Chapter 18
Eighteen
M y body springs into action at the sharp sound of gunshots piercing through the air. Even with my lips still pressed against Evaline’s, I instinctively tackle her to the ground, using my own frame to shield her from harm. The chaotic scene unfolds around us as more shots ring out and screams erupt from the crowd. This was not supposed to be a bloody affair, but somehow, it has turned into one.
As my wife gasps in shock, I give her a quick order. “Follow Saito,” I tell her firmly, trying to keep the fear and worry out of my voice. My grip on her tightens as she trembles in my arms, tears streaming down her face. If this is some elaborate ploy on her part to escape me, she wouldn’t be showing such genuine terror.
“Evaline,” I say again, trying to bring her back to reality. Her wide eyes are filled with fear and panic, and I can feel her struggling to control her breathing. I know she is slipping into a full-blown panic attack, but I can’t let that happen now. Our lives are in danger, and we need to focus on getting out of here alive. She will have time to fall apart later, when I can hold her close and keep her together.
“Follow Saito to the emergency exit,” I repeat firmly, hoping she will snap out of it soon. This time, she nods and repeats my words like a mantra.
“Saito…emergency exit…”
“Good girl.” I praise her softly before rolling off her and standing up quickly. Gun still tightly gripped in my hand, I use my body as a shield once more as Evaline gets to her feet and follows Saito to the back hallway where he stands, waiting for us.
Hiro slams the door shut behind us, locking our guests inside the banquet hall. It seems that none of them have been harmed, but they are all understandably shaken, and some are even brandishing their own guns in a show of self-defense.
The gunfire only lasted for a few seconds, but the aftermath is chaotic. Wataru’s voice booms through the hall, declaring an all clear with a sense of urgency in his tone. People begin to shout and ask questions, but I have no answers for them.
As I survey the room, my eyes fall upon a lifeless body slumped against the wall. It is not one of our guests, but rather one of the caterers. A Smith & Wesson lies next to him, its slide cocked and empty of bullets. This bastard should be grateful that he is dead, because if I find out who else is responsible for turning this joyous occasion into a bloodbath, they will beg for death when I get my hands on them.
But before I can even start to piece together what has happened, Gerard’s booming voice cuts through the chaos. “Where is my daughter?” he bellows, his face twisted in anguish. But before I can even think about answering him, a blood-curdling scream echoes down the hallway where I sent my wife.
“Fucking hell,” I curse under my breath as I take off running toward the emergency exit. Hiro and Wataru follow closely behind me, but Gerard stays put in the banquet hall. Evaline’s friend Elizabeth is kneeling on the ground next to Saito, trying to staunch the flow of blood from his abdomen with her hand.
I quickly motion for her to stay quiet as I approach her and kneel beside her. She nods, fear evident in her wide eyes as she points toward the alleyway outside that leads into the lively streets of the French Quarter. My finger tightens on the trigger of my gun as I make my way cautiously down the corridor.
My vision is tinted red with rage and worry as I catch sight of a man restraining Evaline from behind, a gun pointed at her head. Evaline’s eyes are wide with fear, but she is struggling against him, attempting to fight him off.
That’s my girl.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” the man snarls at her, his lips curled in a menacing sneer. His eyes are hard and cold, but when they land on me, I see terror seep into them—twice that of my wife’s. I tense as he grinds the muzzle of his gun against her head, causing her to let out a small cry of pain.
“Drop your gun,” I command through gritted teeth. “Or I’ll put a bullet in your skull.” The man, who still appears terrified, holds tight to Evaline and presses the gun harder against her head.
“Do it, and she’ll have a matching hole,” he hisses. My wife whimpers, tears streaming down her face. My blood boils with rage at the sight of her pain and fear, but I force myself to remain calm. She needs me now more than ever, and I won’t let her believe for even a second that she is going to die here today.
My gaze meets Evaline’s tear-stained face. One side is red and puffy, a clear handprint standing out against her flawless skin. My blood boils at the sight of her injuries, my anger only growing stronger. How dare someone harm what’s mine? No matter our family’s history or lack of love between us, Evaline is still my responsibility to protect and guard with all my might.
“You’re surrounded,” I snarl at the man. “You aren’t getting out of here alive, so let my wife go.” He hesitates for a moment before responding, his throat bobbing anxiously.
“If I don’t deliver her, I’ll die,” he says hoarsely. “I’m a walking corpse either way.”
As much as I want to take the shot and end this stand-off once and for all, I can’t risk harming Evaline in the process. But just when it seems like there is no way out, my wife does something completely unexpected. One of her hands, which has been clawing at the arm across her throat, sneaks underneath the hand holding the gun and, quicker than any of us can react, she manages to clear enough space between the gun and her head for me to take my shot.
Without hesitation, I pull the trigger and shoot the fucker in the head. His body jerks back, his brain matter splattering onto Evaline’s face and dress. The man falls back, and his body collapses unceremoniously to the floor, lifeless.
I breathe a sigh of relief and rush to Evaline’s side, quickly checking her for injuries. Despite the blood and gore surrounding us, all I can think about is how grateful I am that she took matters into her own hands and fought for her own survival. It might disappoint her that I will never love her, but one day, she will understand that I will always protect her above all else. My loyalty and devotion to keeping her safe will never falter.
As I hold my wife close, surrounded by chaos and destruction, I know in my heart that I will do whatever it takes to make sure she is never harmed again. No one will ever lay a finger on Evaline Nakamura without facing severe consequences. That is my promise to her as her husband and protector.
