Chapter 4
Henri
I took a deep breath as I checked over the text message I’d gotten again.
E: Ricardo is headed your way. Heads up!
The intel from Emory, who much preferred the use of their initial, was much appreciated, though it was coming at a very inconvenient time. I needed my boss focused on work-related tasks right now. He needed to bury himself in the routine to push away the loss he was going through.
I knew he loved Stasia. There’d never been a moment when I hadn’t seen the affection shining in his eyes.
Her betraying him had to have hurt. She’d known what we were walking in to with Domenico. Had things gone her way, we’d have been led straight to our deaths.
That wasn’t something a person got over quickly. Work would help. It had kept me focused. I knew it would do the same for Pharrell.
Of course, this was one of those times when I could give advice, yet I struggled to implement it in my own life. I had a stack of paperwork on my desk that needed sorting, an email inbox full of requests, and plenty of non-paperwork related tasks to get done today.
And yet… I couldn’t focus.
Not after the bomb he dropped on me.
Pip.
The asshole had shown up guns blazing, ready to make a mess of everyone in his way. I knew Pharrell liked him. Knew the history there since I’d been around from the start.
It still didn’t make me like him.
Pip craved the darker parts of life. He didn’t follow rules, and he didn’t respect boundaries. If he wanted something, he made it happen.
In all the years I’d known him, I’d seen him barrel through a situation without a care to the destruction he’d left behind.
The lackadaisical way he navigated life drove me mad. He didn’t even have a home, for fuck’s sake. Last I’d checked, he had several storage units spaced around the country. I suspected they were all full of weapons.
As far as an actual home though, there wasn’t a trace of anything. I’d dug deep enough to find it had there been one.
Then he had the audacity to level me with mind-blowing information. “Who says that I wanted to dominate you?”
I could hear the words on repeat in my head. Over and over, they taunted me. He couldn’t have possibly meant what I think he did. There was no way Pip… No! It wasn’t possible.
And of course, the asshole had left without a word after that. He’d taken in my hanging jaw and decided not to expand any further. It was just another way he could poke at me.
The phone on my desk rang, startling me from my thoughts. “Hello,” I answered on autopilot.
Normally, I’d check to see who it was to ensure I’d be in the right mindset for the conversation. But like I always felt after thinking of Pip, I was all off-balance.
“Good morning, Henri.” I immediately pegged the voice as Pierre.
“Good morning to you as well. How may I help you today?”
He chuckled at my direct wording. Through the years, he’d grown accustomed to my all-business mindset. That didn’t mean he didn’t find it a bit funny to have me jump straight into things instead of exchanging pleasantries.
“I’m working on the boss’s schedule today. There are a few things I need clarification on. Do you have the time to go over them with me?”
“Absolutely,” I agreed quickly.
Did I have other things to take care of? The list was never-ending.
But I knew going over Pharrell’s schedule would be enough to keep my mind off the man it shouldn’t be focused on.
We spent the next half hour hashing out details of any public appearances and meetings in the upcoming weeks. Pierre didn’t deal on the darker sides of the business, so he always needed to verify an instance where our boss wouldn’t be available with me.
“That should do it. Thanks for making time for me.” The relief in his voice was clear as day.
I hummed. “It was no issue. I needed the distraction.”
Fuck.
It wasn’t like me to be so loose lipped. I knew not to give Pierre any type of gossip. The man loved to latch onto things until he had the answers.
Surprisingly, he didn’t push for more details. Instead, he thanked me again and hung up.
I eased my phone onto the receiver. Staring at it, I wondered what type of alternate world I’d landed in today. First I’d caught myself thinking about Pip more than usual. Then there’s Pierre’s casual dismissal.
What would be next?
I spent the rest of my office time working through the emails and paperwork I’d neglected. My call with Pierre managed to get me back into focus mode.
When my alarm went off to let me know I needed to go check on things at the warehouse, I’d cleared over half of the most tedious things from my lists.
The rest would have to wait.
Locking my office for the night, I took the elevator down to the main floor. I requested one of the personal drivers we kept on hand to come pick me up at the back entrance since I didn’t feel like driving.
