AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do not get me banned from Fontainebleau. I am coming back here and exploring every inch of this place.” He glanced over his shoulder to see Edward smirking while weaving his way through the parking lot.
“I think I should be more concerned with keeping you alive.”
“I don’t wanna live if I can’t come back here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”Edward wanted to promise to bring Daniel to Fontainebleau again personally so they could explore the royal château together, but he wasn’t going to make promises to Daniel that he wasn’t confident he could keep. He didn’t know what was going to happen after the information was secured, and all the loose ends were tied up. Daniel would undoubtedly go back to his life as a sexy accountant in Cincinnati.
And Edward?
He was almost never in the States. He couldn’t invite Daniel out for trips because it would put Daniel in danger. His life was complicated and didn’t have room for people who wanted to stick around for longer than one night.
Before Daniel, his life hadn’t seemed complicated at all. It had all seemed incredibly simple. There was work. And he loved his work, so he didn’t mind that work was all he had. Work gave him adventure, travel, new experiences, and knowledge.
But now work had become a complication instead of a joy.
After parking the car, Edward sat and tightly gripped the steering wheel while mentally shaking his head at himself. This was what he was thinking about before going into a dangerous meeting? He’d let this thing with Daniel consume him far too much.
Normally before a meeting, he was reviewing all the known entrances and exits. He was going back over the plan step by step, looking for possible ways for things to go horribly wrong. He was reviewing what he knew about the people he was meeting and how they might react to their information.
No, today he was thinking about how Daniel didn’t fit into his life and how he really wanted to take Daniel to visit Fontainebleau.
He needed to get his head in the game, or they were both going to end up dead before the end of the day.
With a reassuring smile to Daniel, he led the way over to the information desk and ticket center. He bought them both tickets for the Grands Appartements to give them access to the entire château even though he had no intention of going inside. Without a doubt, there would be discreetly placed cameras and security to protect everything. They needed to be able to come and go with as few people watching as possible. It was relatively early in the day, and the grounds had been open for less than an hour. A tour of the château took two hours on average, and most people headed directly inside. With any luck, the dreary weather would discourage a lot of the tourists from taking a stroll through the gardens. Or at least, they’d choose the bright and airy Jardin Anglais over the wooded Jardin de Diane.
Daniel walked alongside him, their footsteps crunching on the gravel walkway. Edward angled them immediately away from the large entrance toward the garden path. He could feel eyes on them, but he’d yet to spot where they were watching from. It was unlikely someone had procured a perch on the château roof. The French were hardcore when it came to the security of their historical treasures. One of the few reasons he’d visited the Louvre was to meet with other dangerous sorts. The Louvre had amazing security, sharply reducing the chance of someone bringing in a weapon for a nice, polite chat.
“We never covered what I’m supposed to say to these people,” Daniel said in a low whisper.
Edward almost wanted to laugh. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who was distracted. Not a good thing, but Edward wanted to think that maybe he was occupying Daniel’s thoughts. Or maybe it was just the château.
“I think I should be able to handle most of the talking,” Edward murmured. He had a hunch and he was eager to see how this meeting played out.
“Why am I here with you? I could have sneaked off someplace to cover you.”
“Because I worry less about you when I can see you, and because I think our new friends have figured out that you’re not Kevin Jones.”
Daniel pressed a hand to his chest and gasped loudly. “Oh! You worry about me?” he teased.
“Really not what you should be focusing on here.”
Daniel snorted. “True, but the other thing freaks me out.”
Edward had to agree with him there. They fell silent as they continued to walk down the tan stone path between perfectly trimmed blocks of green grass. It all looked so pristine that it didn’t quite appear to be real, but he could smell the dirt and sharp scent of the grass as if they’d just cut it earlier that morning.
