The Immortal Compromise (The Mortal One Series Book 3) (17 page)

Chapter 22

A TALL BLONDE man stood with his back leaning up against the brick building where the club was. When we approached, he quickly stood at attention.

“Sir,” he said, holding his hand out to Nico.

Nico took his hand and held it for a moment. “Thank you for coming out tonight, Adrien.” Nico made all of the introductions.

I stared at Adrien for longer than I should have. He was taller than any of the other men here, which meant he had to be several inches over six feet, probably closer to five or six inches. He also had very broad shoulders and several quotes about survival tattooed on his arms. It made me wonder if he was military in his mortal life, but I didn’t ask.

“There is nothing to worry about,” Adrien said to me, though I think it was for Nico’s benefit than for anyone else. That, or he caught me staring.

“If something happens to her while she is in your protection,” Nico warned without needing to finish the statement.

“I understand, sir. She is in good hands. As is Jen.”

Olivier and Nico both nodded at him.

“Girls, have fun,” Olivier said. Before he turned away, he smiled at Jen. “Not too much.”

She let out a giggle that shocked both of us and she quickly covered her hand over her mouth. I would have to give her crap for that later.

Nico leaned over to give me a kiss and it was one of possession and ownership. His tongue pushed at my lips and I quickly yielded to him. He marked his territory with his mouth and it felt sinful and delightful at the same time. “If we are not back before the club closes, take a taxi home with Adrien,” he finally said.

“Okay,” I said and then wondered what he wasn’t telling me about what he needed to do. If there was the chance that he may be out for more than four hours, it was serious.

Nico and Olivier disappeared around the corner, leaving Jen and I in the company of Adrien.

“I will go in first and take up a spot on the wall. You two can then enter behind me and do what you like. Should you need me, just bring your thoughts to the front of your mind. I will be tuned into the both of you through the night,” Adrien explained. “Any questions?”

I shook my head.

Jen looked a little lost. “The front of my mind?”

“Think of something,” Adrien said.

Jen stood there for a moment and closed her eyes.

“You want a martini,” Adrien said.

“Oh, like that,” she smiled and nodded. “I got it.”

I made a face at Adrien as a silent apology and he just smiled back. He was nice enough and I had no reason not to trust him.

Adrien walked through security. Jen and I looked at each other and then proceeded through the club security right after him. As good as his word, he was along the far back wall of the club, blending into the surroundings. We walked up to the large bar in the center of the club. I liked the layout of this place. It made more sense to me. It was spacious with several smaller dance floors. The main bar was circular and in the center, making it easy to approach regardless of where you were in the place. Six bartenders were in the middle and there was neon lighting shooting up from the floor in their area, so it looked as though they were illuminated.

I pulled money out of my wallet and held it up to get the attention of one of the bartenders.

“What can I get you two?” He screamed over the music.

“Two cosmos,” I ordered and gave Jen the thumbs up to make sure she was good with that. She nodded.

While I watched the bartender make the drink, dozens of other people made their way up to the bar to order drinks. This was faster paced than Yankee Bar back in Florence and there was a big part of me that wanted to ask if they were hiring. It would be a bit of a drive in to work, but a few shifts a week could be a lot of fun. There was just too much going on right now. It wasn’t practical and Nico would veto it before the idea ever came to pass, not that I would blame him for doing so.

I paid for the drinks and we each took a sip off the top so it would be easier to carry over to one of the nearby tables. There were no seats on the bottom level of the club. There were a few balconies that were accessible by spiral staircases and those areas had some gorgeous couches. It appeared to be the VIP section and my guess was that they were reserved weeks ahead of time.

Jen was finished with her Cosmo first. She set it down on the table with a thunk and I glanced over at her. She was already eyeing the dance floor and I knew it was only a matter of time before she dragged me out there. I did enjoy dancing, but I preferred to dance with Nico than by myself.

“Are you almost done?” She asked, nodding at my glass. She was expecting me to be done already, so I chugged the rest of the vodka and set it down on the table next to hers.

She grabbed my hand and brought me out to the dance floor where we danced to three or four songs that the DJ played. The alcohol had gone to her head because her blonde hair was swinging in chaotic strands around her. She spun and her hands were everywhere. She was having a blast in her own little world.

There were several men on the floor and they were dancing with everyone that they could get their hands on. One grabbed me by the hips from behind and began gyrating into me. I stepped forward to show my lack of interest. He took a step forward with me. Before I had a chance to think about anything, Adrien was there.

“She doesn’t want to dance with you,” Adrien said, pushing the man off of me.

“Thanks,” I said, wondering how we was able to see all of what was going on.

He nodded at me.

The man who was pushed away took one look at Adrien’s size and took off to one of the other dance floors.

Before I could say anything more to Adrien, he was gone. The man took his job seriously and was true to his word that he didn’t want to interfere with Jen and my good time. I had to respect that and would let Nico know that he was doing a great job. I certainly felt safe knowing that someone had eyes on me in the club.
Thanks again
, I thought to him.

