I tipped my head a few seconds, finally chuckling although nothing about this was amusing in the least. “Are you going to keep following me?”
“I will if necessary,” Mikhail said while following my gaze.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re anything but fine. If something happened to Bristol and my little boy, I’d be flying off the rails, but at this point it won’t do any good.”
“Was anyone else hurt? The family? Guests?” I’d yet to ask. What the hell did that make me?
His sigh was as heavy as the weight on my heart. “One guest was shot in the arm, another trampled, but he’ll be fine. No one in the family was hurt.”
“Then it’s true. They wanted the two little girls, not to assassinate the family. That’s what Lainey mentioned.”
“I wouldn’t draw any conclusions yet. Maybe they hadn’t been prepared for our calculated reaction.”
“That’s not the behavior of any organized group of assassins, which I think they were. And I doubt Damien did this.” Although I still had the desire to beat his head into a pulp.
Mikhail chuckled, but his voice was as strained as I felt. “I’d already heard about your interaction with Damien Kane at the bar and I did a little checking. He’s an asshole and has been for most of his life, but he’s incapable of planning something so highly organized.”
“You knew I’d confronted him.”
“I am the Pakhan. Plus, I know Jeremy Sutton, the owner of the hotel where Damien is staying.”
That didn’t mean the asshole wasn’t working with someone. No, he was right. I was stretching things to find a neat and tidy fit when I knew like everyone else there wasn’t one.
“Did you call the police?” I wasn’t certain I wanted to hear the answer. We might control the police department, the sheriffconsidered a good friend, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t expect hours of interrogation. I wouldn’t be able to handle it without losing my cool. There was no doubt either this had been a test or a warning.
Something much worse was coming.
“I haven’t authorized doing so, but my guess is that a guest did since they’re on their way. So are a couple ambulances. I’ll handle the police. You try and calm down. See to Lainey. We can’t have her blabbing to the press.”
“You don’t know her, Mikhail. She won’t do that.”
“You might need to ensure she doesn’t.” His look was more commanding than before. He was talking about keeping her against her will if necessary.
That wasn’t anything I wanted a part of, but I nodded. There was no sense in making things worse than they already were.
“I also need to talk to the surviving son of a bitch.” That much was going to happen.
“Not now.” He tipped his head with a demanding look in his eyes when I dared question him with my expression alone. “Not a good idea until you’ve calmed down. Keeping him on ice might provide more incentive. Talk to Lainey. Try and dispel her fears.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Look, I understand what happened today likely brought back memories, but you need to try and keep control. We must keep up appearances. I know that sounds crass, but that’s the way it is. There will be sharks circling the waters hoping for chum. We’ll also need to temper what we say to reporters. Then in about five days, the news cycle will switch. That’s the way of the world. In the meantime Lainey is obviously very special to you.”
“I—”
“Don’t interrupt me. You can try and deny it all you want, and I can understand why. That doesn’t change whatI’ve witnessed already between the two of you. That’s called undeniable chemistry.”
“What if I can’t protect her the way I couldn’t Selena?”
“A wise man once told me that shying away from everything I wanted for fear of losing it was nothing more than throwing my life away. The time for mourning and guilt is over. Admitting your feelings for that woman doesn’t diminish your love of Selena or her memory.”
“But you still want to ensure she doesn’t talk badly about us.”
“You’re such a stubborn asshole. No, we can’t allow that to happen, but I meant what I said.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. He was right. I’d felt a growing bond, a connection few people found even once in their lives. Lainey had experienced it, but how could she accept even taking a step forward after witnessing this horror show? “Bringing anyone into our world right now isn’t good for them. The target is too large. We need to discover who is constantly attacking us. This was a goddamn children’s birthday party, for fuck’s sake. Why would anyone put the lives of children in danger? Why? How can there be so much hatred for what we do to endanger lives?”
