Lancelot (The Theriot Family 3)

“Sorry, sir. I… He can’t…”

I pointed toward the exit. “Get back outside and keep your eyes on my car.”

“That monkey opened the window. How did he do it?”

“With his fingers. He’s a primate and highly intelligent. More so than you apparently.”

The man huffed, but he retreated.

My monkey was a freaking genius, but he was also very defiant. “Tony, I told you to stay in the car.”

He shook his head and shrieked at me. I wanted to be angry at him. He’d screwed everything up. If he hadn’t come running in here, I’d be in the archive room right now. But how could I be mad at his cute little face? I knew how much he hated to be left alone.

“You left him in the car?” Julian looked horrified.

“You told me not to bring him in here.”

“But it’s ninety degrees out there, and—”

Did he seriously think… “The car was running. I would never endanger him.”

“Oh, so that’s what you meant. You were using our security guard to watch your car while your monkey sat in the air conditioning.”

“A minute ago, you were mad at me because you thought I left him in a hot car. Which is it?”

Julian made a noise that was close to a growl. I liked it. I wanted him to make that noise again when we were alone and preferably naked. I let myself peruse his lean body. When I raised my eyes to his face again, I saw he was ready to explode. “Leave!”

“I’ll take Tony back out to the car and make sure he can’t open a window again.” Of course he’d punish me for days if I strapped him into his car seat.

“Get out of this library, and do not come back.”

“Should I leave the flowers or—”

“Now!

Julian had resorted to yelling. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I liked knowing he had that kind of passion inside him.

Remington might fucking kill me, but I knew I’d get into the archive eventually, just not on his timetable. My next move was going to need a little more planning. I wished I’d thought to ask Gwen for her number.

“Come on, Tony.” I gave the little guy a pat. “It’s time to get out of here.”

“Hi, Gwen,” I called as I passed by her desk. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”

“No,” Julian said, “you will not.”

I turned, no longer able to be the picture of restraint I’d been so far. “I need information, and you’re between it and me. I’ve tried to ask nicely, but I will get what I want, even if I have to go through you or over you.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Yes. Wise of you to pick up on it.”

“You can’t… I’ll call the police.”

“That won’t help you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I will get what I need. I expect you to be more cooperative when I return.”

The way he stared at me, his eyes large and his chest rising and falling rapidly, made me want to pull him to me and kiss him until I shook something loose inside him. This wasn’t the time, so I walked away. And Remy said I had no self-control.

Julian sputtered behind me. Gwen ran over to try to calm him down. I’d made a mess of this whole fucking assignment. Remy had ordered me to stay under the radar. As usual, I’d done exactly the opposite.

He had to have known what was going to happen. He could’ve picked anyone else, and they might’ve managed it. I got things done, but I got them done my own way.

As I could’ve predicted, knowing how my brother had zero patience, he called as I was getting back in the car.

“I expected an update by now,” he growled when I answered the call.

“All right. Here’s one. Persnickety was a total understatement. Julian, the archival librarian, is the most uptight, difficult—”

“What the fuck did you do?”

“As I was saying, persnickety fails to encompass all his faults.”

“So you didn’t retrieve the information?”

“Not yet.”

I was certain Remington was pacing his office, jaw tight, hands in fists. “I told you I needed it this afternoon. The library closes in fifteen minutes.”

“So you’ll have to wait until tomorrow, or I could let myself in after all the employees have left.”

“I told you breaking in is not an option. Not this time. We want to play this low-key.”

He really wasn’t going to like the details of my library visit. “I don’t think that’s actually possible anymore.”

“Jesus Christ, Lance. What happened?”

“I was my usual charming self.”

He scoffed. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

“And so was Tony.”

“You took the fucking monkey into the library after I explicitly told you not to?”

“The second time I tried to leave him in the car, but he opened the window and followed me in.”

Remington remained quiet. Too quiet. I braced myself, counting down to his explosion. Three. Two. One.