“You don’t deserve anything,” Priest said, looking to Julien, whose eyes held a look of fear and…trust. And that look scared Priest almost as much as his father did, because what if he failed?
Jimmy walked around Julien, came to a stop, and said, “Maybe. But I have a feeling you’ll give it to me.” He pulled out the material that had been stuffed in Julien’s mouth, making him cough and swallow in new air as he tried to wet his dry throat.
“Julien,” Priest said, and went to take a step forward.
“Don’t even think about it,” Jimmy said, as he pulled his gun out. “You stay right there for this little rendezvous. But while we’re all getting acquainted, why don’t you introduce me to your husband?”
Priest said through clenched teeth, “You’re going to pay for touching him.”
Jimmy looked unfazed by the threat. He smoothed a hand over Julien’s hair. “Am I? But we’ve become such friends.”
Priest didn’t dare take his attention off Jimmy, but a feral sound escaped his throat.
“Now, now. There’s no need to get so worked up, Joel. We’re all adults here; surely we can have a mature discussion about what we can all expect from each other in the future.”
“How about nothing? I got what you wanted. Now you’re going to take it and disappear off the fucking planet.”
Jimmy’s eyes narrowed as he leaned down to place his mouth by Julien’s ear, and when Priest took an automatic step forward, Jimmy pointed the gun to the side of Julien’s face.
“I told you to stay put, boy,” Jimmy said. “And if you value his face, you’ll do as you’re told. I want to have a chat with my son-in-law.”
Priest’s nostrils flared, and as a tear slipped free of Julien’s good eye, the look there conveyed one thing: Stay there. Don’t you dare risk yourself. Not for me, mon amour.
But fuck that. There was no way Priest was going to let Jimmy hurt Julien further. He needed to distract his father. He needed to keep the fucker talking.
“So how did you do it?” Priest asked, knowing that, above all other things, Jimmy liked to talk about Jimmy.
“Escape?”
“No. That I already know. It’s all over the news. You stabbed two guards and one civilian. Jimmy Donovan’s murder record now sits at twenty-two. You must be proud,” Priest said, making sure to keep his voice neutral, unaffected by the revulsion he felt toward this man. “What I want to know is how you found me.”
As predicted, a smug smile warped Jimmy’s face, and he said in Julien’s ear, “Is he always this serious? He was such a quiet, timid boy when I knew him.”
Priest wanted to wipe Jimmy’s smile off his face with his fist, but before he could move, Julien said, “He’s not that boy anymore.” The underlying threat of Julien’s words wasn’t lost on Priest. They were, however, overlooked by Jimmy.
“No. He’s a man. A married man,” Jimmy said, and tapped his fingers on Julien’s good cheek. “Which makes him more likely to do what I want him to.” Jimmy looked up at Priest. “Isn’t that right? Don’t want your husband here to get hurt, do you?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Priest said, not allowing Jimmy under his skin, redirecting the wayward asshole. “How did you find me?”
Jimmy straightened, and as he did, Priest tried to think of the best way to reach for his gun without alerting his father. Jimmy’s eyes were like a laser locked on him, though, and Priest knew if he went for it, Julien was as good as dead.
“Really, Joel, I’d been keeping tabs on you for years. You didn’t think I’d just let you go, did you?”
No, he hadn’t. That was why he’d vanished. That was why he’d become someone else. Because he knew the kind of man Jimmy was. The kind who never let someone go—not even his son.
“You never really did understand our way of life. That was your downfall,” Jimmy said. “Always busy looking for a way out, and not really understanding how to survive within. People like me, we always have connections on the outside. We have connections everywhere.”
And like a sucker punch to the gut, Priest realized that all his extra diligence and secrecy hadn’t done anything to protect him and the ones he loved. Jimmy had been right all along. Even when you cut the head off the snake, it still had the power to harm you. Even though Jimmy, the head, had been locked up for years, his body—the rest of his miscreants—still existed to follow his lead. The only way it would end was if Jimmy did.
“My sources clearly need some improving, though, or replacing,” Jimmy said. “The last I heard, you were in Los Angeles, and I didn’t know you were married to cock.” Priest’s eyes fell to Julien, and an ugly chuckle left Jimmy. “I’m not all that surprised, though. You and Victor’s boy were awfully close. Yes?”