“I need Maxence here because I need his damn vote, not fucking off with Estebe Fournier’s wife!”
Funny, neither Arthur nor the others had mentioned Estebe Fournier or his wife, Simone Maina, yet.
Pierre had not only known that Maxence was missing, but also with whom.
Now, was it a collaboration or a competition to kidnap Maxence?
Also, Pierre seemed very assured of Maxence’s vote in whatever matter that was, so maybe Pierre hadn’t killed him.
Arthur wasn’t sure, though. He ventured, “It was like she made him disappear within the casino.”
“That’s what Jordan Defrancesco said.”
Arthur nodded and allowed a hint of a smile on his mouth. “Oh? Jordan Defrancesco saw it happen?”
“Yes.”
“How fortuitous that your man happened to be right there and saw them.”
Pierre flipped his fingers in the air, exasperated. “I had him following Maxence.”
“Is he reliable?”
“He’s a special forces operator.”
Pierre hadcommandosfollowing Maxence that night, not merely bodyguards.Interesting.“It’s good that you had Maxence under surveillance last night.”
“I always have a team on him.”
That was true.
And yet—
Something was still not right.
Maxence always ditched his bodyguards. It wasn’t a game for him or mere petulance. Max eluded Pierre’s bodyguards because, in most situations, it was safer for Maxence to be on his own rather than under Pierre’s thumb.
Last night, Pierre’s security had been closing in on Max. As Arthur had seen in the surveillance footage at the casino, at least two bulky men had been encroaching on Maxence’s position between the two casino roomsbeforeSimone Maina had bolted through the salon to Max.
And then he’d disappeared.
The question was, had Max evaded Pierre’s security as usual and disappeared on his own, or had Pierreor someone elsetaken him and Arthur hadn’t detected the snatch?
Yes, Pierre could have been working with Estebe Fournier to find Simone and, most likely, capture Maxence.
Both of them were just the type of psychopaths who would do it, too.
There had to be some way for Arthur to force Pierre to make a mistake.
Arthur said to Pierre, “Good foresight of you to have security on Maxence.”
“Of course, I do. Ialwaysdo. If anything happens to me—” Pierre shook his head.
Arthur let his gaze drift away from Pierre as if he were bored, turning to look out of the windows and beyond to the sparkling, blue Mediterranean Sea that shaded to silver in the morning sunlight. His tone was careless. “Yes, yes. I’m sure you go to great lengths to protect your brother.”
“I do,” Pierre snapped.
“Especially with the impending Council of Nobles meeting.”
