Alex half-turned to look at Valac over his shoulder. “Give us a few minutes. We won’t go far.”
Valac inclined his head, and Alex led Talon outside.
For a moment, Julian let himself wonder what it would be like to share that kind of intimacy with another. Holding hands. Slipping close and providing the solid foundation when their world felt like it was falling away. Being the person someone leaned on when things got hard.Havingsomeone to lean on when things got hard.
Valac shifted, and when Julian looked up, he found Valac’s gaze already on him, drinking him in. Julian looked away, heating at the attention.
While they waited for Talon and Alex to return, Wolf grabbed a broom with a withering look in Valac’s direction and started sweeping up the broken glass in front of the fridge.
It didn’t go unnoticed. Valac clasped his hands behind his back and offered, “I apologize for my part in breaking… whatever that is.”
“It’s a refrigerator,” Malachi said. “It keeps things cold. Or, kept.”
“Perhaps I can help replace it,” Valac said.
“You have no money, behemoth,” Wolf said, not unkindly. “You’re not even topside enough to know what thisis.”
Valac frowned, uncertainty making him droop. “I would like to learn. I plan to stay on the surface for some time now, acting in part as a liaison to the leviathan.”
“Assuming he agrees,” Shadrach muttered.
“He’ll agree,” Ira said, and that seemed to settle the matter for everyone.
“Then maybe you can work it off,” Wolf said. “We could use bouncers at the club.”
“Hey!” the white-haired Storm protested.
“Morebouncers,” Wolf amended. “With the paladins acting up, I don’t want to risk another attack on the club. Having a behemoth to help guard the place would be good.”
“Especially now thatwehave money tied into that place,” Shadrach agreed.
“There might be unrest among the halflings when Talon first takes over, too,” Malachi said. “Couldn’t hurt to have a behemoth hovering around to make sure no one misbehaves.”
Valac nodded. “I would be happy to help.”
“He can stay in one of the apartments above the bar,” Ira said. “The ninth floor penthouse, maybe, below Talon and Alex’s current place.”
Wolf wheeled around, the shattered glass forgotten. His crimson eyes went from Ira to Valac and back. “That’swhy we furnished that second apartment so quickly?”
Ira smiled. “Maybe.”
Wolf shook his head, his mouth twitching. “Sometimes it’s hard to be around you.”
Ira laughed. “Yeah, I know. You love me anyway.”
“You know I do,” Wolf said, returning his attention to the broom and the broken glass. “Literally. You know I do.”
Julian melted back into the rocking chair, and Valac returned to his side. It had taken the last of his energy to get between the brawling demons, and he was flagging by the time the front door opened again. The room was relatively quiet, no one was paying him much attention, and it had been a monumentally long day. He still needed to go back to his car and get home and check on his house.
He didn’t realize he was slouching, his head drifting to one side, until it came into contact with Valac’s hip. He jerked upright, and Valac’s hand settled on his head, threading into the dirty strands of his hair in a way that made his eyes want to close even more. It was a real struggle to listen to what Talon said next.
“All right, I’ve made my decision.” With his arms crossed over his chest, Talon looked as surly as ever. Beside him, Alex looked like he’d been running his fingers through his hair. Whatever they’d talked about outside seemed to have been intense.
“And?” Valac asked.
Talon nodded. “I’ll do it.For now.But not forever.”
Valac inclined his head. “Forever is a very long time.”
