16. Dax
DAX
I reluctantly accepted the call from my cousin. “What do you need?”
“Good evening to you too.” I could just see his arched brow and the disapproving look on his face. Remy took himself way too seriously.
“It’s been a long day.”
“I’m sure it has. You’re with Travis?”
I pulled Travis to me and kissed the top of his head. “I am, and I intend to stay here.”
“Lucky for you, that’s where I want you. We found out some more information about LePlatt.”
“Spill it,” I demanded.
“Someday your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”
“Remington, I don’t want to dance around this. You should also know I’m planning to call Ambrose and bring him up to speed.”
“I’m all for that, especially since one thing we learned is that LePlatt’s minions are handing off their product around St. Claireville.”
“That’s in the middle of fucking nowhere.”
“Correct, just the sort of place where your brother operates best. My assumption is that keeping their operation off the main thoroughfares is how they’ve managed to operate so long when they’re a bunch of fucking idiots.
LePlatt is way too volatile to be in this business.
He runs through henchmen like you run through bullets. ”
I snorted. “Jean-Charles seems to have been with them for a while.”
“True. He’s some distant relation, and he’s just crafty enough to keep himself from being taken out and replaced. What we need now is an exact location where these handoffs happen.”
“And we’ll hit them there once Ambrose gets us the location.”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll talk to him tonight, and tomorrow I’ll make another go at Jean-Charles before silencing him for good.”
Remington cleared his throat. “It would be better to talk to Ambrose in person.”
“I have enough trouble getting him to answer his phone. You know how much he hates visitors.”
“I do, but this assignment could be complicated if he’s going to be as protective of Travis as you are.”
What the hell did he mean by that? Of course Ambrose would want to keep Travis safe. What was wrong with that? “He thinks of Travis as a little brother.”
“Your brother has never had to deal with you having someone special. What happens if he wants to protect Travis from you?”
Oh fuck. “Did Corbin fucking tell you?”
Remy snorted. “He didn’t have to. It’s obvious as hell how you feel about him.”
“Then why hasn’t Beau?—”
“Because he doesn’t want to see it. He doesn’t want to think about it. You’re his friend, and you have been for a long time. I want to head off trouble. We need the situation taken care of. Even if Travis weren’t connected, I want LePlatt rotting in a grave. I don’t like the way he does business.”
“Neither do I.” One of the things I’d learned from Jean-Charles was that he’d intended to recruit Travis. Most of their transporters were young, attractive men that they brought in with promises of wealth and power. They operated just like Rob did, and I wanted to kill every single one of them.
“You expect me to go see Ambrose tomorrow?”
“Yes, and take Travis with you.”
“I’m not sure how he’ll feel about that.”
“I want him there to consult. He may have knowledge he doesn’t even know is significant. You know how good Ambrose is at coming up with unique angles.”
I huffed. “You just want me to have to confront the situation with Ambrose.”
“No time like the present for that.”
“Then what about Beau? How is this supposed to work with everyone knowing but him?”
“Let Corbin handle that.”
“I’m not asking Corbin to take this hit for me. Travis is mine, and I’ll claim him in front of his brother whenever I have to.”
“Good for you.” I could hear the smile in Remy’s voice. “You’re ahead of where I was at this point in your relationship.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“Fuck off.”
“That’s just what I want to do. Travis is making me dinner.”
Remington huffed. “Deal with Jean-Charles first thing, then take your boy to the bayou. Update me after you talk to your brother. We need to move fast. LePlatt’s men are likely looking for Jean-Charles.”
“You know the quality of my work. They aren’t going to find him.”
“Go eat your dinner. No one wants to be around you when you’re hungry.” He ended the call.
After I’d eaten several slices of pizza, I did a walkthrough of the property, assessing security.
I didn’t see any sign of someone being sent to follow up on Jean-Charles’s failure to bring Travis in.
When I let myself back into the apartment, Travis had fallen asleep reading in a chair.
I loved the fact that he still read fantasy novels.
The one in his hand had a woman on the cover astride a unicorn with a sword in her hand.
After the first time I read aloud to him, I’d quickly worked my way through the series he’d gotten me started on and picked up several others he recommended.
Eventually, I went back to rarely reading anything but nonfiction about weapons, hunting, cars, and then late nineteenth-century architecture as I finished up project after project on the house.
