Page 38 of At Midnight

“Her brother employed me. I divided my time between them, but yes, I was there.”

“I can’t believe you were there. I can’t believe I didn’t see you.”

No one looked at the security staff. He’d hidden from them for years by standing in the shadows along the walls.

He lied, “I didn’t see you, either.”

“And you, little Raphe, you were abodyguard.I’ll bet you were a big, bad bodyguard, too,” she mocked him, grinning hard. She hadn’t let go of his arms. “Did they let you carry a gun?”

He cracked up, and laughter rolled out of him. Trust Océane to make the last fifteen years a huge joke. He should have approached her first. “Yes, I carried a gun.”

“But you’rejust a baby! You’re afetus!”

He was laughing so hard that tears gathered in his eyes. Océane had always been like this. “I’ll have to tell you everything that happened, maybe over supper. Maybe over supper and beer.”

“Oh, I can’t drink anymore, not until the teenagers are grown up. One of them caught me tipsy last year, and I haven’t heard the end of it yet. We’ll do it over coffee, a lot ofcoffee.”

“I can’t believe you’re working at the bank,” he told her.

“Well, yeah.” Her arms dropped to her lap. “Father convinced me.”

“The Ilyins are practically running Geneva Trust.”

Her lips twitched to the side. She had always made that face when she didn’t like something. “You noticed, huh?”

He smiled at her, knowing that he looked like the mischievous sixteen-year-old who had entertainedhis older sister with his infractions, and leaned in. “Do you want to do something about that?”

An hour later, Raphael was walking back to his office, smiling, when his Uncle Bastien touched his arm. “There’s been a problem at the house.”