Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
I shiver, trembling slightly. Pascal’s gaze is like a lead weight on my chest. “I was hoping I could go back to my rooms.”
“Yes, dear, of course you can. This is your home now, after all, since you married my adopted grandson.” He shows teeth in something resembling a grimace. “I really hope the two of you get along for a long time, you know. Henri truly does have a most wickedly impressive memory and an almost obsessive drive to get revenge. Dear, don’t look at me like that, it isn’t a threat, merely an observation.”
“Why do you call him your grandson?” The question spills out before I can stop it. If I could kick myself in the face, I would absolutely do it right about now.
Pascal’s eyebrows raise. He looks surprised, which I think is the first bit of real emotion I’ve gotten from him so far.
“Interesting. Not many people have the courage to wonder that aloud. But since you are family now, I’ll tell you. I’m too old to be Julien’s father, and I never wanted him to get attached to me as such. I felt that Grandpère was close enough to the relationship I was interested in with him.”
I shiver and look down at my feet. His coldness is astounding. He speaks of taking in a young, orphaned boy as though it were a business arrangement.
“I was just, uh, curious. That’s all.” I sidestep again, inching toward a nearby door. “Thanks again for your help.”
“You know, my dear, sometimes I wonder if Julien wouldn’t be happier with the wife I chose for him. Collette is such a nice girl, and the two of them used to get along so well. I hear she has grown into quite the beautiful young lady, and she’s French, of course, which is all the better. No offense, dear, but the Irish?” He makes a face and shakes his head. “An inferior kind of person.”
“I’m American,” I mutter at him.
“Even worse. Don’t fool yourself. Julien will come around to my thinking soon enough. He always does. And when that happens, you won’t have his protection anymore.”
I dart past the old man. He only watches with that creepy smile on his face as I hurry down the hall, my heart racing in my throat. I’ve never met someone with such a raw, evil vibe before in my life, like Pascal would’ve been happy if Henri had caught me and vivisected me right there on the floor.
No wonder Julien hates him.
And no wonder Julien told me to stay far away.
Chapter 30
Julien
Ifind my wife curled up on the couch. She’s awake, but I can tell something bad happened by the way she flinches when I sit down next to her.
“You smell like smoke,” she says, watching me from her end of the couch.
“And you look like something bad happened.”
She flinches and stares down at the floor. “It’s nothing. Honestly, I’m fine.”
“Tell me.”
I can barely restrain my anger as she goes through the story. First Henri gives her shit, and then Grandpère does his creepy psychopath act on her. Now she’s so freaked, she’s trembling.
“I’m going to kill Henri,” I say, turning to the door. I’m boiling with rage. How dare he try to put his hands on my wife? How dare he talk to her like that? I’m proud of Brianne for fighting the asshole off, but it never should have been necessary to begin with.
I’m going to find him and put a fucking bullet in his head.
“No, wait.” She gets up and comes after me. “I think that’s what they want you to do.”
I growl at her and storm to the door. “He will never get anywhere near you again, I can promise you that.”
“Julien, stop.” Her tone’s sharp and that’s the only reason I don’t go storming out into the hall. “Listen to me. I think they’re just trying to rile you up.”
“Then it’s fucking working.”
“Don’t give them what they want. If you go out there and start something with Henri, it’ll give your grandfather more of a pretext to keep prying the organization away from you.”
I grunt in frustration because she’s right. If I start a fight here in the mansion, the men will know something’s going on. I can’t just kill Henri either—that’s guaranteed to start a conflict, but I don’t know how many men I can reliably count on right now.
I’m going to end Henri. I’m going to send him burning into hell where the fucker will suffer for all eternity. But I have to do it the right way.
Frustrated, I grab Brianne and pull her against me. She releases a soft breath as I kiss her, slamming my hungry mouth onto hers. I love the way she tastes, the way she whimpers every time I touch her, like she can’t control the noises she makes. It’s intoxicating, how much she likes this.