Page 37 of Julien (Confessions 2)

“Agreed,” Priest finally said, his eyes pinned firmly on Logan, searching for any lights going off or any kind of recognition happening, but all he saw was agreement as Logan nodded. Because the one thing that the entire world and Priest agreed on was that his father was a monster.

“So why are you reading about the gruesome underworld of New Orleans? Bored? Robbie not enough to keep you busy?”

“Not bored, no,” Priest said, and racked his brain for a feasible reason to be checking out Jimmy’s old files. Then, picking up on Logan’s original inquiry, he said, “This case was what made me want to go into criminal law. I saw a documentary on it recently and wanted to take another look at it.” That wasn’t a complete lie. Jimmy was the reason he’d dedicated his life to putting the bad guys away, just not for the reasons Logan thought.

To be sure he steered them away from that particular topic, though, Priest also picked up Logan’s other comment and ran with it. “As for Robert, he’s keeping Julien and me extremely busy. Especially now that he’s moved in.” And it worked like a charm.

“Moved in?” Logan said, his eyebrows practically hitting his hairline, and then he caught himself. “I, ah, didn’t know things were that serious.”

“They are,” Priest said, and he could tell by the tic in Logan’s jaw that his two-word answer irritated the shit out of the other lawyer. But it wasn’t like his avoidance of anything personal was something new, and his personal life now involving Robbie didn’t mean that would change.

“That’s…” When Logan didn’t continue, Priest steepled his hands over his chest and waited, letting Logan’s brain catch up on what he’d just found out. “That’s great.”

Priest inclined his head. “It is. He’s settling in very well.”

“I’ve got to say, you have shocked the shit out of me twice now. And that’s not easy.”

“I know,” Priest said.

“Proud of yourself?”

“I am, yes. Some might say it’s just as shocking that you, the confirmed bachelor, wound up married.”

“Touché,” Logan said, and then chuckled. “Fate has it all worked out, I suppose.”

“Maybe so.”

“And as long as Robbie’s happy—”

“He is.”

Logan snorted. “Awfully confident.”

“I am.”

“Right,” Logan said, and glanced at the papers on Priest’s desk. “Then I’ll let you get back to your reading.”

“Appreciate it,” Priest said, but what he appreciated more than anything else was Logan leaving and shutting the door behind him.

When he was certain he was alone, Priest picked up the article on his desk and once again read the title. But his eyes kept coming back to: Killer of 19… Killer of 19… And his heart started to race. As sweat broke out on his brow, he crumpled the paper up into a ball and tossed it in the trash can behind him.

Fuck you, Jimmy, he thought, as he squeezed his eyes shut, more determined than ever to banish his father from his mind.

Logan was right—some people should be put down, and the monster that was Priest’s father was one of them. If he were smart, he’d go to the news and tell them what he knew and let someone else take care of it.

After all, Jimmy had never had any qualms about ending one’s life or using Priest to do it in the past. How would him being the middle man now be any different?

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Robbie unlocked the back door of The Popped Cherry and stepped inside the small foyer that connected the bar with Logan and Tate’s loft above.

He glanced up the stairs and wondered if Logan would be heading there tonight after his day at work, and couldn’t help but smile at the idea that he was about to spend the afternoon working with Logan’s significant other, while Logan was across town working with his—well, one of his, anyway. Julien was downtown at his restaurant.

Robbie hadn’t done much of anything today after he’d made sure that Julien was all right. But he had gotten in touch with his ma to see how his nonna was doing. From everything she’d told him, it sounded as though Nonna Cheryl was in high spirits but somewhat frustrated by her current condition.

That sounded just like her. She’d always been such an independent, strong-willed lady. It was one of the reasons Robbie had ended up the way he was. All that feisty Italian blood running through their family’s veins, Robbie knew, would help her hip’s recovery.

He’d also gone and done something that he was kind of—okay, really—starting to regret. He’d invited his mother and sisters to the opening of JULIEN. He wasn’t sure how exactly it had come up. But five minutes into the conversation and he’d been talking about how much he missed Nonna’s cooking, and then the words just started flying out of his mouth.

My new roommate is an amazing cook.

---