“We’ve met,” Xavier replies lightly. “I’m surprised you remember any of it.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Xavier Alicent. Of course. You kidnapped me.”
“It entirely depends on your definition of the situation.” Xavier shifts, placing a hand on my shoulder. Proprietary. Ownership. “I merely assisted.”
I go to push him off, tell him that this is no place for that kind of posturing. Except the moment our fingers touch, everything else disappears, and I find myself clinging to him.Needinghim. I can’t escape that feeling, of a hollowness inside me only he can fill.
Sebastian gives Xavier the once-over, barely looking at where we’re touching. He gives a self-deprecating half shrug. “Mostpeople don’t agree with my definition of things. That’s why I’m a lawyer.” He pushes back on his chair and stands, smoothing down his jacket. “I have something for you.” He opens the top drawer of his desk, pulls out an envelope, and drops it on top of a stack of papers. “This is yours.”
Xavier’s?
“I believe it has your name on it,” Xavier says neutrally, not moving.
My curiosity is piqued, and I rise from the couch to pick it up since no one else seems to want to. Settling back down, I slide out the single sheet of paper inside. A cheque. With a lot of zeros. I shoot Xavier a sardonic look, and he just gives me a half smile in return. “Overcompensating, X?”
“Paying my dues.”
“I don’t need your money,” Sebastian says flatly.
“Neither do I. Keep it, throw it out, donate it; I don’t care what you do with it.”
Sebastian’s jaw twitches. “Fine,” he bites out. “Our business is concluded; get out.”
I chuckle and lean back on the couch, spreading my knees. “Don’t be rude, Sebastian. You know it doesn’t work like that.”
“I don’t work for you anymore. There’s the door; use it.”
“Not your call.” It’s amusing that he thinks he gets to make the shots, or that he’ll ever not work for me. He sold his soul, and I have no intention of giving it back. For Jericho’s sake, I’ll at least be a little gentler with it. Regardless, I have work for him. “I have a job for you, and it takes precedence over anything else that you have on your desk.”
“Is Jericho in jail again?” he asks sarcastically. “I told him he should have stayed home today.”
“Not this time.” Still strange to hear “home” being referenced with my brother and not having it be the one I shared with him.It does remind me to rearrange his old room again and send a picture. So that he knows I’ve moved on.
“What do you want?”
“A man named Terry Inman was arrested at four-thirteen p.m. yesterday. He’s currently being held in custody.”
Sebastian narrows his eyes at me. He leans back in his chair and laces his fingers over his chest. “What do you want with him?”
“Him leaving the prison, at three sharp today.”
“I don’t perform miracles.”
“We both know that’s a lie.”
Sebastian scowls and pushes his glasses back up his nose. “What do you want with him?”
“Now, now, that’s not part of our arrangement,” I say lightly. The less he knows, the safer he is, and it’s that simple. Ignorance is bliss as they say. He doesn’t need to know my business or be involved in the things I deal with. He does what I ask, and in return, when he needs to dig deeper, I give him access to all the vast resources I have at my beck and call.
“Now it is,” Sebastian says flatly. “I’m not doing anything blind for you anymore.”
I share a look with Xavier, who raises a brow at me as if to say,Well, your move, darling.I can hear each word enunciated perfectly. Infuriating man.
“We’re looking for a man; Terry knows where he is.”
Sebastian lets out a sharp laugh. “When I say ‘not blind,’ I don’t mean blurred vision. Try again.”
“It’s the truth.”
