Chapter 8 Aliénor
ALIéNOR
The bags under my eyes were now a distant memory.
I slept every night like a kid who didn’t have a single worry in the world.
I didn’t have to fight to fall asleep, and every morning was accompanied by a breakfast spread that felt like a Sunday brunch.
I kept myself busy looking through job listings, and since I wasn’t about to go hungry or homeless, I could take my time and try to find something that was somewhat tolerable.
I didn’t leave my bedroom because it had everything I needed.
A sitting area with a TV and a fireplace.
A big, comfy bed with crisp and soft sheets.
The bathroom was a piece of marble artwork with an enormous tub that felt more like a pool for a single person.
The marble was rose gold with streaks of white through it, something probably imported from Italy.
If food was being brought to me three times a day, then why did I need to leave? At some point, I would get lonely having no one to talk to. Luca was my only company, but we didn’t really talk…at all. The butler didn’t care for me. That much was obvious.
The following day, there was a quick knock on my door before it opened, revealing Luca in nothing but his low-hanging sweatpants and bare feet. His short hair was a bit ruffled like he’d just woken up and didn’t care enough to comb it before coming to see me.
Not that I minded. I liked the unkempt, don’t-give-a-damn-what-you-think-of-me look.
First thing after he woke up, he was even leaner, his body even tighter.
But his chest muscles were still strong like the Great Wall of China, and his arms were like ancient sequoias in the west. I was seated on the couch when he walked in and sat in the armchair across from me.
He propped one elbow on the armrest, rested his fingers against his temple, and stared.
I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me. He’d never been interested in talking, so I assumed it wasn’t that.
But if he wanted to fuck, I would think that would be more obvious.
I gently closed my laptop and set it on the coffee table between us.
My café crème was sitting there, cold now.
There was also a cup that held chocolate-covered biscotti.
Not only did Andre bring three meals a day but snacks in between, and if I didn’t start hitting the gym or find the restraint to stop devouring everything, I would be in serious trouble.
Luca continued his hard stare, enormous like a Viking, his big muscles were his plates of armor. “You’re good in bed.”
I blinked. I hadn’t expected the conversation to start that way. I didn’t even know what to say to that. Yes, I know my way around a big dick?
“Do you fuck like that to stay, or do you actually want to fuck me?”
Surprised by his candor, I continued to blink.
“Your answer doesn’t matter.”
“Then why ask the question?” When we came together, we were two flames that made an inferno. He felt like a different person, an affectionate man who was gentle but hard at the same time. We were so synchronized, like two lovers who’d known each other for a lifetime.
One eyebrow kicked up slightly, equally annoyed and amused.
I let the silence return.
“Then I guess it does matter.” His hard stare continued. “Answer the question.”
It was easy to drop my guard and default to my old setting, fulfilling a man’s desires without him having to tell me what they were.
But of all the clients I’d ever had, Luca was the best. Some of my clients had been handsome and interesting, but none of them had his presence.
None of them had that smoldering stare. None of them had his aura or his subtly threatening confidence.
And none of them were packed the way he was, with arms bigger than my head and a dick that was like a trunk.
And they didn’t have…whatever it was that drew me to him in the first place.
That made me kiss him on the threshold of his doorstep. “Both.”
His eyebrow rose slightly again.
“You’re really fucking hot, and I want to make sure I have a place to stay.
” I’d never looked a guy in the eye and said something like that.
I wasn’t normally so candid or confident on my dates or when I met a guy at a bar.
The situation with Luca was far different from anything I’d ever done, so I was different.
“My life has been unstable for years. I run, and I find a safe place for a few years. And then they find me again, and I’m on the run until I find somewhere new.
This is the first time in years where I can just…
” My eyes left his face as the emotion snuck up on me like a snake in the fucking garden.
“Just fucking breathe. I’m either running or I’m hiding.
I’m working a shitty job to get by, but all I’m doing is existing.
Never getting close to any of the guys I see because I know I have no future to offer any of them.
And hiding is somehow worse than running, because every morning and every night, I’m wondering how long I have until they find me again.
” I kept my eyes off his because I was embarrassed that I was sharing all of this with him.
He didn’t care, but I had no one to vent to.
“I’ve been here almost a week, and I haven’t slept this well in years.
I haven’t even left my bedroom because it’s become my sanctuary.
My heart beats differently here. It’s slow, for the first time.
So yes, I fuck your brains out because I want to give you a reason to keep me long enough for me to figure out what the fuck I’m going to do, but also…
you’re really hot.” My eyes remained averted as I said that a second time, feeling the embarrassment creep into my face.
“So…yeah.” My eyes returned to his, and I saw his expression hadn’t changed.
