Page 77 of Crossed By the Stars
“I’d prefer not to have another Armaud death on my conscience, but I will shoot if you don’t back away.”Otosan’svoice was emotionless, denying his words. He wouldn’t care if Dax died.
“I’ll go! There’s no need to hurt him,” I said with my voice full of fear and hate and love all at the same time. Emotions I never wanted my father to see because I’d prided myself on my composure in his presence ever since being locked in my room, sobbing over someone else’s pinkie.
“No!” Dax growled with panic drawn from terror leaking into his voice.
“I’ll be okay,” I lied. It didn’t matter what happened to me as long as he was safe.
I stepped backward, running into my father, whose hand never wavered. The gun directed at Dax was steady and strong.
“Get in the car,”Otosanrepeated the command, and this time I obeyed, as did Kaida. She went to the driver’s side, and I clambered in the back in nothing but my robe.
My father got in, and as he shut the door, Dax lunged forward, pounding on the roof. It did nothing to prevent Kaida from tearing out of the driveway and sending gravel in every direction. When I looked out the back, Dax was jogging after us only to stop and bend over as if in agony with his hands in his hair. My heart lodged itself in my throat. I made a mangled noise that brought my father’s eyes to mine.
“You put him in danger by staying with him,” he said.
I had. I’d known all along that my life would do nothing but bleed onto him. Ooze infection and grief.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, shaking. “Why now? Why didn’t you just kill me back in New London and be done with it?”
“Put on your seat belt,Musume.”
I laughed, and it sounded both sarcastic and manic even to myself.
“Why does it matter? At least if I die in an accident, you won’t be accused of murder,” I returned.
“He’s trying to save your life, you ungrateful?” Kaida growled only to be interrupted by my father.
“Enough.”
She returned to silence, but I shot a look from her to him. My fear was turning into confusion. My heart was still beating at a pace it wouldn’t be able to sustain for long, and my injuries from the explosion, that had started to heal, were suddenly aching.
“Put on your seat belt,” he repeated, and this time, I did as I was told.
The bracelet Dax had given me hit the buckle, and my entire stomach revolted. He would come after me. Dax would not let me be taken without trying to get me back. Goddamn it…
We rode in silence. The frantic pulse of my blood was the only sound I could hear. The buzzing had returned, causing everything to echo around me as I tried to focus on a way out. On a way to save Dax. A way to save us all.
Eventually, we pulled into a small, private airport where my father’s jet sat on the runway. Kaida drove right up to the stairs and then got out. I debated leaving the bracelet behind, and I was reaching for the latch when Kaida opened my door.
“Get out. And don’t run. You won’t get far, and it might end up with your pretty face eating the gravel runway,” Kaida barked out.
I didn’t have time to fiddle more with the bracelet. I left the car, and the wind whipped through my robe, sending chills up my body. I mounted the stairs with Kaida on my heels and my father trailing us both. We’d barely entered the cabin before the door was being shut and the wheels were turning.
From the window, I saw the two SUVs Dax and I had arrived at Vanya’s cottage in barreling down the runway after us. The windows were rolled down, guns pointed in our direction, but I knew they wouldn’t shoot. Cillian and the rest of the bodyguards wouldn’t risk hurting me. Dax wouldn’t allow it.
The plane left the ground, and I braced myself on the seat next to me to keep myself from falling. My heart twisted tighter in my chest, my only relief coming from the knowledge that the farther we got from Dax, the safer he was.
My father was in an armchair, watching me, assessing me. Would I rise to the occasion, would I crumble apart, or would I shame him as I had repeatedly in our life together?
“Sit,” he said, motioning to the chair across from him, and I did because fighting it at this point was futile.
“You have achakaito attend today,” he said quietly.
“Achakai…?” My confusion grew. I didn’t understand why he would kidnap me only to shove me into a gathering. “Akari’s? Why?”
He hesitated—something my father was not known for doing. He was always decisive, striking with the coiled energy of a snake.
“I need proof of those who are working against me.”
