Henri - 14

 

 

Henri and Taegan picked up the furniture—more than he probably needed in Henri's opinion, but Miranda was adamant that he take it all. He also remembered to pack up his clothes and personal belongings. Returning to the apartment, he and Taegan wrestled everything up the stairs—which Taegan swore got longer each time they climbed them.

 

When they finished, it was the middle of the afternoon. As a result, Henri told Taegan, "No arguments from you, I'm taking you out for dinner. It's the least I can do for all the help you've given me."

 

"It's not really necessary, but I accept. Did you have someplace in mind?"

 

Henri grimaced. "Not really. Where would you suggest?"

 

"A restaurant I dearly love in the Quarter. We can drop off the truck at my place and walk there. Oh, before you have a panic attack, it's also very reasonably priced."

 

"Money is no object," Henri said airily, getting an 'uh-huh' look from Taegan.

 

Twenty minutes later, as he looked at the Napoleon House menu, Henri was quite relieved to find that Taegan had told the truth. Henri could afford their meals, as long as they stuck to non-alcoholic drinks. They each ordered half a muffuletta, jambalaya and coffee.

 

When the waiter left, Henri suddenly felt tongue-tied. It was one thing to talk with Taegan about things having to do with stopping Xavier and everything that involved. It was another to try to make casual conversation with a man he had to admit interested him—a man he still wasn't certain was gay. He did sort of flirt with me at the barbecue, and Miranda hinted he's gay.

 

"Cat got your tongue?" Taegan asked.

 

"I guess." Henri smiled ruefully. "I'm not much of a talker."

 

"Could have fooled me."

 

"But that was about Xavier and…and…"

 

Taegan nodded. "Not making idle chatter. I understand. Okay, we'll start with the fact I get you're not all that familiar with the city."

 

"Not terribly. I came here… Well, you know why."

 

"To hide from Xavier. And before that? Had you ever visited? You didn't live too far from here."

 

"True, but I wasn't interested in visiting the—" Henri made finger quotes, "—big city. I've always been a country boy at heart. I like room to run whenever the spirit moves."

 

"You grew up in Paradis?"

 

"No. I was born in Maine and lived there until my parents were killed. Then I began traveling—looking for somewhere to settle. I saw a fair amount of the eastern half of the country, working my way south. I'd find a small town, settle in for a while and move on. Nowhere really appealed to me until I got down here. I fell in love with the bayous, found a house for sale outside of Paradis and lived there ever since." Henri smiled dryly. "Well, until Xavier decided to screw up my life."

 

"You've always been on your own?"

 

Henri nodded. "Pretty much. There was a time when I thought I might have found someone but she couldn't handle the fact she was growing older and I wasn't."

 

"I see." Taegan seemed a bit puzzled. "I thought… Oh well, no matter."

 

"What?"

 

"For some reason, I thought you were gay."

 

"I'm bi."

 

"Oh. Oh. That explains it."

 

"Why you thought I was gay?"

 

"Why I'm attracted to you," Taegan replied. "I'm usually pretty good at figuring out when a guy is… Okay, available sounds wrong, but you get what I mean."

 

"When he might find you interesting in return?" Henri chuckled. "I was wondering the same thing about you. Oh sure, you were flirting with me at the barbecue, but Miranda said you do that with everyone, male or female. She implied it was just the way you are."

 

"I'm afraid it is," Taegan admitted wryly. "It's…fun. Most people don't take it seriously because they know me."

 

"I didn't, once I figured it out." He studied Taegan with new awareness. "Are you really interested in me?"

 

"I said I was. I might flirt in public, but one-on-one I'm honest about my feelings."

 

"That's good to know."

 

"How so?" Taegan asked. 

 

"Despite the fact we barely know each other, I'm intrigued by you. You're very different from any man I've known."

Henri – 13

The apartment was small, taking up—Henri thought—half of the second floor, with the second apartment on the other side of a common wall. He figured the entrance to that one was via the stairs he'd seen when they went into Mrs Dean's office. To the left, off the entryway from the porch, there was a hallway that ran the full length of the apartment, with the kitchen and bedroom off it to one side. On the other side was one large room. The bathroom was at the end of the hall. The whole apartment smelled slightly of fresh paint and the lacquer that had been used on the highly polished hardwood floors.

 

"Nice big windows in here," Taegan said, standing at one in the living room. "Makes up for the fact there aren't any in the bedroom, " he added, chuckling.

 

After checking to make certain Mrs Dean wasn't listening, Henri replied, "Not a problem. It will feel safer, knowing the only way someone can get in when I'm sleeping is through the door."

