Lucius (Acquisition Series #4) - Celia Aaron Page 0,62
right. I really do. Because if you’re not …”
“I trust her. Would I have let her go play with Teddy if I had any doubt about her?”
Stella sighs and pulls out the hot roast. “No.”
“Okay. Trust me about her.”
“I’ll try. But if she tries to hurt any of us—including you—” She rams a thermometer into the meat.
“Point taken.”
“Good.” She peers at the reading, then pulls the thermometer out, seemingly satisfied. “What about this guy that killed the Sovereign? Sin told me he has a thing for Evie?”
“He’s gone silent. I’ve had my contacts looking for him everywhere, but he’s disappeared. I guess after the bloodbath he pulled at the party, he’s come to his senses and realized killing the Sovereign wasn’t a great idea. The rest of them are probably after his head, if they haven’t got it already.”
“If he’s busy avoiding them, that’s one less thing we have to worry about, so I’m all for it.” She pulls out a long knife to slice the roast. “But if he’s as much of a loose cannon as he seems, he’s far more dangerous than the rest of them. They go by their ‘rules’ to a fault, including the ‘untouchable Sovereign’ one. It’s the only reason they haven’t started a full-on war with us. If this Charles doesn’t care about the rules, then he’s a completely different animal.”
She’s right about that.
“We’ll find him. I’ve already had my people check in at Beau Corrigan’s. His widow is still there; otherwise, the place is empty. We’ve checked all his homes—asshole has a plum condo in the Warehouse district—he hasn’t been back. I’ve put lookouts all over the place for him.” I want to catch him quickly and put him down like the rabid dog he is. If he bit the hand of his master so easily, he’ll have no problems coming after Evie.
“If he comes for us, he’s mine.” She slices through the meat with finesse.
“If he comes here, he’s even dumber than I thought.” I can’t imagine the fun Sin and Stella would have carving up that raging dickhead.
I turn when I hear footsteps on the front stairs, then walk out to meet Teddy, Sin, and Evie.
“Everything all right?” I ask her.
“I showed her my Lego Hogwarts.” Teddy is beaming up at her. “She loved it.”
“He’s Slytherin.” She raises her eyebrows.
“It’s the best house, don’t you think?” He walks into the dining room with her as Sin shoots me a dark look.
“What? Has she done anything wrong at all?”
“No, but—”
“Give her a chance.” I put my hand on his shoulder and keep him in the hall as Teddy regales Evie with all the reasons why Slytherin is the best house. “I know I’ve made so many fucking mistakes, but she’s not one of them. Can you please trust me on this?”
“Has she returned the iPad?” he asks sharply.
“No, but she will once she feels safe.”
“She doesn’t feel safe with you?”
“No, she doesn’t feel safe with you. She’s worried that if she turns it over, you might go after her… Not that I’d let you hurt her.”
He considers me for a while, then asks, “When you aren’t with her, are you thinking about her?”
“Yes.”
“Is she the first thing you think about when you wake up and the last thing before you fall asleep? Can you handle her quirks, however odd they may be? Do you want to hurt her? To make her cry? To put her back together? To lift her up? To please her even when what she needs might hurt you? Can you give her what she needs in bed, and can she give you what you need? And, most of all, can you two be together even though you killed Red?”
“What are you, a couples therapist?”
“I’m serious, Lucius. I’ve been married for long enough to know that these are the things that matter.”
“Yes to all of those questions and more. I don’t know how to convince you of what I feel in here.” I tap my sore chest. “But it’s real.”
He wrinkles his nose at the thought of me having a heart, then glances into the dining room. “Look, I know you’re a foolhardy dumbass who makes split-second decisions without enough information. But this is so far out of your usual MO that I’m somewhat curious to see how it ends. Then again, Stella and I are together despite all of our … history. So maybe this makes more sense than it should.”