13. Julian
JULIAN
H enri lured Tony from Lance’s shoulder by offering him a banana chip. I realized he’d asked me a question, but I had been distracted by watching Lance and Remington try to out posture each other on the way to Remington’s office.
I forced myself to look away before I choked on their testosterone. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Henri grinned. “They really are too much, but I promise they will keep you safe.”
“I just want to go home.”
“Why don’t you come have a drink and something to eat, then you can tell me all about meeting Lance.”
“If you have other things you need to do, you don’t have to?—”
“Trust me. I don’t have anything better to do than getting to know the man Lancelot is interested in.”
I shook my head. “He’s only interested in how I can help him with this situation.”
“Are you sure?”
“I guess he also wants to make sure I don’t die because he made me help him.”
Henri smiled. “I think there’s far more to it than that.”
The conversation was getting uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. “Does he really take Tony everywhere?” The monkey climbed up on the kitchen counter and picked up a banana chip from a small pile Henri must have poured out for him.
“Yes, he does. Remington hates it. He doesn’t like for Lance to bring Tony here. He swears Tony is going to tear everything up. He’s really not very destructive, but he is rather curious. The first time I ever met him?—”
“Lance or Tony?”
Henri chuckled. “Both, actually. I woke up in Remington’s bed, and Tony was standing there looking at me.”
“Oh my God, that must’ve freaked you out.”
“It did. Remington failed to mention his brother had a pet monkey, so I sat there trying to figure out how on earth one had gotten into the house.”
“Is it like this with Lance and Remington all the time?”
Henri smiled. “Yes, but you get used to it. Eventually, you’ll even think it’s cute.”
“But are they really… I mean, I’ve heard that…”
“They’re mobsters. Criminals.”
“Well, yes. That’s what I’ve heard. My only contact with Lance has been him trying to bribe his way into the library to get information about that stolen necklace.”
Henri nodded. “I’m not going to say they’re conventionally what would be called good, but they have honor. They follow a code, and if you’re under their protection, no one will ever treat you better.”
“And you’re engaged to Remington?”
Henri’s smile lit up the whole room. “Yes, I am. We’re going to get married in the fall.”
“That’s… Congratulations.”
“I promise you, if you give them a chance, you’ll see there are plenty of nice men in the world far worse than them, even if they don’t regularly break the law.
That was probably true. “I just don’t think I can…”
“Why don’t you tell me about meeting Lancelot? Wine?” He held up a bottle of white wine, and I nodded.
“Is that his real name?” I asked as I accepted the glass Henri held out to me.
“Oh, yes. Trust me. He lives up to the drama of it.”
“I’ve noticed. The first time he came into the library, he had Tony with him.”
Henri smiled as he took a sip of his wine. “I heard about that.”
“He thought I was going to let him go through a collection of hundred-year-old newspapers with a monkey sitting on his shoulder. He even pulled out snacks for Tony, and there’s no food allowed in the library.”
Henri shook his head. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
“I told him to leave and not come back.”
“And he took that as a challenge?”
I took another drink before answering. “He sure did. Though the second time he came back, he left Tony in the car—with the engine running of course so he didn’t overheat.
He also brought me flowers and tried to bribe me by agreeing to donate to the library, but then Tony came in anyway. Apparently he can open car windows?”
Henri laughed. “He sure can.”
“Tony came running in, then things went downhill from there. Lance tried to bribe me with beignets and broke into my house and talked me into taking him to the library.”
Henri looked like he was barely holding back laughter. “That sounds just like Lance. So the necklace was in the archive?”
“Yes, and Lance wouldn’t let me call the police to report it. He refuses to turn it in.”
“He can’t.”
“That’s what he told me, but I don’t?—”
Henri laid a hand on my arm. “Lance will say just about anything to charm someone or to get what he wants, but he’s not lying about this.
I don’t know all the details.” He rolled his eyes.
“Remington likes to protect me by trying to shut me out of most of his business, but he’s told me enough that I know the people behind the theft.
They will retaliate. It doesn’t matter the circumstances that landed you with the necklace.
They’ll come after you and make sure you hurt before you die. ”
The room began to spin around me, and the edges of my vision went dark. “He… he wasn’t exaggerating?”
