Page 35 of The Saint

I talked with the other guys, and it was more of the same, talk about Oscar and business. I never told anyone how Oscar had crossed me. Didn’t want to mention what had happened to Fleur because it was still too raw to talk about—and it was too raw for her to hear.

Music blared over the speakers, appetizers were passed around along with flutes of champagne, and the ballroom had nearlyfour hundred guests at round tables. I’d never been to a wedding that wasn’t big and grand, that didn’t include nearly the same guest list as the last one.

But there was one guest that I didn’t expect.

I felt his stare long before I saw him.

He was far across the room, a beautiful woman at his side whispering in his ear.

He gave a nod like he was listening, but his stare was focused on me. He grabbed his glass of champagne and took a drink, eyes still connected to mine.

This was the first time we’d crossed paths in public because he avoided my presence as much as possible. But now, he didn’t seem to care so much.

That could be bad—or good.

“I’ll be back, sweetheart.” I kissed her before I finished off my scotch and left the table. She was surrounded by people she didn’t know, and everyone would be too afraid to talk to her, but she had Luca there if she needed a friendly face.

I crossed the room, and Godric seemed to know he was my target because he preemptively left the table, hands in the pockets of his suit, and met me in the no-man’s-land between the tables.

The chandeliers that hung from the ceiling were dimly lit, and the music from the string quartet was in the background, not the party music everyone would dance to at some point. He stopped, and he shifted his weight to one leg, staring me down in public.

I stared back, eyes identical to mine, his height just an inch shorter. “Do you know the bride or groom?”

“I know everybody, Bastien.”

The same arrogant son of a bitch. I smiled slightly in amusement. “And I thought you came to see me.”

“I never want to see you.”

I gave a slight nod in mutual agreement. “Guessing you still don’t have any names for me?”

His stare seemed to last forever, even though he lacked any distinct expression. His indifference was potent, like I was a beggar off the street rather than his own flesh and blood. “No.”

I gave a slow nod, somehow disappointed even though I’d gotten the exact answer I expected. “I’m actually glad I ran into you. Something I’ve been meaning to tell you…for thirteen years.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You’ve never asked me why I did it. How I did it. Where I put the body…”

His gaze hardened in preparation for whatever I would say next. His indifference was washed away. “Because I know you would never tell me.”

I shook my head. “You were wrong, Godric. So, ask me.”

He continued to stand there with his hands in his pockets, staring me down like this was a silent room rather than a wedding with hundreds of guests. Anyone who gazed upon us must have been able to see the visible tension between us.

“Ask me.”

Godric wouldn’t take the bait, afraid he would step into a trap I’d laid out.

“All these years, you and everyone else believed some ruthless killer plotted the downfall of one of the biggest kingpins in Paris. That they planned that moment with great detail, either for revenge or greed. And when you realized it was me…you finally feared me the way you should.”

He didn’t blink, hung on every word, like he believed I would say what he’d wanted to know all these years.

“But the truth is, I’m not some mastermind who planned the death of my own father. He came to my apartment on a Tuesday afternoon alone. Didn’t tell anyone where he was going, probably to make sure it didn’t get back to you or Mom. But that was a mistake. Told me I was unwanted, that he wished I’d been a girl because I would have been more useful with a pussy between my legs. Then he tried to kill me—but I killed him first.”

He did his best not to react, but his eyes gave him away. They widened slightly like he couldn’t control his silent shock.

“I cut off his ring finger to send to you as proof of his death, dumped his body, and cleaned up the mess. No one came for me.”

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