8. Fly Away Dead Man
S he opens her mouth, but I quickly cover her scream.
“Shh, shh, you’ll be safe soon. Just don’t fight me.”
Naturally, she doesn’t listen, her clear lake eyes blazing as she sinks her teeth into my scarred palm.
“Fuck!” I snatch it back.
“Orion Fury ?!” she shouts, adrenaline overpowering the drug in her system. “You asshole !”
The door behind me rattles with every staccato bang.
“I think you mean hubby,” I chuckle, trying to play off the fact I need to grab her sweet little ass and get out of here before her father breaks that door down.
In true Luna Bordeaux fashion, “compliant” isn’t in her blood. She’s the Phantom of the French Quarter’s daughter, a fighter through and through. Her limber body lands a few painful strikes against my ribs, slowing me down.
She’s been mine since the night our fathers made that bet before we were born, but this fury in her right now—my fucking namesake—is the hottest confirmation I could ask for.
One particularly sharp knee lands above my dick, making me double over around her right as the door breaks open. Sol fills the frame, his finger stabbing the air at me. His owl mask hangs crooked, and even the scarred half of his face twists with rage.
“You’re a dead man, Fury!”
In a burst, Sol lunges toward us. Goddamn, even thirty years my senior, he’s still fast.
I snatch up my crossbow, spin, and fire in a smooth motion. The bow clacks as the cable’s tension releases the dart that sinks deep into his thigh. He’d already crossed half the room, but the dart stops him in his tracks.
“Sorry, daddy-in-law. Not today,” I tsk, slinging the crossbow over my head and onto my back. “I’ve got a wedding to plan.”
He stumbles backward into the door frame, wide-eyed as he tries to steady himself. Luna’s tired, pained cry falls from her lips.
“What the fuck?” Nox growls, his voice somehow lower than his dad’s. “Did he shoot you?!”
“Sol!” his wife, Scarlett, yells, nearly making me double take between her and her daughter.
But Luna’s at my side, her kicks weakening.
“Hold onto me best you can.” I scoop her up bridal style, cursing myself for tying the restraints behind her back. It kept her from pulling off my mask or hitting me, but now she’s helpless.
“What?” she asks faintly, her blown pupils now hidden behind long lashes. But she curls into me anyway.
I shift her higher in my arms, getting a better hold of her, accidentally shaking loose a white feather from her bodice. Her breath kisses my neck, making me shiver even though her feverish cheek burns my skin.
The way she’s huddled into me, her intoxicating Carolina jasmine and honey scent flooding my senses, dusts up everything I’ve had to bury so that I could stay in the shadows and keep her safe. And now, after years of desperately needing her, giving in only once… I’m finally holding my fiancée.
But this reaction isn’t because she wants me back. It’s because she’s been drugged.
Fear that I haven’t felt in a long time exploded in me the second I saw the spark leave her eyes, my Luna drifting away.
I’m furious that those Wilde bastards drugged her, and even more furious I didn’t catch it sooner.
But she’d said she’d felt fine, had acted normal outside the dressing room, and I’d asked about the drink—just the wrong one.
The fact that the Wildes wanted her aroused… compliant ? My stomach churns. If I could go back, they’d all be in the ground. I’ve already started a war over Luna’s safety. I’ll raze the battlefield to keep her that way.
“I’m gonna kill ’em,” I vow, grabbing the bouquet and placing it on her lap.
“My dad?” she whimpers.
“Shh, shh, no, baby, everyone’s okay. Just sleep, alright? I’ve got you.”
I look back at Sol struggling to stand, unintentionally blocking the door and keeping anyone from coming in. Nox catches him, and Scarlett cries out.
“Please! Someone get my Luna!”
“I will… kill you, Fury!” Sol shouts past the fast-acting tranquilizer dart.
I open up the secret door behind the mirror and pause.
“I’ve been here, Sol. The whole time.”
His face contorts, and the words land like I hoped they would, freezing everyone.
“My brothers arrived today, but I’ve been here for years, protecting her.” I shake my head. “And you never knew.”
I’d hoped Sol had a better handle on her safety. But I was her real shadow. And the moment I looked away to set things in motion, she was fucking drugged.
My face hardens, showing the full extent of my fury.
“Your daughter’s safer with me. The Wildes know about the pact. They’re here , and they won’t stop until the Troisgarde daughters are theirs. Or dead. So I’m stealing my wife. No one will protect her better than me.”
I shut the mirror door behind me, silencing his enraged roar.
Inside the dark tunnel, I squint as I walk us through the narrow corridor until we exit into the alley behind Masque. I kick an empty dumpster with my foot, rolling it in front of the door, nearly losing my balance.
Soon, Luna will be a sack of potatoes in my arms. I need to reach the car before that happens and before Sol’s men come after us.
But in my rush, I nearly trip over the body on the ground.
Wait, what?
“I thought you’d take care of this by now, Hatch,” I mutter.
Then it hits me.
Fuck.
Where are my brothers? Are they okay?
Can’t think about that right now.
I curl Luna closer, hoping to shield her eyes from the scene, but it’s too late.
She yelps, “Did you kill him?”
I hold her tighter. “Don’t scream. You’ve done so good for me.”
“No, no, no, he’s dead. Why is he d-dead?”
“Believe me, if I could go back, I’d kill them all. Slowly .”
If she responds, I don’t hear it. The world around us explodes with fireworks, flashing above and thundering against brick, plaster, and concrete.
They rocket up from the heart of Bourbon Street—just as we planned—crackling and booming overhead, spooking police horses and drawing beat cops past me toward the chaos.
I turn into the wall, so it looks like Luna and I are in a lover’s embrace rather than a kidnapper carrying his victim. When the coast is clear, I leave the shadows, sidestepping a pile of manure left by one of the horses.
I smirk, then I take the pettiest second to fish Ozias’s engagement ring from my pocket and drop it onto the pile.
“Told you it was a shit proposal.”
Then I cut through a few alleys, a side street, and a courtyard garden before finally reaching my destination.
The Nyx Headhunter SUV chirps as I approach, doors unlocking and engine rumbling to life thanks to the proximity start Hatch helped me set up.
Balancing Luna against my chest, I open the back door and lay her on the pillow I packed for our long drive home.
I’d take off her restraints or tie her wrists in front of her if I could.
But I have a feeling she’s gonna want to kick my ass the second those pretty eyes open, and I can’t risk her blind rage careening us off a mountain.
She whines softly as I reach for the seatbelt.
“Shh, it’s okay. Just sleep.”
“My… dad?”
“He’s safe. I promise. Your dad got your dose, and he’s a big dude. He’ll be up and furious in no time.”
“ My dose?”
“Uh… okay, yeah, fair question. I’ll explain later.”
With Sol down, I might have a couple of hours before he can come after us. My goal is for my bride to be safe in my bed on Fury land before her father can catch up.
After buckling Luna in, I tuck the blanket tight around her.
“By the time you wake up, we’ll be home.”
“But… I am… home,” she murmurs sleepily.
I shake my head, brushing her hair back before stealing a forehead kiss in a second I can’t afford.
“I’m your home now, baby.”
I shut the door, lay my crossbow in the front passenger seat, and slide behind the wheel. Adrenaline and satisfaction race in my chest as I look in the rearview mirror and see my future, right where she belongs, tucked into an adorable, sleepy ball.
My reckless, hellion of a wife will hate me in the morning, but she’s finally fucking mine. That’s all I need for now, at least until I can convince her to love me back.