone. A few words of choice leave my lips in a hushed hiss, but my feet are moving forward on their own accord, following my dear wife into the mass of bullets.
I don’t even look where I’m shooting, my eyes glued on Noelle, and trying to make sure not a single bastard manages to lay their hands on her. Because I’m not the one to forgive if anyone dares to touch what’s mine.
Noelle takes two men down, then switches from a gun to her knife.
A wide smile is on her lips, a clear tell of how excited she is to be back in the game.
She’s been sitting out many missions lately to focus on helping find Blair and, by extent, Luna.
But tonight? She’s back to the same woman I fell in love with over two decades ago.
She’s getting prettier with each year we spend together, and I love her more each day.
For a brief second, I take my eyes off her.
Two men approach me on each side. I have to give it to them; they’re fucking fast. I pull the trigger, then switch out the magazine, ready for another round. One of them — a very bold man, might I add — tries to hit me with the back of his gun.
Quickly, I duck out of the way, my elbow connecting with his stomach.
A low growl comes from him, and I can’t help but chuckle.
Before he can react, I knee him in the groin, and he doubles over in pain.
A part of me winces, knowing how fucking terrible it is to get hit in that area, but the bigger part is quite satisfied with the pain I inflicted upon him.
Once he’s down, I turn my attention to the other men, and they’re equally as eager. I don’t have the time to fistfight them, although that would’ve been the highlight of my fucking year at this point, and instead, I settle for killing them.
It’s hard navigating through so many bullets, being careful not to get shot or killed where I stand.
With a deep breath, I steel myself and start running, shooting down the men as I go.
A bullet grazes through my shirt, the stinging sensation almost causing me to falter.
It’s just a graze, but it still fucking hurts.
I shake it off, taking down the man who fired the shot. There’s no time to focus on me or my wound; we still have to end all these people here and then go help our son. My movements are quick, precise, and determined.
However, those four minutes I spent looking away from Noelle came back to ruin me almost immediately.
Noelle stops, breathing heavily, panting. She’s too far gone to notice a man firing a shot at her, and before I can register what’s happening, I scream out her name as loud as my lungs would allow.
However, I’m a second too late.
Noelle turns to look at me, her smile faltering as she stumbles backward. The white shirt starts turning red, and I immediately aim my gun toward the bastard. He falls down, limp, dead, but it’s too late.
Noelle glances down, half-confused, half-shocked. The bullet hit her chest, and I’m fucking scared. My feet carry me as fast as possible, just in time to catch her as she slumps down. I lay her on my knees, my fingers trembling as I tug on her shirt.
“They got me good, didn’t they?”
“Stop talking.” I press my palm over her chest, trying to suppress the excessive bleeding.
“If I die, promise me you won’t stop until you find Luna.”
“You will not fucking die.”
“I feel it,” she croaks out, tears swelling in her eyes. “It hit my heart, Hudson.”
“No, you’re not dying. You cannot die, Noelle.’’
She lifts her hand, and it’s a trembling mess. She brushes a strand of my hair out of my face, her feather-light touch causing my entire body to hurt. “I love you.’’
“I love you.’’
“Promise me.’’
Tears roll down my face, and I can barely see her through them. “Don’t do this to me, Noelle. You know I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger and follow you.”
“Don’t you fucking dare. We have kids who need you.”
“They need you, too.”
“Promise me.”
A choked sob comes from me, and all I can do is nod. Her tear-stained cheeks hurt me more than I’m willing to admit, and the blood from her wound coats my hand. The warm liquid causes nausea to build inside my throat, and I can’t move.
“I promise,” I whisper.
She smiles, her hand falling from my cheeks. Slowly, her eyes close, and I’m scared I’ll never see them again.
“No, Noelle, baby, please.”