Chapter 50
“You’re probably right. They are difficult,” Armand agreed
“They weren’t always that way. My mother said that her grandfather ran the pack well when he held the reins. Maybe we can make it so again,” Alexei said.
“I think it can be. I didn’t have the time to school them, that’s why it was so easy for me to give them to you. Frankly, I didn’t have time for their bullshit,” Armand told Alexei. Sean stared at Armand.
Everyone stopped eating and drinking for a moment, silverware and cups paused in midair. Donal sensed tension in the room.
“Perhaps I pulled the stick too far out of your ass. That wasn’t nice.” Sean fussed at Armand. “You’re going to give Donal a bad impression.”
“Don’t worry, Armand. Alexei already told me they were difficult, and that’s why he didn’t invite Julio to come with us. He couldn’t count on them not doing something dumb.” Donal sighed. He brightened, “But Julio will be here tomorrow.”
“Do you have his phone number?” Kane asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“We should ask him to come with us on Monday, our treat. If he wants to open a high-end salon, it would be a good experience for him.”
“I’ll call him and ask.” Donal ran upstairs to make his call.
“It’s important to Donal to maintain that connection for his mental well-being,” Kane said. “Julio was all he had for a long time, and he was even slipping away from Julio, hence the needle in the arm.”
“Rémy told me that Julio was resigned to Donal being dead when he showed him the picture,” Gabriel said.
“As soon as he found out he wasn’t, he followed Rémy and confronted me here to check on Donal. It must have eaten at him not being able to help Donal the way he wanted to. He thinks of Donal like a little brother.”
“How old is Julio?” Sean asked.
“Not that much older than Donal,” Alexei replied.
They heard Donal coming down the stairs and changed the subject.
“Julio says he’ll come to both the party and the salon. He’ll meet us here at five tomorrow for the party and ten on Monday. Is that okay?” Donal asked, still a little reluctant to put himself forward.
“That’s perfect, now they’ll be an even six of us. I’ll call now and tell them to expect us,” Sean said.
Donal bit his lip. “Isn’t it a bit late to book six appointments for Monday?”
“The owner is loup garou. She’ll call people in, if necessary. We tip well. They never mind taking us whenever we call.”
“If everyone is finished with their breakfast, it’s time for us to take this show on the road.” Gabriel pushed his chair back and stood.
As the rest of them stood, Armand asked Alexei, “Is Boris driving or is he helping Katya get ready for the party?”
“Katya would probably appreciate having Boris home to help. Could Pierre drive?”
“Of course, that’s why I asked. Let’s go. The sooner we get started, the sooner we finish. Gabriel, there are a few things you have to show Alexei about Amazon.”
“Oh, the lube…”
“Yes, that,” Armand said dryly.
Donal narrowed his eyes. Did he say lube?
Sean grabbed his arm. “Let’s go upstairs and get one of your new blazers, and you should put on your new sweater underneath, it’s chilly outside. There may be snow later. Did you get your down jacket?”
“Yesterday at Bloomingdales, along with a raincoat and a topcoat from Barney’s.” Donal rang for the elevator.
“Wear your boots and bring gloves, a hat and your overcoat, in case it starts to snow before we get home.”
“I hope we don’t have to cancel our outing on Monday.” Donal started to fret.
Sean ushered him into the elevator. “We won’t have to cancel. When it became apparent that our winters were getting worse, Rémy convinced the members of the council to buy all-wheel drive limousines built on a Navigator chassis. So, now we have no trouble with the snow. We can even pick up Julio, if he needs us to.”
“I’ll call him back and tell him.” Donal stepped out of the elevator. He went across the hall with his phone and came back five minutes later.