He looked exactly the same, like he hadn’t blinked once during my long speech. He didn’t seem pleased by my confession or sympathetic toward my plight. “How did you get into this situation? No one hunts someone for years unless it’s personal.”
“I didn’t do anything. My father crossed one of his associates.”
He stared hard at my face and waited for more information.
“In retaliation, he killed my father, my mother, my sisters…and then tried to kill me. He’s not personally pursuing me. Probably thinks I’m already dead. But the bounty hunters he hired are men of their word. Even though they’ve already been paid, they won’t stop until they finish the job.”
“The Oath.”
“What?”
“The men who are trying to kill you. That’s what they’re called.”
“You know them?”
“Not personally,” he said. “I take out my own garbage. But they’re part of the Fifth Republic. And if they’re still trying to kill you, then they’re in violation of the pact. Homines ex codice.”
He’d just said a lot of words I didn’t understand. “What?”
“People of the code,” he said.
“But what does that mean? What pact are they violating? You mean the law? What makes you think criminals care about that? Do you care about that?” The men I’d dealt with believed they were above the law, and honestly, it was true.
I’d gone to the police before, but it’d gotten me nowhere.
I didn’t hear from the detectives unless I called them for an update.
“No, I’m not talking about civilian law,” he said calmly. “The Fifth Republic is a secret society between the Senate and the people of the Republic. I’m the president of the Senate and serve President Martin directly as a liaison between the gangs of Paris and the government.”
I heard every word, but I felt my stare go blank from trying to understand it.
He continued, like he knew I would have more questions if he didn’t.
“The gangs operate in ordinance of the code. Not to involve innocents in their affairs. That means no trafficking. Deals don’t happen in the public eye.
No innocent bystanders are killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In exchange for their cooperation, they’re allowed to conduct their illegal activities without fear of government involvement, like arrest or prison time.
That means shipping over international lines isn’t impeded.
Everyone’s lives are easier, the prisons aren’t overrun with inmates, and the people of the Republic are safe to live their lives without fear. ”
Unable to believe all that, I focused on the seriousness of his face. The confidence in his stare. He’d just admitted that a secret society operated in the capital of France, and it was practically common knowledge. “I had no idea.”
“Then we did our job. When crime was at its worst a few years ago, it affected tourism and our economy. Even local citizens were out less often, not on the street past ten. It had a negative impact on business all across the capital. So, the French Emperors were founded. My predecessor led it for a few years, and when he left, I took over.”
“The French Emperors?”
“The Third Republic was founded by Napoleon, so it’s a nod to his rulership over Paris.”
“Didn’t people hate Napoleon?”
He gave a shrug. “It’s not easy making the hard decisions no one else wants to make.”
Now I understood why he had been so nonchalantly calm and confident when I’d jumped into his car and screamed at him to drive.
Now I understood why he’d handed me a wad of cash and had a gun tucked into the back of his jeans.
Why his Range Rover was made of bulletproof glass.
Why he’d renovated an entire hotel to make his private residence, a piece of real estate that must have cost him at least two hundred million euro.
With the staff that served him, he had to be a billionaire.
And that was the reason the Oath couldn’t get me here. They either couldn’t figure out I was staying here, or they wouldn’t provoke Luca to get to me. Either way, I was the safest I’d been since that horrible night I’d lost everyone and everything. “How does a single man police so many criminals?”
“There are four of us. We each have our own arrondissements, but they report to me. Not only do I have all the resources of President Martin, the Senate, and the Republic, but I also have my own private militia at my disposal. And policing is a harsh word because most of them are happy to cooperate. It’s convenient and cost-effective to operate their business openly instead of in the shadows, jumping through loopholes and taking detours to get their product where it needs to go. ”
I was still in disbelief. I’d been part of this world, and even I didn’t know about it.
“If your story is the truth, then you’re the victim in a conflict that didn’t involve you. Regardless of the severity of your father’s betrayal, taking out his entire family is against the code.”
“So…what does that mean?”
“It means I’ll handle it.” He remained relaxed in the chair, knees wide apart, his stomach tight and hard even when he lounged on the cushions. “And you’ll be free to move on with your life.”
Was it really that easy? Of all the cars I could have jumped into, I’d jumped into his, and that simple act of coincidence or fate had changed my life.
I stared at his handsome face and tried to find the words to describe the feelings swirling in my chest. “Thank you…” I’d never thanked someone so much in my life, in such a short amount of time.
“I’m not doing it as a favor to you. I’m not doing it because I care.
I’m only doing it because it’s my job.” He was back to his beautiful stoicism, a man who appeared empty of all emotion.
It was hard to believe he was such a passionate lover when he seemed so indifferent the rest of the time.
“Because I’d rather you keep fucking me for a place to live. ”