I try to not let my distaste at her suggestion show. “No disrespect, but I think we both prefer to not be so.”
Her secretary buzzes her intercom. “Henri Ulliel has arrived.”
“Send him in.”
Beside me, Nikos tenses. Both of us are surprised when Henri and Eva enter together. They are directed into chairs and neither look too happy about being here. Curious. Henri is perfectly coiffed, Eva on the other hand is definitely worse for wear, her face bruised.
Glorianna doesn’t leave us in suspense. She seems pleased when she announces, “I have before me three of the world’s most dangerous operatives.” Looking at each of us, I feel the full weight of her assessment and believe the others do as well. “Henri Ulliel’s intention is to take you three of you back to France.” She measures our reaction, or rather lack thereof. “However, I do not believe that is in the best interest of the United—”
Henri stands, interrupting, “You agreed.”
She lifts her hand in a gesture to silence him. “States. It seems the WODC has been left in a state of turmoil, following recent events, and something must be done to right affairs.”
One of the guards steps forward and takes Henri by surprise, injecting him with a syringe. He jerks, eyes bulging, before dropping back into his seat.
“I’m afraid he won’t survive the heart attack he suffers on US soil. The WODC cannot withstand the weight of more turmoil.” She looks at Eva. “I’ve been watching you for years, and I can see why he’d name you his successor. As of this moment, you report to me.”
Eva doesn’t show any outward response but an air of tension circles the room. I don’t believe any of us present are naïve enough to believe her refusal would face any result less than instant death. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Your first directive is to accompany Henri Ulliel’s body back to France and see to his state funeral.” There is a moment of labored silence followed by Glorianna clapping her hands. “Go now. I’ll be in contact.”
Two men drag out Henri’s body and without even a second glance Eva follows them.
Glorianna looks between myself and my brother. “Now, what to do with the two of you?”
I know the question was rhetorical but I can’t remain quiet. “Allow Nikos to retire. I would be
in your debt
.”
Nikos starts to interrupt but quiets when she looks at him hard. “Smart boy. Let your brother do this for you. You’ve earned a vacation.”
“You will wait outside.” She gestures at one of the remaining guards in the room to assist Nikos from the room. I feel his panic, as obviously does Glorianna. “Don’t worry. I’ll be finished with your brother momentarily. If I truly wanted you dead, don’t you think you would have died in Shanghai?”
I feel like I’ve been kicked in the balls, realizing she has orchestrated everything from beginning to end. Nikos exits the room accompanied by both guards, leaving me alone with Glorianna.
Nodding at me, she asks, “What are you willing to give me for this favor?”
I did this to myself.
Damn.
My silence is met by a direct order. “I need you. There are very few people I trust in this world. You are one of them. Consider the last few months a test. I couldn’t respect a man who wasn’t willing to die for his family, and you have proven you’re more than willing.”
I swallow hard, dreading the favor she is going to ask. A million scenarios circle through my brain as I consider the wildly fluctuating state of US-foreign affairs. The one post I don’t consider is the one she gives me.
“Starting Monday morning you will be my personal assistant. I’ll be announcing my bid for president.”
My jaw drops. I never saw
that
coming.
“Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In return, after your service to me and your country, you too will have your freedom.”
I am astonished but not left entirely speechless. “You have bodyguards.”
“I want you.”
I don’t miss her meaning.
“Is a few years service really asking too much when it guarantees both you and your brother retirement?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good. You have the weekend to get your affairs in order. Report to my Washington office Monday morning at seven a.m.”
“Washington? DC?”
“That is where the job is.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Military haircut. Clean shaven.”
I stand, trying hard to not show any reaction. Too late I realize my hands are fists. She meets me beside the door, giving me
that
look. She lusts me, pure and simple. I force myself to relax my hand before reaching to stroke her face. I whisper, “Glorianna,” and my voice cracks with emotion I wouldn’t even begin to be able to express.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
There is no way out of this assignment without perilous consequences. Of course, I could kill her…but she knows and I know…I won’t. We’ve shared a strange relationship for longer than I can remember. More than a decade. I aided her rise to a place of power and when I needed rescuing, she rescued me. She never asked for payment. She gave me a cushy cover story and few assignments.
