21. Lancelot
LANCELOT
I held up a finger as my phone rang. “Sorry. I’ve got to take this.”
“What’s up, Dax?”
“I got what we need, and our now humbled whiny asshole is being transferred to our holding facility in case we want to use him for bargaining. His name is Davide, and he’s the boss’s fucking cousin.”
“Damn. I’m sure Valentino won’t be happy with him, but he’ll want to deal with the bitch himself. Did you learn anything else?”
“Nothing very surprising.”
I finished my final bite of ice cream. “I still want to hear everything.”
“Where are you?”
“Close to my place.”
“Is Julian still with you?”
I smiled at the man in question. “Yes.”
“Are you keeping him?”
I frowned. Did he mean keeping Julian permanently or for the rest of the day? Did it really matter? “Yes.”
“All right then. Meet me at Beau’s.” As soon as he mentioned Corbin’s fiancé’s body shop, I knew exactly what I was going to do after meeting with Dax.
“We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
Julian was frowning at me when I hung up.
“Where do you think we’re going? I have to go back to the library.”
“You’re taking the rest of the day off.”
“I told you this morning. I need to work.”
“You told me the meeting with the donor was important. You had that meeting, and Gwen says she’s fine. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“I don’t?—”
“You’re going to like it.”
I paid for our meal, and we hurried back to my place to get Tony.
As I expected, he’d had a tantrum. All the pillows were off the couch, and there was a pile of torn up tissues in the middle of the floor.
He’d also managed to knock over a jar of shells.
After inspecting him to make sure he didn’t have any cuts from the broken glass, I scolded him.
“You really weren’t kidding. He doesn’t like to be left alone. Do you have a crate or something for him?”
“You think he’s mad now? You should see what happens when I put him in his crate, and if I don’t go to extreme measures, he just gets himself out.”
Julian shook his head and laughed loudly.
“What?”
“I’m just thinking how much you deserve each other.”
I huffed. “That’s what my brothers say.”
“They’re right.”
“Tony’s nowhere near as much of an asshole as I am. If only more restaurants and businesses were accommodating to monkeys, I wouldn’t need to leave him.”
“I would think some of them would prefer Tony to a lot of their usual guests. At least he won’t ask for a manager.”
“He would if he could speak English,” I said, lifting the little monkey into my arms. Julian smiled at Tony as he snuggled against me. “He’s charmed you, hasn’t he?”
“Maybe.”
“Come on. Let’s go.”
“Will you at least tell me where we’re going? This is the second time you’ve kidnapped me by the way.”
I scoffed at that. “I’m hardly kidnapping you.”
“Librarian napping, then.”
He was trying to be serious, but I could tell he was fighting a smile. “I’m taking you on a date.”
“You did that. We had a lunch date, but now you refuse to take me back to work.”
“Our date is continuing with something you’ll enjoy.”
“Who are you meeting?” he asked.
“My cousin Dax.”
“The one you left with the guy you tracked down.”
“The very one. I need to debrief with him.” And Julian needed a tour of Beau’s place from Corbin or one of the other mechanics.
“That’s not a very good plan for a date. I may not have a lot of experience, and I may be kind of nerdy, but I’m pretty sure that is not at all romantic.”
I chuckled. “Torture debriefings usually are frowned upon, at least on the first date, but then, I’m not your typical man.”
“So I’ll be waiting for you in the car with Tony?”
“No way. I’m not leaving either of you in the car. Just wait until you see where we’re meeting Dax.”
He huffed. “You’re impossible.”
“That’s what makes me so fun.”
When I pulled through the gates of Beau’s body shop, I glanced over at Julian. His eyes went wide as he looked around.
“Did you bring me here because I told you I like cars?”
“I agreed to meet Dax here because of that. The shop belongs to Corbin’s fiancé. They specialize in vintage and fast cars, and they can give you a hell of a lot of power under the hood if that’s what you’re looking for.”
“Cars I shouldn’t inquire too much about the provenance of?”
I shrugged. “This is pretty much a legal operation.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.”
“Seriously. Beau did some time, and he’s been really careful since. It wasn’t his fault, by the way. He was set up, but the bastard that did that’s long gone.”
Julian didn’t say anything as I drove around to the back. I turned to look at him when I put the car in park. The color had drained from his face. “What’s wrong?”
“You’re a criminal. I’m on a date with a criminal. I’ve been librarian-napped by a criminal.”
I laid my hand over his. “Most people are criminals at least to some extent. I’m just honest about it.”
“Lance, this is?—”
I put a finger over his lips. “Don’t. I won’t hurt you or anyone you care about. I won’t hurt anyone who’s not equally as bad as me or anyone who doesn’t know the score. I don’t kill innocent people. I don’t interrogate them. I don’t want to hurt them in any way.”
“Your world is just so… violent.”
“Not all the time, though I did warn you I like danger.”
Julian nodded. I couldn’t expect him to accept me and my family this fast. Beau had already been in this life, and Henri took a while to come around to it even after surviving on the streets.
Julian was so innocent. Normally our paths would never have crossed, but I was damn glad they had, and I was going to show him that even a mild-mannered librarian could enjoy everything I could provide.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.” I opened my door and stood, and Tony leapt over the console and reached for me to pick him up.
A moment passed before Julian opened his door. “I’m really not sure…”
“Beau’s great, and so is everyone who works for him. Don’t worry about it.”
We entered from the back, directly into the garage workspace. I watched Julian look around in amazement. There was a 1980s Camaro, a Plymouth Roadrunner, and a Porsche Boxter in the bays.
“I told you you’d like it here.”
“Lance! Did you just get here?”
“Hey, Beau. Where’s Dax?”
“He’s in the office waiting to talk to you.”
“Has Corbin filled you in on what’s up?”
Beau nodded. “I suppose this is your librarian.”
The way he said your librarian made me smile. Julian was mine even if he didn’t know it yet.
What had Corbin said to Beau to make him realize I wasn’t just protecting Julian? Maybe it was obvious from the fact that I’d brought him to Remington’s instead of sticking him in a safe house or at home with guards.
I hadn’t even liked being away from Julian for the morning. I’d put some of our best men in place to guard him, but that wasn’t good enough.
I put an arm around Julian. “This is Julian. Julian this is Beau. You met Corbin last night. Beau is his fiancé.”
Julian was looking at Beau with trepidation. The man was big and damn intimidating, but he was a good friend. Julian was in no danger from him.
“I’m not as mean as I look,” Beau said.
“Oh, no. I… I don’t think…”
“Being scary as hell makes it easier when the customers get out of line.”
“I suppose you probably have some very… um… interesting customers.”
He laughed. “Maybe not as interesting as you’re imagining. Some of them are just little old ladies who need some dents taken out.”
“They can be some of the scariest ones.” Sam joined us. She was Beau’s best mechanic and the person he left in charge more and more these days since Corbin insisted he not work seven days a week.
“I’m Sam. I would shake your hand but…” She held her hands up, showing Julian how they were covered in grease.
“That’s okay. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Julian.”
“I’ve heard a bit about you from Corbin.”
I could only imagine the things Corbin might’ve told her. “I hope you didn’t take him seriously.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t believe half the things he says.” She focused back on Julian. “I know this is a long way from the library, but you’re safe here.”
“Could you show Julian around a little bit while I talk to Dax? He enjoys cars, and he’s a model enthusiast.”
Sam beamed. “Awesome.”
“You don’t have to do that if you’re busy,” Julian said. “I mean, you’re probably busy. This is where you work and all, right?”
“We couldn’t run the place without her,” Beau said.
Sam grinned. “That’s the truth. Come on. I’d love to show you around.”