He'd knocked off early, which was one of the benefits of being in charge. And also, admittedly, was something he was able to simply because of the long hours he put in while Noelle and Gaël were at school. There wasn't, after all, anything to come home to when the apartment was empty.
As such, the latest milestone had been reached ahead of time. He could afford to spend a little extra time with Gaël instead of waiting until the next week when Noelle was flying in from London. Or, at least, that had been the plan. But the apartment was empty when he'd come in, and when he checked Gaël's room - well, he'd gotten the kind of eyeful that was going to be burned into his retinas for all time. It was one of the times when he really missed Léon, he thought, scrubbing his hand over his face as he stalked back down to lie in wait. Not because Léon would have been much help on what he was about to have to do, but because it would have been someone to scream to. He didn't really have anyone to scream to these days when the kids drove him to it.
It was the thing no one ever told you about being a widower.
So he'd gone downstairs, and he'd pulled his temper into check as he waited. And waited. And tried not to visualize what was happening upstairs while he waited.
He didn't immediately speak to Gaël when his son turned and saw him standing there; he honestly didn't trust himself to. "Mansour," he said, though, in an arctic-cold tone that must have gotten the point across, because the piece of shit swallowed visibly and backed quickly into the condo building. Not that that was going to save him, Daniel thought as he aimed the same look at Gaël before he caught his arm in a grip. "Have you fucking lost your mind?" he hissed as he stared down at him before yanking them down to their own building. "What in the ever living fuck were you thinking?"
No thinking had probably been involved, he thought as he pushed Gaël into the elevator. Gaël had been doing this kind of thing since Léon had been shot in that convenience store. And honestly, he was as much at a loss at how to deal with it as he had been when he was sixteen year old trying to keep Léon alive.
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As such, the latest milestone had been reached ahead of time. He could afford to spend a little extra time with Gaël instead of waiting until the next week when Noelle was flying in from London. Or, at least, that had been the plan. But the apartment was empty when he'd come in, and when he checked Gaël's room - well, he'd gotten the kind of eyeful that was going to be burned into his retinas for all time. It was one of the times when he really missed Léon, he thought, scrubbing his hand over his face as he stalked back down to lie in wait. Not because Léon would have been much help on what he was about to have to do, but because it would have been someone to scream to. He didn't really have anyone to scream to these days when the kids drove him to it.
It was the thing no one ever told you about being a widower.
So he'd gone downstairs, and he'd pulled his temper into check as he waited. And waited. And tried not to visualize what was happening upstairs while he waited.
He didn't immediately speak to Gaël when his son turned and saw him standing there; he honestly didn't trust himself to. "Mansour," he said, though, in an arctic-cold tone that must have gotten the point across, because the piece of shit swallowed visibly and backed quickly into the condo building. Not that that was going to save him, Daniel thought as he aimed the same look at Gaël before he caught his arm in a grip. "Have you fucking lost your mind?" he hissed as he stared down at him before yanking them down to their own building. "What in the ever living fuck were you thinking?"
No thinking had probably been involved, he thought as he pushed Gaël into the elevator. Gaël had been doing this kind of thing since Léon had been shot in that convenience store. And honestly, he was as much at a loss at how to deal with it as he had been when he was sixteen year old trying to keep Léon alive.