He would have preferred that Gustave be erased from the face of the earth, but Paris was no killer.
Unless Comtois fucked with his mate and kids.
Then all bets were off.
“Is everything okay?” Corinne walked down the steps of the house and came to kiss his cheek. “Are we ready to go?”
“We sure are,” he answered, wrapping an arm around her waist. His hand often went to her stomach. Every time he did, he made Peanut and Nugget a promise: you are safe. Daddy has got you.
Johanna and Armstrong joined them at the entrance.
“Can I just say that the mere fact we have to have a bunch of us just to go to the doctor’s office makes me very nervous?”
Paris tightened his hold on Corinne. “This is just a precaution. Nothing will happen to you. Not on my watch.”
“Nor mine, sweet girl,” Johanna said, giving his mate a motherly smile. “If anyone dares to mess with my grandbabies…” her look got serious, a real dragon mom.
“I feel bad that you had to disrupt your lives for me.” Corinne leaned into his side, he could smell the fear and discomfort on her. He knew his mother and Armstrong could sense it, too.
Johanna shook her head. “Nonsense. You’re basically my daughter-in-law. This is what family does, dear. We help each other, we’re there for each other.”
“And I’m paid to do this,” Armstrong was deadpan, in only the way he could be.
Paris chuckled and clapped the man on the back. “Goddamn, Armstrong. Can’t even deliver a joke with a smile.”
“I was joking,” Armstrong told Corinne with a smile that was a little rusty. “You don’t know this, but I have been with the family for a very long time. It’s not just my job, the Warwicks are like family to me. If someone threatens you, I would gladly lay down my life to protect you.”
Paris rolled his eyes. “Fuck, man. You’re scaring the shit out of her. You’re worse than Pascal.”
Paris and Corinne took the minivan, while Armstrong and Johanna followed in an SUV. Just in case. Taking two cars had scared Corinne, but she understood the caution he wanted to use. It was just a security detail. She also didn’t want to end up back in Gustave’s clutches. She didn’t like feeling like she was back to being a prisoner, but at least she knew it was for her own good.
Once they arrived at the doctor’s office, Paris parked the car in front of the curb. He helped Corinne out, while Armstrong jumped into the driver’s seat. His mother would park at a strategic spot to keep an eye on the entrance, while Armstrong would drive around the block, continuously, to make sure they weren’t being followed. More than that, Agent Porath and her Interpol crew were only a phone call away.
Paris just hoped that they didn’t have to use the backup.
They hadn’t really left the house in two weeks. There were very few chances that Gustave could have found Corinne. And an even smaller chance that he was just waiting for his chance to take her. Paris had to believe that, just like he had to believe he was doing everything in his power to be prepared if Gustave did find Corinne.
Paris opened the building’s main door and ushered Corinne to the elevator. His eyes were everywhere when they got to Dr. Hu’s office, looking at every single person who was in their vicinity. There were obviously pregnant ladies, with terrified and doting partners by their sides. The usual stuff you would expect to see in a prenatal doctor’s office.
After letting the nurse at reception know they had arrived for their appointment with Dr. Hu, Paris and Corinne settled onto a couple of chairs. Corinne was rubbing her barely-there baby bump, while Paris rubbed her back. He was still scanning every person in the office.
No one seems to be after us in this crowd, his dragon pointed out with a puff of smoke filling his mind. But we’re on it. No one will get to Corinne or the babies. We will protect what is ours.
Paris was proud that his dragon was so protective of Peanut, Nugget, and their wonderful mate. It was a powerful feeling that filled his bloodstream with adrenaline. He wouldn’t be able to relax until they got home, under lock and key.
The nurse called them forward and led them to an observation room. Corinne sat on the examination table, while the nurse took her blood pressure. She instructed that Dr. Hu would be with them shortly before leaving them alone.
Paris was pacing the small room when the door opened.
He had expected to see Dr. Hu, not another nurse.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, frowning.
Danger. Danger. Danger. His dragon was all up in a frenzy, but Paris couldn’t tell if it was because the second nurse hadn’t been expected or because she smelled like a mountain lion. She was a shifter.
“Just need to take her blood pressure.”
Paris stepped in front of Corinne on the examination table. “The other nurse already took care of that,” he sneered, calling forth his dragon.
The nurse smiled. “Oh, my bad. She didn’t log it.”
Paris didn’t believe her for a second. He extended his arm, ready to push the nurse away. “Where is Dr. Hu?”
She grabbed his arm with a malicious smile. “Night, night, dragon.”
The needle dug into Paris’s arm before he could even react.
The last thing he had expected was for one of Dr. Hu’s nurses to stick him with a needle. As his consciousness began to slip away, he was mentally berating himself for not bringing a guard with him, or for not asking Armstrong to come into the office with him.
“Corinne…” he mumbled as he passed out.
He had let her down.
He had let their kids down.
Chapter Twenty
Corinne
Corinne was absolutely horrified as she watched the nurse stick a needle into Paris’s arm. Her breath caught, and she could hear her blood thumping in her veins.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she called out, horrified.
Paris slipped down to the ground with a loud thud.
“What did you give him? What did you do? Who are you?” she kept on asking questions that the nurse didn’t answer, but Corinne already knew who the nurse was.
She worked for Gustave.
That was the only explanation.
It was a bold move, to try and kidnap her from her obstetrician’s office.
It wouldn’t work.
Johanna and Armstrong were watching the building like dragons. They would notice her being led out of the building.
“You won’t get away with this,” Corinne spat, her hands protectively clutching her stomach.
“Sure, we will,” the woman responded with an ugly smile. She looked down at her watch, and as if she had been expecting it, the loud blaring sound of a fire alarm filled the room. A small white strobe light flashed from the red fire alarm box over the door.
The noise was so loud that Corinne could barely make out the sound of terrified expectant mothers and their partners leaving the office.
It was brilliant, really. The building was at least ten stories high, and there were all manner of doctors’ offices in the medical complex. The street below would be completely chaotic, with women and men standing there, waiting to see if the building was indeed on fire, or if it had only been a false alarm. It would make it damn near impossible for Johanna and Armstrong to spot her.