Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Capri
Sebastian shoved me to the ground without any warning. Despite how fast the scene unfolded before me, the events processed inside my head in slow motion. The SUV sped down the street, but in an instant, it stopped, almost as if the driver suspected we’d be there.
As Zeus raised his gun, someone lowered the window of the car in front of us. My body went numb when I realized what we were in the middle of. Atticus rushed toward Sebastian, knocking him to the ground.
“Stay down.” Atticus’ voice was lower than I would have anticipated in such a chaotic moment.
Sebastian wrapped himself around me, cradling me against him and holding me close.
I breathed in the scent of him, trying not to freak out.
But how could I not when we were showered in bullets?
Just when I thought the attack would never end, a quietness blanketed the street before the vehicle of doom drove off.
I violently shook against Sebastian’s chest, waiting for his instructions. He let go of me and quickly searched me for injuries.
“Were you hit?” He swept his hands along my body, keeping me calm and focused. “Are you okay?”
We were okay. Neither of us had been hurt.
“I…” The bloodstain on the side of his shoulder paralyzed me, halting that temporary tranquility. “No! You’re bleeding.”
“No,” he said. “I wasn’t shot.”
He dropped his gaze to his shirt, taking in the stain before letting me go and turning toward Atticus who hadn’t moved since the shooting stopped.
“Atticus!” Sebastian touched Atticus’ leg as Zeus hurried over. “Hey.”
“Was he hit?” Zeus dropped down next to them.
“I’m fine.” Atticus winced.
“You’re not fine.” I crawled over Sebastian to get to Atticus. “You’re bleeding.”
He touched his ribs. “Ouch.”
“Let’s get some pressure on that.” Sebastian pressed his hand against Atticus’ side. “We need to get off this street.”
“Do you want me to call an ambulance?” I asked.
All three of them yelled ‘no’ in unison. Why wouldn’t I call for help? Wasn’t that the sensible thing to do?
“You’re going to let him bleed out on the street?” I ran my hand through my hair. “He needs a hospital.”
“It’s not that bad,” Atticus said. “I’m…” He squeezed his eyes shut as sweat trickled down his face. “I’m dizzy.”
“Let’s get him to the car,” Zeus said. “We need to get to a discreet location and figure this out.”
Atticus didn’t protest when Sebastian rolled him onto his side.
“Oh,” I whispered when I saw the blood seeping through the back of his shirt.
Sebastian shook his head at me, silently warning me to stay quiet as he took inventory of the injuries. “We need to stay calm.”
“I’ll bring the car to you.” Zeus fished for the keys in his pocket. “We have to decide if we’re going to the hospital.”
“No,” Atticus’ weak voice murmured into the still, dark night. “We have to get off this street before they come back. They’re going to realize they didn’t hit the target.”
“You’re the target?” I whispered to Sebastian.
Despite the humidity in the air, a chill swept over me when I realized someone had just tried to kill him.
“I need to get help,” Sebastian said as he raised Atticus’ shirt to expose the source of the bleeding. “If I take him to the hospital, the police will be contacted and we’ll have to answer a lot of questions. The cops will waste time. They can’t help us with this.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
“It looks like he was grazed, but there’s too much blood for me to be sure.”
“My house is around the corner,” I said. “Let’s take him there, and my dad can help us.”
When I reached into my pocket to get my phone, Sebastian touched my arm. “You can’t call your father.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know who sent the shooter.”
“You think my dad did this?” He wouldn’t. Would he? I couldn’t be sure. I had learned an awful lot these past few days about the man who raised me. None of it was good.
Zeus pulled the car up to the curb, got out, and hustled over to us. In all the chaos, I hadn’t realized he had gone to get the car.
“What did you decide?” he asked.
“We’re taking him to my house,” I said. “My dad will know what to do.”
“Leo?” Zeus glanced at Sebastian. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Neither did I.” Sebastian motioned over Atticus. “He needs a doctor. Our options are limited.”
“Do you think my father would try to kill you?” I asked.
“Absolutely.” When he answered with such certainty, it hurt my heart. “But I don’t believe he would have had it done with you standing right next to me.”
“Then it’s settled,” I said. “You two get Atticus to the car, and I’ll call my father and tell him we’re coming.”
“I’m not sure I like this bossy side.” Sebastian stood as Zeus helped a barely conscious Atticus into a seated position.
“Would you rather your friend bleed to death?” I held up my phone as I ran over to the car and opened the door.
