Page 61 of Sunrise Malice

“Knock it off, asshole,” I whisper loud enough for everyone to hear.

He grimaces and glares at me, but Valentina speaks before he can.

“I know we all have some history in this room. I mean, Julien, you did kind of try to kill me.”

I lean back and stare at him. “You didwhat?”

He holds out his hands. “I had bad information.”

“You mean you made badassumptions,” Valentina says, grinning at him. “But it’s okay, water under the bridge and all that. I mention it because I’m the last person that would want to actually help you with something.”

“That’s fair,” Julien mutters.

“And yet—” Valentina looks at Ronan. “I think he’s right. Dusan’s not going to stop until both Julien and Brianne aredead, and that’s an unacceptable outcome to me. If we let them duke it out for a while and wait until we’re forced to intervene, by then it might be too late. We have a chance to tip things right now.”

Ronan rubs his face with one hand. “You are a magnificent pain in my ass, Julien.”

“Same to you,” Julien says in response.

“Set aside your differences.” Valentina’s watching her husband very carefully. He’s looking right back, and some wordless communication passes between them.

Ronan curses and sighs. “Looks like we’re helping,” he says and points at Julien. “But you better not make me regret this shit.”

“So long as you keep listening to your wife, who happens to be much smarter than you are, everything will be fine.”

“Please don’t misunderstand this situation,” Valentina says, crossing her arms. “I still think you’re a prick, Julien.”

“This was unpleasant but productive.” Julien stands up. “We’re staying at the Moreau mansion, so don’t bother reaching out to my apartment.”

“I heard it’s mostly matchsticks these days.”

“Smithereens,” Julien confirms. “I’ll reach out to coordinate.” He turns to leave and I get up to follow him.

“Brianne,” Valentina says. “Can I have a word with you before you go?”

I hesitate and glance at Julien. Which is strange: why the hell do I need his permission to talk to the wife of my family’s boss? But for some reason, I look to him anyway, and Julien just nods.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” he says and touches my hip. I don’t know when we started these little physical gestures, but for some reason, I like it.

Julien leaves the room. Ronan makes an excuse about checking on his mother in the kitchen, and I’m left alone with Valentina. She comes over and sits in the chair Julien was in a moment ago.

“I want you to be honest with me,” Valentina says, crossing her legs and studying me. “Is he treating you okay?”

“Honestly?” I take a deep breath and blow it out. “He’s been good to me.”

She nods like she expected that. “Julien comes off like a bastard, but I don’t think he’s a bad person at heart.”

“He tried to kill you though? I mean, is that serious?”

“He wanted revenge for a friend.” She waves a hand, smiling to herself. “It’s complicated. Don’t worry about it. But really, I want you to tell me if you ever feel uncomfortable with Julien.”

I shift uncomfortably in my chair. “It’s nice that you’re offering, but honestly, he’s been nothing but good to me.”

“That’s good to hear. You two seem like you’re getting along.” Her eyebrows raise and she grins at me.

“Uh, I don’t know if I’d gothatfar, but, uh—” I clear my throat and try to smile back. “Yeah, we’re getting along.”

“Here, give me your phone. I’ll give you my personal number.” I hand it over, and she types it in before sending herself a text. “There, now if you need me, you can reach out.”

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