Jen and I had a few more cosmos and danced quite a bit more through the night. As the crowd started to thin out, one of the bartenders walked around, passing out small bottles of water to anyone who was left. I’d never seen that done before and had to admit that it was a nice touch.

Adrien came over to us as we opened our bottles. “There is a taxi waiting out front for us,” he said.

“They’re not back, huh?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I have not heard from him and the club is closing in thirty minutes. I think it would be best to take a taxi now to bring you home.”

“A taxi will go out that far?” I asked.

“Yes. As long as you are willing to pay, they will go wherever you want them to,” he said with a smile.

I nodded, agreeing that had to be true enough.

I was expecting Jen to argue that she wanted to stay and close the club down, but she looked beat. Her hair was a sweaty mass and her eyes stayed closed a few moments longer than they should have when she blinked.

“Come on,” I said to her, putting my arm around her shoulders. She wrapped one arm around my waist and we followed Adrien out of the club.

A black Prius was waiting at the curb. He opened the door so we could both climb into the backseat. He took a seat up in the front with the driver. Directions were given to the driver and he repeated, likely in shock that we were paying to go that far.

“What is the ‘C’ on the top of the taxi?” I asked. There were three bulbs, but I had only seen the ‘A’ and ‘B’ lit up before.

Adrien turned around in the seat to talk while the taxi driver took off down the street. “It has to do with the rate that is being charged. It’s late at night and we’re going into the suburbs, so we’re at the highest rate.”

“Oh, okay,” I said. Jen’s head was resting on my shoulder at this point. If she didn’t get some kind of nap in now while we drove home, Adrien would be responsible for carrying her up to the guest room because there was no way I could get her up the stairs. She pounded the cosmos a little too fast and it finally caught up to her.

The taxi ride was absolutely silent, except for the music that was playing on the radio. Jen was sleeping or passed out, her face smashed into the glass window. Adrien stared out the window in the front seat and I watched as the city lights faded into the sparse lighting of
Marnes-la-Coquette.

I gave Jen a nudge as we rounded the corner to the road where the house was. She woke with a start and began to whine.

“Is it bed time yet?” She asked with a yawn.

“Almost, you just have to make it up the stairs,” I said.

Her eyes drooped closed again.

We pulled into the driveway and Adrien paid the taxi driver. He came around to open the door for us. I got out and dragged Jen to her feet. She swayed back and forth and Adrien quickly grabbed her around the waist to give her the support she needed.

The taxi driver backed out and left, leaving the three of us alone. There was that moment where I wondered why Adrien didn’t take the taxi back home. Then I remembered it was still night and he needed to be our security until Nico or Olivier returned to the house, or until sunrise, whichever came first.

I went and opened the front door and Adrien lifted Jen in a fireman carry. He walked through the door and I closed and locked it. “Up the stairs and second door on the left,” I said.

He came down a few moments later and stood awkwardly in the living room where I sat on the couch.

“You can sit down.”

He took a seat on the couch across from me.

“Were you in the military?”

“Yes, madam.”

I smiled. “That’s kind of what I thought.”

He shrugged. “Old habits.”

We sat for a while and waited. He hadn’t heard from Nico or Olivier and neither had I. After reading for a while on my Kindle, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. I didn’t know what to do with Adrien, but Nico trusted him.

“Are you going to be okay down here if I go to bed?”

He nodded. “Of course, good night.”

“It was nice meeting you,” I said and stood up from the couch.

“You as well,” he said.

I headed up the stairs and stopped. “Adrien, if you hear from Nico, will you leave me a note?”

“Absolutely.”

That made me feel a little better, so hopefully I could get a decent night’s sleep. I knew Jen would in her drunken state. I also knew not to expect her up before noon.

***

When I woke, the room was still dark and I felt a pressure next to me. After discovering it was Nico, my heart rate slowed down again. He made it home before sunrise, which made me feel safer. I curled up next to him and fell back asleep for about another hour.

Finally, it was time to get up. I stepped into a shower and got dressed. I closed the door to provide him with his darkness and peace and went downstairs. It was already eleven, which explained why I was so hungry.

After digging around the kitchen for a while, I found eggs and melon. I made a mental note to pick up some bacon the next time I went grocery shopping, which would have to be soon. Between Jen here and eating and now Olivier eating as well, groceries did not last nearly as long as they used to.

The smell of the scrambled eggs made my stomach growl a little louder. I grabbed some salsa out of the fridge to toss into the frying pan and hoped for some shredded cheddar, but it seemed that was another item to go on the growing list. I dumped the contents of the pan onto my plate with the sliced melon and sat on the stool at the counter.

It was odd to have silence in the house and I savored it for the moment. Jen wasn’t at my side and there was no one demanding things of me or talking around me. The neighborhood was also very quiet. There were no houses within a stone’s throw of ours and no kids anywhere to be found. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe I would take up yoga or something as a way to find my center amongst all the chaos.