“Take a deep breath, Jamie.”
“Give me some fucking answers!” Jamie snapped.
Bratty younger brother maybe. Still he let Jamie get away with it because he was the best personal assistant he’d ever had.
“I went to Paris.”
Silence.
“Jamie?”
“Paris?”
“Yes.”
“Paris, France?”
Louis grinned at his incredulous tone. “Yes, Paris, France.”
“You got out of hospital and decided to run away with your yummy new bodyguard to Paris, and you didn’t tell me?”
“Are you annoyed I didn’t tell you, or angry I didn’t take you?”
“Either. Both.” Oh yes, there was a decided snap in Jamie’s voice.
Louis sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t get a lot of time to plan. And to be fair, traveling there and back in a day is not much fun.”
“Particularly when someone’s kicked the crap out of you.” Jamie’s voice softened. “How are you feeling, Louis?”
“Like someone’s kicked the crap out of me,” Louis said dryly.
“You should have called me.”
Louis knew he wasn’t talking about Paris. “I’m sorry.”
“Did you think you couldn’t trust me?” Jamie sounded hurt.
“I didn’t know who I could trust,” Louis said honestly. “People I knew set me up to die.”
“And you thought I might be one of them?”
“I had one thought when I woke up in the ER.”
“What was that?”
“That if you were involved, I was done. My heart would never survive that kind of betrayal.”
“I would never betray you, boss. Not now. Not ever.”
The fierce anger was what Louis needed to hear. “Thank you.” He sighed. He’d better get the rest of it over and done with. “You know Monaghan’s was involved.”
“I do. I never trusted them.”
“No, you didn’t. Next time I’ll listen to your judgement.”
Jamie grunted. “So CDR are back.”
“Yes.”
“Good. You should never have left them. I told you that too.”
“So you did, smartass.” Louis grinned. “There’s something else you need to know.”
“What’s that?”
“We flew to Paris to collect someone.”
“Who? Wait. No. No fucking way. Do not tell me you’ve been that stupid.” Jamie’s voice rose in his anger. “No, Louis, don’t tell me. I can’t believe you would do this.”
“Jamie, calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, you idiot. You picked up Craig Booker?”
He’d known Jamie would be angry, but the force of his fury hit Louis like a brick wall, and he crumpled.
“Jamie—”
The phone was plucked out of his hand even as Jamie yelled some more.
“Jamie, it’s Craig Booker. Yes, good to talk to you too.” The sarcasm oozed from Craig’s tone. “Louis isn’t up to a lecture right now. If you want to shout at anyone, shout at me.”
Craig was right about him not having the energy. It had been sucked out of him, leaving him with the strength of a limp noodle. Louis lay on the bed and listened to Jamie yell and curse at Craig who spent most of it saying, “Yes,” and “No,” and, “I won’t.”
He must have dozed because he woke to hear Craig say in a low voice, “He’s asleep. I’ll get him to call you tomorrow. Jamie, just listen for one goddamn minute. Whatever you think he looks and feels like, it’s ten times worse. He’s a mess. I’m going to put him back together again and then he can be your boss. But at the moment he’s my boy, and he needs me. Yes, I know you’re there for him every day, but right now, he needs you taking care of his business, and me taking care of his body.”
Louis thought maybe he should be cross at Craig for thinking he was weak. But he was just grateful Craig was there to look after him now.
Craig put the phone on the nightstand and looked down at Louis. “I thought you were going to bed?”
“I needed to check in,” Louis said.
“I guess you did,” Craig agreed to his surprise.
“Have you cleared up downstairs?”
“Not yet. I had a phone call too, then I heard you talking and came to check.”
“I think I just want to go to bed now,” Louis admitted.
“Do you want me to help you?”
Louis did. More than he could say. The need for Craig’s hands on him was like a fierce ache he couldn’t explain. But he shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”
Craig hesitated and Louis waited for him to call him out on his lie, but he just said, “I’ll be up shortly,” and left the bedroom.
Louis rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
Craig
Craig slowly cleared away the dishes and checked all the windows and doors. He told himself it was so Louis could take his time getting ready for bed, but in reality, he needed to think about Quick’s parting words. Could he and Louis negotiate boundaries? Craig understood Quick’s reservations. They’d both been in the business too long. They knew when it went wrong, and it always screwed up when personal feelings were involved.
He was going to have to take a step back and be professional about this. Louis always needed a bodyguard who’d have his back. That was Craig’s goddamn job. He could do that. That wasn’t what he’d told Jamie though, was it?
He checked in with the team outside and told them they were settling down for the night. Then he went upstairs and went through the same routine of checking the windows in all the bedrooms. He had to take a deep breath and force himself to go in the master bedroom.
Christ! The room looked exactly as it had the day he walked out, down to the bedding half-strewn across the floor and clothes everywhere. They’d never been a tidy couple.
“Oh baby, do you ever come in here?” he murmured.
“No.”
Craig turned and saw Louis in the doorway, still dressed in his hoodie and sweats. “I thought you’d be asleep.”
“I was waiting for you,” Louis said. “I need your help.”
“You know how long it takes me to check everything.”
Louis nodded. “I remember. Have you checked here?”
“Not yet. Go back to the room, and I’ll help you undress.”
“I’ll see you in bed.”
He vanished, leaving Craig staring after him. It was a turn of phrase, that’s all. Louis didn’t mean anything by it. Just a slip of the tongue.
Craig strode over to the window and checked it, not surprised to find it locked. He looked in the closet, flicked the switch to turn on the light. And blinked. Some of his clothes were still there. A neat little pile of T-shirts, sweats, and shorts. He took them with him, glad to have something clean to change into. He didn’t run out of the master bedroom, but he didn’t amble either.
When he’d completed his circuit, including dropping the clothes in the bedroom he was supposed to sleep in, Craig went into Louis’s room. The door was open, so he figured he didn’t have to knock.