Page 93 of Warrior's Cross

It would have been comical if Julian hadn’t sounded so furious.

Cameron tended to his other tables and kept an eye on that one, just in case violence erupted. He didn’t think it would—he thought Julian had nearly limitless control—but tonight it seemed like Julian’s anger bordered on rage.

When Cameron glanced back several minutes later, he saw Lancaster upend the wine bottle over his glass and shake it. He dreaded going back to the table, but he knew he had no choice.

“More wine?” he asked quietly as he stepped up beside the table.

Both men answered at the same time, Julian with a resounding “No” and Lancaster with a cheerful “Please!”

The waiter raised a doubtful eyebrow, suddenly seeing the morbid humor of the situation. It wasn’t at all funny. These two men were at each other’s throats, but there was an element to it that made him want to laugh hysterically. “How about I take your plates while you decide?” he offered tentatively.

Julian sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, watching Lancaster through narrowed eyes. Lancaster mirrored him and cocked his head to the side. “Dessert?” he asked with a smirk.

“Go fuck yourself,” Julian answered calmly.

Cameron had no idea what to say and wished he could just walk away. Instead he started picking up both plates and soufflé ramekins.

Lancaster glanced up at him and narrowed his eyes. “You’re the bloke who claimed he didn’t know Julian,” he said. “‘Never heard of him’. Funny that, because my sources told me you two were a bit of a thing,” he continued as he leaned more across the table toward Julian and grinned. “That research thing again,” he mused with a shake of his head.

Cameron couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Julian. He willed Julian to believe that he hadn’t told Lancaster anything. God, if Julian thought he’d betrayed him on top of everything else...

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” Cameron managed to get out.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Lancaster laughed wryly. “Don’t worry about it, mate,” he sighed as Julian remained tense and silent. “He doesn’t really care what you do anymore,” he announced as he met Julian’s eyes.

“I’ve been stalking you for weeks, and Jules here hasn’t said word one about it. You’ve got new things going, don’t you, Jules?” he asked maliciously. “No need to bother with the cast-offs.”

Cameron flinched before he could stop himself. Julian, stone-faced as ever, glared at Lancaster without ever bothering to look at Cameron.

“Come on, Jules,” Lancaster invited, still smiling the same charming, almost boyish smile even though his eyes glinted dangerously. “Tell him about it. Tell him about what and who you were doing. Why you never saw him on Sundays and Thursdays. Where you went on Saturday nights after you left him.”

“We’ll take the check,” Julian responded through gritted teeth.

Cameron fled immediately. Once he made it to the service area, he set down the dishes with a clatter and leaned against the counter, shaking and biting his lip hard, trying not to let the tears that threatened loose.

Miri came over and took his arm. “Cam? What do you want us to do?”

He forced himself to straighten and rub his eyes while he took several deep breaths. “You’re staying here, and I’mdelivering this check. And hopefully, they’re leaving Tuesdays and not coming back.”

Inside, Cameron was a mess. He’d trusted that there hadn’t been any others while Julian was with him, and he still believed that, perhaps naïvely so. The man was just trying to get a reaction from him. But he didn’t want to think about who might have comeafterhim. A man like Julian could have anything and anyone he wanted. And that, more than anything, was what hurt. That after he’d driven Julian away, he could have been so easily replaced.

Trying to shore up what courage he had left, Cameron collected the ticket, slid it into a leather folder, and went to get rid of them. He needed them gone so he could go find somewhere to fall apart again, worrying about the man he’d given up the right to love.

When Cameron returned to his customers, Lancaster was still leaning over the table, looking at Julian intently. “So,” he was saying in a low voice, “who gets to leave first, eh? Do you want the advantage of time, possibility of losing me and running back to that hidden fortress of yours? Or would you rather I go first, give you the rush of wondering if there’s an ambush waiting?” he asked with relish. “So many ways to die tonight,” he mused almost serenely.

“You shouldn’t enjoy what you do too much,” Julian advised. “It makes you stupid.”

Lancaster threw his head back and laughed.

Cameron slid the leather folder onto the table, collected the other plates and flatware, and stepped away from the table, trying his best to keep his eyes off both men and avoid their attention as he placed the dishes on a waiting tray.

Lancaster sat back and put his hands behind his head, watching Cameron in amusement. “I’ll go first then,” he decided after a moment, still looking at Cameron speculatively. “You’llwant to say goodbye, after all,” he said as he stood and buttoned his suit jacket. He smirked down at Julian, who sat unmoving, watching him. “This was fun,” he announced. “I’ll let word get around,” he promised in a lower voice, leaning over Julian and placing a hand on his shoulder as he spoke into his ear. “They’ll know you were man enough to pay for your own last meal.”

Julian nodded slightly. “You do that,” he muttered.

Lancaster took a step away from the table, stopped short, and put his hand on Cameron’s arm. Cameron flinched. “My condolences for your loss,” Lancaster offered seriously, ignoring Cameron’s reaction, and then he turned and began walking away.

Cameron didn’t move as he watched him leave the restaurant. He wasn’t sure what to think anymore, except that Julian was in a hell of a lot of trouble. Visibly shaken, he turned to face Julian.

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