He wasn’t going to be happy about anything.It would be a miracle if he was even willing to talk to Vale once this was over.Vale wasn’t sure what he’d do if he wasn’t, but he supposed he was about to find out.
He looked at Cyril, who was still frowning as he wrapped up John’s wounds.He was worried about someone he considered a friend, even though John had tried to kill Vale.His heart was too soft, but it was one of the reasons Vale loved him so much.
“Vale, have you ever heard of this Organization?”Cyril asked.
Vale needed to tell him, but not right now.First, he had a few phone calls to make, and he needed to come up with a way to tell Cyril about this without sending him running for the hills, screaming that Vale was a monster.
Vale wasn’t sure there was one.
“I’ll explain later,” he promised.“But I need to call Brutus and Artemis.”
That got Cyril’s attention.He frowned up at Vale, clearly unhappy and worried.“It’s bad, then?”
“It’s not good, but that’s why I need to talk to them.”
“I see.”Cyril looked back down.“Well, I’m going to finish taking care of this.I don’t want John to have to wait longer than he already has.”
“I’m fine,” John tried to convince him.
The way Cyril looked at him made it obvious that he didn’t believe him.Vale was glad that his boyfriend was distracted.He’d need more than a wounded baby professional assassin, though.If Vale was going to survive whatever was coming at him, he’d need his strongest supporters.
He left Cyril and John in the living room and stepped into the bedroom.Oscar was on the bed, but it was impossible to know if he was sleeping since he didn’t have eyelids—or eyes.Vale wasn’t even sure that Oscar ever slept.It looked like he did because he routinely lay on soft surfaces and spent a lot of time without moving, but Oscar wasn’t exactly a traditional pet.There was no way to know what was going on with him.
Oscar moved when he heard Vale.Vale waited, not surprised when Oscar slid off the bed.He’d been particularly attached to Cyril since Cyril had gotten hurt, and it hadn’t gone back to normal yet, even though Cyril was healed and as good as new.
Vale went to stand by the window after closing the door behind Oscar.He only wanted to have to explain himself once, so he called Russell and Rachel at the same time and put them on speaker.
“What happened?”Rachel asked when she answered a few rings after Russell.
Russell snickered.“You’re in trouble,” he told Vale.“She doesn’t sound happy.”
“That’s because I have enough work to do without you two adding to it,” she complained.“So?Has something happened?”
“The Organization is here,” Vale told both of them.
There was a moment of silence before Russell broke it.“Shit.”
Vale barked out a laugh.“That’s what I said.”
“How did they find you?Are you okay?”
“They didn’t find me.They found John, and while he’s a bit banged up, he’ll be fine.Cyril’s taking care of him right now.”
“Have you told him?”Rachel asked.
“No.I hoped I would never have to.”
Russell whistled.“Dude, I suck at relationships, but even I know you should’ve told him something this big, preferably before you two began dating.He’s going to be pissed that you didn’t.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
No, Vale was worried that Cyril wouldn’t want anything to do with him once he knew.It was why he hadn’t told him.He hoped this part of his past would never come out.It was murky, even for a professional assassin.Cyril might be able to accept that Vale killed bad guys for a living, but what about the not-so-bad guys?
Vale would have to find a way to explain that to him, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to.He wasn’t even sure where to start.
Hey, honey, an organization I used to work for that doesn’t care about who they kill as long as they get paid is coming after mewouldn’t cut it.Cyril would want more.He’d want details.
Details Valereallydidn’t want to give him.
