Alrik kept his body over hers, and pushed her lower to the ground as he moved to get a better viewing point.
"Alrik! Where are you going? Don't move." She said fearfully as he tried to shift to the left.
"I have to check where the shooter is and make sure we're not being ambushed. We're in a tight corner and I have no weapon to defend you here. I've sent a security alert to my personal security among your employees, and they'll be here in a minute or two, but we must stay alive till then." He replied to her as he kept his hand over her head, and peeked from the side of the car they were hidden behind.
Guns were useless on the battle front against the portal beasts, but bullets could still kill humans just fine. A bullet whizzed past his ear as he moved his head a bit higher to get a better view, and Eliza shrieked. She pulled him down so hard that he nearly smacked his chin against the ground.
"I can't lose you again, Alrik. Just stay down. Let's wait for security."
"I'm a trained soldier, Eliza. I'll be fine. Your safety is my primary concern, so roll underneath the car, and keep your head down." She obeyed, choosing to trust him, despite the worry in her eyes.
Alrik was regretting not being armed. A silly mistake he would never repeat. He didn't want to scare Eliza by carrying a gun around, but it seemed that decision came back to bite him in the ass. Whoever was shooting would not get an ounce of mercy from him, for daring to shoot at his wife. He could forgive any misdeed against himself, but anyone against Eliza, he would pursue to the ends of the earth.
His secret security team, who had been disguised as employees within the company, four in total, arrived and caused a distraction long enough for Alrik to determine that there were two shooters, not one. Unfortunately, the watch he used to send the security distress signal could not send messages, just a warning alert and location.
"Barry, on your six!" He ordered, and one of the guards diverted to pursue the second shooter.
Within a minute, both shooters had been gunned down, but the second one wasn't dead, just injured.
"It's safe now, sir."
Alrik stood but gestured for Eliza to remain on the ground, just in case of any more surprises. He wasn't willing to risk her life for any mistakes no matter how small.
"We'll get him to the hospital, and make sure he doesn't escape. Do you want us to report to the police, or handle the interrogation ourselves?" Barry asked.
"Make sure he doesn't bleed to death first, then you have a day to get as many answers as you can from him before handing over to the authorities. I'll pull some strings so no questions will be asked concerning the delay. Till then, keep this quiet. Get a clean up crew here as soon as possible to clean the mess. No one must find out about the incident until we're sure who's involved." Alrik instructed him as the other guards moved through the parking lot to make sure no shooters remained.
They also checked the car for explosives, and tracking devices. When they were sure it was truly safe, Alrik lifted Eliza from the ground and wrapped his arms around her as they walked briskly to the car. Eliza was shaking when they got seated and the car began to drive out.
"Someone just tried to kill us. I knew I wouldn't win the most liked personality of the year, but I never expected anyone to try and kill me, or you! We haven't even exposed your identity yet. Or do you think your family knows about you already?" She asked, and he held her closer.
"I don't think my family is responsible for this. I'm sure they're capable of it, yes, but like you said, they don't have any idea of my wealth yet. For now, I'm no threat to them. They think I'm retarded and missing, maybe dead. I think this threat came from your family, or someone affected by you taking over their business. They must have figured that taking you out will ensure that your share of the company goes back into your family's hands, or to further their agenda somehow." He said and her shaking got worse.
Then he realised she was crying. No sound came out of her, but tears rolled freely down her face.
"I know they hate me, or at least dislike me. They've proven just how little I mean to them. But to think that one of them would t..try to assassinate me? I may be angry at them now, but later, maybe in a year or two, I thought w..we could try to reconcile our differences. I w..wanted to try finding a way to f..forgive them, and while that might now make us close again, at the very least I wanted us to be cordial with each other. But t..this?" Her voice broke as she tried to speak, and Alrik hated seeing her so sad, but he could do nothing except be there for her and listen.
"Why? Why couldn't they just love me and stop all the madness? Are a few possessions truly more important? Do I not deserve their love or at least their care? Their consideration?"
"Don't say that, Eliza." Alrik responded to her. "Don't try to blame yourself. This is not your fault. And you know we're not sure yet who exactly ordered this. Maybe it's one of the board members, not necessarily someone from your family."
"But if it turns out to be one of my family members, neither of us would be surprised, right? That's how bad it is. But am I crazy for even having the tiniest hope that we could fix all our issues someday in the future, and be a family again? Isn't it foolish to want to be part of a family that has repeatedly shown that they don't care about me?" She asked, and he kissed her forehead.
"You're not crazy or foolish. You have a heart that loves no matter what. A kind heart. That care is what makes you who you are, and it's one of the reasons I love you. Don't worry, I'm here to make sure no one takes advantage of that soft heart of yours. I will protect it, and you. No matter what."
"What will you do when you find out who is responsible for the shooting?" She asked, and he just smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"Don't worry about that, just leave it to me. I will make sure whoever it is regrets the day they were born."