Page 7 of Priest (Confessions 3)

“No doubt, huh?” Priest took a sip of the smooth alcohol, and Julien tipped his head up to meet his eyes.

“No doubt,” Julien said, as he placed his palm on Priest’s chest. “He told me so himself. It isn’t a matter of if but a matter of when. So now we wait.”

“I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted out. I wouldn’t blame you either. This isn’t what you signed up for.”

Julien shifted so he was sitting up and looking Priest directly in the eye. He then reached for Priest’s glass and swallowed what was left of the whiskey.

“I signed up for you. Just like you signed up for me. No matter what, remember? Jimmy is nothing new to me. You told me about him years ago.”

“Yes, but the fucker has always had walls and iron bars separating him from us.” Priest knew his tone was biting, but he couldn’t seem to rein it in. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any scenario that puts him back out in a world where you are. Where Robert is.”

Julien grimaced as Priest reached for the bottle and again filled his glass. “What about where you are?”

“That too. He’s bad news. And I don’t mean that in some overdramatic way. He’s evil. The things he’s done… You know. Everyone does. Why would they ever let him out?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because he’s old?” Julien suggested. “Maybe they don’t see him as the threat he once was. I don’t know. Why do you think they’re letting him out?”

“I have no fucking clue. Probably a bit of what you said, and they’re using him to get information on whoever took his place, if he lasts that long. If there’s a God, he won’t.”

“Hey?” Julien said, and wrapped his fingers around Priest’s wrist, lowering the glass from his lips. “He’s not going anywhere tonight, and we’re all here safe and sound. So why don’t we try and get some rest and then you can work on finding out more tomorrow.”

Priest put the glass down, and pulled Julien against his body so they could both settle in on the couch.

“Did you want to go to our bedroom? I won’t mind,” Priest said, knowing the main person Robbie was objecting to tonight was him, but Julien shook his head.

“Non. He needs time away from the both of us.”

Julien was likely right, and that made Priest feel even guiltier. He’d not only caused a chasm to form between himself and Robbie, but he’d also managed to wedge a gap between two of the most beautiful men he’d ever met.

“Do you mind if we stay out here, then, instead of using the spare room?” Priest stretched his legs out to fit Julien between them. “I’d like to keep my eye on the bedroom.”

Julien kissed Priest’s chin and said, “Of course not. I love the way you love, Mr. Priestley.”

“And I love you.” Priest brushed his lips over Julien’s. “Sleep. We both know I won’t, so you should at least try.”

Julien placed his head on Priest’s chest, and Priest shut his eyes and memorized the way he felt there in his arms. Warm, solid, steady, and Priest knew he would do anything to keep Julien safe—to keep Robbie safe, too, should he decide to stay.

With that thought lingering in his mind, Priest closed his eyes for a few minutes and let his mind drift off, thinking about the man in his arms and the one behind the shut door only a few feet away…

PRIEST LOOKED AT the clock on the wall of the tiny office he’d been told he could use while visiting Mitchell & Madison, and then back at the three faces aimed in his direction.

Logan was running late for the meeting he’d set up for Vanessa Bianchi. That wasn’t so unusual with the unpredictable nature of their jobs, and being at the mercy of the court system, and under normal circumstances, Priest wouldn’t give a shit either way. But this meeting had gone from normal to not so normal when the two women seated opposite him had stepped inside his cramped temporary quarters, followed closely by—

“I’m sorry, what did you say your name was again?”

—the beautiful young man Priest had seen in the elevator a couple of days ago, when he’d flown out to Chicago to talk with Logan and Cole about coming on as a partner in this firm.

If he hadn’t been looking directly at him, Priest would never have believed that fate would again put this delectable creature—whom he’d promised Julien he would forget due to the complications of dating a colleague—in his path.

However, it had become crystal clear in the last few minutes that the man with the sculptured cheekbones, upturned nose, and bright red shoes wasn’t a colleague. In fact, he wasn’t even a client.

It also appeared he had absolutely no recollection of Priest as the French-speaking man he’d made an awkward attempt of conversing with in the elevator a few days ago, and that made him all the more interesting.

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