 

"True. Are you going to take it?"

 

"Yep. It's not a mansion, but, truth be told, I'll be glad to have a place where I don't have to walk half a mile to get from my bedroom to the kitchen."

 

Taegan laughed. "That's why I like my place. There's something to be said for compact."

 

Henri went in search of Mrs Dean, finding her on the small porch at the top of the stairs. "The Realtor insisted on calling this a balcony in the listing," she said, shaking her head. "I'm afraid there's barely room enough for a chair."

 

"No problem. If you're willing, I'd like to rent the apartment."

 

"More than willing. Come back down to my office. There are, of course, papers to fill out—ID, work history, the usual.

 

"Work history is easy," Taegan told her before Henri could get past the panic he'd felt about that statement. "He's been one of my employees for the last four years."

 

"Very good," Mrs. Dean replied.

 

Henri took a deep breath, whispering, "Thank you," to Taegan.

 

"One of the reasons I came along," Taegan replied softly, patting Henri's back. "To cover your ass if there was something you needed help with."

 

Henri smiled weakly, then began filling out the paperwork. With Taegan there, Mrs Dean didn't have to call to verify Henri's supposed employment. After reading everything, she said she was satisfied, accepting Henri's check for first and last month's rent. Then she handed over the keys to the apartment and the two men left.

 

"Next stop, taking Miranda up on her offer of furniture for you," Taegan said, once they were on the road again.

 

"Meaning I'd better rent a truck."

 

"Strangest thing… I happen to have one," Taegan said with a grin. "When was she going to pick you up?"

 

"When I call her."

 

"Then do so, and tell her we'll meet her at the house after we get the truck."

 

"Why are you so willing to help me out?"

 

"Because you need it?"

 

 "It seems I need it from everyone." Henri sighed. "I haven't made a very good showing of handling things on my own."

 

"I disagree. You did the most important thing possible. You managed to escape Xavier not once, but twice."

 

"Three people died because of me," Henri said morosely.

 

"No, Henri. Three people died because of that bastard. If you'd stayed and tried to fight for them, they still would have died and you'd be his prisoner again." Taegan rested one hand on Henri's shoulder. "The man is insane, in case you haven't figured it out yet."

 

"Believe me, I know," Henri replied. He liked the fact Taegan was touching him, even though he was well aware it was just out of friendship—if that.

 

"Call Miranda," Taegan said.

 

"I can't, unless you have a phone. And don't—" Henri essayed a grin, "—say 'strangest thing, but I do'."

 

Taegan laughed. "Okay, but…" He took out his phone, handing it to Henri. Henri made the call and Miranda said she'd meet them at the house in an hour.

Henri - 12

 

 

"Call me when you're finished," Miranda told Henri when they dropped him off in front of Taegan's home. "We're going shopping." She grinned at John's groan of disgust. "You will survive, my dear."

 

"Uh-huh," John muttered.

 

Henri watched them drive away, noting they stopped longer than necessary at the corner. It made him feel better to know they were there, even though he was certain Xavier wouldn't try anything in broad daylight on a busy street. That thought didn't keep him from swiftly entering the gallery.

 

"Ah, there you are," Taegan said, ceasing his discussion with what Henri presumed was one of his employees. "Come. My car is out back."

 

Henri was surprised to see Taegan's car was a normal, everyday SUV. For whatever reason, he had expected at least a Jag or a Mercedes.

 

"I've had ritzy cars," Taegan said when Henri asked. "They were worse than useless for hauling things I need for the gallery. Yes, I do grunt work as well as meeting and greeting favored clients. It's part of the reason I'm successful, I suspect. I'm very much hands-on."

 

"The best way to be," Henri agreed, having no other response that wouldn't make him sound foolish. He kept his gaze locked on the sideview mirror, trying to determine if anyone was following them.

 

"Relax," Taegan said. "We're fine. I'm taking the long way around to where we're going. If our friend tries to tail us, he'll be SOL. I do know what I'm doing."

 

Henri chuckled. "Your secret agent gene kicking in?"

 

"I was a spy during the War Between the States," Taegan replied. "Of course, back then, I wasn't driving a car, looking for anyone trying to figure out where I was headed."

 

After studying him for a moment, Henri said, "You're serious, aren't you?"

 

"About cars? Sure. They didn't come into general use until the turn of the century." He winked at Henri. "But that's not what you meant. Yes, I was a spy, for the Confederacy. Not a bad one either, if I do say so myself."