“I’m not getting any younger, my sweet prince.”
I take her face in my hands, hugging her cheeks with my palms as I gaze deeply in her eyes.
Why are you doing this?
“She’ll wait for you. I’ve seen in her eyes how deeply she loves you.”
I go completely still, feeling threatened.
“She carries your twins.”
I’m barely breathing.
“Of course your sons will go to all the right schools, become skilled just as you and Nikos became skilled.”
My heart lodges high in my throat, choking me. I never believed she’d ever ask so much. I have Hektor and Nikkos, neither of which have been demanded into service.
“Twins have been and always will be a most valuable asset,” she says with great exaggeration. “Congratulations, Aristotle.”
I release her face to keep myself from breaking her neck. Without a word, I leave the office. There is a part of me that I never allow to react and that part is screaming in my brain so loudly that no other thought registers except that I must flee and take everyone I hold dear with me. The saner, less primal, part of me knows that there is no safe place on the planet I can run to.
My head is spinning as I am led down a long corridor to a very public lobby. My brother is being guarded by a Marine but is allowed to stand and exit the building with me. A taxi is waiting at the curb. Nikos waits until we are safely ensconced in the back seat before asking, “What did she say?”
In Greek I lay out the bottom line.
“You aren’t going,” he insists.
“There isn’t any other option.”
“I can think of a few.”
I look at him not believing his naïveté. “And have it
never
end? This is our way out of a profession from which no one retires.” I don’t mention her insinuation regarding my unborn children. The answer to that conundrum is best saved for another day. I stare out at the passing scenery, trying to figure out how in the hell I break the news of this latest disaster to Garrett and Sophia.
“You trust her to keep her word?” he asks.
“Yes.” I don’t look at him.
“And what do I do while you play secretary games?”
For a second the ocean comes into view and I am filled with melancholy for Greece. I want to pack up everyone I love and hideout in one of the rural towns of my youth. The taxi turns and I am again left with buildings to look at. I turn to face my brother. “You’ll take over my assignment here. I’ll get you settled in at Lewd Larry’s, bartender not Dominant. Trust me, it’s a fairly cushy place to work.”
He shakes his head and crosses his arms. “No way. I want out. I’m not like you, I can’t be a sleeper, waiting for months, maybe years for a job. I’ll die of boredom. A bullet between my eyes would be better.”
“No. It wouldn’t. Damn it, Nikos, you survived Cobra, you can survive Lewd Larry’s.”
The taxi pulls up to the entrance of Garrett’s building and I climb out. I wait for Nikos to join me but he makes no move to do so. I duck my head back in. “What are you doing?”
“You want me to go in with you?”
I shrug. “They’re going to have to meet you. You’re going to be working for them.”
He shakes his head. “This is a horrible idea. Have you considered what you’re going to do if they refuse to hire me?”
“I’ll take your ass back to Glorianna and she can find you a job. So you better go in and make them fall head over heels in love with you.”
With a heavy sigh he begrudgingly climbs out of the taxi and follows me through the opulent lobby. As we enter the elevator he demands, “I’ve been living in a dump and you come home to this every night?”
I roll my eyes. “You blew the roof off the tallest building in Shanghai and you think I would even dream of setting you up here? I don’t think so.”
He bobbles his head and repeats what I say mockingly, insisting, “Shanghai wasn’t my fault.”
The door is answered by Enrique whose eyes go wide when he sees Nikos. We push by him, leaving him gaping. Entering the living room, I see Sophia stretched out on one of the sofas, asleep. Garrett is staring out over the city, watching a glorious sunset.
“Gar?” I say softly, getting his attention.
He pivots on his heel and his expression goes from jubilant to angry in seconds, but he doesn’t say a word.
I leave my brother standing between foyer and living room to embrace my lover. Hugging him, I whisper, “We need to talk.”
He eyes Nikos over my shoulder.
Releasing him, I say, “May I introduce my brother?”
Nikos steps forward with his hand outstretched, a wide smile on his face. “I’m so glad to finally meet you. I want to thank you in person for saving my life.”
