27. Lancelot
LANCELOT
I wanted to wring my brother’s neck for interrupting me. “This better be good.”
“Valentino Carlotti contacted me. He wants Davide back within the hour, or retaliation begins.”
“Fuck.”
“I need everyone here ASAP.”
“I’m on my way.”
Julian dropped his arm from over his eyes. “You’re leaving?”
“I’m so sorry. The men who’re after us know about the guy Dax and I picked up. Things are escalating. I want to bring you with me, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen, so I’m going to leave you here well guarded. Either I’ll be back tonight, or I’ll send Corbin or Dax.”
“What do you mean you might not be back? Where will you be?”
“Doing whatever is necessary to keep you safe.”
“Lance, I… Please be careful.”
I hated the fear in his voice. “I’m not good at being careful, but I am good at winning.”
“Lance…”
I brushed the back of my hand over his cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. And I am going to have your ass sooner or later. Remember that.” He groaned, thrusting his hips as I kissed him. “I would never leave you like this if it wasn’t serious. Jerk off thinking of me, okay?”
“Jesus, Lance.”
“I’ll need something good to think about.” I grabbed my keys and hurried out. If I stayed there any longer, I’d be tempted to finish what we started before I went to meet my brother. That would not go over well. Besides, as much as I wanted to fuck Julian, keeping him safe was more important.
I got to Remington’s house just as Dax was pulling up on his motorcycle. “Tell me Davide’s secure.”
“They’re not going to find him. I’ve got him in a hidey hole even you don’t know about. Blackjack set up the security, and he’s scrambling all the signals going in and out.”
I nodded. The guy was as well hidden as he was going to get. I was about to knock on Remy’s door when Dax grabbed my arm, holding me back. “Remington’s not taking this well. He’s worried about us.”
I frowned. “He’s always?—”
“No, this is different. He’s scared.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. So don’t…”
“Don’t be my usual self?”
“Right.”
I didn’t feel like I’d been my usual self since I’d first met Julian, but I supposed I had been when it came to my interactions with my brother.
“He’s blaming himself,” Dax said. “Wishing he’d waited to see if they made any other moves. He’s worried he’s stirred up more than we’re prepared for.”
I shook my head. “We’re going to handle this.” We didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t going to leave any openings for someone to come for my man.
“So, you and Julian…”
“I’ll tell you about that when you tell me about you and Travis.”
Dax’s expression went blank, and he stiffened. “There’s nothing to tell. And don’t you dare bring this up around Corbin.”
“Beau warned you off?”
“Lance, I fucking mean it. The topic is off-limits.”
Before I could respond, Corbin opened the door. “What the fuck are you doing standing out here? Get inside.”
Dax headed in, and I followed him. When this was over, I was absolutely going to find out what was up with him.
As soon as we gathered in Remington’s living room, I saw that what Dax had told me was right. My brother had dark circles under his eyes, and he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt instead of his usual perfectly pressed suit.
As I walked past him, I laid a hand on his arm, leaned down, and said softly, “This isn’t your fault.”
He glared at me as I’d known he would, and I crossed the room and sat on the sofa next to Corbin. Dax sank into an armchair next to Remington, and we all waited for my older brother to talk.
“As I told you all, Carlotti contacted me.”
“He made the contact himself?” I asked.
Remington nodded.
That was both good and bad. For him to be making his own phone calls meant this was a priority to him, so he was taking it very seriously, but that also meant he saw us as worthy of his attention.
“He told me he expects his cousin returned to him, happy and healthy, by midnight.”
“Or what?” Corbin asked.
Dax and I both glared at him. He needed to take a more serious tone.
Corbin held up his hands. “What? I just want to know what the consequences will be because I’m guessing we’re not giving this guy back unless we get some guarantees and get to keep the necklace.”
“We don’t want the necklace,” Dax said. “It’s too hot a commodity. We need to get it out of our hands.”
“Julian wants us to return it to the museum.” As soon as the words were out, I knew I shouldn’t have said them.
Remington glared at me. “You’ve gone from trying to get out of even entering the library to wanting to do the bidding of the librarian you profess to hate? I don’t have time for your shit.”
