Chapter 35
JESSE
If anyone had told me a week ago that I’d be standing on the street outside Thomas’s Paris house, flanked by Colin and Zach of all people, like we were about to stage the world’s most polite home invasion, I would’ve laughed.
“We still have time to add a little flair,” Colin said beside me, adjusting his jacket like he was about to walk the red carpet instead of commit what was, at best, a questionable legal decision—especially in a foreign country.
“No flair,” I said without even looking at him. “We’ve talked about this. At length.”
“I just think a dramatic entrance sets the tone.”
“The tone is give me the dog and don’t make this worse for yourself,” Zach muttered from my other side. “We’re not trying to be his entertainment for the day.”
Colin sighed. “Neither of you have any vision.”
“I have vision,” I said. “It involves us scaring the shit out of him and leaving here with Hubert. No bagpipes necessary.”
“We could’ve at least brought a boom box,” he grumbled.
“We’re not serenading him,” Zach said, but he sounded amused now. “Why on God’s green earth would three fully grown men bring a boombox to blackmail another fully grown man? He’s an enemy, not a girl we’re trying to convince to go to prom with us.”
Before Colin could respond, we’d reached the narrow front door that led directly into the little courtyard we’d just marched through, and I knocked without hesitating.
“Get it together. Both of you. Game faces on. We’ll debate the appropriateness of bringing a boombox to blackmail during our postmortem later. ”
I knocked again, letting my fist fall hard against the wood. A minute later, I finally heard movement inside, the sound of footsteps shuffling toward the door. When it opened, Thomas was visibly disheveled, his hair a mess and his shirt on inside out.
He blinked a few times before he frowned. “Jesse?”
“Hi,” I said pleasantly. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”
He didn’t step aside to let us in, but I shoved the door open all the way and scooted around him, walking straight into his house.
“Hey,” he started, spinning fast to scowl after me. “You can’t just—”
“I can,” I said over my shoulder. “It doesn’t really matter anyway, because I already have. Nice place you’ve got here.”
I looked around at the hardwood floors and overflowing bookshelves. Zach followed me in without hesitation and Colin came too, giving Thomas a cheerful little wave as he walked in like he’d been invited. “Lovely place. It’s very French.”
Thomas shut the door a little too hard behind us. “What the hell are you doing here?”
I took a pointed, slow look around, like I was considering redecorating. In addition to an easel with actual canvasses stacked beside it and overstuffed couches in the living room, there was a dog bed. I grinned. “We’re just tying up loose ends.”
“By breaking into my house?”
“Whoa, let’s not use such harsh language. We didn’t break in,” I said. “You opened the door. That’s basically consent.”
“That is not how that works,” he snapped, stumbling after us when we kept moving deeper into the house. “You cannot just bunch in here.”
“Barge,” Colin said happily from behind him. “That’s the word you’re looking for. Barge. Not bunch, but I get it, man. You’re probably just thrown off by the surprise of it all.”
Zach cleared his throat, his gaze flicking around the same as mine, no doubt also clocking the dog toys and the blanket spread near the bed on the floor. “Don’t sweat our visit too much, bro. We won’t take much of your time.”
Thomas’s eyes narrowed slightly, darting between the three of us. “Where’s Jacqueline?”
Pain twisted in my chest, but I kept my expression easy and neutral. “Oh, she’s not here.”
“Then you don’t have any reason to be—”
The soft sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs cut him off. A young woman appeared on the landing. She was pretty—no Jacque, but still—in her early twenties, barefoot, and wearing only one of Thomas’s shirts.
Her eyes widened when she saw us and Thomas paled, but I tilted my head and grinned. “Ah, there she is. Good morning, Celine.”
“This is none of your business,” Thomas snapped. “How do you even know her name?”
I let out a quiet laugh. “I think you’ll find it is very much my business, and I know her name because I know all about her.”
The girl looked between us, confusion all over her features. “What’s going on?”
“Great question,” Colin said brightly. “We were just getting to that part.”
I stepped a little closer to Thomas. “How long has this affair of yours been going on?”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t.”
“Years?” I guessed out loud. “That’s what the timeline suggests, that you were seeing young Celine here for a long time before you left Jacque.”
She frowned. “Thomas?”
“Don’t listen to him,” he said without moving his gaze from mine. “You have no proof.”
“Financial records are very convincing,” Zach said calmly. “Consistent cash transfers. Travel overlaps. It’s actually a pretty thorough pattern, but you’re not on trial. We don’t actually have to prove anything.”
She took a small step back, looking at Thomas like she was seeing him for the first time. “You said—”
“We can guess what he said.” I glanced at her, genuinely feeling a bit sorry that she had to see this.
It worked in our favor that we’d caught them red-handed, but we would’ve had enough for Hubert even if she’d been spared having to witness it go down.
“You’re one of his grad students, Celine. That’s not good for anyone.”
Thomas’s composure cracked. “What do you want, Jesse?”
“The same thing I’ve always wanted. I told you what would happen, right?” I smiled. “Let Hubert come with me and we’re done.”
The girl frowned. “Hubert?”
“The dog,” Colin supplied helpfully.