Henri laid his hand against my back. Tony began to chatter at me like he was trying to comfort me as Henri helped me to a seat at the kitchen island. “It’s going to be okay. Lance and Remington will take care of things. Stay there. I’ll bring you some water. “
They weren’t invincible, though Lancelot probably thought he was.
Things had been bad enough when I was expecting the library to be closed any moment but this…
I thought about how scared I’d been when Lancelot had insisted someone was in the building.
When he’d gone after them and they’d jumped, I’d thought he would follow, and my heart nearly stopped.
I took the glass of water Henri held out to me and sipped it while Henri leaned against the counter and scratched Tony’s head.
“Remington initially brought me here because I was a witness to him being in someone’s territory where he shouldn’t have been.
He didn’t give me any choice in the matter, but I wanted to be here. I wanted him.”
I want Lance too. The words echoed in my head, but I didn’t dare voice them. Henri’s smile told me he knew what I was thinking.
“The men who were interested in what I’d seen took me prisoner, and even though Remy and I were separated at the time, he came after me and destroyed everyone in his path.
I know you don’t think Lance is interested in you, but I’ve seen the way he watched you tonight.
I’m not saying you have to accept his interest, but let him take care of this situation.
If you don’t, you could end up in far worse trouble. ”
“Are you just saying that because they want you to?”
“No. I love Remington, and I’ve come to care for his brothers, but I’m my own person. If I thought it was best for you to leave, I’d show you right out the door. That’s not best for you, so please stay.”
He sounded sincere, but my reaction to Lance was making me doubt my instincts.
“Would you like a piece of cake?”
His question surprised me, and it took a moment for me to figure out an answer. I was so mixed up, I wasn’t sure I could eat. “I’m not sure.”
“You do. It’s delicious.” Tony jumped up and down chattering as if to further encourage me.
He really was kind of cute, and it wasn’t his fault his dad was an idiot who brought him places he shouldn’t be.
“He likes you.”
At first, I thought Henri was referring to Lance. “I don’t think?—”
When I met his gaze, he was grinning. “Tony. He likes you.”
“Oh.”
I picked up one of the banana chips on the counter and held it out to the little creature. He glanced up at me, then reached out slowly and took it from my hand. Dammit. I hadn’t wanted to be charmed by him.
“He’s trouble, but he’s also a lot of fun,” Henri said.
“I can see that. How did Lance end up with a monkey?”
“I asked that too, and Remington told me that was Lance’s story. I’ve never gotten it out of him, but you should ask.”
“He’s not going to tell me if he wouldn’t tell you.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“He basically kidnapped me.”
Henri opened an old-fashioned metal cake safe revealing a chocolate doberge cake. All those scrumptious buttermilk cake layers divided by rows of chocolate custard called to me. “It’s from Loyola’s Patisserie.”
Did they have to patronize my favorite bakery? “They do amazing work.”
“They sure do.” Henri opened a drawer and pulled out what I was sure was a sterling silver cake server. Having seen Remington’s house, it didn’t surprise me. The man was all about luxury.
He cut us each a piece of cake, placing them on gold-rimmed white china plates. Then he handed me one along with a fork and settled onto the stool next to me. Tony came over to inspect the cake, but Henri shooed him away. The monkey scowled and went back to his banana chips.
“Now,” Henri said, “tell me all about this kidnapping.”
“I wanted to go home after we found the necklace, but he told me he was bringing me here and then to his house. He doesn’t want to let me out of his sight until this is all settled.”
Henri smiled. “That sounds just right for a Theriot. Lance wouldn’t have said that if he didn’t care about you. He could have sent you to a safe house.”
The cake was as good as it looked, so I spent a moment savoring my first bite before speaking again.
“We left the library with the necklace, even though I thought that was the wrong thing to do. I thought he was taking me home, and when I realized he wasn’t, he wouldn’t turn around.
He just… He decided he could order me around, and ultimately, I gave into him.
” I would have fucked him right there in his car in an alley.
Henri smiled. “The Theriot brothers expect to get what they want. They don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
“Could you try telling Beau that?”
I looked up and saw a man who looked a little like Lance and Remington, but he was smaller in height and build.
“This is Corbin,” Henri said. “He’s Lance’s younger brother, and Beau is his boyfriend. Corbin, this is Julian. He’s gotten caught up in your brothers’ latest… situation.”