Lancelot by Silvia Violet
Lancelot
Afew blocks away from the library and the very intriguing Julian, I turned into an alley that led to the back parking lot of a florist my family did business with. I decided to try flowers first since Julian had hang-ups about food in the library.
I parked and hurried inside. When Ronnie, the owner, saw me coming into the store, he gave me an uneasy smile. “I’m just here for flowers. You can relax.”
“Of course, sir. What type of arrangement do you need?”
Gwen hadn’t said what type of flowers Julian liked, just that he liked them. “Something colorful with some wildflowers.”
“Of course, sir. Is there a particular occasion?”
“I’m hoping to convince someone they want to… work with me.”
He eyed me strangely. He obviously knew I usually told people what to do, and they did it. Wisely, he didn’t question me further. I had no intention of explaining myself. My situation with Julian was unique, and it was all Remington’s fault.
He’s the one who negotiated this absurd exchange of information and the one who’d apparently already been asked to leave the library after getting on Julian’s bad side. What I didn’t understand was why I couldn’t just break in there at night and take whatever we needed. Why did I have to deal with Julian at all? Not that pushing his buttons wasn’t fun.
Seduction was still an option. I did enjoy a challenge. Maybe after he saw the flowers he’d be more amenable to other suggestions. I didn’t know my way around the archive. Surely I’d need him to come with me and show me where things were. Remy had mentioned some study cubicles. I could put those to good use.
Ronnie gave my order to his wife, Selena. I knew she did incredible work, but this time she had really outdone herself. The bouquet she brought me was filled with peonies, snapdragons, daisies, and orchids. The colors were vibrant, and the bouquet would be stunning sitting on Julian’s desk in the otherwise cold and impersonal space.
I headed back to the library, glad it wasn’t far away. Trying to keep Tony from overturning the wobbly vase as it sat on my passenger seat was more work than I’d bargained for.
When we arrived, I informed Tony he needed to stay in the car and behave. I reminded him he hadn’t listened to me the last time I’d left, and I expected better from him today.
He chattered away, scowling and pointing his little finger at me.
“I know you don’t like to be left alone, but Remington wants this information ASAP. I can’t get it for him if I bring you with me.”
Tony said something back which I interpreted as, “You could leave me with the nice lady who fed me.”
“If I thought I could get away with that, I would, but as much as I hate to leave you, I have to get this done. You don’t want Remy mad at us, do you?”
He crossed his arms and turned away from me. Great. The silent treatment.
I left the car running—I would never leave Tony in a hot car—locked the doors, and headed toward the building. I pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to the guard. “I’ll have another for you when I leave if you make sure my car stays exactly where it is.”
The man’s eyes went as large as saucers. “Yes, sir. Absolutely. Nothing will happen to your car.”
“Good.” I used my most menacing tone.
When I pushed my way into the library, the air conditioning hit me, and I shivered. They kept it the temperature of a tomb.
Gwen gave me a discreet thumbs-up as I walked in carrying the bouquet. I winked at her, then focused on my target.
Julian looked up as I approached his desk. “What is that?” He pointed toward the flowers.
“Don’t tell me flowers aren’t allowed in the library.”
He frowned, seeming torn on the issue. “They’re not allowed in the archive rooms, but there is no rule against them out here.”
Damn, he really was uptight. He needed someone to ease him open and show him how good it could be to embrace what you wanted instead of what you were supposed to do. “What would you think of them if we weren’t in the library?”
“They’re… beautiful.”
“Good. They’re yours.” I set the vase on his desk.
He took a few seconds to examine the bouquet more closely before looking at me, his scowl back in place. “I’m still not letting you use our materials.”
“I don’t have food or a monkey. I opened my jacket enough to prove Tony wasn’t hiding there.”
“I could see the monkey when he was in your coat. He wasn’t actually hidden.”
“You’d be surprised how many people don’t notice.”
“I notice everything.”