 

As they talked, Taegan made several turns, rights and lefts, then declared, "We're safe enough now." He took another right and two minutes later they pulled up down the block from a house Henri recognized from the Realtor's website.

 

"Let's take a walk first," Taegan said. "Check out the neighborhood."

 

When they got to the block behind the house, Henri saw there was a tall privacy fence at the back of the building, separating it from the field that stretched from there to where they stood. A chain-link fence ran along the side of the house to the street, effectively protecting the stairs leading up to the apartment, while not hiding the view of the rest of the field.

 

"Now let's go meet your landlady," Taegan said when they were in front of the house again.

 

"My presumed landlady," Henri pointed out.

 

"Presumed." Taegan smiled as they went up the porch stairs and he rang the bell.

 

An older woman came to the door. She looked them over with a jaundiced eye until Henri said, "I'm here about the apartment."

 

Her whole demeanor changed as she stepped aside. "Come in. Come in. I'm Mrs Dean, and you are?"

 

Henri introduced himself and Taegan, as they followed her into a small office, at the foot of a flight of stairs, off to the side of the living room. "Tell me a bit about yourself," she said, at the same time that she began digging through a desk drawer. Henri barely got his mouth open to do so when she held up a set of keys. "I knew I'd put them in here. Come on. I'll show you the place. It was just redone about a month ago. My last tenant… Well, he wasn't very neat, to say the least."

 

By then, they were back outside the house. She took them up the outside stairs, telling Henri they were the only way to access the apartment. "So, you'll have all the privacy you want," she commented, unlocking the door.

Henri - 11

 

 

"Not bad," Ransom commented seconds later when he and Henri landed in the middle of Henri's living room.

 

Henri chuckled. "You were expecting a run-down cabin?"

 

"Maybe?"

 

"Sorry to disappoint." Henri went into his bedroom, returning a moment later to find Ransom wasn't where he'd left him. The open door to the front porch told him where Ransom had probably gone. He felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the cool breeze from the channel.

 

What if Xavier had someone watching the house? By now he might have found out I own it. They could have…

 

He inched his way to the door and peered outside. With a sigh of relief, he saw Ransom across the yard, staring at the moonlit bayou.

 

Ransom turned with a smile, which immediately became a look of concern.

 

"I didn't mean to frighten you."

 

"I was more frightened for you," Henri replied. "I was afraid maybe Xavier was around and had done something to you."

 

"Hey, if he tried, I'd shift and make mincemeat out of him."

 

"I'm sure," Henri said, but he couldn't stop from checking to be certain they were alone.

 

"It's just us." Now Ransom smiled again. "I can see why you liked living here. It's peaceful and there's plenty of space to run."

 

"It was, until Xavier showed up. I wish I could figure out how the hell he found me."

 

"Best guess… Had there been any rumors at the time about a wolf—or wolves—in the area?"

 

"Yes, a few. Mainly that a red wolf had been spotted. Generally it's because some tourist, who doesn't know the difference, saw a coyote. Seeing a wolf of any kind in this area is highly unlikely."

 

Ransom nodded. "That's what I'd figured. So he didn't just happen to be here. If he'd heard stories of a wolf around here… Meaning you—if a hunter saw you."

 

"I am careful, but you're right, that could have happened. A lone wolf, in an area where they are a rarity, would have piqued his interest."

 

"I think we may have solved the mystery of how he found you."

 

"Meaning, he could know this is my house. I'm glad I had sense enough not to come here after I escaped." Henri shivered. "Let's go back to Taegan's before I start seeing Xavier behind every bush."

 

* * * *

 

Henri and Ransom returned to find Taegan and Miranda in a deep discussion about the merits of a local artist who was showing at Taegan's gallery. Apparently Miranda had found him very derivative while Taegan had thought he'd had a unique style of his own. At least that's what Allyn told Ransom when he asked.

 

Taegan ended the conversation with, "Let's agree to disagree," before asking Henri, "Did you find it?"

 

"Yep. Right where I'd left it before I stripped to shift. It was in the top drawer of my dresser. I guess that means no one prowled through the place since I've been gone. I also grabbed my bank book and checks."

 

"Smart man. We can go look at the apartment first thing in the morning."

 

Henri cocked an eyebrow. "We?"

 

"Sorry," Taegan replied. "You can go look."

 

"Actually I… I wouldn't mind your company, but I don't want to take you away from your business."

 

"I have very good help at the gallery, so my being gone isn't a problem."

 

"In that case, when would you like me here?"

 

"Why not stay the night? It will save Miranda from having to drive you back in the morning."

 

Henri gulped and shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I…have to change clothes and…and all that."

