Page 116 of The Shadows Beyond
“I just borrowed Bradley’s phone to book our flight. It leaves in four hours,” Julien informed Cinn when he and Tyler entered the kitchen, rosy-cheeked and windswept.
“Already? You just got back!” Tyler spun to face Cinn, clutching the sleeve of his hoodie.
Cinn’s face crumpled. “We’ll sort out that plan for you to come visit Auri, remember?”
Well, that’s something to look forward to.
Julien said, “We’d stay longer, but we have a rather urgent cat problem to attend to, I’m afraid.”Amongst other things.
Then, they only had an hour to kill before their taxi—Julien refused to even consider the underground again, pleading possible delays.
Cinn and Tyler were alone in the living room together when the black cab rolled up slightly down the road. As Julien entered, he caught the tail end of something like ‘that posh French tosser’ being muttered.
“Taxi’s here.”
Cinn and Tyler rose to their feet, with Tyler looking extremely displeased.
After shaking Tyler’s hand as quickly as possible, Julien said, “Say thank you to Bradley for us?” Their generous host hadn’t returned. Which was probably for the best, as Julien had got a little carried away reorganising his kitchen.
“See you soon, Buns,” Tyler whispered emphatically, as he scooped Cinn towards him for a massive bear hug. Julien left them to hover in the corridor. The corridor which was decidedly unsoundproofed.
“This is it, Buns. From today, I’m clean. I’m cutting it all out. All of it. I swear to you.”
Julien coughed loudly, which brought them both out.
Finally, bags shouldered, Julien followed Cinn and Elliot out of the flat. The other two were partway down the road when Julien froze at the entrance to the apartment block. He’d forgotten something—that slip of paper he’d scribbled down the flight booking reference on, then left next to the phonebook.
“Putain!” Julien cursed under his breath, and spun around to run back for it. By a stroke of luck, the front door to Bradley’s flat was slightly ajar.
Please let Tyler have gone into his room.
No such luck. He was sitting at the kitchen counter on a bar stool, a packet of rolling tobacco in front of him. And a lighter. And a tiny plastic bag ofsomething, something that quickly disappeared into his pocket as he looked up to glare at Julien.
Julien shook his head, turning quickly to hide his displeasure at Tyler breaking his promise to Cinn literally one minute after he’d left. “Just needed this paper,” he said, holding it up.
“I wasn’t actually going to take it,” said Tyler. “Before you run to him and tell him lies.”
Of course you weren’t.
A calm rage consumed him, repressing any second thoughts, anylogicalthoughts, about what he was about to do.
“You know what? Here.” Julien tossed the black duffle onto the kitchen floor. The one with around nine thousand pounds in it—the money from the bank sans the Frostbite-laden wads they’d disposed of. “Take this. If you care about Cinn at all, then you’ll use it to check yourself into rehab and sort your life out so he doesn’t have to fucking worry about you every day of his life.”
Tyler stared at him. “He’s heading back here to me in London as soon as he can, you know. Told me this morning.”
You fucking liar!
Julien smiled his politest smile. “Oh, really?”
“I said as much yesterday, didn’t I?”
It was the glint in Tyler’s eyes and his stupidly smug, so-sure face that made Julien’s temper flare to uncontrollable levels—bright, angry tendrils that began in his chest, and quickly wormed their way upwards to control his tongue.
One hollow laugh escaped Julien’s lips. “Honestly, Tyler, I’d start moving on if I were you. I’m not sure what you think you heard, but he’s not going anywhere. He belongs at Auri now, with us.” And then, perhaps because his utter adoration of Cinn had fried the rational part of his brain, and perhaps because the look of pure determination on Tyler’s face threatened his very core, he added, “He’s mine now.”
Julien pivoted so quickly his head spun as he fled the kitchen before anything else could happen, like a fistfight.
Although, if it came to it, he could take on Tyler with his eyes closed…