“She has a point.” Zeus hooked his arms under Atticus’ arms. “Help me get him into the car. You two can fight over who is in charge later.”
In the short time it took to get to my house, Atticus had lost consciousness. Sebastian stayed strong, talking to his friend the whole time, telling him everything was going to be okay. I didn’t know if Sebastian thought that was true, but I believed him. I hoped Atticus did too.
My father greeted us at the car and helped get Atticus into the house and up to the guest bedroom where our family friend, and doctor, waited. I wanted to follow, but my mother attacked me with a long and much needed hug as soon as I walked in the door.
“Capri.” She held me tight. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” I let go of her. “Sebastian made sure of that.”
“Isn’t he the reason you were in the crossfire in the first place?”
“Mom!”
“I’m sorry.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “When your father said you had been shot at, I thought I would vomit. Any sane mother wouldn’t want this life for you, but I do know what it’s like.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “You were never shot at.”
“Your father’s business was much more violent before you were born.” She smoothed out my hair. “Even after you were born, things were unsettled. It took a few years for him to get everything under control, but there were times when people came after us.”
“Did things settle down once Sebastian was framed?”
“Capri, I…”
“Did you know that Dad killed Father Santiago?” The thought of both of my parents covering up my father’s guilt, and then treating Sebastian the way they did, made my stomach turn.
“Not until he came home and confessed tonight.”
“Did he tell you what happened in Sebastian’s hotel room? How Maria lied for him to get me to leave Sebastian?”
“I’m not happy with Maria either, but she did think she was helping your father.”
“Helping him get me away from Sebastian.” I let go of her hand. “She isn’t here, is she?” Sebastian didn’t need any more stress tonight.
“No. She’s processing what happened,” my mother said. “She left me a message and told me she was flying to the Cayman Islands for a few weeks to clear her head.”
“She went even after knowing what Dad did to her brother?”
“Like I said, she’s processing. I’m not sure she believes it was your father. She’s thought for so long that Hades killed him. Getting away will be good for her. We’ll figure things out later.”
“They could have killed one another.” I paced the foyer, stopping in front of the staircase. “Atticus was shot because of that feud.”
“Your father promised me he had nothing to do with that,” she said. “I believe him.”
“Dad might not have ordered that hit.” I grabbed the banister. “But all the events that have happened in the past have led up to this. Sebastian was out of all of it until I brought him back here.”
“Oh, sweetie, no one can make Hades do anything he doesn’t want to.” She rested her hand on my shoulder. “He had reasons for coming back.”
“He came back to protect me from the Lazaro family. Did you know about that? How Dad wants me to marry Christopher?”
“I was never on board with that,” she said. “I thought if you got to know Christopher, you might like him, but then I saw the way you looked at Sebastian and I knew Christopher didn’t stand a chance. Your father’s plan was never going to work.”
“Even if I hadn’t found Sebastian, that plan was never going to work.” I turned and faced her. “I’m tired of being manipulated. I don’t want to live in a world where I can’t make my own choices or be who I want to be.”
“I want to support you.” She spoke the words but there was so much doubt in her expression. “Sebastian is the first man you’ve ever been with. He can be persuasive and knows what to say. You’re infatuated with him. He’s your hero right now.”
He’s always going to be my hero.
“I don’t want you to get hurt.” She hugged me. “Or worse.”
As my father came down the steps, my mother let go of me, and we both faced him when he reached the bottom.
“Atticus?” I asked. “Is he…um, how is he?”
“He’s lost some blood, but we’re going to take care of that.” He patted my cheek as if I were six. “The bullet grazed him. He’s in pain, but Doc Serrili gave him something for that. Atticus will rest now.”
“He’ll be fine.” My mom put her arm around me. “You should be proud of yourself that you thought to bring him here.”
I nodded at my dad. “Despite everything, I knew you would help.”
“You can always come to me,” he said. “But now I need to call in a favor at the blood bank.”
“You have a contact at the blood bank?” I asked.
“Your father has contacts everywhere.” Sebastian came down the steps. “He always has.”
“I’ll make coffee.” My mom motioned down the hall to the kitchen. “It’s probably going to be a long night.”
Sebastian smiled at her before she made herself scarce. This situation had to be awkward for all of them. I wanted to crawl under my bed and wait out the storm like I used to do when I was a kid.
“Leo,” Sebastian said. “Thank you.”
“Thank my daughter.” My dad headed down the hall to his study, leaving the two of us alone.
“He might not ever come around when it comes to us,” I said. “But he came through tonight.”