Dahlia waited for a beat. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she exclaimed, “Are you gonna tell me or not?”
Lips twitching, Felix answered, “Milo likes to?—”
The hit came out of nowhere.
One moment they were taking the last turn on the narrow private road before entering their gated neighborhood, the next a large black SUV side-swiped them, sending the car careening into the guardrail that protected the park.
Felix hissed a curse and attempted to maintain control of the wheel, but there was nowhere to go. The back end of their car bounced off the railing, sending their front skidding back toward the road. Dahlia yelped as she was yanked hard against the seatbelt.
Felix attempted to reverse, but the SUV had been joined by another that swept in behind them. Within seconds, the vehicles had blocked any escape routes and the line of sight of their security.
“Felix,” Dahlia rasped, watching with wide eyes as he unsnapped the buckle of his seatbelt and reached for his gun.
“Stay in the car,” he commanded. She barely had time to open her mouth before he was throwing the driver’s door open, gun raised.
Her heart jumped into her throat as men poured out of the vehicles. They had more men and far more guns — all of which were aimed directly at Felix.
Fear hit her harder than the SUVs did. It was worse than when she woke up impaled. It was worse than getting the news in the hospital. It was worse than Devon barging into her apartment.
It was fear forFelix,and it seeped into every crevice of her being like bitterly cold ice water.
I can’t watch him die.
Through the open driver’s door, she heard him say, “You know, that was a fucking stupid thing to do, Tomas. I actually liked you, but now I have to kill you.”
“We don’t want anyone to die, Felix.” The voice that replied was smooth and lilting. A singer’s voice, maybe, in another life. “We just want my cousin.”
“So you ran her off the fucking road? You could’ve killed her!” Felix had sounded cool and composed before, but now his fury whipped out like a lightning strike.
Tomas didn’t seem to care. “Unlikely. I’m a very good driver.”
It was hard to tell what was going on or how many men there were when Felix blocked most of her view. She didn’t need to see, though, when he growled, “Take another step and I shoot.”
“Kill me and my uncle will take out every Amauri in that ugly house.” Tomas sounded more exasperated than concerned, but the threat didn’t feel forced. It had real weight to it.
Her heart stopped as the faces of Sonia and Will and all of the other children snapped to the forefront of her mind. It wasn’t just them they had to protect, either. They were responsiblefor Nash and Genevieve. Marietta. Luis and Milo. Even freaky doctor Alvin.
If something happened to them, it was becausetheyfailed.
And Dahlia couldn’t imagine existing in a world without Felix. He’d become more than just her boogeyman. He was hereverything— as annoying as that was.
“Do you really want that, Felix? Just hand Dahlia over and we can end this bullshit before it gets any worse.”
Dahlia’s breath shortened as the sound of tires squealing around the corner reached them. It had to be their security, but she knew instantly that they’d only make it worse. There was no way Felix would back down, and if it devolved into a shootout, everything she’d hoped to avoid would happen in the worst possible way.
She’d started the night with the intention of ending the conflict. Now she really had no choice.
Unbuckling her seatbelt with trembling fingers, Dahlia called out, “Felix, stop! Just stop!”
“Dahlia? This is your cousin Tomas. I’m going to bring you to your father. Can you get out of the car or do you need help?”
“You stay in the fucking car, Dahlia,” Felix snarled. “Put your head down and cover your ears.”
“No, no. I’m not doing any of that. Both of you, justlistento me.” She had to jam her shoulder into the door to get it open. There would be time to be pissed about her beautiful new car getting totaled, but it would have to come when she wasn’t trying to save her husband’s life.
He bellowed something else at her. She ignored it as she stumbled out of the car and onto the grassy shoulder. Her heels sank into the dirt, but it didn’t stop her from rounding the front of the severely damaged car.
The scene that greeted her was nightmarish.
