Paris put his palm on Boone’s shoulder, gently rubbing. “Hush.”
With that single word and touch, Boone slumped like a puppet after its strings were cut. I’d noticed the odd dynamic between them before, but after seeing those pictures… I wasn’t even surprised. It made perfect sense.
“Let’s sit,” Paris said.
Boone obeyed, lowering his huge body onto the sofa. Paris sat beside him. He took Boone’s hand and held it withboth of his in his lap. Boone closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the sofa. It was fascinating how fast the big scary alpha relinquished all control to Paris.
“We don’t know what he wants, but we can assume,” I said.
Lothair nodded. “I haven’t spoken to him since I fired him, but I know him. With the productions Allan Caspian has lined up for you and me, Carlos feels cheated out of loads of money. He thinks he made me, that I’m nothing without him, and wants his share of the cake.”
“He’s a simple man, then,” Paris said. “Predictable.”
“Yes and no.” I took a deep gulp of my drink, wishing for the umpteenth time that alcohol had some effect on me. “I suspect the security leaks we’ve been facing were intentional. He found the most effective way of getting you press and didn’t care if you ended up in danger.”
“Could he be behind the car crash as well?”
“I didn’t think so before, but now I’m reconsidering,” I replied. “He could have hired someone.”
Paris squinted at the envelope lying on the coffee table. “Interesting. So he’s willing to go quite far.”
“Unless he’s in danger himself,” Lothair said. “He’s afraid of Terry and Boone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have banned you from the office, right?”
“But he’s also getting desperate,” Paris said. “If this goes wrong for him, he’s finished. Nobody will work with him ever again. He could even end up in jail.”
“Or dead,” Boone said darkly.
Paris chuckled and lifted Boone’s hand to his lips for a soft kiss on the knuckles. “No, baby. Carlos will survive.”
Boone grunted.
“What do you suggest?” Lothair asked, his eyes on Paris.
“He wants money. We pay him.”
Lothair leaned forward. “You want to let the crooked little fucker blackmail us?” His voice rose with frustration.
“We pay him to destroy the images, which will buy us time.” Paris’s smile was as angelic as ever. “It shouldn’t take long to dig up enough dirt to sink him. His closet must be full of skeletons.”
“Do you know people who could do the digging?”
Paris gave a pleasant nod. “I know people.”
“So tomorrow, we’ll go meet him and pretend he’s getting what he wants.”
“Yes.”
Boone sat up straight. “No. Mr. Olivier is not going without me.”
“I don’t think Paris and Lothair will be in direct danger…” I began.
“No!” Boone growled, tearing his hand out of Paris’s grip and slamming a fist into the coffee table.
Paris turned to Boone, his gaze stone-cold. Boone was shaking his head vehemently.
“No.”
“Boone. It’s the best solution.”
