Page 4 of Demented

Lazarus was fully aware Noir played a game far out of his league. Since he didn’t own a conscience, Lazarus couldn’t care. He had gotten what he wanted. Noir hadn’t made Lazarus work for it at all—other than the amazing workout. But to be real, he needed that. He had been too focused on Andreas. His routine had fallen a bit to the wayside.

Oddly, Noir sat on the couch and toyed with his phone, looking unmoved by their encounter. That bugged Lazarus, and he didn’t know why. Maybe he was off his game or something. Lazarus definitely shouldn’t care. They had both gotten off. Noir’s feelings shouldn’t matter. He shouldn’t matter.

Noir stood and shoved his phone in his back pocket. “My guards are waiting. If I don’t resurface soon, they might storm the place.”

Lazarus blinked. “Okay.” He didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t like he wanted to cuddle or some shit, but he also hadn’t expected Noir to leave immediately.

“Thank you for dinner.”

Lazarus literally had nothing. “Okay.”

Noir headed for the door.

Without thinking, Lazarus stepped into his path. He didn’t have a plan. Lazarus simply covered Noir’s mouth with his. He had no clue why. This kiss wouldn’t lead to sex. So why had he done this? He pulled away and spent a moment staring atNoir up close. Noir was incredibly beautiful with his gorgeous green eyes and the smattering of light freckles Lazarus hadn’t noticed earlier. Something funny happened to Lazarus’ chest. He looked young—much younger than Lazarus had realized. Lazarus hadn’t taken the time to truly dig into Noir’s life. He had gotten carried away at the idea of touching someone so far out of his reach. It was ridiculous, but he had been born poor white trash and no amount of money had changed that knowledge. He tattooed his skin and fit in places this boy never would. For a wild moment, Lazarus had wanted to taste what he could never have or be. Too late, he saw Noir as a person.

“I had a good time.”

One side of Noir’s mouth lifted in a wry smile—like he knew Lazarus’ every word was bullshit, and he would never hear from Lazarus again. “See you around.” Noir stepped around him and let himself out.

Lazarus stood in the middle of the living room like a statue. He had no idea how long he stood there before reality returned. Lazarus found his phone and searched Noir’s name again. This time, he paid attention to every detail. His birthdate. Where he stood in line of succession. What his titles and responsibilities were. It was all fascinating, but that birthdate held his focus much longer than he liked. It didn’t take much math to figure out Noir was only twenty-four. Fuck. Lazarus didn’t even recall being that young. This entire night had been a mistake. It wasn’t guilt he felt exactly. Lazarus didn’t do guilt. This was something else. He couldn’t put a name to the emotion since he didn’t have many of those. Lazarus just felt off—wrong. He needed to get back to work and find Andreas again. Lazarus had to dowhatever it took to get out of this town and back to his life on the road. Maybe uncovering this mystery wasn’t worth staying in one spot this long. After all, the man who attacked Gable was dead. Surely that was enough.

Lazarus headed for the bedroom and grabbed his go-bag. He made it to the door before his feet froze. Something stirred in his gut. Lazarus didn’t like it. His phone buzzed. Lazarus checked the device.

Noir:I had a good time too.

Without another thought, Lazarus dropped the bag. He couldn’t walk away from this mystery. Not yet. A tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered, Lazarus knew the truth about why he was staying. It didn’t matter. Lazarus never left a job undone. He wouldn’t leave this one either. Unfortunately, Lazarus no longer knew if he meant Andreas or Noir.

Chapter Three

Mimosas by the ocean.Noir inhaled the salty air. With his eyes closed, he let the breeze wash over him. He allowed himself a moment of peace. Noir didn’t take his breakfast outside often, but it was a gorgeous day. He wanted to savor the sound of waves lapping. Everything looked brighter for some reason he couldn’t name. At least, that was the lie he told himself.

“Lucas is here, Your Highness.”

With a sigh, Noir opened his eyes. There was always something that needed his attention. “Send him out here.”

The tall, skinny red-haired man who worked in Noir’s circles stepped out onto the balcony. He looked nervous. It wasn’t often he saw Noir. There was always a buffer between him and anyone who might try to take him down… like Lazarus.

Noir motioned to the chair across from him. “Please, sit.” He moved a champagne glass Lucas’ way. “Have a drink.”

A servant rushed forward and poured a mimosa for Lucas. Lucas didn’t touch it. “Thank you. Ajax said you need to speak to me.”

Ah, jumping right in. Definitely nervous. Noir stood and put his hands in the pockets of his robe. He paced, circling behind Lucas as he spoke. “I heard a rumor you gave out my number.”

Lucas didn’t turn. He held himself rigid. “I did, but—at the time—I definitely didn’t see a problem.”

Noir pulled the knife from his pocket and moved to stand directly behind Lucas. “Why exactly did you think that I would be okay with you handing out my personal information?”

“Because it was Jericho Wrath.”

That gave Noir pause. He slid the knife bank in his pocket. “Jericho?” Jericho ran a charity for child victims of sex trafficking. Even though the charity was real, it was secretly run by the Russian mafia.

Lucas finally turned and nodded. “He said his husband recently put together a charity event in our area and would be interested in possibly teaming up with you for another. Someone on his staff gave him my number and so on and so forth.”

Noir glanced toward Ajax. Ajax shrugged. He was obviously just as lost as Noir. Noir padded back to his seat. So, more than one person had given out his number? Was it a coincidence that Lazarus had gotten his number the same day as Lucas had given it to Jericho? Or was Jericho one of Lazarus’ many connections? If so, fuck. Noir tried not to show his concern. “That would be good for the family’s reputation.”

Lucas nodded. “That’s what I thought. Your dad said he wanted to see more positive things coming from this area. That’s why I didn’t even hesitate. If I was wrong, I apologize. Under any other circumstances, I never would’ve given anyone your number.”

Noir settled deeper in his seat and took a sip of his drink. “I’m glad we were able to clear this up. It was quite a surprise for my phone to ring yesterday.”

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