“True, sadly. True.”
Esther arrived later in the afternoon. “Bad news, I’m afraid,” she sighed. “The lawyers have been all over Lytton’s contract, and Tyler does indisputably have claim to him. Our lawyers are holding him off on technicalities for as long as possible, but they’re very clear that they’ll lose, and soon.”
“And then?”
“Then you’ll have to give him back to Tyler. After that, regardless of whether we find this body or not, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see Lytton again. Now, if you find the body before Tyler gets his hands on Lytton, that changes everything.”
“How long do we have?” Josiah asked quietly. There would be little victory to be wrung from this if they found the body too late and Alex was lost. He’d still do his best to bring Tyler to justice, of course, but without Alex it would be bittersweet at best.
“Not long,” Esther said grimly. “A couple of days max.”
Days? Sometimes it took weeks to find a body in water, and this body had been down there for a very long time. It was hardly going to give itself up easily.
At that moment, there was a sound outside. Josiah went out, hopefully, but it was just the divers deciding to call it a day.
“Another day without finding anything,” Josiah mused as he drove home with Sofie. “Maybe Alex is right. Maybe Tylerhasmoved the body.”
“It’s more likely it’s scattered over the bottom of that lost zone,” Sofie said. “I checked. That area was once a village, so there’s every possibility there are bodies down there already,either from the Rising or simply some old graveyard. We might bring one of those up instead of Solange. So, even if we do find bones, they might not be hers.”
“Shit.” Josiah felt as though that noose was tightening again, slowly but surely. He was hiding a runaway IS in his house, was fast on his way to being hopelessly in love with a man he couldn’t have, and one of the most powerful men in the land was out for his blood. If that wasn’t enough, he was staking his entire reputation on this one case.
Esther was a friend, but would she decide he was worth keeping if all this turned out to be a wild goose chase? “Don’t tell Alex any of this,” he said to Sofie. “All he’s got in the whole world is hope; don’t take that away from him.”
“He has something a good deal more than hope,” she said firmly. “He hasyou, and, as I’ve found out these past couple of days, that is not to be underestimated.”
Josiah shot her a grateful smile. Maybe his whole life was going to hell in a handcart, but he seemed to have made a new friend.
“Another girlfriend?”Josiah could imagine Alex saying while rolling his eyes, and he gave a little chuckle. Damn it. He could almost hear Peter laughing in his ear.“In-jokes? You’re smitten, love,”he’d have said – and he’d have been right.
Alex and Sem were sitting on the sofa when they arrived home, with Sem wrapped up in a big blanket. There was a freshly prepared meal warming in the oven, and the house was full of chatter and laughter. Josiah thought of the many times he’d returned here when it’d been cold and empty, and how different it was when filled with warmth and friendship.
Sem and Alex had clearly had a good day watching the screen and chatting and were totally at ease with each other.
“Any luck?” Sem asked as they sat down to eat.
“I’ve told him all about Solange and what you’re doing,” Alex said, handing out plates piled high with spaghetti bolognaise.
“Not today.” Josiah undid his tie with a sigh.
“Never mind,” Alex said cheerfully. “Tomorrow’s another day.”
Josiah shot him a wan smile, but exchanged a grim glance with Sofie when his back was turned. The realities of the situation were taking their toll, but there was no need to share that with Alex just yet.
“I want you to make love to me tonight,” Josiah said later, as he shut the bedroom door.
“Are you sure you’re not too tired?” Alex asked. “It’s been another long day.”
“Nope. It’s what I want – what I need.” Josiah drew him close. Esther had said a couple of days max. This might be his last night with Alex, the penultimate at best. If they didn’t do this now, then when? Alex wanted it, and he wanted it, too.
“I’ll be gentle,” Alex murmured, kissing him.
Josiah thought of all the people Alex had been with over the years, the many men he’d fucked, and how experienced he was. He had no doubt that Alex would be as good at this as he was at everything else in the bedroom.
“Hey.” Alex nuzzled his ear. “If you don’t want to do this, it’s fine. Don’t do it to please me.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m just thinking of all the times you didn’t have a choice.”
“Shh.” Alex kissed his way along his jaw. “Don’t think… just be.”
