Page 35 of Vail

“This whole thing with Gil.” Barry raked his hand through his hair. “We’ve been scouring all over, had your men and private investigators looking for him. Now we know he’s alive, but where the fuck is he?”

“He could be anywhere. Lawson tried to trace the number, but he didn’t get anywhere. Gil’s not an idiot.” If he was, he would have been behind bars. Instead, he was smart enough to get in with the right people and keep his freedom.

“I hate to point out the obvious, but he wants Vail any way he can get him. He’s going to keep trying until he succeeds.” Barry held up his hand before I could interrupt him. “I know Vail won’t ever go, but Gil is sick in the fucking head. He thinks of Vail as his property and is using any mind tricks he can to fuck with him.”

“It works,” I muttered, my shoulders slumping. I hated how Gil could affect Vail with a simple text or well-placed reminder Gil wanted him.

Barry used his foot and pushed one of the rolling chairs toward me. I sat, leaning back so I could focus on the screens. Everything was quiet except for Sheldon walking through the hall.

“He doesn’t sleep,” Barry said. “Every night he gets restless and paces. He’s quiet as fuck too. No noise, just his movement tripping the sensors. One night, I saw him climb out of an air duct. When I asked what he was doing, he said he was looking for a place to nap.”

“Sheldon is a mystery we won’t solve anytime soon.”

Just then, Sheldon stopped, turned to peer up at the camera, and blew it a kiss. He was gone a second later.

“There’s nothing more for us to do than we already are,” I told Barry, going back to Gil “We’re going to have to wait for Gil to make his next move. When? Who the fuck knows? All I can do is keep Vail well-guarded.”

“He’s working at Untouchable tonight, right?”

“Yes, he’s on the dinner shift. Dexen hired another full-time cook to shorten Dana’s hours and Vail’s when he’s there. Vail likes working though. He likes to be busy, which reminds me… Are there any vacant rooms we could remodel?”

Barry cocked his head. “What are you thinking?”

“Vail likes to work with his hands, whether it’s to do manual labor or cooking. Maybe we could put in a commercial-grade kitchen. Vail can cook for more than Hart and me, if he wants to, that is. He could design it, pick out the appliances. Hell, I’ll even put him on the payroll.”

“He’d never let you pay him.”

“You’re right.”

Barry rubbed his chin. He opened his mouth to reply when the click of the lock disengaging had us turning toward the door.

“Morning,” Sheldon said, walking in. He was in a pair of navy sweatpants and a long-sleeved gray shirt. “What are we talking about? It’s rare I get others to chat with in the early morning hours.”

Barry toed a chair to him. The other guard still monitored the screens, staying silent while we talked.

“I mentioned having a commercial-grade kitchen put in for Vail,” I told him.

“Can’t kill his ex, so you want to build him something pretty?” I hadn’t thought of it that way. “He still won’t let you hunt Gil down?”

“No, but he relented and said if Gil threatened imminent death on another, I could kill him.”

“Take the win for what it is. A kitchen, huh?”

“Do you think he’d like it?” I hated the vulnerability in my voice, the fucking softness. I almost growled but held it back. Vail and Hartley were the men I loved. I’d drop to the floor and worship at their feet, but that love was bleeding into other areas. It made me expose more of my jugular to those around me.

“Yes, but he’s going to want to help pay for it, or at least do the work.”

“That was part of the equation. I could pay for the materials, and he could make it his own. Hell, he could run a fucking catering business for all I cared.” He couldn’t offer personal lessons here though. If he wanted to do that, I’d find him a different space. He still used his home for now, as long as I had men with him.

“It’s a good idea. This will show him you listen when he talks and understand his needs and desires.”

“He already knows that.” I did growl that time.

Sheldon held up his hands. “It’s four in the morning. No need to get pissed at this hour.”

“I’ve been angry since the auction. I want Gil dead, chopped up in tiny bits and fed to the fucking otters.” Why I chose otters was completely up to how pissed I was and them being the first animals I could think of.

“I don’t think they come into the creek. They’re river otters, not creek otters.”

---