I circled the car, opened Julian’s door, and held out my hand. “May I introduce you to my brother?”
“I’ve met your brother. It didn’t go well.”
“He’s as stubborn as I am, so I can imagine how that went. How about I introduce you to Tony?”
“I’ve already met him too, and I don’t—”
“Give him a chance when he’s not in your precious library.”
“The library is important because—”
“I’m going to do everything possible to protect the library. I promise. You can also meet Remington’s fiancé, Henri. You’ll like him. He’s very different than my brother.”
“And you?”
I grinned. “Yes.”
“Then maybe I will like him.”
I snorted. “You liked me when I was kissing you.”
“I’ve kissed plenty of men I don’t like.”
I froze. “By choice?”
His eyes grew big. “Yes. I didn’t mean… I’ve just made a lot of stupid choices.”
“Haven’t we all?”
He shrugged. “If I ask your brother to take me home, what will he say?”
“The same thing I did. You’re not safe on your own.”
He sighed, but he took my hand and let me lead him up the porch steps.
Remington opened the door before I had a chance to knock. He wore a neutral expression, but his stiff shoulders and tight jaw told me he was furious. I could practically feel the anger rolling off him.
He looked at Julian, then back at me. “What is he doing here?”
“Remington, move back and let them in. It’s hot out there.”
I smiled at Henri’s words. Few people would have the nerve to speak to my brother that way. Watching Henri become more and more comfortable putting Remy in his place was my favorite thing about their relationship.
Henri held out his hand to Julian. “I’m Henri. It’s nice to meet you.” Tony raced out of the kitchen, flying toward me. I scooped him up. “How was he?”
Remy snarled. “You brought this man into my house, you’ve gone dark for hours with no explanation, and you’re asking about your fucking monkey?”
Henri rolled his eyes. “Tony’s been fantastic. Remy and I were just feeding him banana chips.”
“Both of you?”
“Yes. Your brother actually spent some time in the same room as Tony this time.” He winked at me. “I’m working on him.”
“Enough of that,” Remy snapped. “I need to know what’s going on, and I need to know now.”
I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the necklace. Remington’s eyes went wide. It was rare for me to shock my brother, so I relished the moment. I was happy to see he hadn’t expected this because it meant he hadn’t lied to me. He could feign shock with other people, but I knew him too well.
“Where did you get that?” His voice was rough like he was choking on the words.
“This is the information that was hidden in the archive.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Now you understand why I brought Julian with me?”
He nodded. “You sure as hell couldn’t leave him there.”
Henri interrupted before I could grill Remy about what the hell was going on. “Why don’t I take Julian and Tony to the kitchen. The two of you can talk in Remington’s office.”
Remy huffed. When he turned to Julian, I took Julian’s hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Remington’s gaze dropped to our clasped fingers. He looked back at me and raised his brow.
“Julian is under my protection.”
“He’s under our family’s protection. I might disagree with the way he runs his library, but I brought this down on us, so I’m responsible.”
Julian scowled. “I really want to know what’s going on.”
“You know too much already,” Remington said. “Go with Henri.”
“You can’t just—”
Remington glared at him. I stepped between them, then turned to face Julian, laying my hands on his shoulders. “You’ll be happier in the kitchen. I promise. Remy’s going to want to yell. I’m used to it.”
Remington growled, and I glanced over my shoulder. “You used to offer better hospitality than this.”
“Lancelot, go to my office. Now.”
I kissed Julian’s cheek. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, and I’ll take you home.”
“Home?” I hated that he looked so damn hopeful.
“My home.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
Henri gave me a knowing smirk. “Make sure Remy behaves himself.” He ignored Remington’s glare and waved us off. “Go on, boys. Go talk business without us. I assume you’re calling Corbin in on this.”
“He’s on his way.” Remington sounded like he was speaking through a clenched jaw. I refused to think about how he would make Henri pay for his sassiness later and how much they’d both enjoy it.
13
Julian
Henri lured Tony from Lance’s shoulder by offering him a banana chip. I realized he’d asked me a question, but I had been distracted by watching Lance and Remington try to out posture each other on the way to Remington’s office.
I forced myself to look away before I choked on their testosterone. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Henri grinned. “They really are too much, but I promise they will keep you safe.”