He wanted to make eye contact with Liam so badly, but he couldn’t.They couldn’t establish that they knew each other.Joshcouldn’tfall into Liam’s arms when they were so close to free and clear.
And for fuck’s sake, Josh couldn’t throw up onanybody’sshoes.
“Celeste,” Josh gasped, his act of pulling his shit together by sheer force of will purely authentic.“I will go call Jones to come reauthenticate.Too many people have been up here, wandering around, touching—this bozo just got his prints all over the place.We need to call the FBI art division to see if security has been tampered with.I don’t give a fuckwhothis guy is”—and he barely refrained from spitting on Kadjic’s shoes since he wasn’t going to puke—”but if this painting has been tampered with or replaced, your insurance people need to know.I’ll call Serpentus to make doubly sure.”
“You know who did this,” Kadjic roared.“You, boy—youknowwho did this!I will find him.I will find Lightfingers, and I will findyou!”
Josh turned from what had been going to be a glorious and dignified swanning out of Celeste’s gallery toward the elevators and her office.“This entire gallery heard you threaten me, whoever the hell you are.I’d better not get ahangnailbefore this is over, or Celeste here is going to sue you for your shitty suit.”
And before Celeste could turn pale and stammer—as Josh knew she would because no way could she pretend not to know that Josh had just sneered at one of the most powerful mobsters in the world—he hit the elevator, surprised to see that Liam was at his shoulder as the door closed.
Josh’s knees wobbled, and Liam’s arms came around him, holding him firmly until Liam hit the button and the car started its descent.
“What are you doing here?”Josh mumbled against his chest.
“Leon picked up Kadjic’s knife, and your security man finally stepped up to block him.”
“Thank you,” Josh said, still shaking.“But what areyoudoing here?”
Liam chuckled, the sound strained.With a soft movement he kissed Josh’s temple and whispered, “I’ve told you before, boy-o, nobody catches you but me.”
BETWEEN JOSHand Liam, they’d managed to contact the authenticator and the FBI stolen art department before the elevator touched the ground.
Carl was waiting in front of the elevators on the ground floor to represent Serpentus—capers like this were the whole reason Carl hadn’t quit his day job as a claims investigator for stolen art.
“Heya,” Josh managed.“Nice suit.”He tried to stand up straight, but Liam kept him anchored to his side, and Josh let him, his knees wobbling, his body done for the night.
But Carl had recently been talked out of wearing boxy American suits in brown, had actually tried a European cut suit in dark blue with a dark brown tie.The result was devastatingly handsome, and Josh didn’t want old habits to settle in.
“Thank you,” Carl said dryly.“Your mother gave it to me.My boyfriend ratted out my birthday, and here we are.Anyway—your ‘ride,’” and oh, that subtle emphasis did not bode well, “is right outside, pissing off the bellman.”
“Wait!”Josh said rather desperately—he’d planned this whole damned caper, dammit, and he wouldn’t leave any threads dangling.“Why are you here?I mean, it was an elevator ride and a stop in the office for my stuff.You wouldn’t be here that fast—”
Carl rolled his eyes.“My boyfriend and I were at a classic car show at the convention center a few blocks away.Besides, Josh, most rich people expect you to teleport—”
Josh swallowed and tried to warn his friend.“This is Kadjic,” he said softly.“He’s damned quick, and he’s mean.”
Carl’s eyes went dark.“So we heard.Go let Felix and Danny take you to the ER.You won’t hear the end of it until a doctor says you’re good.”
Josh swallowed, and Carl shook his head.“C’mon, kid, you did good.Trust your crew.You staying in the city?”
“Danny’s old digs,” Liam said, and Josh glanced at him in surprise.He’d thought he was in for a long haul back to Glencoe, but apparently not.
“Good.Serpentus will interview you in the morning.I’ll tell them I made you go get any bruises photographed, so that’ll keep everybody on their best behavior.”Carl made little shooing motions with his fingers.“Now go.”
And Josh had no choice but to do what he asked.Carl, or “Soderburgh,” as they called him, because when they’d all first met him he’d been using that as a cover identity, was actually a skilled insurance investigator, which only made him a better con man.He’d seen the best and worst in insurance fraud.He knew the desperate from the crooked and the grifter from the truly in need, and he knew how to catch both and let one slip away and the other twist in the wind.
That’s really all Josh’s people wanted from the world.
“Well,” Liam said as they got outside, “let’s get you settled.”
He opened the back door to the luxury SUV Josh’s father had pulled in front of the building and hit the button for the side step.Josh wanted to bitch—the nerf bar?Really?But his arms trembled, and so did his knees as he used the thing to boost himself up into his seat.
Liam shut the door and trotted around to the other door, and Josh’s two dads turned around from the front seat to get a good look at him.Danny had an eyebrow quirked up, and Josh grimaced, because that was his “Felix is on a rampage” warning expression, which meant his other dad, Felix Salinger—Julia’s ex-husband and the man who was, in public and in Josh’s heart, his actual father—was not pleased.
Liam climbed in, shut the door, and pulled his belt on as Josh tried to do the same.He twisted his shoulder then and let out an involuntary sound of pain, and shit.There it was.
“So,” Felix said grimly, “are you ready for a postmortem of the situation, or would that be me interfering?”
