Page 48 of The Saint

Words like that would normally make me smile, but this time, they didn’t. I was the one who was supposed to worship her, but she said things that made me feel like the prized stallion. The other women in my life were too busy playing a game to capture my heart that they never spoke their minds. Played hard to get. Like the less they cared, the more I would care. None of that shit ever worked because not a single one of them made the impact that Fleur did. I wasn’t a romantic guy, but I swear to god, it had been love at first sight with this woman. I loved the fact that she made me feel good, that she never played games with me, that she made me feel wanted because she was the only woman I wanted to want me.

The moment was interrupted by the vibration of my phone in my pocket. I pulled it out and checked the name, seeing that it was Luca. I’d call him back later, so I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

After it stopped vibrating, he fired off a couple texts. I could tell by the way the phone shifted in my pocket. I pulled it out and checked the screen just to make sure it wasn’t important.

Asshole, pick up the phone.

They got Adrien.

He was trying to leave the country, and they got him.

“Shit.”

“What?” Fleur asked, her tone completely different.

I gave a sigh of frustration before I returned his call.

Luca cut straight to the chase. “Erik told me. It happened a couple hours ago, in broad daylight. Looked like he packed uphis shit and was about to take off. It’s not your problem, but I knew you’d want to know.”

Fleur continued to stare at me, her face turning as white as her wine. She’d either heard what Luca said, or she could read the disappointment on my face.

Luca waited for me to say something.

But I didn’t know what to say. I’d told Adrien this wasn’t my problem, but it looked like he’d tried to take my advice and get out of there before they came for his head. He just didn’t leave quick enough. “Do you know where they’ve taken him?”

“No, but I can call around.” He hung up and got to work.

I returned the phone to my pocket.

Panic continued to burn in her eyes. “What is it? What’s happening?”

So, she didn’t hear. “I warned Adrien about the Aristocrats. Told him he should leave the country. Guess he took that advice, but he didn’t take it quick enough because they got him.”

“Oh no.” Her hand immediately cupped her mouth as the emotion swept over her face like the incoming tide. She didn’t dull her emotions for me, wore her heart on her sleeve because that was how she was, always transparent. It was a testament to her goodness that she cared for someone who had disrespected her so many times. A lesser woman would have said he deserved what he got. But not her.

I had been prepared to let Adrien suffer his fate, but I knew I couldn’t after seeing her reaction. Her eyes were coated with tears that she didn’t shed, and her breathing was erratic becauseof the panic. She would never ask me to do it, but she didn’t have to. “I’ll get him back.”

“No, I don’t want you to?—”

“I know you don’t, but if I don’t do this, he’s gonna die.” And no one else could pull this off except me. The rest of the organizations in Paris would question my leadership by getting involved, but I knew Adrien’s death would affect our relationship. His ghost would haunt us and chase away the joy that we’d found together. She would grieve like a widow.

“Bastien.” She turned emotional right in the middle of the restaurant. “I can live without Adrien, but I can’t live without you.” She chose me. Put me first. Showed her loyalty to me. That meant the world to me.

But I would always put her first too. “You don’t have to live without either one of us.” I dropped the napkin next to my wine and left the table.

She scooted her chair out and followed me. “Bastien.”

I walked out of the restaurant and stepped onto the sidewalk as I texted my driver.

She yanked on my arm even though I was standing still. “Bastien, I don’t want you to do this. Please, just stay. He made his choice.”

“I’ll be fine, Fleur.”

“It’s not worth the risk.”

I saw my driver round the corner and pull up to the curb in front of us.

“He’ll take you home. I’ll call when it’s done.”

---