Page 32 of Finding Lord Landry

“Same.” I lowered my voice further and took the opportunity to say more while the guards were talking amongst themselves. “Your dad’s working on a plan to get you out.”

“My…” His eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

Before I could answer, a woman’s sobs filled the air—the same woman from before with the sick husband. The entire room held our collective breath to see what the gunmen would do to her.

One of the gunmen stepped aggressively in her direction. “¡Cállate!”

She nodded frantically and turned to bury her face in her husband’s shoulder. Thankfully, the husband didn’t look any worse. While the man didn’t look great, he wasn’t clutching at his chest or arms, so I hoped he wasn’t as ill as he looked. I silently urged the crying woman to settle down so they didn’t get hurt.

Lindsey muttered under her breath, “How’s she supposed to be quiet when her husband’s probably dying of a heart attack?”

Over the next two hours, they brought in the rest of the guests to the restaurant. During that time, three different men had tried to be a hero and had gotten shoved, punched, or pistol-whipped for their efforts.

Part of me wished I was that kind of guy—the brave hero type—but the other part of me wasn’t stupid enough to put myself in the crosshairs. And I wasn’t cocky enough to think my efforts would have any impact on half a dozen armed and angry men.

“You okay?” Jamie asked softly a couple of hours later. The guards had stepped far enough away that the whispering didn’t seem to be a problem.

“No,” I admitted.

He moved a little closer and leaned his shoulder into mine. “How do you know about my father’s plans?”

I looked down at my clasped hands, wishing one of them was held safely in Landry’s larger ones. “Stupid boy told me.”

Jamie met my eyes. “Not so stupid, then?”

I shook my head and tried not to cry.

He was right. Landry, the man I’d told myself for three years was “unreliable,” was the one working to save me from this nightmare… and I knew without a shred of doubt that he’d salt the earth to get me to safety.

Over the next several hours, I thought back to all the times Landry had tried to turn our enemies-with-benefits situationship intomore. There’d been the conversation at Christmas—the first time he’d actually asked me in so many words—but there had been a dozen smaller attempts before that. Invitations to dinner, to long weekends away, to be his date at various galas. Each time, I’d turned him down with an eye roll, and each time—until Christmas—he’d grinned and laughed like it was all a joke, cementing my belief that I couldn’t take him seriously.

But if he wasn’t trustworthy or responsible, why was I suddenly so sure I could count on him? Why had I been fighting so hard to keep our relationship as shallow as possible?

Because the truth was my feelings toward Landry weren’t meek or mild. They were fraught and passionate. Deeper and more possessive than I wanted to admit, even to myself. Love and hate were two sides of the same coin, and I suddenly felt like the coin had been tossed high in the air.

Fuck.

What did it say about my real feelings if Landry was the one person I wanted to see, when my moments left on Earth might be limited? That the memory of being in his arms was the happy place I wanted to escape to?

I’d spent years fighting my attraction to Landry, afraid he’d let me down if I dared give him my heart. Now, I wondered if life was too short to be so cautious and if I’d been wasting time.

Maybe I needed to give Landry a chance. Allow myself to trust him. Maybe he’d grown up and was ready to take things more seriously.

He was great with Lellie, and he’d proven himself a steadfast friend to the Brotherhood in recent years, especially Zane. He was protective of him and seemed to always be there for him.

Could I let him do the same for me?

Lindsey shifted next to me and whispered, “If I can find a way to get out of here, is there anyone you want me to call for you?”

I blinked at her. “What?”

She firmed her jaw. “Next time they take us to the bathroom, I’m going to find a way to sneak out. I’m just saying, I can call someone for you.”

“How… generous,” I murmured.

I used to think Landry was the kind of guy who would take off and leave his friends behind, but hearing Lindsey’s plans to do it made me realize Landry would never leave a friend behind like that. If anything, he was too generous, buying drinks for the whole bar, contributing anonymously to every charity that contacted him, and starting an education fund for Lellie even though her own father was a billionaire.

I’d always interpreted those things as signs he was careless with his money, but in reality, they were signs of selflessness and affection.

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