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A loud thud precedes the lurching of the boat. Suddenly, I’m being pulled into strong arms.
“Agapiméni mou, you’re safe.” The sense of relief in Aris’ voice fails to hide his concern.
The scent of iron reaches me, supplanting my need to reassure him.
“Aris?” I pull out of his embrace, but he drags me back, caging me inside an unbreakable hold.
With everything happening so fast and my adrenaline at a high, I haven’t had time to process the attack, but catching the glimpse of blood saturating Aris’ shirt shatters the tenuous grip on my emotions. I bury my nose in his shirt to prevent him from seeing my tears as I weep. “You’re hurt!”
“Just a scratch.”
“Stop lying to me and get to a hospital.”
“You know that’s impossible.”
I wipe my face on his shirt and twist out of his embrace to glare up at him.
“Someone is on the way to the house. I’ll get looked at there.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” I hit his arm. “Sorry!” I say at his wince.
Aris nods at his men. “Someone return my boat to the harbor.”
I drag his uninjured arm over my shoulder and lead him to the bench seating. “You need to sit down.”
When we’re settled, I search him for other injuries. “How did you escape? Did those men work for my father?”
“A lot of luck and a team of good men made sure I was able to make it back to you. As to who attacked us, that will take longer to find out. There were no survivors.” His tone leads me to believe there is more he’s left unsaid.
On the ride to the harbor, we pass a smoking wreck. I twist around for a better view. “Is that—”
“I did say there were no survivors.” Beneath his words is a demand that I don’t ask for details. To soften the bite, Aris takes my hand in his.
“Okay, but we still have a problem.”
“I haven’t forgotten. What exactly did your father say when he called you?”
I relay what I can recall of our conversation, squeezing his hand when my concern for Kayla and Trinity begins to overwhelm me.
“From what you said, Lavaughn is involved, but those men didn’t appear to be part of his organization.”
“If he got outside help, that would explain why he was so bold. But I don’t understand. How did he expect me to go through with his plan when those men were obviously trying to kill us?”
“Not us, me.” My confusion must have been clear for Aris to see because he continues, “You didn’t notice because you were thrown overboard, but when you stood up, they stopped shooting. Their aim was to abduct you, but I and my men were in the way.”
“Now what? My father will stop at nothing to sacrifice me on my dead brother’s grave, and he has a mystery backer we know nothing about who’s willing to murder you. We don’t even know where he’s holding Kayla and Trinity or how he got…to…them.” I avert my gaze from Aris’ face as our morning conversation comes back to me.
If only he’d heeded my instincts, but I can’t blame him for that now. He’s my best shot at reuniting with the only family that matters.
“Agapiméni mou, I fucked up. It’s my fault your father found Kayla and Trinity, but I swear to you, I will get them back, alive and well.”
I remove my hand from his and nod. Now that we are safe, it doesn’t feel right to take comfort from him when who knows what Lavaughn Hairston has decided to do to punish his wayward daughters. When we stayed a healthy distance behind the line, he at least presented himself as someone with restraint. But now? With his control over us at an end and his plans under attack, there’s no way to predict what he’ll do; and being family won’t save any of us.
CHAPTER TWELVE
When we return home, Ferb and I follow Aris to the second floor to stay by his side as he gets treated.
Before entering, he turns to me. “This is where I leave you.”
