Dre whistled. “Damn, brother. You have some things to make up for. We should game-plan how you’re going to grovel. The good news is my daddy made sure I know how to properly grovel.”
“I’m not going to do that.” One day he would apologize to them all, but for now he had something else to do. Blow up his whole world. “I’m going to do what Charles wants me to do, and then I’m going to leave. If I don’t, he’ll hurt Sylvie. I’ll fix it for her, make sure he can’t come after her again, and then I’ll move somewhere. Somewhere I don’t have any family.”
Dre stared at him, an incredulous expression on his face. “Sure you will. Remember when I said you weren’t getting a fight out of me?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to get a hell of one out of my sister. Now, do your brother-in-law a solid and get me some pizza. Or red beans and rice. Or some of Remy’s gumbo.” Dre slapped his abs. “Getting shot and hiding out from my mother makes me hungry. Then I’ll destroy you in video game fashion and we’ll figure a way out of this.”
Rene’s heart felt too tight. He hadn’t expected this, but he knew there was no way out. “Dre, you have to be angry.”
Dre’s expression softened. “No, I don’t. You seem to think I should rage at you because you slept with my sister, like she’s something I own that’s off limits to you. Sylvie is a force of nature, and I would never try to put her in a box. I had a problem with it before because she was still figuring out who she was. She needed that time. She doesn’t now. She knows what she wants and how to get it, and she would never allow herself to be used. I’m not saying she knows your heart. She took a risk, but only because she thought you were worth it. I would make a bet that she still thinks so.”
Every word cut like a knife. “I don’t know about that. She was standing right there when I had the fight with my mother. She didn’t like the fact that I put a PI on Louis. I had every right to do that, but Sylvie took exception. He’s lost a lot of money lately.”
“People make bad business deals,” Dre said with a shrug. “That doesn’t mean he’s not in love with your mom. It doesn’t mean he’s terrible.”
“Someone is working with Charles.”
Dre snorted at the thought. “Well, it’s not Louis.”
How could he be sure? And there were other things to worry about. His mother wasn’t the only one who could get hurt. “Charles has some information on Sylvie. I can’t let it get out.”
For the first time Dre got serious. “What has he got on her?”
He was still in a rage over how Charles planned to use Sylvie. “Nothing real, but it could look that way. He claims she had an affair with a married man in DC, a politician she worked for. It could hurt her here, and she seems to want to stay. He said he’s got a file on her. None of it will be real, but honestly, it wouldn’t matter if it was. I would still protect her.”
“And that is why I am not angry at anyone except Charles, who is going to get the fight you wanted.” Dre’s hands went to his hips. “I know some hackers. I can make Charles’s life . . . difficult.”
Rene shook his head. “That would take too long. I’m going to give him what he wants and then he won’t care about Sylvie anymore. The truth is, maybe leaving Papillon will be a relief. You should know I’ll make sure Sylvie and Lady are okay. Lady is the dog I recently gave her. I feel bad that I got her a dog and then it all went to hell.”
Dre’s eyes went wide. “You got a dog?”
This was what his best friend got excited about? “Yeah, we thought we should get one before we had kids, and then Zep showed up with the sweetest spaniel puppy. Sylvie always wanted a dog like that, and I couldn’t help myself.”
Dre threw his hands up. “You buried the lede, man. You got a dog. I’m a dog uncle. I need pictures.”
Rene sighed because it didn’t seem like Dre was going to take anything seriously. “The dog is not the issue.”
“Oh, I bet she is. Look, you do your mopey thing because somewhere out there my sister is solving all the problems, and you’re going to wake up tomorrow with your wife and your dog, and then next week you’ll still have your job and you’ll apologize to your momma, send her off with Louis, who will take care of her, and this time next year you’ll be all, where did that kid come from?” Dre stared at him. “Will I still be here waiting for pizza?”
Rene groaned and gave up. “I’m going. You are obnoxious.”
“I’m also right. Hey, put a lot of meat on it,” Dre said as Rene started to walk out. “And it really will be okay. She’s your knight in shining armor, you know.”
His heart clenched again because that was what she’d called him. Maybe after all this was done, they could try again. Maybe if he put some time and distance between them, he could forget what his mother had said to him and give her the apology she deserved.
He walked out, thankful at least that he still had his best friend.
* * *
* * *
Sylvie strode into the house, frustration welling inside because she knew what the problem was but not how to solve it. The afternoon had gone by in a flash, and her stomach growled because she’d missed dinner.
Rene was not at either of the two motels outside of town, nor was he at the B and B. She’d checked both motels and neither of the clerks at the reception desk remembered seeing him. A quick call to Seraphina had told her Rene wasn’t there but that the rumors were already flying.
She needed to track his phone. When this was all resolved, she would make sure she had that capability because her husband was slippery. He was somewhere out there in the world being a Gloomy Gus, likely going through all kinds of doomsday scenarios in his head. If he’d given her half a chance, they could have settled everything and she wouldn’t be so dang hungry.
Maybe she should order pizza. The Darois cook was marvelous, but she kind of missed regular old pepperoni.
She closed the door and immediately heard a series of barks as Lady rushed to get to her. She knelt down and picked the puppy up, happy for the wild affection Lady offered.
Since she wouldn’t be getting any from her husband.
Had he even thought about their dog when he’d had his meltdown? The entire afternoon she’d been building a list of things she intended to lecture him on. It was a long list.
Never once did she consider the fact that he might have meant what he’d said, that he might actually want to break up. She knew that man deep down, and if he’d wanted to break up, he would have discussed it with her. No, he was having a fairly reasonable breakdown given the amount of pressure he’d been under, but he was going to find out that he didn’t get to walk away.