I grinned at him, looking him slowly up and down. I was rewarded with a flush that crept up his neck and into his cheeks. “So do I.”
He cleared his throat. “You should go.”
“I’m here to do some research. I regret that we got off to a bad start, but I’m following all the rules now. This is a public library, and there’s absolutely no reason to deny me entry.”
“You were banned from this building.”
“Do you actually have the authority to do that?”
The way he fidgeted before answering told me what I needed to know. “I have the right to deny anyone access if I believe they will damage the materials. And you—”
“You really find me so dangerous you can’t even trust me around a stack of old newspapers?”
“I don’t think you’re here to do research.”
I wasn’t surprised he didn’t believe me. I didn’t look like an academic. “Why do you think I want access to the archive?”
“I don’t know, but I doubt it’s for any valid purpose.”
I should be annoyed, but I liked that he suspected me. It meant he was paying attention. “I assure you my purposes are quite valid. I also understand you have some funding issues.” He stood up straighter and studied me. That had gotten his attention.
“How do you know that?”
“I might be in a position to assist you with those issues, but if I’m not allowed access to the collections, I won’t be as motivated to preserve them.”
He scowled at me like I’d insulted his mama and all his ancestors. “You’re trying to bribe me?”
I smiled. “Yes. Is it working?”
“The flowers were better. At least they’re real.”
For just a moment, Julian dropped his prickly persona and pain reflected in his eyes. I had to shove my hands into my pockets to keep from reaching for him. I wanted to soothe his pain. If he were mine, I wouldn’t let anyone hurt him.
“Cher.” I dropped my voice so it was low and smooth. “I can bring you all the flowers you want, but I need you to let me into that room.”
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and the redness in his cheeks deepened. I had him. I was going to get what I wanted.
The silence of the library was broken by a man hollering, “No! Stop! What are you doing?”
Gwen shrieked, and I turned to see Tony scrambling across the tile floor, slipping and sliding as he ran to the safety he knew I’d provide. The guard was chasing him, which meant he was not watching my car.
I scooped Tony up, placed him on my shoulder, and snarled at the man. “I gave you a job to do, and you can’t do it in here.”
“Sorry, sir. I… He can’t…”
I pointed toward the exit. “Get back outside and keep your eyes on my car.”
“That monkey opened the window. How did he do it?”
“With his fingers. He’s a primate and highly intelligent. More so than you apparently.”
The man huffed, but he retreated.
My monkey was a freaking genius, but he was also very defiant. “Tony, I told you to stay in the car.”
He shook his head and shrieked at me. I wanted to be angry at him. He’d screwed everything up. If he hadn’t come running in here, I’d be in the archive room right now. But how could I be mad at his cute little face? I knew how much he hated to be left alone.
“You left him in the car?” Julian looked horrified.
“You told me not to bring him in here.”
“But it’s ninety degrees out there, and—”
Did he seriously think… “The car was running. I would never endanger him.”
“Oh, so that’s what you meant. You were using our security guard to watch your car while your monkey sat in the air conditioning.”
“A minute ago, you were mad at me because you thought I left him in a hot car. Which is it?”
Julian made a noise that was close to a growl. I liked it. I wanted him to make that noise again when we were alone and preferably naked. I let myself peruse his lean body. When I raised my eyes to his face again, I saw he was ready to explode. “Leave!”
“I’ll take Tony back out to the car and make sure he can’t open a window again.” Of course he’d punish me for days if I strapped him into his car seat.
“Get out of this library, and do not come back.”
“Should I leave the flowers or—”
“Now!
Julian had resorted to yelling. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I liked knowing he had that kind of passion inside him.
Remington might fucking kill me, but I knew I’d get into the archive eventually, just not on his timetable. My next move was going to need a little more planning. I wished I’d thought to ask Gwen for her number.
“Come on, Tony.” I gave the little guy a pat. “It’s time to get out of here.”
“Hi, Gwen,” I called as I passed by her desk. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
“No,” Julian said, “you will not.”
