Chapter 17
THEO
I’D MADE MY way to Libertine…eventually. Shep may have been in a rush to see King, but I wasn’t.
I also wasn’t acknowledging how that annoyed the shit out of me. King was a badass, of course he was, or none of us would’ve been keen to join him in the first place. But outside of business? Shep could do better.
Maybe I just never understood the appeal there, because they were both too serious for their own good. Shep needed someone who could relieve all that tension in his tight body with a night of never-ending orgasms. Or make him crack a smile every now and then.
Something the man across from me had never managed to make Shep do, of that I was positive.
King stared at me silently where he sat at the carved-from-boulder round table in our underground throne room. He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just continued to absorb everything I told him with a stillness that was unnerving.
I was used to it and didn’t so much as fidget under that look anymore.
I did, however, allow myself the lit kretek between my fingers, and I brought it to my mouth, taking a deep inhale. The soft crackling it made was the only sound in the room, and I waited for the reprimand that was coming.
As I blew the smoke out to the side, King gestured for the cigarette, or so I thought, because when I went to hand it to him, he took hold of my wrist instead. His grip was unyielding, his large fingers wrapping completely around me, and though my first instinct was to pull away, I didn’t fight it.
With his thumb, he pushed my watch up and then rubbed over the small scar that taking the tracker out—and then putting it back in—had caused. Eventually it would probably fade to nothing, but it was still too new not to notice. Hence the cuff I wore.
“The bones of our organization, of our brotherhood, have been built on trust. I chose you, each of you, because I believe in you. I know what you have to offer; I know where your loyalty lies. We’ve made promises to each other that go deeper than any blood tie.
” King continued to stare at the scar and brush his finger over it, uncaring of the ashes falling from my kretek to the table.
“With that loyalty comes protection, not just for you and your position in the world, but for everyone.”
Abruptly, he let go of my arm and sat back, bringing his dark gaze to mine.
“I understand your choice to help someone and even the score. I can’t fault you for wanting to do something you felt was right. That’s who you are and why’re you’re an integral, irreplaceable part of us.”
There was a “but” coming soon, I could feel it, and I steeled myself by nodding in agreement as I took a drag of my kretek.
“But—”
There it was.
“—we all took an oath to each other, and your decision to go on a covert op on your own, deliberately removing your tracker and putting yourself in harm’s way, was really fucking irresponsible, Theo.
Not to mention dangerous and incredibly selfish.
You gave no thought to possible repercussions, to how the rest of us would feel—”
“In my defense, I wasn’t planning on ever telling you.”
“And that’s a problem,” he said, leaning forward, his eyes narrowing to slits. “Have you done this before? Will you do it again? How do we trust you are where you say you are?”
“I haven’t. I won’t. I just couldn’t take the chance you’d interfere, and it was best not to involve you.”
“Because you knew we wouldn’t approve. What else are you doing that I wouldn’t approve of?”
Your ex...
Thank fuck for my poker face, because it was best not to give him those details. Did I have it in my pocket for whenever I needed it? Sure. But I wasn’t messing around with Shep to have ammo.
No, he was purely a fun pursuit, just not one King needed to know about, though I could just picture the look on his face if he found out his ex enjoyed putting his cock in my ass.
So no, we wouldn’t go there.
“You’re right,” I told him, tapping the kretek in the crystal ashtray. “I fucked up. I should’ve kept the tracker in, made my move, and apologized later.”
“Oh yes, because that would’ve been so much better.” King sighed and rubbed a hand over the stubble lining his granitelike jaw. “I’ll put up with a lot, Theo, you know that, and I give a lot of leeway, but this? This doesn’t just impact you. Why can’t you understand that?”
“I do understand that. I just don’t think it’s that big a deal. It wasn’t me. Everything on that video is fake.”
“Except the explosion and the fact you were in Istanbul.”
“But not where they said I was.”
“I’m not going to rehash this again.”
Thank God. If I had to explain this again, I might go to the top floor of Libertine and throw myself off.
“You’ve said your piece and I’ve said mine. What I expect now is for you to tell me you will never, under any circumstance, do this again.”
“So you want me to lie?”
“Goddamn it, Theo,” King boomed, and it wasn’t hard to work out that wasn’t what he wanted.
“I’m just trying to be honest. I’m not really known for thinking over my actions—”
“Which in this instance has led to someone threatening your life.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
King slid an envelope across the desk, and I put the cigarette in the ashtray and reached for it.
You have a snake in your midst. Cut off its head…or I will.
“The fuck does that mean?” I shot to my feet and shook the letter at King. “Snake? They’re implying I’m a fucking traitor?”
“They’re definitely not being subtle about it, and, well, you haven’t exactly been forthcoming, have you?”
I cursed in French and spun away from him. This was getting out of hand. I had no clue who was doing this or why. But one thing was for certain—they’d better hope they cut my head off first, otherwise they were going to wish they were fucking dead.
“But beyond that,” King continued, bringing my attention back to him, “I’m most concerned with the second part of the note. The threat.”
I scoffed. “I dare them to come for me.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“I’m not.” I narrowed my eyes, my blood suddenly humming with the prospect of a fight. “I’d relish the face-to-face.”
“That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about. I think the smartest thing for you to do right now is go underground.”
“Excuse-moi? I’m sorry, but it just sounded like you said you want me to run and hide.”
“Not hide, per se, but keep a low profile.”
“A.k.a. hide.” I rested my hands on top of one of the high-back chairs and glared at my boss. “I’m not going to do that. I can’t do that. I have family obligations.”
King drummed his fingers on the tabletop, and I could see his mind working behind those dark eyes. If he thought I was going to run from a threat, he had another thing coming. I didn’t run, and I certainly never hid from a fight.
I was about to put up another protest when he held a finger up and picked up his phone. Seconds later, Shep stepped inside the meeting room, and if I thought the tension had been running high before, it now positively crackled in the air.
Put together as ever in his three-piece suit, Shep’s eyes immediately found King before shifting to me.
“Why are you here?” I bit out, my spine stiffening under his penetrating stare.
Great. Gone was sexy Monaco Shep, and in his place was stick-up-his-ass Shep.
“I asked him to come,” King said, and it was right there on the tip of my tongue to tell him I had too, just this past week.
“Why? The threat is against me, not him.”
“Which I understand. But you also mentioned you can’t disappear due to family obligations.”
“So?” Where the hell was he going with this? It wasn’t like Shep could go in my place.
“You can go,” King said as though I needed his permission. “Attend your family obligations. But from here on out, consider Shep your shadow.”
You have got to be shitting me.
“Wherever you go, he will be.” King turned his attention on a mortified Shep.
Good, at least I wasn’t the only horrified one in the room.
“And you? I better not see your face on any TVs or magazines,” he told Shep. “You are a ghost this go around. But you are to watch him. You hear me?”
Shep looked at me, apprehension written all over his face at the thought of watching me, because of course he would. Just not the way King would like. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.
King arched a brow. “No? Do you have something else better to do than make sure your brother’s safe?”
I could see Shep balk at the word the same way I did, but he only shook his head.
“Good.” King started to turn away, but then hesitated and put his hand on Shep’s shoulder. “I know I can depend on you.”
Shep gave a clipped nod. “Of course.”
“We’ll figure this out,” King said, and as he backed out of the room, looked directly at me and added, “I don’t give third chances, Theo. Make this one count.”