Page 40 of Jonathon, After All

“Excuse me, sir,” Markus said, tapping on the opened bathroom door and interrupting Leo’s private lecture. He turned from the mirror and raised a brow, signaling for Markus to get on with it. “You have a visitor,” he said with just a hint of a smile.

Leo pushed past him and raced out of the bedroom and down the suite’s private stairs. “Is it Jonathon?”

“No,” Markus called after him.

“No, it's just Theo,” Leo’s brother announced from the penthouse’s hallway. His hair and suit were rumpled and there were bags under his eyes, but Leo thought he was dreaming as Theo opened his arms wide. “I can turn around and go back to Austria but I heard you needed help.”

“Get over here,” Leo growled, rushing to him and pulling Theo into a tight embrace. He cradled the back of Theo’s head, doing a quick check to make sure everything was in the right place and his brother felt well. They could always feel when the other was scared, sad, or angry.

“Who the hell is this Jonathon and who does he think he is, hurting my big brother?” Theo asked, leaning back and patting Leo on the cheek. “I’d like to have a word with him.”

“It was me,” Leo said, then sneered over Theo’s shoulder at the window and the storm battering the city on the other side of the windows. He’d be out searching the bars and the clubs for Jonathon if it wasn’t so wild out and if it wouldn’t cause Markus to have a stroke. Leo felt useless and claustrophobic, waiting in his suite. “And Sabine. After years of scolding me about my phobia of the internet and technology, it’s bitten me in the ass in the most dramatic fashion.”

Theo groaned sympathetically, never one to gloat or say “I told you so.” He pulled Leo into another hug and clapped him on the back. “We’ll find a way to fix this. We always land on our feet,” he said, making Leo chuckle. Theo never lost faith when times got dark and they always found a way. “Sabine was the one who called me. She said you’ve lost your mind and won’t talk to her, that you’re turning the city upside down and you refuse to eat or rest.”

“I’m fine but you have no idea how much damage she’s done,” Leo ground out. “She knew how much he meant to me and how much Jonathon loved me, but she manipulated me and made a fool out of me to keep us apart.”

Theo’s jaw fell and he drew back. “Sabine Aigner? Your Sabine?” he verified, then winced and nodded. “If she thought you were at risk…” he said with a pained groan. “Verdammte Scheiße… I’ve always known that she had feelings for you, but I never imagined she’d?—”

“I put an end to that years ago,” Leo interrupted with a hard shake of his head. “She knew it was never an option and she had ten years to tell me the truth.”

“Alright…” Theo whistled as he nodded and Leo could tell that his brother was already looking for a solution. He couldn’t rest if he knew that Leo or the other two were hurting and Heaven help any man who wronged one of Theo von Hessen’s brothers. While Theo wasn’t a particularly violent man by any means, he didn’t mind a good brawl. He could hold a grudge, but charm was Theo’s preferred weapon.

He had connections everywhere—in the most unlikely places and with the most unlikely people. But Theo was admittedly too handsome and pampered to do any actual work.

“What do we know about what Sabine has actually done? You can’t do damage control until you know exactly how bad the damage is,” Theo said, making Leo sigh as he put an arm around him.

“You look exhausted and you probably haven’t had a decent meal since you left Austria. You could have just called if you were worried.”

Theo gave him an offended look. “You know me better than that and you never answer the phone. I slept most of the flight,” he said with a sly smirk. “And I ate very well,” he added with a suggestive wiggle of his brows.

“Don’t tell me,” Leo said, pushing him away. Theo was openly pansexual like Leo, just even more so. Knowing Theo, he probably had sex twice during the trip. “I don’t want to know if you’re using my demise as an excuse to fuck your way across another continent.”

“Not at all,” Theo said and pursed his lips curiously. “Why would I need an excuse and that can wait until we’ve found this mysterious, missing Jonathon.”

He was right in that he never needed an excuse, or had to make much of an effort. Theo had an uncanny effect on men and women so a queue had probably formed in the aisle next to his seat. And after the plane had landed, the entire crew and passengers had probably cheered and waved him off.

Everyone loved Theo.

Physically, too, if there was enough time and a scrap of privacy. But as far as Markus’s and Sabine’s sources could determine, Theo was always a gentleman and left nothing but giddy, satisfied conquests in his wake.

“I hope the State of New York and their National Guard are prepared,” Leo teased him. He pulled Theo into another hug, sincerely grateful to have him there. They were like night and day, but there was no one Leo trusted more than Theo and he needed another loyal ally in the city after Sabine’s betrayal. “I’m sure Markus is glad to have some backup. I’ve been extra difficult since the gala,” he said and offered Markus an appreciative nod.

He was posted by the living room door, looking on as he received updates through his earpiece. “Not at all, you’re always this difficult,” he said, then ignored them as he questioned someone about flights out of New York.

“I’m not leaving until I’ve found him and cleared this up,” Leo warned him, receiving a flat look from Markus.

“You’ve made that very clear, sir,” he said dryly, taking out his phone and swiping at the screen. “But your assistant is in exile and half of your entourage needs to return to Austria to prepare for Ball Season. You’re on the board of two major balls this year and your wardrobe and security detail need to be arranged because you have a full calendar of events to attend.”

“Right…” Leo bit down on his lips, nodding. “I didn’t realize. Is it almost November already?” he asked with an apologetic grimace. Sabine usually handled most of the finer details and just told him where to go and what to wear. “Don’t mind me, then,” he said and turned back to Theo. “As I was saying, Markus could probably use a hand.”

“Where can we get a drink?” Theo asked him. “Let’s get out of Markus’s way and you can catch me up on everything that’s happened,” he suggested.

They huddled together in the living room and Theo was baffled as Leo recounted his month at Schönbühel with Jonathon and Muriel.

“I can’t believe you never told me,” he said, sounding truly offended. “How is this the first I’m ever hearing about Jonathon? You loved him, Leo. There’s no way I would have let you give up or let Sabine get in the way.”

“I’m sorry.” Leo held up his bourbon defensively, then took a long sip. He groaned appreciatively at the heady caramel and vanilla fumes and the pronounced smokiness. “There is one upside to having your heart crushed in America: you get to nurse your wounds with excellent bourbon,” he noted, earning an enthusiastic hum from Theo.

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