“What is the delay? Where is everyone? What the f—” New Orleans stops when he sees me bent double. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Apologies, sir,” Erik says in a smooth Cajun accent. My eyes go to his, and he sends me a wink. “Tiny here has asthma, and it got the better of him. I was just about to make you a fresh pot of coffee. With chicory, correct?”
This man’s presence shakes everything in my core. While Erik pretends to attend to the percolator, New Orleans stands in front of me.
“See here, stand up straight,” he demands.
I comply, despite the world going untethered all over again. He runs the back of his hand down my vest, and I stand there, rooted to the marble floor, shivering.
“Hm. You are indeedtiny. I prefer ’em younger, but for you, I might make an excep—”
He blinks at me, unsure why his ability to speak has been so abruptly arrested.
Could be the cat got his tongue.
Could be the stiletto Erik just jammed into his temple.
The world may never know.
He lists to the side, and Erik catches him, pulling him into a fireman carry. I watch, helpless, as he walks down the service steps to the car. Efficiently, if unceremoniously, Erik dumps him into the trunk. He then walks back into the kitchen, grabs one of the disposable masks hanging from the key rack, and stops in front of me.
“You have every right to be mad at me right now, but let me take care of this and get you out of here in one piece.”
Breath finally returns to my lungs, and I give him a sharp nod.
He dons the mask and makes his way down the hall.
“My apologies, Miss Guillory,” he says in a muffled Cajun accent. “Mr. Lowry had to attend to an emergency and sends his regards. Breakfast is almost ready. I can bring you a plate, or should I package it for you to take with you?”
“Oh, I’ve already eaten. I was just stopping by. Did he say what it was? Is it his momma?”
Erik pauses for half a second. “Again, apologies, you may not realize, but his mother passed last year. I am not aware of the nature of the emergency, only that he had to make haste.”
Hm. I can’t tell if she’s testing him or not. She might not be so innocent after all. I’ll let Wimberley sort her out.
“Well, then, darlin’, send him my regards and tell him I’ll stop by later this week.”
“I’ll do that, ma’am.”
Erik then makes his way back into the kitchen, and I watch, numb, as he puts everything into a garbage bag. His large hand is warm on my elbow as he gingerly walks me down the stairs before pausing to toss the garbage bag in the back with the trash. After closing the trunk, he leads me to the passenger side.
“Change of plans. We’re taking him to his hunting cabin outside of Slidell.”
Shit.We should’ve done that from the beginning.
I nod and sit back as he pulls the seat belt across my lap. We make our way into the city and are halfway over the bridge to Slidell before the words come.
“I know it was a bad situation. I know you were protecting me. I still wish you would have asked first. I mean, thank you, obviously, but I would have liked a choice.”
Erik takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “He touched you.”
“But—”
“Shut up and listen to me, Ant. The deal we made with Charlie is that you can kill them, but if they pose a danger, I intervene. You can handle an armed combatant. I’ve seen you do it. But you froze when he put his hands on you.”
“I would’ve—”
Erik pulls over on the narrow right of way and turns to face me. “I have no doubt—not one single doubt—that you would’ve pulled yourself together and handled him. Eventually. It would have been messy, though, and you don’t have to be messy. You’ve got me. You’re too important to let some dick-stain get into your head. You put together a beautiful plan, but the situation changed. I know who this guy is. What he did to you. I’ve seen the line item in his account history. Me and our buddies in Wimberley have already decided we’re not taking our share on this one. We’ll split with the rest, but this guy’s accounts? All yours. Congratulations, Ant. You’re a multimillionaire.”
