Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lyam
Fucking Montague’s got it in for us.
I had hardly any warning at all before I knew—he’d pinned last night’s activities on mobsters in his precious city and struck while the iron was hot. How fortunate for him he could attack my family and try to use us as the whipping boys for his run for office.
No fucking way.
We have informants. We’ve got people on the inside. And as soon as he blew the whistle and sent the gendarmerie to arrest me, I got the word.
I’ll pay my informant well.
But first… Cosette.
I don’t like to run, and I’m not one to hide. But my obligation is to Cosette.
I know where we’ll hide until we get our footing. Hidden behind a thick forest of trees, Le Marquise will suit our needs, at least until I can conference with my brothers and come up with a plan of attack.
Adrenaline still pumping from that godawful high-speed chase, I make sure Cosette’s safe. God, if I’d done anything that would’ve caused harm to her or the baby—but no, she’s totally fine, thank fuck.
The car, on the other hand, will need some love.
I call Dr. Martin back.
“I was able to pull some strings, Mr. Gerard. I had the lab open early so they could process the results.”
“Thank you.” That wad of cash I handed her on the way out didn’t hurt then. Most things that take time can be expedited if you know the right price.
“And?”
I know the answer before she says it.
“She was right. You are the father. I’ll have these results printed and sent to your home as well as email.”
“No.”
“The results are very clear, Mr. Gerard. You can’t deny scientific data —”
“No. I believe you. But I don’t want them sent to my home. This information dies here, understood? We never had this conversation.”
“Yes, Mr. Gerard. Understood.”
I hang up the phone and stare at the road in front of us. It feels as if we’ve driven straight out of the heart of the city and into a place all our own.
Cosette gives me a curious look.
“And?” she says, though she knows full well what I’m going to say.
If I’m honest, I knew the minute she told me she was pregnant, but I needed evidence. I needed to confirm it.
A baby. She’s pregnant with my baby.
She only betrayed my family because she was trying to protect our baby.
Our baby.
It feels as if a weight’s been lifted. Like I’ve been viewing things through mist and clouds that have been cleared away.
I didn’t know how anyone who could behave the way she did would ever betray people she’d come to view as family.
Cosette lives to serve, and longs to be needed.
I knew this about her after our first night together. But I doubted myself.
I doubted her.
I thought I hated her. I thought I’d never forgive her for what she did, but now that I know her reasons—
I turn to her. “She told me you’re carrying my baby.”
Cosette’s eyes widen. She isn’t surprised by the news. She told me the news herself.
Is it my reaction, then, that surprises her? Or the knowledge that she’s finally told me everything?
I reach for her. This time, she doesn’t flinch. I cup her face in my hands and look into those beautiful green eyes.
“You’re having my baby,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I never thought I’d be a father.”
“I know,” she whispers back. “I never thought I’d be a mother either. I promise you, Lyam. I swear, if I thought there was any other way, I never would’ve done what I did. I hate that I did. I don’t know how I’ll ever look at Thayer or Savannah again. I—”
I tilt my head toward hers. She stops talking. I press her body closer to mine. I can’t get close enough.
I want her.
And I do something so foreign to me, it stuns me.
I forgive her.
Will she forgive me?
And then, I do the most natural thing in the world.
I believe every word she says. A surge of emotion renders me speechless and the only right thing to do is kiss her.
My heart beats faster.
Her lips part like an invitation, and when my lips meet hers, she yields to me. I hold her face with one hand and her back with the other. I’ve touched her since I’ve taken her into my custody, but nothing like this. My touch is tender and gentle, but urgent. I want her.
Cosette carries my baby.
My child.
Cosette is mine.
Her eyes close as if she wants to savor this moment. This reunion.
My lips move softly against hers, a silent apology for everything I’ve subjected her to. I feel like an asshole for what I’ve done.
Too soon, she pulls away. She frames my face with her hands and our foreheads touch.
“I’m so sorry I betrayed your family. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
I swallow, my voice husky when I tell her, “I understand if you don’t forgive me, but I want you to know how sorry I am. I truly thought you betrayed us. I’m sorry I couldn’t see the truth.”
“It’s my fault,” she says, then finally laughs. “Listen to us, trying to outdo each other with apologies. We should have been honest with each other from the beginning. You should have given me a chance to explain, and I should’ve trusted you with the truth.”
