Chapter 20
Henri
The call came through while I was reviewing the quarterly reports for the upcoming Lyon Enterprises expansion. Pierre called, sounding strained, which immediately put me on alert.
"There's been an incident at the casino. Bomb threat. Pharrell, Ricardo, and Pip are on site."
The words hit me like a physical blow. My hand tightened on the phone hard enough that I heard the case crack.
"Where are they in the building?" My voice came out flat, controlled, even as my heart rate spiked.
"Pip was with Pharrell up in your suite. They made it down to Ricardo…"
They’d been upstairs. If there was an actual device, if it went off before they evacuated—
I cut off that line of thinking because it led nowhere productive. "Status?"
"Unknown. The building is nearly fully evacuated now. Emergency services are en route."
I was already moving, grabbing my jacket and keys. "I'm going there."
"Call him first. Don’t just rush in there, Henri. I only picked up the intel from the security team. I haven’t spoken to him myself.”
Fuck that. Fuck all of that. Pip was in a building with a potential bomb and Pierre expected me to sit here and do what? Finish paperwork? Make plans to get dinner later?
But even as the thought formed, I knew he was right. The casino would need managing. Someone had to maintain operations, handle the response teams, and keep things from falling apart.
Someone who wasn't me because every instinct I had screamed to get to that casino.
"Put me through to Pharrell," I demanded.
Before he could, my cell phone rang. “Hold on, Pierre.”
I put him on speakerphone as I answered the incoming call. “You have them?”
“They’re secure. Well, I have eyes on both.”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong? Tell me!”
Panic tore through me at the thought of any of the men being hurt. I couldn’t keep my calm demeanor in place with my mind working overtime to put the pieces together.
“Paramedics should be here soon.”
Here? Here as in the casino?
“And what about the bomb?! They need to get out.”
My psychotic boyfriend chose that moment to give a hearty laugh. If he were here, I’d bend him over my knee for such a response. Hmm. Might need to bring up spanking for our dynamic.
“The bomb has been handled. I took care of it first. If I hadn’t, then maybe he wouldn’t have been stabbed. But then again, it would be blowing up soon, so there’s that.”
Everything around me froze. I felt as if I were in some sort of warped reality.
Had I just heard him right? Surely not.
My brain finally processed what he said, which made me respond in the only way I could. “He deactivated a fucking bomb. Jesus Christ!”
Pharrell called for Pip’s attention about something.
I took the moment to calm my racing heart.
It was also a chance to mute the call to see how Pierre was doing.
My hands were shaking. I looked down at them, at the visible tremor, and felt a distant sense of alarm.
I didn't shake. I didn't lose control. That wasn't who I was.
I needed to focus on the task ahead, starting now.
“Pierre?” I asked.
“Yeah, I heard all that. This is a big fucking deal, isn’t it? Could it be his worlds bleeding together?”
That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? Because I had no clue where to begin figuring out who was behind this. I had no doubt Pip would though. Especially after disarming the bomb.
Fuck.
My boy shouldn’t have put himself so close to danger. The idea of losing him… No! I wouldn’t let those thoughts take hold.
I unmuted myself right as Pip made some comment about going hunting. His mind would already be deep into the bloody violence he was preparing to unleash. I wouldn’t be getting any more answers.
Groaning, I hung up to get back to my call with Pierre.
“See what I meant about not going. If there’s shit going down, you need to be the one handling business. They’ve got to focus on the other.”
I shook my head, despite him not being able to see me. He might have been partially right, but he wasn’t completely. Handling business was necessary. But doing it from here wasn’t.
“You’re going to need to meet me at the casino.”
“Didn’t I just say—”
“I heard you, Pierre. What I’m saying now is that we’ve got to navigate the aftermath of this shit. We can’t very well do that if we’re not on site. Security will likely be talking to the authorities, but what about the rest of the staff? And the clients?”
He sighed. “Ok, yeah. You’re right. I can be there soon.”
“Good. There’s work to be done.”
I forced myself to get to work despite wanting to charge to wherever Pip was. I needed eyes on my boy ASAP. Once work was handled, I’d be rushing to wherever he was.
At the casino, it was utter chaos. People were rushing around, still not quite able to go inside until the police cleared it. The cops were taking statements and paramedics had started checking people who looked like they’d gotten hurt in the panic of it all.
