As if sensing the direction of his thoughts, Philippe quickly looked away, staring around the tree again.
“I don’t sense any vampires. There’s no one out there, and the shooting has stopped.”
“We need to get out of here regardless. Plenty of humans would have heard the shots and the police have likely been called.” Rafe pushed against the tree with his good arm, straightening. He swayed only a little once on his feet and Philippe was quick to place a steadying hand on his uninjured shoulder. “You said that Piper hunted close to the Arsenault home? A safe place?”
Philippe pressed his lips into a tight, hard line as he stared at Rafe. There was pain in his lovely eyes, but there were no words coming out of his mouth. It was crystal clear that he had no desire to take Rafe to his clan’s safe haven. Rafe wanted to shout at the vampire that he’d taken two fucking bullets for him. That his brothers had agreed to help his clan. How could he not trust them? Not trust Rafe?
But he got it. Sure, Philippe had said Rafe would get safe passage to the Arsenault property, but it was another matter entirely to actually put those words into action. Especially when it was clear they’d be dragging trouble with them.
There was a severe shortage of trust among vampires, and there was very good reason for it. His own brother’s home had been attacked twice already this year. Their mother had been killed as a result. It didn’t matter if Rafe was bleeding for Philippe. The clan leader had to think of the safety of his own family first.
“Come on,” Rafe grumbled. Stomping around the tree, he led the way toward his car. “My penthouse is less than twenty minutes from here. But you’re going to have to drive.” Very carefully, he reached into his pocket with his left hand. Pain surged through his shoulder at the movement, but he managed to grab the keys. He held them out, and Philippe quickly snatched them.
“Rafe—”
“Don’t!” he snapped. He drew in a deep breath and slowly released it through clenched teeth. The worst of the pain had receded so that the gunshot wounds were down to just dull, throbbing aches. His shirt was plastered to his skin, soaked with blood. “I understand. I don’t have to like it, but I do understand.”
Protecting your family always came first.
Chapter Seven
Philippe’s hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he maneuvered the elegant car through late-evening traffic. He didn’t drive much, and of course Rafe’s beautiful vehicle had to be a manual transmission. It was only through intense concentration and luck that he didn’t stall the damn thing every time they were forced to stop at a red light.
He didn’t know whether it was from pain or if Rafe realized how uncomfortable Philippe was behind the wheel, but conversation was limited to only directions to the skyscraper in the middle of downtown Hartford.
When he parked the sedan in Rafe’s dedicated spot, his hands were trembling, and sweat beaded his forehead.
“Thank you for not wrecking my car,” Rafe said. Philippe looked over to see a sardonic smile on his lips.
“Sorry. I don’t drive much.”
“You did fine.”
Philippe wiped away the sweat and flashed Rafe a shaky smile.
“If you could pop the trunk and retrieve the blanket there, the garage and elevator have security cameras. It’s best if we don’t attract more attention than necessary.”
Philippe jumped from his seat and hurried to unlock the trunk with the key fob. The blue-and-green plaid blanket was easy to spot in the largely empty trunk. Shutting it, he rushed to the passenger door Rafe was already opening. He wrapped the blanket around Rafe’s shoulders but was careful not to touch him unless it looked like Rafe couldn’t rise on his own. The dark suit helped to mask the blood, but anyone taking more than a passing glance would recognize something was off.
He knew he’d fucked up at the nursing home. He should have offered to take Rafe to Arsenault Manor. The vampire was bleeding and in pain. Rafe had protected him, shielded him with his own body. Why couldn’t he trust him?
Because he didn’t trust anyone outside the Arsenault clan. If others knew the truth of their clan, discovered their secrets, they would instantly become vulnerable. He had to protect his family first, his people. Philippe promised to keep them all safe. Piper was missing, and he’d promised to keep her safe.
But it wasn’t just their safety that was on Philippe’s mind. He was afraid of the judgment he might find in Rafe’s eyes. If Rafe discovered the truth, he would tell his brothers. The Variks might decide to cancel their agreement to help the Arsenaults. Worse, they might decide, like so many others, that the Arsenaults needed to be destroyed.