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As he continued to move with Henri inside him, Bailey pushed up, wanting to see Henri’s face. All of the want, all of the need, and all of the pain Henri kept hidden behind that tough exterior was right there for Bailey to see. Cut open, exposed as he stared up at Bailey with hope in that brilliant, bold stare.
In every way that counted, Henri was the bad boy full of confidence. But as his body tensed beneath Bailey’s, and he finally let go, he grabbed Bailey and pulled him in tight, as though Henri were afraid he was going to disappear.
As Bailey’s body clenched, his body began to tremble and his orgasm raced down his spine.
Then, just as it was about to hit, Bailey raised his head, wanting to watch Henri’s face, and that was when it happened. That was when he saw that confident exterior crack open and the vulnerable man beneath reappear.
Henri was looking up at him as though Bailey had just handed him the moon, and he was so beautiful, and so very real in that moment, that Bailey knew whatever was happening was special. It was something he was going to fight to hang on to if he had to, and it was that knowledge, that deep-seated truth—that he could really come to love this man—that finally hurtled him over the edge and tumbled the two of them straight into the euphoria that waited on the other side.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
CONFESSION
My reality is something I have to deal with, but how can I ask that of him?
THE DISTINCT AND terrifying sound of a gunshot blasted through the still night air like a lightning bolt, striking and hitting the empty transit shed where he and Priest’s princess—Robbie—had taken up post.
They’d been hunkered down now for what felt like an eternity, waiting in the silence for some kind of sign from Priest that he’d found Julien, and everything was okay. This was not a good sign.
“Was that a gunshot?” Robbie said, as he sprang to his feet.
Henri peered out the dirty window he’d been crouched in front of, and when all he saw was a whole lot of nothing, he said, “Shit. Don’t fucking move.”
To his credit, Robbie froze exactly where he was. “Was that a—”
“Yes,” Henri said, and then jabbed a finger at the floor. “But you gotta sit down. Stay out of sight.”
“But I—”
Henri turned away, effectively cutting off communication as he looked back out the window, desperately trying to see something, anything, and he was thankful when Robbie did as he was told.
It had been a couple of minutes since the gun had gone off, and as the silence now surrounding them became close to deafening, a door at the end of the warehouse flung open and Jimmy slipped outside with the two duffel bags in hand. “You motherfucker.”
Henri’s stomach revolted at the sight, bile rising in his throat fueled by fury, as he thought, If that fucker is running out of there upright and fully abled, then who the hell isn’t?
Please don’t be Joel, please don’t be Joel, he thought over and over again. But when the alternative hit him, and Julien’s kind, handsome face came to mind, Henri cursed, knowing that if Joel lost Julien, it’d be as if he’d died anyway.
Fuck.
Shoving that dismal thought aside, Henri got to his feet, moved down to the second window of the shed, and stopped. He stood there for a second, watching as Jimmy slithered between a row of buildings, keeping to the shadows as though that would help hide him from the world, but Henri was an expert when it came to existing in the dark, and he’d made a promise that he planned to keep tonight.
Knowing he needed to get the fuck out of there or risk losing his target, Henri dug the burner phone he’d brought with him out of his pocket, and set the timer for fifteen minutes before handing it to Robbie. “You stay here until that phone rings.”
Robbie looked down at the cell and then back to Henri. “Wh… Huh?”
“If it doesn’t ring in fifteen minutes, you call the cops.”
Robbie blinked a couple of times, the shock of the night clearly rendering him mute, but then he looked at the numbers counting down on the phone.
“Got it?” Henri asked, and when Robbie nodded, Henri turned and headed toward the exit.
“Where are you going?”
Henri didn’t stop, his adrenaline now working right alongside his anger to spur him into doing what he should’ve done years ago to protect Priest.
Where was he going? He was going to right the wrong that had been brought into the world the day Jimmy fucking Donovan had been born, and he planned to do whatever he needed to end this nightmare tonight.
When he reached the exit, he looked back to the young man who had somehow charmed his way into his heart over the last couple of days, and was content in knowing that if he were to die tonight and that gunshot had been for Julien, at least Priest would have this beautiful man to love him.
