Evenfall (54 page)

"Mmm." Thierry tilted his head, his gaze moving along the cafe before resting on Boyd again. "He never liked my way."

"What way is that?"

A low chuckle escaped Thierry's throat and he sat back in his chair. "Expulsions from boarding school for inspiring rebellions, leading adults to believe... anything I wanted, and of course, seducing my male tutors."

Boyd raised his eyebrows, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Tutors, plural? How many of them did you seduce?"

Thierry smirked and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Enough of them to ensure he hired women in the future. Although I suppose the elderly gentleman didn't fall for my charms."

Boyd couldn't help laughing. "You're a dangerous man, Monsieur Beauvais."

"Of that, you can be sure," Thierry practically purred. He slid his fingers over Boyd's hand and moved them over it in a light caress. He didn't stop even as he continued to speak. "My father did not appreciate the embarrassment that I brought to his name. Even before he knew I was gay, he held some distaste for my temperament as a child. It is unfortunate that my mother died when I was quite young. I fear I never quite knew the love of a parent properly-- perhaps this is why I have always looked in other places."

Boyd looked down at their hands; at Thierry's fingertips ghosting his skin. Although the slide of skin against skin didn't produce the electrifying tingle that seemed to happen any time Sin touched him, he felt... intrigued. Comforted, in some strange way. But as he considered what Thierry said, he realized maybe their similarities were why he didn't mind so much when Thierry touched him, despite the fact that normally he would look askance at a person he just met for doing the same thing.

They'd both lost one parent early, and although Boyd had known the love of his father it was all blurred by childhood and loss that happened far too soon. They were both gay, raised by a parent who had more issues with them than acceptance, and who didn't approve of their sexual orientation. What Thierry said about looking for love elsewhere resonated in Boyd as well. The comfort he'd been missing for the past few years, the gaping hole he'd been burying deeper and deeper within himself to try to ignore how much had been stolen from him with Lou's death-- It had all been ripped back out into the open.

It was the prominence of it all in his mind that made it impossible to ignore the fact that of all the people he'd met so far since joining the Agency, Thierry was the first one who he thought may actually get what it was like to be him. The first one who may understand how frustrating it was to constantly be compared to the successful but distant parent; to be only a surname to so many people, who threw that name back at him. To be told by that parent repeatedly that he wasn't good enough; that he would never live up to his own name. To be gay in a world that didn't always accept that. To be surrounded by a life of intrigue and negotiation that rarely let a person relax. And to not always know who to trust.

Boyd's eyebrows furrowed faintly and he dragged his eyes back up to Thierry. He searched the older man's face, feeling confused and off-balanced. He knew that Thierry was a seductive type who was interested in him. He knew that he had to get the information out of Thierry about the Janus insiders, and yet...And yet, at the same time he couldn't deny that he was comforted by Thierry's presence. He couldn't help feeling like Thierry understood him. And with those gentle touches and casually kind words, it felt like he would never hurt Boyd like so many others had. There was no denying what Thierry was capable of but Boyd knew from Thierry's files that the bare facts of what he was bringing up were true. His father and he had been estranged. His mother had died young. Thierry wasn't lying to him about that, and it made the similarities too hard to ignore.

With that in mind, Boyd found himself starting to speak, then having to clear his throat quietly. He looked back down at their hands, feeling a temptation to turn his palm to Thierry's to implicitly accept the flirtation. He ignored the urge, although his fingers did twitch.
"My mother..." He frowned, his eyebrows lowering further, and he met Thierry's eyes again. He didn't move his hand, finding himself hoping that Thierry didn't withdraw that gentle caress any time soon. "My mother was the same. She's never fully approved of me. I used to try so hard to be worthy of her praise but I have almost no recollection of it ever happening." He shook his head, his lips tilting on the edges bitterly. "Of course, when it became apparent that I was gay, it didn't help my standing in her eyes."

"We are much alike, you and I," Thierry observed. "Perhaps that is why I feel drawn to you and not because you are gorgeous."

"Perhaps," Boyd replied, his eyes remaining on Thierry.
He fell silent, taking in the way the other man was watching him. Given Thierry's reputation he'd been worried about getting on Thierry's good side. For all that Sin had criticized Boyd's approach, it seemed that he'd succeeded. But despite that, all the times he'd tried to bring up business in varying ways, Thierry had always sidestepped or deflected the topic. It was growing worrisome; they had limited time in France.

He let out a quiet breath and looked away with drawn eyebrows. He watched a couple pause as a man on an electric scooter drove by. So far Thierry seemed to respond most positively to the truth so that's what he said.

"Thierry, I don't mean to be rude but we have to return to the States tomorrow and I'm growing worried about having to go back empty-handed. I'd really like the chance to discuss work with you. Could we do that?"

Thierry patted his hand, and sat up straight. "Yes, but not now. I would like to invite you to my home this evening."

Boyd's gaze hovered on Thierry. There was no question that Thierry was attracted to him and yet until this suggestion, the flirtation had been mild and always in public. Being alone in the man's house could possibly make things turn to a different direction, and that made him hesitate.
Still, there was no guarantee anything would happen. And if anything did start happening that he didn't want, he could just say no. In the meantime, Thierry had finally agreed to talking business so that was a definite step in the right direction.

"Of course," Boyd replied with a smile. "What time would you like me over?"

"I have some things to attend to after lunch," Thierry replied, looking over as the waitress returned with their lunch. "I will drop you off at the hotel and return this evening. Please do explain to your partner where you will be, so he does not think I have abducted you and proceed to then rip apart the hotel."

