“My company dropped me.”
Oh shit.
“Charles took the car and credit cards.”
Henri wanted to say,I’ll get you new ones. Seb wouldn’t accept a handout. “Stay with me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve let someone else call the shots in my life for too long. I need to stand on my own two feet, make my own destiny.”
“But your pat…. Charles… is acting against you. Let me level the playing field. C’mon, Seb. Please.”
“Sorry, Henri, but I can’t.”
Stubborn ass. “I have three houses.” Soon to be four. “I’m not using any of them right now, and Charles sure as hell doesn’t know where they are. Why don’t you stay at one of them until you work out what to do next?”
Sebastian’s silence answered for him.
“Are you going to press charges against Charles?” Why the fuck wouldn’t he fight back?
Seb snorted. “Who’d believe me?”
“It might not be just you, you know. What if he treats his family the same way?” Killing was too good for the man. If Henri ever caught him. “Twenty Years to Life.” Oh yeah, he’d act out one of his own songs about a guy who went on a rampage against his brother’s killers.
“He doesn’t. His wife is too highly placed, and too visible. Besides, I met her once. She’d kill him if he dared lay a hand on her or the kids.” Seb trembled as he spoke.
Henri held him tighter. “What now?”
“Now I want to spend a night with you, if you’ll let me. You don’t have to say anything. In the morning I’ll go and attempt to win back my life.”
“Seb?”
“Yes?”
“If you won’t ask anything of me, can I ask a favor of you?”
“Sure.”
“Four favors, actually. First: call me whenever you can, let me know you’re okay.”
Silence.
“Second, we’re opening for Hookers and Cocaine in a month. I want you in the audience.”
“I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise where I’ll be. What are the other two?”
With a brush of his lips against Sebastian’s forehead, Henri murmured, “Get away from him. He’s poison. I know how his kind works. He’ll say things, do things, to twist your mind. Get away from him.”
“That’s only three favors.”
“And you haven’t given me an answer.”
Seb huffed out a sigh. “I’ll avoid him as much as I can, but as I mentioned earlier, he’s got a lot of pull.”
“Then here’s the fourth thing.” Henri reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, and extracted a card. “If you won’t take my help, then please call Dr. Worthington. She’s really helped me. She can help you, too, to sort through all the shit. Please?”