“The museum has a replica. We could switch them and give the replica to Carlotti instead.”
“You’re proposing we break into the museum and steal the replica of the necklace that’s already been stolen?” Corbin stared at me. “I knew you were fucking crazy, but?—”
“And when Carlotti finds out he’s got a fake?” Remington asked.
I shrugged. “It’s the museum’s fault. They didn’t put the real one on display.”
“No way in hell are we adding any more danger to this,” Dax said, but I could tell Remington was thinking about it. He respected history and artifacts the same way Julian did. That was how he’d known his contact.
Ultimately, though, my older brother shook his head. “As much as I’d like to see it properly returned, it’s too risky.”
“Shouldn’t we worry about our midnight deadline right now?” Corbin asked.
Remington nodded.
“Then, like I asked, what are the consequences?”
It was a bad sign when my younger brother was the one to get us back on track, though he really had grown up a lot recently. Some of that was thanks to Beau.
“He said they’d take something precious from us.”
My heart pounded. Julian. I knew he wasn’t the only candidate for their revenge, but if they thought he had a role in this, that could be what they meant. They’d think he’d be easier to get to than one of us, and he’d have less chance to escape.
Henri was nearly as vulnerable, though, and that had to be killing Remington. Now I knew how that felt. Shit. Did that mean I really was in love with Julian?
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“I told him I’d be willing to meet to negotiate and would consider returning Davide as well as the necklace in exchange for them staying in their own territory.”
Dax frowned. “I take it he didn’t go for that.”
“His only response was to reiterate the midnight deadline before ending the call.”
“So what do we do?” Corbin asked.
Remington ran a hand through his hair, messing up his usually careful style.
“I don’t know. If we give in, they’ll encroach on our territory and do everything they can to bring us under their thumbs, but if we don’t comply, we’re in greater danger since they’re likely to be more aggressive in their approach.
It would’ve been better if we’d never called attention to ourselves. ”
“No.” I shook my head. “They did a job in our territory, one that is the focus of police attention. You were right to look into it, and your friend was a fucking bastard for setting you up like this.”
“Yes, he was, and if he weren’t already dead, I’d think about killing him myself.”
“But he is, and we’re here, and we need a plan,” Dax said.
Remington scowled. “We’re not giving in.”
“Damn right we’re not.” I said. “You know me. I’m always up for a fight.”
Remington looked at me with anger burning in his eyes. “You will not engage in?—”
I held up a hand. “I know how serious this is. I’m not going to fuck this up.”
“You never think you’re going to?—”
“Goddammit, Remington. Julian’s life is on the line. Do you think I’d play games with that? I think I’m in love with him.” It was a rare thing for me to shock my brother, but I had.
Corbin tried to hold in his laughter but failed. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming.”
Remington frowned. “See it how?”
“The way he looks at Julian all moony-eyed. And since when does Lance care about historical artifacts being returned to museums? It’s obvious. Lance is in love.”
“Dax, did you know this too?” Remington asked.
Dax nodded.
“How the hell did this happen?”
“It just did,” I said. “Do you believe me now that I’m not going to jump in without talking to you or come up with some crazy plan, not bother to discuss it, save the day, and force you to admit I was right?”
Remington glared at me.
“I’m going to be careful, plan things out, and talk to you. We’re going to fix this shit.”
“Damn,” Corbin said. “That was impressive.”
Remington sighed. “I hope you’re serious because this is nothing like fighting the Landrys.”
“No, it’s not, but we’re going to win just the same.”
Remington nodded. “We’ll continue to demand they negotiate with us and stand firm no matter what they throw at us. If we stand down, we risk losing more than we will by fighting.”
Remington seemed more sure of himself now. Maybe he just needed to know he had our support.
“Just tell me what you need,” Dax said.
Corbin took a step forward. “Same goes for me.
“We need to be extra careful that we keep Julian secure,” I said.
Remington nodded. “He is a likely target.”
“What about Henri?” Corbin asked.
“I’ve already taken him to Pop’s house. He’s going to stay there until this is done.”
I knew how much Remington hated to be apart from his man, but he was wise to send Henri to our family’s estate. He’d be safe there. Maybe I should send Julian to join him.