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“Sounds very good to me.”
Pushing off the table, Lucas stood in front of Andrei, lifting his face to lightly kiss him, soaking in his touch, his scent, the sound of breath catching ever so slightly. He’d never expected this. He’d been content to focus his life on protecting his friends and building his financial empire. There was never supposed to be anyone else in his life, no one that meant as much to him as Andrei. “It all starts when we step out that door. Are you ready?”
“Will you be there with me?”
“Yes.”
Andrei smiled and it was like a light had been turned on inside of him, causing Lucas’s heart to skip. “I’m ready.”
Sliding his right hand into Andrei’s left, he touched his own tie and jacket one last time to make sure it was all straight before they walked to the door. On the other side, they found not only Candace waiting for them but Royce from Ward Security and two other police officers. They’d picked up a police detail for protection following Jagger’s attempt on Snow’s life. They’d had to come clean on the attack or risk causing a panic in the city, but now it meant there was an extra set of ears following them around at all times. Lucas wasn’t thrilled about the complication, but if it kept Andrei, Snow, and Jude safe, then he could accept the irritation.
A lady in a beige suit rushed forward with a nervous wringing of her hands. The various bodyguards tensed, but she immediately stopped moving and flushed as she eyed Lucas’s entourage. He’d long ago accepted traveling with Candace and the occasional bodyguard, but traveling across the city or even room to room in public entailed coordinating with up to six people. It was fucking ridiculous. The sooner Jagger was captured the better.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Vallois,” the woman said, her gaze shifting from the cops to Royce and then back to Lucas. “Are you ready to join us? Mr. Reed is about to finish.”
“Of course, Cindy. Please lead the way.”
With a quick bob of her head, she led the way, her high heels clicking on the marble floor down to the large conference room they’d commandeered for the impromptu press conference. Cindy opened the door and quietly stepped inside, but Lucas hung back, half hidden behind a large palm. He scanned the crowd to see at least a dozen reporters, many faces he recognized. All the local news agencies were there, both TV and print. He would have preferred to grab a few national groups, but they’d pulled this together at the last minute. Candace was still working a few other contacts to get the word out.
“Now, I’d like to introduce our generous benefactor of the hour, Lucas Vallois.”
Lucas smiled, covering up his surprise. He’d been lost in thought, not really paying attention to Bill Reed’s speech. He stepped in front of the podium with the cluster of microphones. He quickly shook Bill’s weathered hand, nodding at his thanks. Bill Reed was a good, sensible man. He’d stood at the head of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for more than two decades. He’d squeezed more than a few million in donations out of Lucas over the years and had even tried to talk Snow into changing to pediatrics when he was finishing up his residency. But most of all, the man truly loved kids, wanted the best for them. So when Lucas had cooked up his scheme, Bill was the first man he’d contacted.
Turning to the podium, Lucas upped the wattage of his smile and paused, waiting for everyone to settle after snapping a few photographs. He allowed his eyes to dart to his right briefly to find Andrei standing in the open doorway, a proud expression on his face. Today was about far more than taking steps to get Jagger out of their lives.
“I want to thank you for coming on such short notice today,” he opened, looking out at the attentive reporters. “It’s the holiday season and everyone is busy. We’re racing to finalize our holiday plans, go to parties, buy gifts, and spend time with the people we love most in the world…if we’re lucky.” Lucas closed his eyes for a second and struggled to keep his face blank as his mind flashed images of Ian and Rowe…and Mel. People out of reach, people he wanted to see and speak to again, but couldn’t. “But we need to also take a moment to help those who are in desperate need of our compassion and generosity.” He swallowed and opened his eyes, his mind focused back on the task at hand. “That’s why I’ve made my donation to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital today to aid their outreach program for abused and neglected children within the tri-state area. And I would like to challenge the people of Cincinnati to rise up and match my donation. In addition, Vallois Enterprises has teamed up with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and several other local children-focused charities to kick off the first annual Children’s Winter Gala at the Union Terminal in one week. I will be hosting it with my fiancé, Andrei Hadeon. Tickets—”