 

"No problem," Taegan replied, disappointment flashing across his face momentarily before he smiled.

 

"Say, nine? Nine-thirty?"

 

Henri glanced at Miranda. "Is that too early for you?"

 

Miranda snorted. "Contrary to popular opinion, I do get up before noon. That would be fine."

 

"Then nine-thirty it is," Henri told Taegan.

 

"Now, we should all get out of here," Ransom said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Taegan."

 

"You as well." Taegan led the way down to the street. "I'll see you in the morning," he told Henri.

 

"Indeed." Henri was a bit flustered at the intense look Taegan gave him, so he was glad when Miranda and John started down to where they had parked the car. He hurried to catch up with them.

 

"I think you have an admirer," Miranda said to Henri, once they were on their way out of the city.

 

"No. He's just… I think he likes helping people is all. And he wants Xavier stopped as much as the rest of us do."

 

"We'll see," was all she replied.

 

Henri leaned back, closing his eyes. He didn't really believe what she'd said. But…

 

Taegan's a nice man. It would be… No. He's a nice, helpful man is all. Nothing more. Attractive? Sure. Sexy? Uh-huh. Interested in me? Not in less than a day. Hell, not in this lifetime.

Henri - 10

 

"You all know the city better than I," Henri said. "Where would be a good place to look for an apartment?"

 

"Why an apartment?" Allyn asked.

 

"Less expensive for starters. I do have some money squirreled away in a bank account, but not a lot, in the grand scheme things."

 

"I can—" Miranda started to say.

 

Henri interrupted her. "I will not accept anyone but me paying for this—end of story. I've sponged off of you long enough."

 

"Henri, you weren't—"

 

"I—"

 

"Hold up, both of you," Allyn said. "Henri, you know why she let you stay at the house. You weren't taking advantage of her so…you weren't sponging. Mandi, you have to understand where he's coming from. He can afford to rent his own place without our help. If it was me and I was in the same position, I'd resent your offer, and tell you to butt out."

 

"I don't resent it," Henri quickly responded. "I appreciate it. It's… I have to start taking things into my own hands."

 

"Very capable hands, I'm sure," Taegan said.

 

"I haven't proven it so far," Henri replied ruefully.

 

"You escaped from Xavier," John pointed out.

 

"And until today, I've done nothing but cower in fear…but no more. So, back to what started this conversation. Where can I find an affordable apartment?"

 

"Let me get my laptop and we'll see." Taegan did, putting it down on the coffee table. Once he was online, he went to a realty site. "How much can you afford?"

 

"Cheap?" Henri said wryly. "I guess…no more than a thousand a month, if possible."

 

"Definitely possible," Taegan told him. "Ransom, would you join us, please? You'd have a better idea than I do of what's defensible."

 

 Ransom did, leaning over the back of the sofa as Taegan scrolled through the site. He quickly eliminated three of the ones Taegan found.

 

"No fast exterior exit. If Xavier did manage to get inside and sedate you, Henri, he'd have to take you out via the hallways and elevator. Given what happened at Mrs Graham's, I wouldn't put it past him to try to eliminate anyone who saw him."

 

Henri hissed in a breath, nodding.

 

"What about this place," Taegan suggested. "Each apartment has its own entrance onto an exterior walkway."

 

"Better. Keep looking," Ransom said.

 

Taegan chuckled. "You're not easily satisfied."

 

"I want him and his neighbors safe. Wait. Stop." Ransom pointed to one listing. "Not bad. Reasonable neighborhood. Do the outside stairs belong to the apartment?"

 

"Yes," Taegan said after checking. "To one of the two on the second floor of a house that's been renovated and turned into rental units."

 

"The field next door is good," Ransom said. "It and the stairs will make Xavier think he can abduct Henri with no real problem."

 

"Happy thought," Henri muttered. "Still, considering why I'm doing this… The interior is nice."

 

By then, Miranda was standing beside Ransom so she could see as well. "I've got some furniture you can use, if you want," she said.

 

Henri looked up at her, replying tongue-in-cheek, "Thanks. I don't think borrowing it will impinge on my new-found independence."

 

She laughed. "I'm sure it won't."

 

"Are you all right with the rent, Henri?" Taegan asked.

 

"Yes. Hell. One small problem. ID."

 

"You do have some, don't you?" Ransom asked.

 

"Yeah. But it's in my house in Paradis. Or I hope it is."

 

"Only one way to find out. You want one of us to come with you?"

 

"No thanks. It should be safe enough."

 

"Famous last words," Taegan said. "Take Ransom."