Chapter 114 Chapter 114
Damien’s POV
I sat in the driver’s seat, my mind racing as I tried to piece together how the information about our location had leaked. We’d been so careful, taken every precaution. Yet somehow the Morellis had found us.
Someone had talked. Someone had given them information.
But I couldn’t think about that right now. Right now, I needed to protect what mattered most, my family at the safehouse.
An idea formed in my mind. Risky, but it might work.
“Change of plans,” I said, pulling the vehicle over to the side of the road. “Kai, Lorenzo, you two take one vehicle and head to the safehouse. I’ll act as a decoy, lead our stalkers elsewhere, take care of them.”
“Boss…” Kai started to protest.
“It’s the best option,” I interrupted. “They’re following me specifically. If I split off you can get to the safehouse undetected. I’ll handle whoever’s tailing us.”
“No,” Kai said firmly, his tone respectful but unyielding. “With all due respect, boss, that’s not the best plan.”
I turned to look at him, surprised by the direct refusal. “Excuse me?”
“Hailey and your family need you,” Kai said, meeting my eyes steadily. “They don’t need us. They need their father, their partner, their leader. A home needs its leader, especially during a crisis like this.”
“Kai’s right,” Lorenzo said from the other vehicle, having heard the conversation through our open windows. “Your family has been without you for three days already. They’re scared and vulnerable. You should be the one to go to them.”
“Then who acts as the decoy?” I demanded.
“Vincent and I will do it,” Kai said. “We’ll take your vehicle, make sure anyone following thinks you’re still in it. We’ll lead them on a chase, take them to wrong routes, eliminate any threats. Meanwhile, you and Lorenzo take the other vehicle and go straight to the safehouse.”
Vincent spoke up from the passenger seat of Lorenzo’s vehicle, his voice strained. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. My hand is injured, I can barely shoot. If it comes to a confrontation….”
“Then I’ll handle it,” Kai interrupted, his tone making it clear this wasn’t up for discussion. “You just need to be a body in the car. Make it look like there are two of us.”
“Boss, this is suicide,” Vincent protested, looking at me desperately. “Kai shouldn’t go alone with just me as backup. If the Morellis have multiple teams out there…..”
“I can handle it,” Kai said firmly. “I’ve handled worse.”
I looked between them, weighing the options. Kai was right, my family did need me. Hailey especially, pregnant and stressed and surrounded by tension in that house. Sophia spiraling. My mother having just left for Italy. They needed stability, needed their leader present.
And Kai was the most capable fighter I had. If anyone could lead pursuers away and survive, it was him.
“Alright,” I decided. “We do it Kai’s way.
Lorenzo and I take the second vehicle to the safehouse. Kai and Vincent act as decoys in mine.”
“Boss, I really think…” Vincent started again.
“The decision is made,” I said, cutting him off. “Kai knows what he’s doing. You just need to sit in the car and look intimidating. Can you manage that?”
Vincent pressed his lips together but nodded reluctantly. “Yes, boss.”
“Good,” I said, already moving to switch vehicles with Kai.
Kai climbed into my vehicle, Vincent following with obvious reluctance. I got into the passenger seat of Lorenzo’s car, and he immediately started the engine.
“We go straight there,” I told Lorenzo.
“What about Kai?” Lorenzo asked, concern evident in his voice.
“Kai can handle himself,” I said, though I felt a knot of worry in my gut. “He’ll lead them away, eliminate any threats, then meet us at the safehouse once it’s clear.”
Through the window, I made eye contact with Kai one last time. He gave me a single nod, confident, determined, ready.
Then he pulled out onto the road, heading in the opposite direction, my vehicle disappearing around a bend.
Lorenzo and I sat there for a moment, waiting to see if any other vehicles would follow Kai’s path.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, two dark SUVs that had been hanging back suddenly accelerated, following the direction Kai had gone.
“It’s working,” Lorenzo said. “They took the bait.”
“Let’s move,” I ordered. “Before they realize their mistake.”
Lorenzo pulled out smoothly, heading toward the safehouse using back roads and routes that avoided major highways. We drove in tense silence, both of us watching for any signs of pursuit.
After nearly an hour of careful driving, taking a circuitous route to be absolutely certain we were clean, we finally approached the safehouse.
The property looked peaceful in the late afternoon light the walls secure, the gardens maintained, no signs of disturbance or threat.
Lorenzo pulled up to the gate, and the guards immediately recognized us, opening it swiftly.
We drove up the long driveway, and I felt some of the tension in my shoulders release. We’d made it. We were here, and my family was safe.
I got out of the vehicle, my legs stiff from the long drive, and immediately scanned the grounds out of habit. Everything looked secure. Louis had clearly maintained protocols in my absence.
I wanted to call Kai, to check if he and Vincent had successfully lost their pursuers, but I knew it wasn’t the best option. If they were still in the middle of their decoy operation, still being chased, a phone call could be a dangerous distraction. Better to wait for them to contact me when it was safe.
“I’m going to check in with Louis,” Lorenzo said, heading toward the main house. “Get a full status report.”
“Do that,” I said. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
I stood there for a moment, just breathing, letting myself feel the relief of being back, of knowing my family was behind these walls, protected.
Then I heard footsteps on the gravel path and turned to see Hailey walking through the garden.
The moment she saw me, her face transformed fear and worry melting into relief and joy. She rushed toward me, moving as quickly as her pregnant body would allow.
“Damien!” she called out, and I could hear the emotion in her voice.
I met her halfway, catching her in my arms as she reached me.
“You’re back,” she said, her hands on my chest, her eyes searching my face. “Thank God you’re back. I’ve been so worried. You didn’t answer my calls, and I didn’t know if something had happened, if you were okay….”
“I’m fine,” I said, pulling her close, feeling her warmth against me. “I’m sorry I didn’t call back. Things got complicated in the city.”
“Did everything go fine?” she asked, pulling back slightly to look at me properly. “With the elders? With the investigation?”
I hesitated, not wanting to burden her with everything that had gone wrong.
“It went as well as could be expected,” I said carefully. “We’re making progress.“