“Safe travels,” Tess said softly.
“Let’s go, Pimlico.” Elder turned toward the foyer, guiding me through the double doors and toward Selix who held open the front door. “Helicopter primed and ready to fly?”
Selix nodded, his black hair shiny under the warm lights above. “Mercer refuelled us from his own supply. It’s ready to go.”
“Shit.” Elder scowled. “That fool truly knows how to put his nose in places it’s not wanted.” He exhaled, full of annoyance. “Now I can’t fucking leave without paying him for the gas.”
Tess and Suzette followed us into the foyer. Tess peered upstairs as if she could see Q through the floors and found him doing something that pinked her cheeks with love. An adoring smile appeared then settled into a more professional one. “That’s okay. He doesn’t need your thanks. I’m sure I can say on his behalf that he’s sorry things went so far between you, and he promises he’ll listen more closely to the girl he’s rescuing next time.” She laughed. “No more shooting first and asking questions later.”
Elder nodded curtly. “Fine. I’ll send reimbursements online.” Limping forward, he sped up at the sight of open grass with its invitation to leave.
Stepping over the threshold, he cursed under his breath as his muscles rippled against mine.
I frowned, looking up to see if he’d strained himself or needed help getting to the helicopter, but he turned around, facing Tess once again.
Clearing his throat, he gruffed, “Even though I still want to kill him; even though I would happily wring his ugly French neck, I’m not vain enough not to recognise he did me a favour that night.”
I froze, gobsmacked that Elder could be so pragmatic even while he trembled with violence.
He bit out, “He shot me and took my woman, and for that I will never forgive him, but for killing my enemies and giving me another opportunity to protect Pimlico when I failed to do so, he will forever have my gratitude.” Spitting the last word as if it tasted horrendous, he faced the exit again. “Tell him that—”
“Tell me what?” A slightly cruel, slightly inquisitive French accent drifted down from the top of the stairs.
Elder spun me in a circle, facing Q as he climbed down the stairs smooth as water and polished as glass.
“Nothing.” Elder bared his teeth. “It was easier leaving the message with your wife than admitting it to your face.”
“Ah.” Q ran a hand over his jaw, yet another file tucked under his arm. “I’ll ask my beautiful wife to relay your message when we are alone then. Perhaps, I can give her my reply in a language she understands all too well.”
Tess blushed an elegant pink, moving to his side as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
Almost unconsciously, Q’s entire body gravitated to her—not just his arm as it settled possessively around her waist but his every limb. All magnetized to the woman he’d chosen.
Elder huffed under his breath, bowing stiffly. “Goodbye, Mr. Mercer. I hope we never cross paths again.”
Q shook his head, waving the file in the air. “Your goodbye is premature, Mr. Prest. I am afraid you have nowhere to go. Not yet, at least.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Ignoring Elder’s question, Q let Tess go and closed the final distance between us, standing on the exact spot where the two men had tried to kill each other only a couple of days before.
Raising the file, he tapped it with his forefinger. “I’m talking about this.” Pulling out the first sheaf of pages, he passed them to me with a look that made my knees water and breath mist. Not from sexual potency—even though he swam in that—but in vicious violence I’d grown accustomed to seeing in Elder.
I blinked, glancing between the two men, understanding the animosity on a different level.
Q and Elder hated each other—no one could deny that. But it wasn’t purely about what’d happened on the Phantom or here. It was more than that. It was primal and probably not even noticed.
They’re too alike.
Two alpha wolves used to being top dog and not happy with a rival in their kingdom. Both prickly and hard to love. Both loyal and affectionate until the bitter end.
“Here.” Q urged me to take the papers, ignoring the warning glare from Elder. “This is for you.”
Hesitantly, I took the thick file, skim reading the header page: Dossier on Dismantling the Quarterly Market of Beauties.
My head shot up. “What is this?”
Q narrowed his eyes at Elder as if assessing him for a threat before talking to me.
His shoulders never relaxed, but he must’ve deemed it safe to continue when Elder didn’t throttle him. “I’ve been doing what I do for many years. In that time, I’ve been lucky enough to earn the trust and resources from local and international law enforcement. Thanks to them, I’ve been able to track down any mention of the QMB and the names of girls sold in recent years and bring each cocksucker who bought them to justice.”