It only took a couple of minutes for a town car with blacked-out windows to appear. The driver went to open my door, but I waved him off.
“The warehouse,” I demanded before raising the partition between us.
Used to my closed off personality, the man didn’t push for more. The car took off as I pulled out my phone. It was then I saw a missed message.
E: Ricardo’s flight landed. He’s headed to you.
I cursed under my breath. It was unlike me to forget something. My life was meticulous and orderly. Pharrell needed a warning that he had company on the way. It was my job to make sure of it.
Yet I’d failed at this.
Calling him now would do no good. Besides, I didn’t have the answers to the questions he was bound to ask.
Why is he coming?
How long is he staying?
What does this mean?
I hated not knowing the answers. It left me feeling unprepared, which was a dangerous position. Being prepared had saved my ass on more than one occasion. Pharrell’s too.
Ricardo was surely coming for Dante’s peace of mind. That had to be it. No other reason truly made sense. Since my boss and Ricardo’s were allies, it was good for him to keep tabs.
Or so I told myself.
I replied to my contact to thank him for the intel. He’d done good by letting me know. It wasn’t his fault I wasn’t at my best.
We pulled up to the warehouse shortly thereafter. I hadn’t gotten another message, though that was to be expected. E usually only sent what was most important. They didn’t care for casual conversation all that much.
Inside, the men were already hard at work checking inventory and cleaning weapons. It was a routine night as nothing pressing was on the horizon.
After Pip’s recent impromptu firing squad moment, the men had taken to keeping quiet about their frustrations. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or not.
Quiet men were usually focused and hard at work. But they could also be frustrated and plotting.
We didn’t need some kind of coup to form to attempt to take Pharrell out. Internal fighting did no one any good.
I made my way through the room, careful not to disturb their work. A few gave me nods to acknowledge my presence. Others kept focused, as if they worried there would be backlash for anything less.
After I checked on them all, I made my way to the office in back. The door was locked, which was a good sign no one had attempted to mess with it.
Still, to be sure, I pulled up the cameras I’d had discreetly placed in the space to ensure no one would betray us ever again.
Fast forwarding through the footage showed the room to be undisturbed. With that peace of mind, I dropped into the chair and sighed.
Closing my eyes, I leaned back for a moment to get my bearings. It had been a whirlwind of a year. Too many negative or unknown situations were at play. I needed a win. Something good.
Hopefully we’d get it with Jean’s intel. Pharrell had sent him off on a special assignment. I was the only person who knew the details of what it was. The less people involved, the better. Jean’s safety was at stake after all.
If Jean was successful with this mission, then there would be a good chance of us finding some stability again. Since Stasia, we’d been walking around on eggshells, not sure who would attack next.
As I thought through what all my friend had to be going through, I felt myself drifting off. I figured a few minutes to close my eyes wouldn’t do any harm.
Only, when I opened my eyes again, there was a definitive shift in the air. I didn’t have to look at the clock to know more time had passed than I intended.
Moving wasn’t an option anyway. Not when I could sense someone else in the space with me.
I let my gaze shift around the room from the position I was in. It’s then I saw what—who—had likely woken me.
Pip was perched on the filing cabinet in the corner, one leg brought up to his chest as the other hung loosely. His chin laid atop the arm he had crossed over the raised leg.
He looked the picture of calm.
I couldn’t recall another time he’d been as still as he was now. Even when he hid in plain sight, the man had to move around.
All that energy in him needed an outlet.
“What are you doing here?” I rasped, easing into an upright position.
My shoulders ached at the awkward position. I rolled them a bit as I stared down the too still, too silent man.
“And how did you get in the door? I locked it.”
At my added words, he finally spoke up. “I got in the way most people do. I unlocked it.”
“But…”
He cut me off, continuing with, “And as for why I’m here, it’s because no one knew where you were. I needed to be sure someone hadn’t made their way here to hurt you.”
I shook my head. Was that worry in his voice? It had to be the lingering tiredness I felt. Pip didn’t care about anyone but himself.
“No one is going to come hurt me. Aside from your ability to pick locks, these other men know not to disturb me when I’m tucked away working.”