Page 60 of Warrior's Cross

Julian closed his eyes and jerked his chin to the side, visibly expressing his disbelief. He’d known when he got the call this would be a bad idea, coming to Tuesdays tonight. He backed away from her in annoyance, then turned and strode to the doors, pushing through them and disappearing into the crowd again without another word.

Cameron moved through the restaurant in an exhausted daze, musing over the deflated, disorganized air about the restaurant as the staff cleaned up. These parties always ended with everything in disarray.

People always moved chairs, shoved together tables, and left dirty plates and half-full glasses in odd places.

He didn’t even want to begin thinking about the bathrooms.

Someone always found at least one pair of lacy underwear. Blake kept them in a drawer in his office labeled “Lost and Found.”

Cameron wondered about Blake’s sense of humor sometimes.

Miri broke through his fatigued mental ramblings when she approached him. “Tell me who he really is,” she demanded.

Cameron’s back stiffened immediately. “What do you mean?”

“Julian,” Miri hissed at him. “Who is he, really?” she asked him with a frown, her hands on her hips as she looked at him. “He won’t speak to you in public and he’s... he’s all mysterious and silent and... scary,” she stammered.

“Scary?” Cameron asked, turning to look at her, surprise on his face. “Why would you think that?”

“He was back in the service area tonight, demanding to see you,” Miri told him as she folded her arms around herself. “He didn’t even raise his voice at me, but...”

Cameron swallowed hard. He knew Julian could seem intimidating—tall and dark and hulking, his stoic expression rarely changing and his voice rarely above a whisper. “But?” he pushed.

“He frightened me,” Miri answered quietly. “Hegrowledat me.

Does he . . . is he like that with you? Does he, like . . . threaten you?”

“Threaten me? No!” Cameron exclaimed, horrified. Why would Julian act like that toward Miri—toward Cameron’s friend? “He’s... quiet. And gentle, usually.”

Miri looked at him dubiously and shook her head. “What does he do?” she asked. “Why was he here tonight but ignoring you? Is he some closeted politician or a criminal or something? Is he married?”

Cameron’s mouth worked but nothing came out. All of his own unanswered questions started crowding his mind. “I told you. He’s an antiques dealer,” he managed to answer. He took a breath, trying not to overreact. Married? She thought Julian might be married? He quailed at the thought. He really didn’t know, but surely to God the answer was no, right?

“So why not speak to you?” Miri reasoned.

Cameron curled his fingers into his pants legs and shrugged. “I told you. He was working,” he insisted. “Besides, hetriedto speak to me, but apparentlyyoukept him away.”

Miri stepped back, looking hurt. “I couldn’t let him back there,” she said defensively.

Cameron merely rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned away to start sorting the plates into stacks to be picked up and taken to the kitchen.

“Hey, did you guys hear about the guy that got dead after the party tonight?” Charles asked them as he walked by with an armload of dirty dishes.

“What? No! What happened?” Miri asked in surprise.

“Somebody said he had too much to drink, stepped in front of a cab or something. It broke his neck,” Charles answered with the sort of morbid glee that could only come from talking about the odd or gruesome death of someone you hadn’t known.

“Jesus!” Miri exclaimed in horror.

“Yeah. They said one minute the dude was standing there waiting for a cab, the next this big guy next to him is grabbingfor him, trying to catch him as he fell. That’s got to stick with you for a while, huh?”

Charles said as he filled up on more plates and kept walking toward the kitchen.

“Wow,” Miri murmured, still staring at Charles as he walked away. “Talk about a rough night,” she muttered as she looked back at Cameron. “What was I saying?” Miri asked.

“You were talking about leaving me alone,” Cameron tried.

“Is Julian dangerous?” she asked him suddenly.

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