Garrett shakes his hand, though by the look on his face he would have preferred to not have.
“I’ve heard so much about you…from Thomas and George. I think my brother is very blessed to have you as a friend, Mr. Lawrence.”
Garrett takes a deep breath and releases Nikos’s hand. “What do I call you?”
“Joshua. Joshua Lambert.”
I hear Sophia gasp, though I can’t see her through Garrett and my brother. When Garrett goes to her and joins her on the couch the blood has drained from her face. She is staring at Nikos like she’s seen a ghost…or maybe a monster. In her mind I imagine that is exactly what she’s conjured, a monster capable of ripping the ménage apart. My job will be to convince her to not take her anger and disappointment out on him after I leave.
“Enrique?” I call, and he steps into sight.
“Sir?”
“Could you show Joshua to the guest room and make sure he has fresh towels? I promised him he could freshen up before dinner.”
Garrett and Sophia share a look and both of them are on the same page for the first time in a long time. Neither of them want Nikos under their roof a moment longer than necessary. Thankfully, Enrique doesn’t question, he does what he is told, leading Nikos from the room.
“I can’t believe you brought him here!”
I am shocked by the vehemence in Sophia’s voice. Even Garrett gives her a harsh look for her honest reaction though given time he would have said the same thing. I kneel before her, taking her hands in mine.
She jerks them away. “I thought I might never see you again. When you called you scared the life out of me. And now here you are with him.”
“When I phoned I wasn’t sure I would have another opportunity. If I’d have known the way things were going to have turned out, I wouldn’t have called.”
“So, you’re saying you were in danger…enough danger that you might have never had a chance to tell me you loved me again…and you called to say the words one more time?”
I nod and she slaps me.
“Damn you!”
I drop my face, knowing I deserve her outrage. I’m just surprised she hasn’t cracked under the pressure before now. Garrett wraps her in his arms so that she can’t move, and she struggles against him. “Kitten, please, calm down. It isn’t good for you or the babies to be this upset.”
“Did you hear what he said? He thought he might die. That’s why he called. I told you that was why, and I was right. He could have died today.”
He kisses her forehead, holding her tighter. “He isn’t dead. He’s here now.”
Her face crumbles as she demands, “What about next time?”
I bury my face in her lap, hoping she will be able to forgive me when I give her the rest of the news. A sob escapes before I can stop it. I have never been asked to do something this emotionally difficult. I don’t want to go on this assignment and if there was any way not to I wouldn’t. My tears shock both Garrett and Sophia into silence.
I wrap my arms tightly around her folded legs, hugging her, holding on to her as all the loss I’ve experienced the last year hits me. She leans over me, hugging me back. “What is it, Ari? You’re really scaring me now.”
I sit back on my haunches and wipe my face. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day, and I’m afraid I don’t have very good news.”
“O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard. Being in night, all this is but a dream. Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.”
William Shakespeare,
Romeo and Juliet
Thomas
“Take her with you.”
Garrett strides into the bedroom, finding me packing. I can’t say his demand takes me by surprise, but I find it disappointing. I’d hoped he’d step back into the game. Since announcing her pregnancy, it seems he’s been ready to walk away and allow us to be a happy couple, but neither Sophia or I want that. I answer, “That isn’t an option,” not even bothering to look up from the shirt I’m folding.
“She isn’t happy with me. When you are away, she mopes for you constantly.”
Grinding my jaw tight, I meet his gaze and silently count to ten. Then I count to twenty, knowing she is in the other room and the last thing she needs on the night of my departure, especially following the scare of a potential miscarriage, is the two of us butting heads. Under my glare, he flinches.
“Tell me what to do, damn it, because I’m out of ideas.”
I carefully lay the folded shirt into my suitcase before walking to him. We’ve been in this power play before, the moment when time slows and the walls around us throb, waiting, matching the rhythm of our heartbeats. Usually, we end up beating the hell out of each other or fucking each other’s brains out. Today we have time for neither. I step close, crowding him, but he doesn’t step back. I caress his face. “Do you believe it would be any different for me should the situation be reversed? Do you not understand that she loves us both fully with the divided halves of herself?”