"I will," Boyd assured Thierry.
Lunch passed without incident and it wasn't long until they got back into the town car and headed toward the hotel.
When he got to the hotel room, he wondered whether Sin would even be there. He opened the door and glanced around the common room for his partner. He saw that Sin was sitting on the edge of the couch, palm computer in hand as he skimmed through something on it rapidly. His lips were pursed and he didn't look entirely pleased with whatever he was doing.
Boyd shut the door behind him and took his jacket off as he walked across the room.

"Did something happen?" he asked, tilting his chin toward Sin's palm computer. Although he hadn't received any notices from the Agency about any changes in the mission, it was possible Sin had.

Sin looked over at him, gaze lingering for a moment before switching back to the computer. "I have a mission when we return."

Boyd nodded in understanding and threw the jacket on the back of a chair, on top of his trench coat. "Just you?"

"Yes. Rank 10 mission." Sin turned off the panel and dropped it on the table beside the couch, standing up. He turned and observed Boyd.

Boyd nodded again and dropped onto the couch. He let his legs stretch out in front of him and leaned back, taking a moment to relax. He let out a low breath, closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the couch.

After a moment, Boyd opened his eyes and sat up. "Before we can end up splitting up for any reason, I wanted to let you know you'll have the room to yourself for awhile tonight."

Sin had been about to go into his room but he stopped completely and turned. "Why is that?"

"I'll be at Thierry's."

There was a stretch of silence as Sin stared at him for a longer period of time. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are you going to his house?"

Boyd watched Sin silently for a moment and then leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees. "He wouldn't talk business today but he said he would if I came over. We only have until tomorrow to get what we need, so..." He shrugged and trailed off.

Sin's eyes narrowed further and he brought a hand up to briefly rub his forehead. He started to turn again, stopped, and then said, "You shouldn't go."

"If I don't, how are going to get what we need?" Boyd shook his head. "We're running out of time. I'll just go over, get the information, and come back. I'm only telling you so you don't wonder where I am."

"And you think it's going to be as simple as that?" Sin asked, raising his eyebrows and staring down at Boyd without expression.

"No but what does it matter?" Boyd asked rhetorically. "He said he'd talk to me if I came over so that's what I'm going to do. Besides, after spending so much time with him I have an idea of how he works. I'll use that to figure out how to get what we need so I can stop worrying about it."

"If you had have an idea of how he works, then you're aware that there's a good chance he'll want you to fuck him for it."

"Obviously that's a possibility," Boyd said simply with a shrug. "I'm not going over planning on that. I just want him to talk. But you heard General Carhart-- you know how important this information is. We can't go back without it."

There was a long silence as Sin stared at him incredulously. "So you'd actually do it then?"

"I don't know," Boyd said honestly. "I'm going to make plans for how to get him to talk. But we're quickly running out of time and if nothing works, if he won't listen to me and it's a question between that or going home with nothing--"

His eyes narrowed and he looked away. Carhart's words were strong in his mind; to do whatever it took to get this. That he couldn't stress the importance of this enough.

"I don't know," he said again. "I guess I have to plan for the possibility of that happening, too."

Sin's lips parted but no sound came out at first. A flash of anger crossed his face and mingled with the surprise that was evident. "Did it ever occur to you to say fuck the mission, or do you actually want to bend over for that piece of garbage?"

"Fuck the mission and then what?" Boyd shot back. "Go back to the Agency and tell them sorry, I didn't try hard enough? They wouldn't let that pass. And--"

He remembered his mother, her cold eyes staring him down after she'd brought him into her office on his first failed mission. Her threat that the Agency had ways of making agents usable again. She knew what would hurt him most; what would terrify him beyond anything else. She knew and she would use that information. He was still trying to get over the shock from Lou's necklace suddenly reappearing in his life. If they did that too--

His jaw tightened and his expression set in resolve. He wasn't going to let that happen. "If a mission fails, it's not going to be because of me."

"You're a goddamn idiot," Sin replied disgustedly. "If you don't listen to me, for the first fucking time, you're going to regret it."

"If you have a magical answer to getting the information from Thierry tonight short of working this angle then by all means, tell me," Boyd said impatiently, growing frustrated with the way Sin constantly attacked everything he did. "I'd love to hear it. But if you're just going to tell me I'm doing the wrong thing and offer no other solution aside from failing the mission then I don't know what to tell you. I can't do that. I'm bringing the information back with us somehow."

"You can't do that," Sin scoffed. "Mommy isn't going to terminate you, you fucking moron. What are you scared of, a trip to the Fourth? Man up-- who cares? Have some dignity instead of being so quick to stoop to the lowest level just to please the fucking Agency."

"Man up?" Boyd demanded incredulously. He stood up, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Do you even--" He cut himself off, a wave of anger burning through him. His teeth grit and he stared coldly, holding a hand up palm out to Sin. "You know what? Just-- Don't. Don't try to pretend you know me. Or her. You have no idea what she will and will not do to me."

"And you obviously don't know shit about me if you think I haven't been tortured in every possible way at the Agency, and I still wouldn't ever become their little prostitute," Sin replied acidly. "But go ahead, have fun."

Boyd's jaw set and for a long moment he could only glare at Sin. Anger, indignation and frustration warred within him until he didn't know what to say. The tension in him made him feel locked in place until he abruptly turned his back on Sin.

"I can't talk to you right now," he said tightly as he started toward his room.

"That's fine," Sin snarled, his lips twisted down into a vicious scowl. "Because I'm fucking done with you. This is the second time I tried to help you, and the second time I completely regret the effort."

Boyd felt a welling of something at the words but he didn't let himself focus on it. He stalked into his room and shut the door harder than was necessary behind him. But even being alone in the room didn't help; the atmosphere felt oppressed, giving him no way out.