I carried Travis to bed, but I wasn’t ready to sleep, so I picked up his book and began reading.
I’d only meant to sample a chapter, but hours passed before I realized how late it had gotten.
The woman on the cover was strong and loyal.
She underestimated just how much she could accomplish, but when a wizard invaded her kingdom, she ended up leading a rebellion.
I was sure she would win in the end because nothing else could possibly be right.
The woman who had struggled so much to find her own strength needed to take back the place that she loved.
Finally, I forced myself to set the book aside, pulled Travis against me, and held him tight. When I woke the next morning, his body was still pressed against mine. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the warm musky scent of him.
Travis stirred and wriggled against me. I clasped my hand tight on his hip, stilling him. “Unless you want to be worn out before you even get out of bed, you need to stop that.”
Travis wriggled again, more purposefully this time. “What if I would like that very much?”
I wrapped my arm around his body, pinning him against me. “I’ll give you what you want, but I’m guessing you haven’t got long before you’re expected at work.”
He fought my hold until he managed to turn over to face me. “I’ve got long enough.”
“And if Beau comes looking for you?” I asked, brushing my hand through his hair.
He groaned. “Dammit. Why are you being so fucking sensible? I thought you told me you had very little self-control.”
I rolled him onto his back and pinned him down, holding his wrists above his head in one hand while I reached between us and grasped both our cocks. “You want to see me lose control?”
He gasped and arched into my touch.
“I can show you that, but if I do, you won’t be fit for work today, and we’re going to visit Ambrose later. That’s a long, rough ride deep into the bayou. I’d hate to make it even harder on you.”
He glared at me. “Would you really?”
I laughed. “No.”
He sighed and tried to buck me off. “You win. Let’s get some breakfast.”
“Believe me, nothing about holding myself back with you is a win.”
When we reached the shop, Lancelot was there waiting for me. “Remy thought I should ride along on your morning assignment.”
I shook my head. “I don’t need any help. You can stay here and keep watch over Travis and everyone else.”
Lance shook his head. “I’ve pissed off Remy enough lately, and he’s right. You’re too close to this.”
“I can do my fucking job.”
“Come on, Dax. I’ve helped you with your job plenty of times. You’re going to need somebody there to hold you back.”
“We’re ending this fucker. There’s no holding back.”
“Every detail we can get about the location of the handoff could help us.”
“I got information yesterday, and I’ll get more today. If I was going to flip out and kill him, I would’ve done it before I ever called for cleanup help.”
“I get the impression your situation may have changed since then.”
I shook my head. “My situation changed long before that.”
Lance clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Let me be there with you.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“When it comes to the men we love, we all do.”
“I…”
“Don’t even try to deny it.”
“Corbin needs to learn to keep his fucking mouth shut.”
Lance grinned. “Possibly.”
I snarled at him. “Wait right here.”
Travis was working on a car in one of the bays, but I headed right over to him and pulled him to me, not caring that grease smeared onto my clothes. “Don’t you dare leave the shop. I want you near Beau or Corbin at all times.”
“I’ve got work to do. I’ll be right here.”
“You damn well better be. When I get back, we’re going on a road trip.”
“I’m supposed to work until five.”
“Exceptions are made when your life is in danger.”
“Beau’s got a full schedule today, and?—”
“We’ll work it out.”
“You’re going to see Jean-Charles again, aren’t you?”
“I am, but you don’t need to worry about that. He will never bother you again.”
“Okay.” I started to walk off, but Travis grabbed me for a brief kiss. “Be careful anyway.”
“Always.”
It was a short drive to the place near the docks where we often held people for interrogation. We needed a location where no one asked questions because sometimes our prisoners got noisy, and we like to keep them on ice as long as we could. A waiting game was often the best way to get information.
I felt Lance’s presence behind me as I unlocked the door of the cell where Jean-Charles was being held.
Our prisoner was slumped on the far wall.
The cell stank of piss and the copper tang of blood.
One of Jean-Charles’s eyes was swollen shut, and he had cuts and bruises on his neck and chest. He was naked from the waist up but still wearing his pants even though they’d been soiled when I worked him over yesterday.
“You ready to talk some more, or do you want another round?”
“Let me go. I swear I’ll make it worth your while.”