Jamie thought about all the problems that would cease to exist if Stanislav was no longer in their lives. “Then you can say your finger slipped on thetrigger.”
Kyle grinned at him before leaning in for a kiss. “This is why Iloveyou.”
3
A Poison That NeverStings
Alexei steppedout of the SUV beneath the umbrella Trevor held out for him to take. Paris in November was cold and wet, the dark sky above covered in low-hanging clouds. The cold weather was a far cry from the desert climates he’d traipsed through over the years as an adult, but similar enough to Boston that he wasn’t really botheredbyit.
Alexei turned around and extended his hand to help Katie out of the SUV. Despite the weather, she wore a pair of four-and-a-half-inch stiletto heels that could probably take out someone’s eye if she used them as a weapon. A charcoal-gray trench coat that fell to her ankles protected her form-fitting cocktail dress from the weather. Alexei had opted for a designer wool coat similar to the one Jamie wore, charged to Jamie’s account. It was warm and comfortable, and Alexei wasn’t givingitback.
He wrapped an arm around Katie’s waist, tucking her underneath the umbrella as he took in the front of the luxury hotel. Le Meurice was practically a stone’s throw away from the Ritz, where the team was staying for their single night in Paris. Like the Ritz, the luxury hotel’s staff on hand was slavishly attentive to theireveryneed.
Annabelle and Donovan would stay with the SUVs while Trevor and Madison acted as bodyguards for the four of them inside during the meal. La Fleur was one of the premier restaurants in the world, tucked away behind the Le Meurice’s antique façade. Alexei had already resigned himself to a dinner of artfully plated food that wouldn’t completely satiate his hunger. Rich people apparently liked food to be pretty, notfilling.
He already had plans to hit up room service at the Ritzafterward.
Alexei watched as Kyle slid out of the SUV and ducked underneath Jamie’s umbrella, Jamie’s arm snaking around his waist to pull him close. The valet service was conferring with Donovan and Annabelle about where to park, and they left them to it. Jamie looked their way and tilted his head at the entrance in a commanding gesture. Alexei didn’t need to be told twice to get out of the windandrain.
They hurried inside where a tall, slim Frenchwoman greeted them in accented English. “Bonsoir, Mr. Callahan. My name is Giselle Dupont and I’m the resident manager for Le Meurice. I understand you are here for dinner only, but please let me extend the hotel’s well-wishes for an excellent stay. If you need anything during your short time here, please don’t hesitatetoask.”
“Thank you, Ms. Dupont,” Jamie said in a cool, distantly polite tone. “We have a nine o’clock reservation and don’t want tobelate.”
“Then let me take your coats and show you to yourtable.”
Right on cue, several hotel workers seemed to appear out of nowhere, ready and willing to take their coats and umbrellas. Alexei handed the closed umbrella to the nearest attendant before shrugging out of his long, heavy coat. He’d donned a navy three-piece suit for dinner tonight and had been ordered by Jamie to wear a tie. Alexei surreptitiously tugged at the knot, feeling like it waschokinghim.
“Stop it,” Katie told him out of the corner of hermouth.
“Hate ties,” he muttered under hisbreath.
“You’ll live, so stopsulking.”
Alexei bit back a scowl. He wasn’tsulking.
You’re sulking,Katie repeated telepathically intohismind.
NoI’mnot.
Katie gave him a long look, one brow raised in silent judgment. Alexei sighed irritably. Dealing with all this shit was so much easier when he got to do it with Sean. He wasn’t going to hide the fact that he missed Sean, who was still unreachable due to his undercover mission, but that didn’t mean he wassulking. The Ritz was drowning in luxurious opulence, and Alexei had indulged in more than one wistful thought about ruining the expensive sheets in the room he was sleeping in alone. A guy coulddream,okay?
Katie gripped his elbow tightly and proceeded to drag him after Jamie and Kyle, her high heels clicking quietly on the marble floor. Alexei lengthened his stride to keep pace with her as they followed the others down a wood-paneled hallway to La Fleur’s entrance. With Giselle as their guide, they bypassed the hostess area and stepped into a room that looked like it belonged inVersailles.
Cream-colored curtains draped around the tall windows that overlooked the Tuileries Garden, which was softly lit against the night with a warm glow from street lamps. In contrast, the dining room of Le Fleur was brightly lit to highlight the richness of the décor. In the center of the ceiling, surrounded by a circle of gold-leaf wooden molding, was a fresco depicting various flowers. Hanging from the center of it was a large, heavy-looking gold and crystal chandelier that scattered the light across the room. Six smaller chandeliers were evenly spaced around thecenterone.
Intricate wooden moldings, appliques, and onlays covered in gold leaf sat atop black, white, and gold marbled wall paneling. Antique mirrors were spaced around the room, subtly giving the space depth. The centerpiece of the restaurant was the large fresco set in a circular marble frame above the unused marblefireplace.
People dressed to impress dined at tables covered in white linens. Giselle led them around the outskirts of the dining area toward the antique glass French doors which opened up onto a private dining room just as expensively decorated as the main room. Two bodyguards in dark suits stood outside that entrance, their expressions stony anduninviting.
Neither man protested Giselle’s approach; one went so far as to open the door for her and their party. Trevor and Madison took up positions outside the private dining room as the rest of them entered the intimate space. Inside, a tall window overlooked the Tuileries Garden, and the clear line of sight made Alexei twitch. The long rectangular table was set for six, with the head of each side already taken by father and son. Alexei had only seen pictures of the two, but even in real life, his opinion of them hadn’tchanged.
They reminded him too much of the hardened men and women who had instigated a campaign of harassment and terror against his family and other refugees back when he’d been a child in the Ukraine. In those refugee camps and cities in that contested area, families remained isolated out of a need to survive the cruelty people such as the Pavluhkins and theirPresnenskaya Bratvacoulddoleout.
Yakov Pavluhkin was tall and solidly built, with the excess of his wealthy life carried around by a heavy gut. The suit he wore was tailored to help hide the result of indulging in too much rich food and drink, but clothes couldn’t completely erase a sedentary lifestyle. In his late sixties, Yakov’s thinning brown hair showed no signs of gray, and the tight, shallow wrinkles on his face spoke of one too many enhancementprocedures.
In contrast, Stanislav must have taken after his mother more than his father. Not quite as tall as Alexei or Yakov, with sharp features most people would consider handsome, Stanislav smiled at their arrival, blue eyes crinkling at the corners. His light-brown hair was fashionably styled, and his bespoke suit was more on trend than any oftheirs.
Both men stood up to greet them, and Alexei let Katie and Jamie take the lead while he and Kylehungback.
