“The kidnappers.”
He exhaled. “Kennedy, it could be any family. You can’t wander New Orleans. Not tonight. We have no idea who did this, or who is coming back to finish it. Until you know who is behind the attack, you have to go underground.”
“I’m not going to wander anywhere.” I had lost my shoes somewhere on the sidewalk. I kicked them off to run faster. I leaned over, to rub them now. There was a small cut on my left heel.
“You do know it’s okay if you are scared. It would be normal considering what happened before. What happened today.”
“No,” I snapped. “It’s not okay.” Didn’t he realize I had to work twice as hard, think twice as quickly? Maneuver twice as fast as any man in this town? I didn’t have extra seconds to be weak or vulnerable. Because they were watching, looking for the moments when
my armor was down, when there was a sliver of exposed flesh and bone. As soon as they saw it, they would strike.
“Good. It’s decided. Come with me. I know somewhere no one will look for you.”
“You don’t make my decisions.” I was almost too exhausted to argue with him, but I hadn’t ceded my power.
“We aren’t going to argue about this.” He lowered to his knee to look at my heel. Our eyes locked when he touched my ankle. “Can you let me take care of you for tonight? I need to know you’re safe.”
My throat tightened. I saw the pain in his eyes. I doubted he wanted me to see it there in plain sight. He rarely wore his emotions on the surface, but this one was too big hide. The impulse to fall apart was still there, but I couldn’t. I would not let him see me falter.
I cleared my throat and focused on a spot on the wall over his shoulder. He lowered my foot to the floor.
“Kennedy?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I’m ready to go to my house.”
He rose to his feet, taking my hand in his. “I’m not sure how to keep you safe there.”
“Please. I want to take a hot shower. I want clean clothes.” I looked down at my bare arms. One of the thugs had my jacket. Maybe my designer shoes to go with it.
“I’m not going to force you into hiding.” He stared straight into my eyes. “But at least consider it?”
I nodded. “I will. After the shower.”
He put an arm around me. “Okay. As much as I hate this, I think we need to take the stairs. Can you do that in your bare feet?”
“I can. I’ll just take my time.”
“I’ll call my security to meet at your compound. I think you should pack just in case. We need to be prepared for any scenario.”
“Crew,” I urged. “How are we going to get him back?”
We walked toward the stairwell. Knight held an arm out so he could check the landing first. I dreaded descending all the flights of stairs, but the elevator made us too vulnerable to a waiting attack. Knight motioned to me to enter at the top of the staircase. We both paused. It was quiet and we began to take the stairs to the lowest level.
Both of us were on edge. It wasn’t until we exited the back of the building and Knight drove us away that I was ready to say more. I turned toward him.
“I don’t need Kimble to start looking for Crew,” I announced. “I can put out some feelers.”
“I can use my resources. Why not let me take care of it?” he offered.
“He’s my person. My right-hand. I’m responsible for what happened to him. It happened because of me.”
“You don’t know that. No one knows that. Have you forgotten Seraphina? My sister is going to need every reassurance I can give her that I will bring him back to her. I have a stake in finding him. Maybe even a bigger one.”
“Of course you do.” Knight and Seraphina were close. They had a sibling bond that was admirable and enviable in this world. “We need to call Seraphina now. She should know what’s happened.”
Knight whipped the car onto a side street I didn’t recognize. I realized he was trying to take a back route so that we didn’t travel on main roads.
“Maybe she knows something, or she’s heard something,” I added. “What if the Castilles know about the baby? What if this is their way to punish him? To take him out?”