Lancelot (The Theriot Family 3)

Remington frowned. “See it how?”

“The way he looks at Julian all moony-eyed. And since when does Lance care about historical artifacts being returned to museums? It’s obvious. Lance is in love.”

“Dax, did you know this too?” Remington asked.

Dax nodded.

“How the hell did this happen?”

“It just did,” I said. “Do you believe me now that I’m not going to jump in without talking to you or come up with some crazy plan, not bother to discuss it, save the day, and force you to admit I was right?”

Remington glared at me.

“I’m going to be careful, plan things out, and talk to you. We’re going to fix this shit.”

“Damn,” Corbin said. “That was impressive.”

Remington sighed. “I hope you’re serious because this is nothing like fighting the Landrys.”

“No, it’s not, but we’re going to win just the same.”

Remington nodded. “We’ll continue to demand they negotiate with us and stand firm no matter what they throw at us. If we stand down, we risk losing more than we will by fighting.”

Remington seemed more sure of himself now. Maybe he just needed to know he had our support.

“Just tell me what you need,” Dax said.

Corbin took a step forward. “Same goes for me.

“We need to be extra careful that we keep Julian secure,” I said.

Remington nodded. “He is a likely target.”

“What about Henri?” Corbin asked.

“I’ve already taken him to Pop’s house. He’s going to stay there until this is done.”

I knew how much Remington hated to be apart from his man, but he was wise to send Henri to our family’s estate. He’d be safe there. Maybe I should send Julian to join him.

I smiled to myself as I imagined the fit Julian would pitch about that. If he wasn’t staying with me, I wouldn’t be able to make it better by fucking him like he’d suggested the first night. He’d shocked the hell out of me, and totally solidified my infatuation with him. I didn’t want him to be where I couldn’t touch him. I doubted either of us would sleep well if he wasn’t curled against my body, warm and safe. I’d be awake waiting for a call, waiting for somebody to tell me there’d been an incident. My father’s house was one of the safest places in south Louisiana, but this was Julian. My Julian.

When I got home, he was sound asleep. He didn’t even stir when I climbed into bed. I wanted him. Hell, I always wanted him, but right then I wanted to snuggle against him and sleep just as much as I wanted to make him come. I’d been up for thirty-six hours, and if I was going to be at my best to defend us against Carlotti, I needed some rest. I closed my eyes and listened to his soft, even breathing until I drifted off.

The next day was hell. I spent every second on high alert. In the afternoon, I got a call from Remington, letting me know our father had taken out two men who’d attempted to take my stepmother while she was out in the garden. How the hell had they gotten past the perimeter guards?

At least everyone was safe, and I was sure Pop would plug any holes in his security. I focused my energy on calming Remington down.

“Henri is there!” he said as if I hadn’t comprehended that.

“I know, but he’s okay, and so is Marjorie. And now he’ll be even safer because Pop will double or triple his security.”

“We need to do something. Now.”

“Hey, I’m the one that usually wants to rush in. We need to stay firm until they agree to negotiate with us.”

“We should make plans to get Henri and Julian out of town.”

“No way.” I wasn’t trusting Julian to anyone but family. “Julian doesn’t even want to stay home from the library.”

“Then fucking make him.”

“Let me handle Julian.”

As it turned out, staying home wasn’t any safer than being at the library.

The guards I had on my house stopped an attempted break-in, and Remington received another threatening call from Carlotti.

“What the fuck did he say?” I asked.

“That this was only the beginning, just a tease so we could see they had eyes everywhere. The longer we wait to surrender, the worse it could get.”

“How did you handle it?”

“I reiterated my offer from last night and told him we’d be willing to meet at a time and place of his choosing. He said they didn’t need to make concessions. I told him neither did we.”

I grinned imagining the cold tone Remy would have used. “I wish I could have heard you.”

“I almost threw up after I got off the phone.”

My brother was really bad off if he was admitting weakness. “Remy, this isn’t your fault. You’re handling everything perfectly.”

“Thanks, I… Pop always made it look so easy. Do you think…”

“He got scared? Of course I do. I bet he was scared to death this morning when he saw Marjorie in danger.”