Page 47 of Her Dark Melody
“I don’t give a fuck.” Carson picked Fino up with one arm and popped the trunk, shoving the terrified boy and shutting him in. Ebony heard Finoscreaming.
“Fino, baby, don’t be scared,” she shouted. “ I’ll be right here, righthere…”
Carson smirked. “He won’t be scaredlong.”
He forced Ebony into the passenger seat and got in, not bothering to help buckle her in. Now that she was getting used to the light, she could see they were outside the city, a deserted farmhouse down a long dirt track. As Carson sped along the roadway, he was driving with one hand, the other aiming the gun at Ebony, she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and as the car hit the main highway, a dark sedan sideswipedthem.
The last thing Ebony remembered was the car rolling, smashing into a tree, and then in the seconds before she passed out, she heard Fino screaming once more, this time in what sounded likeagony…
Chapter Twenty-Two
John Halsey delivered the news without sugarcoating. “They’ve been found. They were in a car accident and the driver who hit them called 911. It doesn’t look good, gentlemen. You’re gonna want to hurry to thehospital.”
Atlas wanted to drive fast, he wanted to go 150 miles per hour. But getting himself killed wouldn’t help Fino or Ebony, and he’d vowed to protect them from here onout.
I’m coming, he whispered as he fought the urge over and over to run red lights and stop signs, his knuckles the color of chalk on the steering wheel.Wait for me. Don’t give up,baby.
Beside him, by the looks of things, Cormac was every bit as terrified and trying just as hard to hold ittogether.
As they rounded the corner to the hospital, he spokesuddenly.
“Atlas…you and I have never particularly seen eye-to-eye, and I think that’s partially my fault. I don’t give a lot of myself away, and I’ve made mistakes in our relationship…but god, man, Ilovethat boy. I adore him, he’s the son I’ve never had – and thought I never would have. Doctors told me there was very little chance I could conceive a child naturally.” His half-smile was sad. “So, you can see why Ebony’s pregnancy is a big deal for me.” He rubbed his face and to Atlas’ surprise, reached over to grip his shoulder. “Atlas…all I care about now is whether Ebony, Fino and the baby are okay. Everything else can wait until we know they’resafe.”
Atlas nodded, his heart in his mouth so he couldn’t speak. They parked and ran into the building at a full sprint. As they waited, John Halsey, who met them in the lobby, told them whathappened.
“We had our suspicions that Bella was involved, so we had her tailed. She led us right to where Ebony and Fino were being held, but before we could act, Carson shot his accomplice and Bella and took off. That’s when the accident happened – one of our men side-swiped their vehicle by accident when Franks pulled out in front ofhim.”
Atlas, almost demented with worry, struggled to control himself. “Ebony?Fino?”
“Ebony wasn’t buckled in,” Halsey said grimly. “She went through the windshield. We just don’t know the extent of the injuries she received…or the baby. The doctors will be able to tell youmore.”
Cormac was suddenly there, holding Atlas up with a firm grip on his bicep. “AndFino?”
“He was in the trunk,” Halsey replied, waiting until Cormac stopped cussing a blue streak. “He’s shaken up and terrified, but the impact was far enough from him that the paramedics said they think he may only have aconcussion.”
It was Atlas’ turn to support the man who he’d loathed up until this day. As they sank into nearby chairs, twin expressions of anguish on their faces, Blue jogged into thehospital.
He didn’t stop as Atlas and Cormac jumped to their feet. “I’m on my way into surgery,” he called as he shoved open the door to the stairs and vanished inside. His voice floated back before the door closed behind him. “Romy’s there already. I’ll come update you as soon as Ican.”
They were staring after him when Halsey appeared again. In the overall chaos, they hadn’t even noticed he’dvanished.
“You can come see Fino. They have to do scans, but he checks out as okay enough forrelatives.”
Traumatized as the boy was,his head swathed in a bulky bandage, he was admirably composed. Terrifyingly so, Atlas thought as he held Fino close before letting Cormac get in for his own hug. Who knew how many years of therapy it would take to help the kid stop having nightmares about the lastmonth.
There were so many questions running through Atlas’ head he didn’t know where to start, afraid of overwhelming his already trembling nephew. So Cormac asked the hardestquestion.
“Did the man hurt you, Fino?” Cormac asked, sitting down on the edge of the hospital bed even though it wasn’t allowed. “We know he put you in the trunk. But did he…touch you or talk to you in a way that made youuncomfortable?”
Fino shook his head, thankfully unaware of Cormac’s subtext, and Atlas swallowed a sigh of relief. “He was scary, but he didn’t hurt me. He hurt Ebony…he had a knife, and he cut her. Ebony said it was okay, but she was in pain. There wasblood.”
“God…” Atlas felt the blood drain from his face. He had no doubt that had they not found them, Ebony and Fino would be dead right now. Fino reached out his small hand and put it on Atlas’sface.
“Don’t cry, Uncle Atlas…Ebony said we were going to be family and I believe her. She’ll beokay.”
Even Cormac got teary then, much to Atlas’ astonishment. He got up. “Look, I’m going to go talk to the detective…and then I’m going to call my lawyer. Drop the case. In the end, Fino’s happiness is all I careabout.”
He turned on his heel and walked out of the cubicle, and Atlas could see the defeated slump of his shoulders. He looked at Fino. “Fino, would you be okay alone for two minutes? I have to ask Cormacsomething.”
