Page 35 of Broken Promises (Soho Knights #5)

PATRICK

It was Sebastian and Charlie’s wedding day!

Before Patrick headed over to Sebastian’s, he had something to deal with.

Charlie had stayed at the flat last night with his brothers and was leaving from there.

Sebastian had his sister, brother-in-law, and nieces staying with him for his last night of freedom, which Patrick had always found to be a strange saying.

You were marrying somebody you were in a committed relationship with.

Why would there be a last night of freedom?

What Patrick was about to do was dangerous, he knew that, but he didn’t have a choice.

The last month had been the hardest of his life since George died.

It had felt like another loss, albeit different because he believed and hoped it wasn’t permanent.

He didn’t know how Jason was feeling about anything because they’d both kept their distance.

Sebastian had tried to probe into what had happened, but Patrick had refused to talk about it, not wanting to lie to his friend.

Thankfully, Sebastian was so obsessed with giving Charlie the perfect wedding, it had been a great distraction.

When Charlie had said Sebastian could, on this occasion, spend whatever he wanted, his friend may have gone a bit crazy .

They’d agreed on a neutral location. There was no way Patrick was doing this in a place Grant would have the upper hand, although he was a mobster without a conscience, so the location didn’t really matter if he wanted to do something. Still, it made Patrick feel marginally more comfortable.

He walked into the bistro in Covent Garden.

He’d seen it before, but never been inside.

The hostess showed him to his table. Patrick was five minutes early, but Grant was already waiting for him, wearing a suit and looking annoyingly handsome.

He could see the appeal, but it was what was underneath that was ugly.

“Shall we order breakfast before we get started?” said Grant, shaking his hand.

“Sure,” replied Patrick.

“I know you don’t have long with the wedding today.”

“I still need to eat.”

“They do an excellent eggs benedict here.”

“Fine, and some coffee.”

Grant summoned the server over with two fingers and put their orders in, asking for them to wait five minutes before bringing their coffees.

“To what do I owe this pleasure, then? Is it to thank me for giving you the story of the year for free?”

Patrick gave a polite smile. The whole Milo and Edward affair had been top billing on the news when it broke. He just wished he knew if Milo was okay, but for now he had to focus on Jason.

“I’m here to talk about Jason.”

“Thought you might be. Is he trying to worm his way out of our deal? And it took him what, less than three days for him to come crawling back to you. I thought he’d have held out for longer.”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen or spoken to Jason for a month. ”

“That’s interesting. He has more willpower than I gave him credit for.”

“What deal are you talking about, anyway?”

“Patrick. Why are you here, if it’s not to convince me to change the terms of our deal?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Grant gave a resigned sigh and leaned back in his chair. He beckoned the server over with their coffee and asked for the breakfast to be brought as soon as it was ready. It was only when he was looking around that Patrick noticed there was nobody else in the bistro.

“Is this place normally open at this time?”

“Yes. They just aren’t very busy today.”

“You mean you convinced them to open the place just for you?”

“Well, I am the owner.”

Patrick couldn’t help but chuckle. The man really had his finger in every pie. He wondered what a small bistro in Covent Garden could be a front for. There was no way this was a legitimate business.

“I know you plan to take Jason back to Liverpool tomorrow, but I have something that might make you reconsider that plan.”

“I’m staying in London, and so is Jason. Didn’t he tell you?”

Patrick was thrown for a second, but made sure not to show it on his face. Whether or not it was true, Grant was trying to goad him, and he wouldn’t bite.

“Why do you want to be with someone who clearly doesn’t want to be with you?” asked Patrick.

“I don’t want to be with Jason. I just don’t want him to be with you.”

“Why not?”

“You make him happy.”

“What the fuck! I thought you loved him? ”

“I did once. Then he broke my heart. Why should he be happy?”

Patrick wasn’t about to unpack all that. The smile on Grant’s face was unnerving. It made him think of a snake that was about to eat a mouse whole, and he was the mouse.

The server interrupted them by bringing their breakfast. Patrick was starving and it would be a while before they ate at the wedding, so he may as well enjoy this.

They both ate in silence for a while, enjoying the food.

To be fair to Grant, he hadn’t been wrong about the eggs benedict.

It gave Patrick an opportunity to digest what Grant had shared.

Something had happened between him and Jason.

That was clear. He wasn’t sure what, but the fact Jason was still keeping his distance meant some sort of threat had been made to keep him away.

Grant didn’t want to take Jason back as his husband.

That was clear too. So what did he want with him?

He needed to stop overthinking it and get on with what he came here for.

“I’d like to show you something, if that’s okay?” asked Grant. He knew better than to just go into his bag without saying something first.

Grant nodded, so Patrick picked up his bag. He made a point of opening the pocket in clear view. He’d spotted a bodyguard earlier and knew he’d be armed. Patrick pulled out an A4 sized brown envelope and passed it to Grant.

“That’s not the only copy.”

“I assumed not, Mr Editor,” said Grant, taking it from Patrick and opening it.

Patrick tried to act casual and carry on with his breakfast as Grant read what Patrick had compiled over the last month.

He heard a few chuckles from Grant, knowing he’d left the juicy stuff until the end.

Most of what he’d compiled was conjecture and hearsay.

No doubt accurate, but difficult to prove.

The moment Grant’s chuckling stopped, Patrick knew he’d gotten to the punchline. He carried on eating his breakfast. It really was delicious.

“What the fuck is this?” Grant snarled.

Patrick chewed the last mouthful of his breakfast before putting his cutlery down. He locked eyes with Grant and knew why he was feared by so many people. He looked like he wanted to rip Patrick apart.

“Like I said, that’s not the only copy.”

“What do you want?”

“Leave Jason alone.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. That’s it. You leave him alone, and let him live his life with whoever he wants, then that stays between us.”

“How do I know you won’t still use it?”

“Would you let me live if I did?”

“No. You’re lucky you’re still breathing now.”

“Then we’ve reached an impasse, haven’t we? You kill me, that goes to the police. It goes to the police, and you kill me. The only one with nothing on the line here is Jason, which is how it should be.”

“He’s got you wrapped around his little finger, doesn’t he?”

“Didn’t he have you just as wrapped once upon a time?”

Grant chuckled. “Yes, he did. I’d have done anything for him.”

“Based on that, you did. But you need to let him go now. It’s clear that you’ve never really wanted to hurt him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He’d be dead, wouldn’t he, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation? I know he hurt you, but he wouldn’t have done it intentionally. You know what he’s been through. What they put him through. He hasn’t got a nasty bone in his body. He just needs someone to keep him balanced.”

“And that’s you, is it?”

“Yes. ”

“I’m going to still be around, you know. I want Langdon in my life.”

“I’m not asking you to go anywhere. We all have history and past pain. It’s what makes us human.”

“We’re done here,” said Grant, standing up.

Patrick was being dismissed, and he knew why. Either Grant didn’t want to show any emotions in front of him, or Patrick was going to get a bullet in the back of the head. If that happened, Sebastian would get a delivery, and he would make sure Grant never saw the outside of a prison again.

Grant extended his hand for Patrick to shake, which he did. It was firm, but there was nothing in it, which implied pending doom. He turned to walk out.

“Patrick, one more thing.”

He was sure his heart stopped beating as he stopped and turned back. Grant was holding out a piece of folded paper. He took it, and Grant nodded, implying he should open it. Patrick did, and what he read almost brought him to tears.

“You make sure he gets that,” said Grant, with a crack of emotion in his voice.

Patrick smiled and nodded. It was time to get his boy back.