Remington (The Theriot Family 1)

Now we’d have to rush. Niall had made an agreement with Clark that someone would arrive and pretend to be a buyer. Clark believed we were doing this to distract the rest of his men and when the “feds” swept in, he would be taken into witness protection. In reality, he wasn’t going to survive the night.

I still wasn’t sure I’d done the right thing putting Lance in the role of the bumbling buyer. He was great with disguises, so I was confident he could keep from being recognized in a dark warehouse, and he could certainly act kooky and scatterbrained, but he was so observant, so well trained, I was afraid they might think he was law enforcement. I didn’t know if he could relax enough in the face of danger. Corbin would actually be more suited to the role, but I couldn’t chance his impulsiveness, not yet, not until I’d given him more opportunities with roles that were less critical.

Even if I had wanted to bring him with us, my father had ordered me not to. That was the only way he’d exerted control over the operation. I was sure he’d done it for Marjorie. Eventually, I had to give Corbin a trial by fire, no matter how much she wanted to protect him. If not, he was going to find a way to put himself in danger without us having his back.

Corbin had ridden with Pop instead of with me and Lance, but I’d have to face him soon. He was undoubtedly hoping to fully take part in this operation and likely thought he would be since he was being included in the staging meeting. I was going to have to disappoint him. I considered asking my father to deal the blow, but if I was going to be the leader, I had to be willing to dish out the good and the bad, no matter if it was my brother or my cousin or the man I was in love with.

I stopped halfway to the door of the mattress store that served as a front for us. We used the rooms in the back to conduct business.

Was I truly in love with Henri? I hated that I hadn’t seen him before leaving. I’d sent him a quick text as I left the party, and he’d sent back Stay safe and a heart emoji.

A heart. I couldn’t let myself read too much into that. I was a job for him.

Do you really believe that?

Did I dare not believe it?

“Remy. Jesus, where is your brain?” Lance shook my shoulder.

Fuck. How long had I been standing there? “I’m running through our plans.”

“No, you’re not. You’re thinking about Henri.”

I growled. “Don’t mention him again.”

“You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”

“What did I just say?” Lance never could leave things alone when he should.

“Remington?”

“Lance, we have a war to win tonight. That’s what I’m going to focus on.”

“That’s what you’re going to focus on from now on, you mean?”

I let out a long breath. I was tired of arguing. “Yes, from now on.”

“And afterwards, we’ll go for a drink and—”

“Afterwards I’m going home.”

He laughed. “So you can fuck Henri?”

I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and yanked him toward me. “Disrespect Henri again, and I will make you pay for it.”

Lance whistled. “I knew you were falling for him.”

I didn’t say anything else. My anger had already proven me a liar. The more I protested, the more Lance would poke. I needed him tonight, and if I beat the shit out of him, he wouldn’t be able to play the role I’d chosen for him.

My phone buzzed as we arrived. I pulled it out and saw another text from Henri. The man I saw before came back. Your security chased him off, but I wanted you to know.

Fuck. Who was it? I’d confirmed Charles was dead. Clark was still clean-shaven and currently at the warehouse waiting to enact our plan with the gunrunners. Did they have a cousin who looked like them? Was it just a coincidence? At least now I knew how to keep Corbin involved.

I sent a quick message back. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.

Corbin and Pop were already at the shop, along with Niall, Giorgio, and several of my cousins. The first thing I did after entering the room we used for mission briefs was signal to Corbin that I wanted to talk to him on his own. We walked out onto the showroom floor. I hoped Lancelot was briefing everyone like I’d asked him to.

“What’s up?” Corbin asked.

“I need you to head to my house and guard Henri. There’s some man that’s been hanging around who looks disturbingly like Charles Landry.”

Corbin looked ready to punch me. “You can’t be serious. You want me to babysit? I thought you were actually going to include me this time.”