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“As soon as we arrive, I want to take you somewhere,” he announced. He turned onto a rural road. It was more dirt than pavement.
“What kind of somewhere?” I asked.
“It’s not the Vieux Carre or anything, but there are a couple of cabins on the property. While I speak to Seraphina, I think you should stay there.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I told you I don’t want to go into hiding. It’s the wrong message to send. It’s not the kind of message I’m going to send.”
Knight slammed on the brakes and the car screeched until we were stopped. I braced myself against the dash. “What the hell was that?” I yelled at him. “You almost threw us into the sugar cane.” A cloud of dust billowed around the car.
“I don’t give a damn about the sugar cane field right now. Listen, I’m not going back and forth about this.” His face was red. He whipped the shades away from his eyes. “Would you hide me?”
I glared at him. “What does that have to do with—”
“No,” he snapped. “If this was reversed, what would you do? Would you parade me out in front of the families? Would you put me on a jet and send me to another country? Would you hide me in the tunnels for weeks until you had everyone’s head on a pike? Tell me. Look at me and tell me what lengths you would go to, to make sure I wasn’t killed tonight.”
I closed my eyes, glad he couldn’t see my full reaction. “The situation is not reversed.” I spoke between clenched teeth.
“That’s not what I asked. I’m talking about the hypothetical situation we could have been in, we’re almost always in, Kennedy because of the lives we live. Tomorrow, it could be me. So, answer the damn question. Would you hide me?”
I pinched my lips together and folded my arms. “You aren’t going to make me do this. I won’t give you permission to take control.”
He sighed. “I’m not trying to control you. I’m trying to do everything I can to keep you alive.” The bitterness was palatable. “There is a big fucking difference.”
“It doesn’t feel that way from where I’m sitting. I’ve been okay all these years without you. Now, you want to swoop in and make it all better? Save me? Is that what you think you can do?”
“Stop.”
“Did I hit a nerve?” I knew I sounded spiteful and angry. That was only scratching the surface of the rage boiling in my veins.
His hands landed hard on the steering wheel before he unclicked the seatbelt and climbed out of the car. The door slammed behind him, but I didn’t sit with the silence. He wasn’t going to leave me inside the car alone. No. I bolted out right after him. I couldn’t believe he was doing this.
“You’re walking away?” I yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you? We’re supposed to be meeting Seraphina. This is unbelievable.”
Gravel flew into the ditch when he spun to face me. He kicked it with the toe of his shoe. His fists were clenched at his side.
“There’s nothing I can do!” he yelled. “Not a goddamn thing.”
I shook my head. “What are you talking about?”
“I feel it. I see it. You’re slipping away from me, right in front of my eyes. How do I stop that from happening?”
“I’m right here.” I threw my arms up in the twilight air. There was an eeriness on this road, surrounded by nothing by the cane plants.
He shook his head. “You won’t even talk about what you’re doing and I’m in front of you, beside you, going through it with you and you won’t fucking talk.”
“We should go. We’re out in the middle of nowhere.” I wasn’t going to answer a ridiculous question. I spun to round the back of the car, but he latched onto my wrist. I didn’t realize he had moved so quickly.
“That. That move right there, Kennedy.” I made the mistake of looking in his eyes.
Without his sunglasses his eyes were his most vulnerable and valuable asset. I could see the pain. Fear. A wicked determination to control my next five steps and those of anyone who came near us. He thought he could calculate all the scenarios. He could anticipate everyone’s motives and maneuvers. Everyone except me.
I saw it reflected back to me in his eyes. Those dark stormy eyes that used to keep me up at night. Eyes that could talk to me. Show me the world. Show me the depths of love. Show me the fire that burned in his soul, only for me.
I questioned why I kept pushing back. Why I didn’t want him to fold his strong arms around me. It was a different kind of fear holding me. His fingers pressed into my wrist until they threaded through mine. Our palms touched and I swore it was lightning feeding off our pulses that I felt.
I inhaled. “Yes. I would hide you. I’d knock you out. Tranquilize you. Shove you in an unmarked container on a ship with no less than five guards disguised as crewmen to protect you around the clock. I’d send you as far as the ocean could carry you until I knew you were safe. And then I would fly to you.”
He smirked. “A simple yes would have been okay.” I tried to jerk my hand away in defiance. “Hey, come on, I’m teasing you. But…” Our eyes locked. “I’m a little nervous that you have this planned out so thoroughly.”
