Page 76 of Blood & Lace
My brother flicked a cigarette onto the bodies on the ground. “And you are? Last I checked, I was supposed to be meeting with the district attorney.”
“Yes, my colleagues are a bit skittish, you could say. I’m here on their behalf as well as my own.”
Damian gestured to the room. “One hell of a welcome.”
There was that smile again as if he knew something we didn’t. I wanted to cave his face in.
“We had to make certain that you could handle your own,” another man said. Unlike the man in the middle, he was a bit younger. His temples were just graying as he eyed the room with disgust written all over his face. He gave each of us a cursory look but never focused on any of us. “Although this is grotesque. We were under the impression we were meeting more civilized individuals.”
Nash grunted. “You set this up and then find fault in how we handle ourselves?”
“Now, now. We didn't come here to argue how you take care of business. Jefferson, that’s enough. They are more than capable of handling their own. We all knew there was a risk in this test.”
“But—”
The older guy raised his hand, effectively shutting up the other one. I could think of a million better ways. One of them was my fist repeatedly slamming into their mouths. Once again, his gaze drifted over to me. People tended to stare my way, but his focus felt different from curiosity. Most of the time, peopleignored me once Damian began to talk, but this guy had some kind of fascination with me.
His grin was one of a mad man, and I should know. I’d seen crazy before. I hoped he didn’t think I was on the market.
I am a happily married man.
“Let us adjourn to the other room where everyone is.” He gestured for us to follow him like we were nothing more than some common street gang. If there was one thing that was going to piss my brothers off, it was the way he was acting.
I shook my head as no one made a move. I was honestly waiting for Damian’s go ahead so I could break the old geezer’s neck. He had to be ready for death by now.
“This room needs to be cleaned,” he said matter of factly.
“I don’t know, I liked the new decorations.” My little comment had everyone on the other side gawking my way. There were more than a few of them that craned their necks and took a few steps back.
Damian nodded at Prince. “We will take care of it.”
“I couldn’t do that. It was our mistake.”
“Glad you see that,” Nash supplied. “Don’t worry, I will have an itemized bill sent over to your offices.”
The old man chuckled low as if he was all too aware of some joke. “I look forward to it. Régis Monet.”
Nash turned away and headed over to me. Guess the fun was over. “Stay with Damian, don't leave his side,” he whispered.
I nodded, knowing damn well I wasn’t going to let anything happen to my brother. The feeling of familiarity refused to let up, though. I'd seen so many people and met so many, that I couldn’t figure out if I'd seen him before. Our eyes locked again, and still, I came up blank.
"We've done business with gramps over there?"
Nash glanced over his shoulder briefly. "Not that I can think of. He’s shady as shit, though, so keep an eye on him."
“Maybe I broke a few bones?”
Nash chuckled low. “Knowing you, that is a possibility.”
I couldn't tell. There were a lot of people that had been hurt by me but it wasn't like I remembered every single one of them. I tried to recall all the faces Onyx had on the dining room table, and still nothing.
“Please, clean up a little. Unlike me, there are some who aren’t prepared to see such a gruesome sight,” Régis suggested.
They shouldn’t have tried to hurt one of us.
Damian glaredbefore he swiped some of the blood on his face and flung it onto the other man’s suit. “They will have to get over it.”
We were escorted into another room, one that was a lot more decorated than the last one. There was fine art hanging on the walls and long white tables holding an array of food. The room was full of awkward tension as we stepped in. Every muscle in my body tightened. My stomach flipped as gazes suddenly flew our way. It took everything in me to relax, even as I looked over the array of people. Some I'd seen on TV, and others I knew had to be just as important.
