Page 13 of Prodigal

Curious.

Gideon watched André as he stood with his back against the door he’d just closed, expression startled. After doing a deep dive into André’s and his sister’s lives, Marco had warned Gideon that André was different, but Gideon hadn’t believed it.

He did now.

They lived simply, despite the money Gideon knew André had inherited upon his mother’s death and Ennis’s monthly deposits.

A payoff to ensure the unwanted son kept his distance and his mouth shut?

More and more, Gideon found himself seriously disliking Ennis.

“Nobody’s trying to kill me.” André blinked at him. “Why—Why would you say that?”

Gideon shrugged, taking a step toward him. “Maybe because we just rescued you from a sticky situation? One that would have definitely seen you and your precious sister dead?”

André narrowed his eyes, jaw ticking. “Jules told me what you did for her. For us.” He swallowed, shuffling from foot to foot. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Jules and I are gonna leave?—”

“Before you go, I’d like to have a word.” Gideon turned on his heel, heading toward his office without waiting to see if André followed. The others didn’t because they already knew he needed privacy. He didn’t want to spook André more than he already had.

In his office, he stood in front of his desk, arms folded, waiting, barely hiding his irritation as it took André an inordinately long time to enter the room. When he did, he did so cautiously, as if expecting something to jump out at him.

As André gazed around the room, Gideon studied him. André was slimmer than him—long torso, long limbs. His hair was cut short, skin medium brown, eyes a few shades lighter. Thick brows, full lips. There were drops of blood on his blue t-shirt, and his black jeans and sneakers were dusty. The single gold cross earring in his left ear intrigued Gideon.

“Jules tells me you’re some kind of important person.”

Gideon smiled on the inside at André’s words. “Your sister is…remarkable.”

André pursed his lips. “I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not.”

“Oh, it’s very much a compliment.” Gideon grinned. “I think she knows more about me than I do.”

André winced. “Sorry about that.”

“No.” Gideon brushed off the apology. “It’s all right.”

André stared at him for a beat, then straightened, folding his arms. “What did you want to discuss?”

Right. Gideon took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke. “When my people pulled you and Jules from the pizza shop?—”

“Shit!” André jerked. “The cops. I didn’t— I need to speak to someone, don’t I? They’ll want my information and to know what happened. I should—” He turned toward the door.

“That’s been taken care of. You’re fine.”

The other man faced him slowly. “It’s been taken care of?” Deep lines creased his forehead. “What does that mean?”

Gideon smiled and walked toward him, stopping just before they were chest to chest. “It means exactly what you think it means.”

“I—” André shook his head slightly. “You’re gonna have to spell it out for me.What do you mean?” he asked forcefully.

Being questioned and doubted was something new for Gideon. He didn’t like it. He swallowed the irritation. “The pizza place has been shut down temporarily.”

“Tony and?—”

“They’re fine. I’m sure you can appreciate that they’ll need some time to recover from their ordeal. They’ll be back when they’re ready.” With their bank accounts a lot heftier.

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