I turned, no longer able to be the picture of restraint I’d been so far. “I need information, and you’re between it and me. I’ve tried to ask nicely, but I will get what I want, even if I have to go through you or over you.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes. Wise of you to pick up on it.”
“You can’t… I’ll call the police.”
“That won’t help you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I will get what I need. I expect you to be more cooperative when I return.”
The way he stared at me, his eyes large and his chest rising and falling rapidly, made me want to pull him to me and kiss him until I shook something loose inside him. This wasn’t the time, so I walked away. And Remy said I had no self-control.
Julian sputtered behind me. Gwen ran over to try to calm him down. I’d made a mess of this whole fucking assignment. Remy had ordered me to stay under the radar. As usual, I’d done exactly the opposite.
He had to have known what was going to happen. He could’ve picked anyone else, and they might’ve managed it. I got things done, but I got them done my own way.
As I could’ve predicted, knowing how my brother had zero patience, he called as I was getting back in the car.
“I expected an update by now,” he growled when I answered the call.
“All right. Here’s one. Persnickety was a total understatement. Julian, the archival librarian, is the most uptight, difficult—”
“What the fuck did you do?”
“As I was saying, persnickety fails to encompass all his faults.”
“So you didn’t retrieve the information?”
“Not yet.”
I was certain Remington was pacing his office, jaw tight, hands in fists. “I told you I needed it this afternoon. The library closes in fifteen minutes.”
“So you’ll have to wait until tomorrow, or I could let myself in after all the employees have left.”
“I told you breaking in is not an option. Not this time. We want to play this low-key.”
He really wasn’t going to like the details of my library visit. “I don’t think that’s actually possible anymore.”
“Jesus Christ, Lance. What happened?”
“I was my usual charming self.”
He scoffed. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“And so was Tony.”
“You took the fucking monkey into the library after I explicitly told you not to?”
“The second time I tried to leave him in the car, but he opened the window and followed me in.”
Remington remained quiet. Too quiet. I braced myself, counting down to his explosion. Three. Two. One.
“What the fuck were you thinking? I know you’re not that stupid. You knew this was important. You—”
“Calm down, Remy. I almost had him. I’ll get in next time.”
“Next time? When is that going to be? If he didn’t let you in during regular hours, he’s not going to let you in after work.”
“I won’t give him a choice.”
“No. You’re not to hurt him. You’re not to do anything that will bring police attention to the library.”
I decided not to tell him how close I’d come to doing just that. “I made it clear to Julian that calling the police wouldn’t do any good.”
“Holy fuck. I seriously thought you were more competent than this.”
I scowled at the phone. I was happy to acknowledge I had different methods than my brother, but I wouldn’t put up with him telling me I was incompetent or any other thing that made me seem inferior to him. We were different, but he wasn’t better than me. Sure, he’d always been the responsible one, the one who was willing to spend his life working—at least until he’d met Henri. Pop was passing the mantle of head of the family to him, but that was just because he was the oldest. The two of us had always worked together. We were a team.
Our half brother, Corbin, was ten years younger than me. It had taken until recently for me and Remy to see him as a serious partner, but more and more, he was proving himself to us. I was sure Remy was going to give him more opportunities for leadership, especially since Corbin’s boyfriend, Beau, was so good at taming his bratty side. We were a family, and family shouldn’t treat each other like they didn’t count.
“Just because I don’t do everything your way doesn’t mean I won’t get it done.”
“This can’t be done your way.”
“If you hadn’t made an ass of yourself at the library, you could have handled this yourself.”
“Lancelot. That’s enough.” Ooh, he was using his scary voice.
“If you’d stop being so fucking secretive and tell me what was really going on, I might understand why this is so important. You’re treating me like you used to treat Corbin.”
Remington blew out a breath. “I thought it would be easier for you to go into this not knowing. It’s complicated.”
“I like complicated.” Julian is complicated.
“Corbin is at Beau’s place. Pick him up, and get over here so we can talk.”