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“Maddox. Tell. Me.”
“They tried to take Zoe.”
When he acted as if he was going to get out of bed, the monitors went nuts. “I’m going to fucking kill them.”
“No, you don’t,” I said, gently pushing his shoulders. “I’m going to protect her. I won’t allow your daughter out of my sight. I’m also going to figure out why.”
“You know why. To get at me.”
“By whom? Do you know?” His hesitation was a red flag, but I had a feeling he wasn’t ready to confide in me. “Devin? Alturo?”I kept my eyes locked onto his, but they didn’t flicker when the two names were mentioned.
“No, and I seriously doubt either one had anything to do with the attack. However, the list of candidates is significant. You told me that more than once. I should have listened.”
“Yeah, you should have. The question is, did any of them have the capabilities or the balls to go against you?”
“I don’t know but I suspect their armies were building while ours were turning legit. My father warned me to keep my finger in the dike, ensuring our enemies were kept locked down and so did you. I should have listened.”
I closed my eyes briefly, the headache getting worse. “You need to get better, Arman. Save your strength.” There was definitely something he was holding back. It was my job to figure out what that was while he was incapacitated.
“Fuck that shit. My daughter is not safe here. You know that. They will come for her again. Just like what happened before with Raven and Zoe all those years ago. I can’t go through almost losing them again. I can’t allow it to happen.”
“This isn’t the same.”
“No, it’s worse. I feel it in my bones.” Arman was becoming exasperated, his pulse increasing.
“Yeah, I know.” I glanced out the window into the darkness, uncertain what I could say to make him feel any better. “You have my word I’ll protect her with my life. I won’t leave her side.” The pangs of guilt were gut-wrenching, like sharp, jagged edges of a knife cutting into me.
When he gripped my hand, squeezing with more pressure than I thought him capable of, I took a deep breath.
“No. That’s not good enough. Take her away, Maddox,” he said, the tremor in his voice one of rage.
“What do you mean?”
“Take her out of New Orleans. Go to your house in St. Barts. Lock her down.”
I was shocked by his suggestion. He had to be under the influence of the drugs used in surgery.
“That’s crazy, Arman. With you recuperating, Francois will need help. And I need to tighten security. I’m the only one who can do that.”
“No. My daughter will not be taken. You’re the only man I trust to keep her safe. You have Tony, and Landry knows what to do. You can rely on them. Zoe needs you more now than ever.”
Jesus Christ. He had no idea what he was asking. The exasperation in his tone was as confusing as it was alarming.
“You want me to take her out of the country without any backup? That’s not smart and you know it.”
“Don’t argue with me!”
Whew. I took a deep breath, holding my tongue. “What is going on?”
“I’m sorry I jumped on you. You need to let me figure this out.”
“Jesus Christ, Arman. I’m your best friend.”
“Which is why I need you. No one knows you own that house except for family members. No one. Just take her there until I can… Until I can get a handle on this.”
This. What in the fuck was he talking about?
He was as concerned as Francois was that the abduction attempt had been partially because of someone’s assistance on the inside. “Yeah, I know, but I don’t like the odds.” Arguing with him was pointless. The man was as hardheaded as they came.
