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"I know you're not fucking Vincent or interested in fucking him," I sighed. "I just need to know if you trust him."
"Why do you want to know that?" Elsa demanded.
I didn't want her to stress; there already had been enough of that for her, what with the shooting, the time she had collapseddue to dehydration, my fuck up—all of it was not good for a pregnant woman. But I also knew that if I hid things from her, any chance we had at having a half-decent relationship would be blown to smithereens.
"I want to see if he can help with our Pascal problem."
She raised both her eyebrows. "You're not going anywhere near that madman."
"Ma douce, he's after you, so, yeah, I have to eliminate him as a threat."
Elsa narrowed her eyes. "What does this eliminate mean? You're not going to…are you?"
If necessary, I wouldn't hesitate to have Pascal Fournier killed. I had no qualms about that. He was an evil man, no gray area there. But I preferred to keep my hands clean. Even if I had a conscience, Pascal being killed wouldn't bother me. Since I didn't, especially when it came to protecting my family, it wasn't a problem I had to deal with.
"Just getting him out of the arena, so he can't play gangster anymore," I told her vaguely.
She put her hands on her stomach. "I trust Vincent."
"Good. Then I can trust him, too."
"What are you up to?" she asked suspiciously.
I smiled, kissing her softly on her lips despite Lisett being in the audience. "My love, I'm going to ask Vincent for help."
"I thought Vincent was a dangerous weapon’s dealer." She crossed her arms over her big belly, looking fucking adorable. I was so madly in love with her that I couldn't understand how I hadn't recognized it before.
"Thierry says he's not dealing chemical weapons, and that's good enough for me. Vincent cares about you, and he has the resources to help me." I pushed back some of her hair that had come loose around her face. "You trust him,ma douce, and that means I can do the same."
Her eyes softened, and then, just like that, they became suspicious and accusatory. "Is this a ploy to get me back?"
Damn it! This woman wasn't giving me a fucking inch. "No, this is me relying on your judgment, no games, nothing."
She watched me for a long moment and then did something that she hadn't done in a long time. She went on tiptoe and brushed her lips against mine, sliding her tongue out to taste me. It lasted a short few seconds, but I felt it all the way to my soul and my dick. Elsa was giving me a chance, and victory had never tasted this good.
Leaving Dean at the bakery while he grouched about missing a vital auction, I went to see Vincent in his office at La Défense. I hated that I had to make a deal with a man like Vincent Arsenault, well known for having a dual life as a businessman and an arm's dealer. But you couldn't fight a man like Pascal Fournier without a man like Arsenault.
I'd tried to talk to Elsa's father, but that man had his head up his asswhileit was buried in the sand. He refused to see that Pascal was making a play at taking over Moreau's empire. According to him, the kidnapping attempt was a misunderstanding that he had cleared up with Pascal. As things stood, he couldn't understand what I was worried about because even if Pascal had taken Elsa, it wasn’t like he was planning on hurting Elsa; he was just going to use her to negotiate with Moreau. I'd had to resist punching him in the face for not seeing the risk to my wife and child, his daughter and grandbaby.
Dom was out of commission, and with that, my choices had been limited.ButElsa had faith in Vincent and that meant so could I. I believed my wife, believedinher. She might have been sexually inexperienced, but the life she'd lived helped her see through people.
I couldn't help but smile when I thought about her and I thought about my wife a lot.
She was a zillion months pregnant, suffering from heartburn and backaches; and needing to pee every two minutes, which was frustrating the hell out of her. Hormonal Elsa was hornyandtemperamental—cute as fuckanderratic. Most of the time, I didn't know whether she was going to hug me or throw something at me. She was, if nothing else, keeping me on my toes.
I walked into the high-rise sleek building, a modern monolith of glass and steel where the offices of Arsenault Imports & Exports were located.
As I walked through the lobby, I planned how I'd approach my improbable partner. Vincent was a powerful man, and while he thought of Elsa as a sister, he was not a man to be underestimated. If it would hurt his business in any way to eliminate Pascal, I knew he wouldn't help me. He'd help me protect Elsa but not get rid of the man who was a threat to her.
The elevator ride to the top floor felt interminable, but finally, the doors slid open to reveal Vincent's office. The space was as formidable as the man himself—minimalist and impeccably decorated, with large windows offering a panoramic view of the city. The walls featured modern art, and a massive desk of dark wood dominated the center of the room. Vincent sat behind it, his tall, muscular frame exuding an aura of controlled power.
He looked up as I entered, his blue eyes cool and calculating. Vincent was impeccably dressed, his tailored suit a sign of wealth and authority. Yet, there was an undeniable edge to him that couldn’t be ignored.
He came around his desk and held his hand out to me. "Archer," he said, his voice smooth but with an underlying hint of menace. "Thank you for coming here. I have some business that doesn't permit me to leave; otherwise, I'd have come to theboulangerie. I hear you've set up an office at Délices d'Elsa."
I shook his hand and took the chair he offered me. As he went back around his desk to take a seat, I told him, "My wife refuses to let me barricade her at my apartment on Avenue Montaigne, where I have ample security so I have no choice but to be where she is."
"The things we do for the people we love."
