He didn’t know how long they’d been sitting there, but it felt like forever. It was cold, dark, and one of the most stressful things Robbie had been through in his life. But if, at the end of this, Priest and Julien walked out of that warehouse alive, then he would happily do it a million times over.
As that thought came and went, Henri stood to his full height and growled between clenched teeth, “You motherfucker.”
Robbie trembled, too scared to ask what was going on, as Henri moved down to the second window of the shed and stopped. He stood there for a second, watching whatever was happening below, and then turned back and marched over to Robbie.
As he neared, Henri dug a phone out of his pocket and pushed a couple of buttons, then he handed it to Robbie and said, “You stay here until that phone rings.”
Robbie looked down at the phone in his hand 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, shock rendering him mute.
“Got it?”
He nodded, and as Henri turned and began to walk away, Robbie quickly got to his feet and said, “Where are you going?”
Henri didn’t stop, but he did look back over his shoulder to say, “Nowhere you need to worry about, bright eyes.” Then he winked at Robbie and pushed open the door that led to the narrow staircase they’d climbed up to get there. “Remember, fifteen minutes.”
Robbie clutched the phone, and as the door shut, he took a step back until he hit the wall. He shook as his nerves caught up with him, along with a whole lot of fear, and as he stood there by himself, Robbie brushed away the tears he couldn’t seem to stop.
Fifteen minutes, he thought, as he stared at the timer Henri had set on the phone. But if it didn’t ring in fifteen minutes, what did that mean? Priest wasn’t coming? Julien wasn’t safe? That gunshot he’d just heard had—
As the phone lit up in his hand, Robbie startled, and his heart pounded like a jackhammer as the chimes echoed off the walls. He took in a deep breath and swiped a seriously shaky finger across the screen, and then he brought the phone up to his ear and waited for the person at the other end to speak.
“Bonsoir, princesse.”
Robbie gasped and covered his mouth as he slid down the wall to the floor. “Jules…?” he said, as he shut his eyes and pictured Julien the way he had been the day before at breakfast, smiling at him, kissing him goodbye.
“It’s me,” Julien said, and then coughed, and Robbie shook his head, not wanting him to speak if it hurt.
“No,” Robbie said. “Don’t talk. Are you…? Is Priest…? Did Priest find you? Are you both okay?”
“Oui. He found me…” Julien said, and his voice was like angels singing in Robbie’s ear. It was that beautiful. But he hadn’t answered Robbie’s question. Were they okay?
There was some rustling and a curse through the phone, and then a voice Robbie would know with his eyes closed said, “Robert?”
“Priest,” Robbie said on a rush of air, relief flooding him now that he knew both of his men were alive. “You’re okay? And Julien?”
“Yes. Both okay,” Priest said in a clipped voice that told Robbie now wasn’t the time. “We’re coming to get you. But you need to tell me where you are.”
“Oh.” Robbie looked around as he got to his feet, and was about to go and look out the window when he froze and said, “Uh…Henri told me not to go near the window while Jimmy—”
“He’s gone, sweetheart,” Priest said. “Come to the window. Tell me what you see.”
Robbie shuffled to the window. “I…I can see Henri’s car. The trunk’s open.”
“Are you looking at it from the front? Or the—”
“Back,” Robbie said. “I’m looking at it from the back, and we climbed three flights of stairs. Henri said this is an old transit shed?”
There was silence at the other end for several seconds.
“I see you.” Priest’s voice was strong and sure. “Don’t move. We’re coming to get you.”
Chapter Thirty
CONFESSION
I want this, us, forever.
“TRY NOT TO move, okay?”
Julien sat on the side of the large porcelain tub in the master suite at The Peninsula, and Robbie stood between his legs with alcohol, bandages, and cotton balls. He was wearing a robe and frown that would rival Priest’s, and his tongue was poking out as he concentrated on what he was doing.
“I’ll try to be as gentle as I can, but”—Robbie carefully ran a finger along the cut on Julien’s swollen eye—“I know it’s going to hurt no matter what.”
“It’s okay, princesse. Do what you have to.” Julien didn’t care about the pain. He was just happy to be sitting this close to Robbie again. To be able to touch him, talk to him, smell him—and he smelled delicious. Whatever body wash he’d used earlier when they’d all gotten home, it lingered on his smooth skin as he moved a little closer and dabbed at Julien’s eyebrow.