After I tracked down the casino's security chief, I told him to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.
I demanded his team check all packages and deliveries, to be ready for anything.
Then I found maintenance and told them to check the HVAC systems, the electrical rooms, anywhere someone could hide something dangerous once we were clear to go back inside.
It took quite a bit of time to work through the list of people to speak with. I delegated some of it off on Pierre, though he still came to me to consult on a few of them. The kid just wasn’t in as deep as he should have been. It was a conversation I’d have to have with Pharrell.
Pierre needed more access. This situation proved as much.
With a second to breathe, I did the one thing I needed most: I called my boy.
The phone rang out. And rang. And rang some more.
What the fuck?
He didn’t answer. Did that mean something was wrong? Or had he turned it off to give them some peace?
Hoping it was a fluke, I dialed again. The same thing happened.
I was too shocked to say anything, so I hung up before the voicemail could play. Standing in the tent they’d set up for us to use as a pseudo-office, I focused on keeping my cool. Losing my shit here wouldn’t help anyone.
Dialing him for a third time, I decided what message to leave. When it clicked over, I said, “Pick up your phone. Now.”
My voice came out harder than I intended. But honestly, what else was I supposed to do when there were no updates and my boyfriend wasn’t answering his goddamn phone?
As I was waiting, voices from outside the tent drew my attention. I recognized a few of the security guys’ voices.
“…Dumb luck. Could've been anyone. Pharrell keeps him around because he’s scary.”
I didn’t need to hear anything else. Whipping around the thin wall, I stepped right into their space. The one who’d been talking looked at me with a smirk. He knew I’d heard him, and he probably thought I’d come out to join in the shit talk.
Everyone assumed I didn’t like Pip. They believed he and I were still only cordial for Pharrell’s sake.
Us being in love would come as a shock. Of course, I wouldn’t drop that bomb without my boy around. He would be utterly delighted to watch their reactions.
"Pip went in," I said. "He got Pharrell downstairs safely, then he managed to disable the bomb before it could kill everyone. Now he’s at the hospital with our boss and Ricardo, while you’re standing around talking shit about a situation you have no clue about. I can’t wait to tell Pharrell what his security staff is truly like. ”
I let every ounce of venom I could hold in my tone free. The men cowered away from me, eyes wide like they couldn’t believe my reaction.
They’d better fucking believe it. I was done playing nice. Especially when it came to talk of my man.
My phone rang as the group fled, Pip's name on the screen. I answered before the first ring finished.
"Is everything ok? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”
"Well hello to you too, sunshine." His voice was light, amused, completely at odds with my current state.
“Pip, now isn’t the time for you to be cute.”
“Awww. But Daddy, I love being cute for you.”
I growled. “Dammit, boy.”
“Ok, fine. I’ll get to the meat of it. Ricardo's in surgery. No complications reported. Rel's with the doctor now."
"Why am I only hearing this now." It wasn't a question. "It has been hours, and I have heard nothing from either of you. I've been managing this entire operation with no information about what's happening over there, which means I’ve been making decisions without—"
"Henny."
"—without knowing anyone’s condition, because apparently nobody thought it was relevant to—"
"Henri."
I stopped.
The silence on the line was heavier than normal. I felt how tight my jaw was, how stiffly I was holding my shoulders. My body ached with the need to let go. It didn’t feel safe enough to do so yet.
"Ricardo is in surgery," Pip said again, slower.
"Stable. The doctor said stable. They got to him fast enough.
" A pause. "Rel hasn't moved from the waiting room.
He's not going anywhere. I've got eyes on both of them.
This was a freak situation because some fucker with a knife thought they could take down an empire. "
"The knife—"
"Didn't hit anything critical. He's going to be fine. I wouldn't tell you that if it wasn't true."
I was quiet for a moment.
People around me kept moving, their lives changed after today’s events. Some would treat it as a war story. Like they’d gone to battle and come out the winner. While others would wear the aftermath of it like a wound, the trauma festering inside them.
I had a feeling I would be with the latter group.
"You should have called earlier," I said, my mind still reeling with unwanted thoughts.
"I know. I was managing things on this end. It's not an excuse.”
Something about the absence of argument made it difficult to continue being angry. I pressed two fingers to the bridge of my nose.
"Is Pharrell—"