Evaline’s arms envelop me in a tight embrace, her head nestled against my chest as she breathes in deeply. The scent of my skin seems to calm her, and I can feel her body relax against mine. My hand moves in gentle strokes down her back, whispering soothing words of reassurance into her ear. With each breath, she seems to let go of the fear and tension that gripped her moments ago. In this moment, our bodies are intertwined like two pieces of a puzzle as she finds solace and safety in my arms.
When she begins to calm, I take a step back, framing her face with my hands.
“Are you all right?” I ask, swiping the man’s blood from her cheeks with my thumbs.
Her throat bobs anxiously, but she nods, her entire body trembling. “Um…can we…can we go home?”
Something inside me warms when she calls the penthouse home.
“I’m sorry, firecracker,” I tell her honestly. “But we can’t go home just yet.”
Her forehead creases. “Why not? I want to change and take a shower…” she pauses. “In bleach.”
“The wedding reception,” Hiro tells her. Evaline’s jaw drops open.
“I’m sorry.” She holds her hands up in front of her. “The fucking wedding reception? Our wedding ceremony was just shot the hell up, and you want to go to the wedding reception?”
“We don’t have a choice,” I try to reason with her.
“I have someone’s fucking blood in my hair, Kenzo!” she screams at me. “A man’s brain matter spread across my dress and my face. My bodyguard was shot, and you want to go to the goddamn wedding reception?”
“Well, when you put it that way,” Wataru tries to joke. Hiro shoots him a “what the fuck, man?” Wataru shrugs.
Shaking my head, I take a breath. “Saito is already on his way to the hospital,” I tell her. Mymen are efficient when it comes to things like this. Saito will be taken care of by the best surgeons the city has to offer. The body in the ceremony room will have already been removed, and the blood and bullets cleaned up. “We won’t be having the reception for another two hours, right? That is plenty of time for you to take a shower and get ready.”
“Why?” she pleads. “There is no reason to hold the reception. You got what you wanted. The whole of New Orleans high society knows we’re married.”
Clenching my jaw, I try my best to keep from snapping at her. “We need to show them that we won’t cower. Whoever sent those men is in that crowd. We need to figure out who.”
Evaline throws up her hands in exasperation. “Whatever.” Without another word, she storms away, a flurry of anger following in her wake. I nod at Wataru, who dutifully follows after her. She shouldn’t be walking around without a guard.
With a sharp command, I signal to Hiro to fetch the event planner. He nods and disappears around the corner. Moments later, he returns with the petite woman in tow, her hair wild and her eyes blazing with fury. The spitfire smacks at Hiro’s hand as he drags her toward me.
“Let go of me, you brute!” she shouts, struggling against his grip. “I’ll be telling my friend’s husband about this.”
“I’m the one you should be concerned about,” I retort in a cold, calculated voice, locking my dark eyes on hers in a deadly stare. The fight seems to drain out of her as she takes in the gun clenched in my hand.
“I-I don’t understand,” she stammers, attempting to take a step back as I approach her. Hiro blocks her path, forcing her to stay put. Fear creeps into her widened eyes as I close the distance between us with an air of dangerous intent.
“Who did you hire for the catering?” I bark at her, ignoring the terror seizing her body, causing it to quake. Both men were wearing the same uniforms as the catering company, which means the company was hired for the sole purpose of grabbing my wife. That or the men were able to infiltrate it in order to fulfill their job.
Hiro releases a low growl, pulling her back against him slightly. My gaze flickers up to him, my eyes narrowed in warning. His eyes round lightly before he bows his head. Is he trying to protect her? That is a complication I don’t need at the moment.
“Orleans Hospitality.” She sniffs. “Our company has contracts with several different catering companies around the city. Evaline picked it because it had the widest variety of options to choose from for food, and it fit the aesthetic she was going for.”
Doubts about my wife creep into the back of my mind. Did she choose that company and then hire those men to make it look like she was being kidnapped? I shake that possibility from my mind. I’ve had her under lock and key since I dragged her back to the city. She is under constant surveillance. There is no way she would have been able to pull something like this off. Not without me finding out.
“Who else knows what company she chose?” I ask.
“Um…” The girl wipes her tear-stained face with the back of her hand. Hiro rolls his eyes and pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to her. She gives him a grateful smile. “Just my boss, your mother, and Mr. LaMontagne.”
That piques my interest. “Why did Gerard want to know who was catering?” It isn’t like he put in any money to pay for the wedding. The lazy fuck didn’t want anything to do with it since his daughter ran out on the first one he paid an arm and a leg for. If I compare the cost of this wedding to the first one, it would be drastically cheaper.
The first wedding, which I found out had all been put together by my wife’s mother without any of her input, cost nearly ten million dollars. It was ostentatious and gaudy, while this one, the one my wife chose, is all simple elegance. It speaks more to her taste and cost me less than twenty grand. In fact, the venue and the catering were the two most expensive things, due to the number of people that were required to be invited.
“He said he wanted to be kept informed about the wedding,” she tells me, and I don’t see any lie in her eyes. “I didn’t give him any information because I knew Evie wouldn’t want me to, but he called my boss and went over my head.”
None of this was making any sense.They wanted my wife, who, other than marrying me, has no connection to the Mafia world. I don’t even think the guy who grabbed her knew who she was marrying. It seemed like he was surprised to see me and hear me call her my wife.
Is this connected to the person who tried to have her raped, or is it an isolated incident?
I’m not sure what the hell is going on, but I know I am going to get to the bottom of it.No one messes with what’s mine and lives to talk about it.