Lachlan led them back into the cold concrete tunnels, and they went down and down and down. Apollo's legs were shaking, and sweat was covering him when Lachlan found the exit. He pushed open the door, and keeping as low as possible, they used the full underground parking garage to hide from security behind pillars and cars.
Apollo felt like he was out of his body. The only thing keeping him from curling up into a ball was Lachlan's strong hand in his. They waited until the guard in the ticketing booth was distracted by something on his phone before they crept under the gate and up and out into the cold, wet streets.
They were a block away when alarms sounded, and Valentine laughed wickedly.
"Too slow, assholes," he snarled softly. "Someone must have tried to pick up one of the books I took and realized it wasn't solid."
"Hiding a crime with another crime was a good idea," Lachlan said, but the humor in his voice didn't touch his eyes. He removed his jacket and put it around Apollo to stop him from shivering.
Apollo gave him a weak smile. He felt like crying again and hated it.
Lachlan put his arm around his shoulder. "Come on, my golden boy. Let's get you home."
22
Lachlan didn't like the haunted look in Apollo's eyes one bit. Once they reached the apartment, Apollo headed straight for the bathroom.
"Don't worry about him. He likes water to process things," Valentine said, noticing Lachlan staring after him.
"Can I do anything for him?" he asked.
Valentine frowned thoughtfully. "Food helps? I'm going to go upstairs to sort out my rescued treasures and go to sleep. After what we found in the lab tonight, I doubt we will be going home any time soon."
Lachlan ran his hands through his curls. "I'm going to make some food. Do you want anything?"
"I ate at the party. You two were too busy to notice how good the food was." Valentine paused on his way up the stairs. "Don't fuck on the couch."
"Good night, Valentine," Lachlan said with a roll of his eyes.
The eldest Greatdrakes gave him another warning look before he went into his room and shut the door behind him.
Lachlan took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. There wasn't much left in the fridge, but he had the ingredients forcroque monsieur, so he got to work. He didn't know how to cook much, but the fancy toasted cheese sandwich was something he had learned to make when he was a kid, and he always seemed to fall back on it when stressed out.
Apollo appeared fifteen minutes later when Lachlan was sliding the tray into the oven. He was in pajamas and smelled like citrus as he collapsed on the couch.
"You okay?" Lachlan asked.
"No. I just need to lay here for a minute," Apollo replied through the pillows he piled on his face.
"I'm going to have a quick shower, then I'm going to feed you," Lachlan replied.
Apollo grumbled something in reply, but Lachlan didn't catch it. He showered quickly, needing to scrub off the creeped-out feeling the Sanguis Vitae building had left on him.
Lachlan threw on some pajama pants and headed back into the kitchen. Apollo lowered a pillow, and his eyes danced over Lachlan's bare chest. He pretended not to notice as he got the tray out of the oven and plated up Apollo's sandwich. He cut it into fours before putting it on the coffee table in front of him with a glass of water.
"Eat something, Apollonius. You will feel better," Lachlan said before going to get his laptop. He needed something to calm him down and knew what to do. He plugged his laptop into the TV and turned it on.
Apollo removed the pillow from his face and stared at the sandwich. "You made me croque monsier?"
"Yeah. You have a problem with cheese?" Lachlan asked, getting his own plate.
"No, it's just... My mom used to make it for me when I had a bad day," Apollo replied, still looking at the plate. "You even cut it into squares."
"I notice you do that at breakfast because you don't like getting food on your face," Lachlan admitted. It was like Apollo had no idea how obsessed he was with him. Well, he was going to learn. He sat down on the couch beside him and fiddled with his laptop.
"Thanks for the food," Apollo said, barely a whisper, and nudged Lachlan with his knee. "What are we watching?"
"You have a choice.HighlanderorShrek 2."