“Yes,” I said. “The dog.”
Thomas scoffed. “You flew all the way to Paris for a dog?”
“For that dog, yes.”
He shook his head. “That’s insane.”
I shrugged. “Probably, but here we are. What I’m offering is a very simple trade. You give us the dog and we leave.”
“Or you don’t and we start talking,” Zach said calmly, glancing at Colin. “Doesn’t Thayer also support several museums all over the world?”
Colin nodded thoughtfully. “We do. We also have very close ties to a number of universities.”
I picked up where they’d left off. “They’re always inviting us to all their events. It’s amazing how many people you meet, networking at all those fundraising shindigs.”
The girl crossed her arms and glared at him now. “You told me she was out of the picture.”
“This doesn’t have to get messy, Thomas,” I said. “I’ve told you that already, but it can. Very easily. I’m already in Europe. While we’re here, we might as well pay a visit to—”
“Fine,” he snapped. “Take the damn dog.”
“Smart choice.” Relief barreled into me, but I didn’t let it show. “We’re pressed for time, so if you’ll just go get him, we’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
He turned abruptly and disappeared down the hallway. The girl spun and ran back upstairs, and Colin grinned once they were both gone. “That went well.”
“We deserve a drink,” Zach muttered.
“And a marching band,” Colin whispered as Thomas came back down the hall with a giant brown dog in tow.
“Take him,” he said sharply, like the dog had gravely offended him. “I’m not giving you any of his things.”
I waved my hand. “That won’t be a problem.”
Stepping toward the dog, I reached out to let him know I came in peace. Then I crouched down, looking right into his kind brown eyes. The second Hubert caught my scent, his ears perked up, his whole body went still for half a second, and then he launched himself at me.
“Okay, hey.” I let out a surprised laugh as he pressed his head into my chest, tail going absolutely wild. “Yeah, alright, buddy. I like you too.”
He barked, licking my jaw before he started sniffing my jacket. I realized then that Jacque’s scent must still be on the fabric.
I scratched behind his ear. “I’m going to take you to her. Don’t worry.”
The guys and I left soon after with Hubert in tow. As soon as we got outside to our rented Mini Cooper, however, a snag I hadn’t quite expected quickly made itself known.
“How the hell are we going to fit him in there with us?” Zach asked, beating me to the punch. “None of us are small and he’s not either.”
“He’s a horse,” Colin said, staring at him before glancing back at our tiny car. “Logistically, this is a nightmare.”
Hubert clearly didn’t agree, seeming thrilled with every part of this situation. He wiggled like he was powered by pure joy, his tail going absolutely feral. If he’d had any more energy, he would’ve achieved flight.
“We’ll make it work,” I said finally, unlocking the car and opening a back door. “Even if it means we’ll have to invent a new level of discomfort.”
After a lot of shifting and leg contortion, we managed to squeeze in. Colin groaned before we’d even reached the end of the first block. “This is undignified.”
Zach sighed. “Undignified or not, we need to get far away from here before he calls the cops.”
“That’s a valid concern,” I said. “Let’s just keep going. We’ll survive.”
The drive back to the villa we’d rented was an experience. Thankfully, we’d planned ahead and opted out of staying in a hotel, choosing a pet-friendly place instead.
Hubert eventually settled, but only after thoroughly inspecting every inch of the car, including all of us. By the time we pulled up our driveway, I had dog hair on my jacket, my shirt, and probably even stuck to my soul, but I didn’t even care.
“I still can’t believe that worked,” Colin said, shaking his head as we headed inside. “I know we had leverage, but still.”
“I knew it would work,” I said triumphantly, leading Hubert in with me. “We filled up the food and water bowls, right?”
“Yep.” Zach watched with me from the door when Hubert bolted into the house ahead of us, immediately starting to explore. His nails clicked against the floor as he moved from room to room, his tail still wagging like it would never stop.
Colin watched him go from the kitchen. “He’s definitely going to break something.”
“He’s not going to break anything,” I said.
A loud thud echoed from the next room seconds after he’d disappeared into it and I shrugged, but corrected myself immediately. “Okay, he might break something.”
Zach huffed out a laugh, then shut the door behind us and strode into the living room, groaning as he collapsed onto the couch. “I’m willing to take the knock on the deposit if it means we get to relax here for a few days before we head back.”
Colin grabbed three beers out of the fridge and came to join us, passing them out before sitting down himself. “We have at least that until we’ll have the papers Hubert needs for us to fly him back to the States anyway.”
I nodded, weirdly not feeling as frustrated as I should’ve by that news. Instead, I looked over at Hubert, who had just discovered an expensive rug and was enthusiastically claiming it as his own, and felt a disbelieving smile tugging at my mouth.
Cloud nine didn’t even begin to cover it. We’d actually done it. We’d gotten him back for her. My chest tightened at the thought. I didn’t know if she’d ever want to see me again or if she’d answer when I called, but that didn’t matter right now.
Hubert had been the one thing that had been hers in her past relationship and Thomas had tried taking even him from her. Even if I wasn’t part of the picture anymore and she never wanted anything to do with me again, she would have him back.
And for today, for right now, that was enough.