There’s more at stake here. We were a couple once, but she put an end to that.
“We have shit to go over, Cosette.”
“Yeah.” She looks down at her hands. “I know. And I’m sorry, too.”
“Did you end it because you were pregnant?”
When she doesn’t answer at first, I know. She fears being with me. She was the one who pulled away, not me, and she knows it.
“Yeah,” she finally says. “I was scared. I was afraid you’d accuse me of trying to get pregnant on purpose, so I could take advantage of you.”
Is she kidding right now?
“What the hell is that about?”
When she looks back up at me, she sighs. “It’s complicated. It wasn’t personal, I just… struggle with getting close to people.”
Sometimes, people in club settings feel they know someone better than they do. There’s an immediate vulnerability that leads to a level of trust. And then you realize… you never really knew them at all.
I want to get to know her.
I want to put all this behind us.
She’s the mother of my child.
Cosette sighs. “When I tell you I’m sorry, I mean for everything. If I had it to do over again… I’d choose differently. Listen Lyam, we’re stronger together. Let me make it up to you. If there’s a threat against you, I might be able to help.”
How the hell would she help me bring down Montague? I don’t have the slightest idea. Still, it’s the thought. The principle behind her actions. The desire for repentance.
I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her. I’d never forgive myself if I’d done anything to jeopardize the baby’s health.
“I’ll tell you everything I can,” I say. “But we have to get to safety. We won’t stay here long, just long enough for me to get in touch with our informant. After I do, I’ll know more about what’s going on.”
“What about your family?” she asks, true concern in her voice.
Cosette never wanted to betray us, I believe this now. And damn if that doesn’t change the whole landscape of who we are.
“They’re good. Maman’s safe and was never one of their leads or targets anyway. Thayer and Savannah are traveling but unscathed and Fabien and Nicolette are in Corsica. I’m the one they framed.”
“Someone framed you?” She frowns. “Who would do that?”
“God, anyone.”
My mind goes back to the dark recesses of the dungeon. The clinking of metal cuffs in the musky room. The cold at my back. But worst of all, the helpless feeling of being out of control and fully at the mercy of another.
“Lyam?” She traces the outline of my face with her fingertip. “You alright?”
“Yeah.” My voice is husky. “Fine.”
“You’re not alright. You got so angry with me for lying, yet you do it to me so casually,” she muses.
She cuts right through the bullshit. I always loved that about her.
“Not now,” I tell her.
She looks out the window. “Where are we anyway?”
“A place where no one will find us. You’ll see in a minute, but it’s a little tricky to get there.”
“Right.” She takes in our surroundings. “I’ve never been here before.”
“One of the hidden gems north of Paris.”
“Oh, wow.”
We have small locations all throughout Europe we can go to when we need to. A secret underground bunker near the Metro in downtown Paris, private hotel rooms accessed through back entrances, an abandoned church north of the Louvre, a warehouse south of the city.
We share our private locations with our friends the Rossis in America, and in return they give us access to their home in Tuscany, like an underground network. Sometimes, being in a place that’s secluded and solitary works for hiding. Sometimes, it’s best to hide in plain sight.
I take her bags and check my guns as she exits the vehicle. No one’s tracked us here. We lost them back at the bridge.
I lead her down a flight of stone stairs that smell musty from disuse into a paved area.
“Oh wow. Is there a chamber with a princess? A dragon hoarding its gold? This is like… an outside dungeon.”
Chains. Damp air. Stale cigarette smoke. The squealing of rodents hunting for crumbs.
“Yeah.” My voice is husky. “Like an outside dungeon.”
I turn my memories toward a dungeon involving Cosette and pull them away from the memories that keep me up at night.
At the foot of the stairs, a paved road leads to several places only locals know about. You won’t find these locales in any travel guides.
“Charming,” Cosette says with a curious look. I wonder if she’s being sarcastic. The rustic, world-weary location is meant to throw people off. We’ve installed top-notch security measures. I’ll know if there’s so much as a mouse searching for a scrap of food.
She’ll like it here, though. I’ll enjoy seeing her reaction.
I open the series of locks and push open the heavy door.
Cosette gasps. “I suppose we’ll make do, won’t we?”
A gleaming marble floor stretches out before us, and six members of staff stand ready for my command. We have Le Marquise all to ourselves.