Double Dealing: A Menage Romance(47)

"Just like Francois and Felix," I remarked. "But, how does that make them fight?"

Charani chuckled. "You see, by our tribe's law, I was second to my sister. Even in our names. Hers means 'Princess,' mine means 'Phoenix,' as in rising from the ashes of defeat, as if the order of our birth was somehow a fight that she won. Growing up, our father was much more loving and permissive to her than I. Syeira, for her part, didn’t lord it over me, but still I grew up with a certain amount of resentment of my sister. It was Guillaume's love that healed that wound in my heart."

"And you think that Francois feels the same way toward Felix?"

Charani nodded. "My father, he continued his treatment when our sons were born. Francois was not only the second born in his generation, but the child of a second born. To Guillaume's credit, he never treated Francois inferior."

“Now that you say it, I don’t know if they see it that way. From what they told me, their father held Felix to a higher standard,” I said.

Charani thought, then nodded. "Perhaps you’re right."

I thought about it. “They do seem to work well together, though."

She shrugged. "They compliment each other, that’s for sure. Tell me, do you have a problem with what they do?”

"A bit," I admitted. "It's kind of weird, you know?”

Charani smiled mysteriously and shrugged. "Maybe. But you should tell me anyway.”

I laughed. "So this is what it feels like, huh? Felix told me one time in Mexico I had a talent for asking the right questions at the right time. Anyway, I guess it's weird because sure, on one hand you have the whole danger and glamor of it. I mean, they're two of the world's best thieves. That adds a bit of dangerous attraction, for sure. Add that to their natural sexiness, and it's a heady mix. Sorry, I guess I shouldn't be calling your son sexy in front of you."

Charani waved it off. “I accept that women find Felix and Francois attractive. I'd be a blind woman or an idiot if I didn’t.”

"At the same time, though, I know the danger and the risk they are taking. Even if we don’t include the physical dangers of their capers, there is the possibility they could be arrested and sent to jail for a very long time. Maybe I was hoping that Felix would become like his Father was after he married you, a gentleman farmer or something. He’s certainly mentioned it, and he’s probably the only one who could convince Francois of something like that.”

"Guillaume and I never actually married," Charani said softly, her voice dropping as she spoke. I looked up in shock and she smiled hauntingly. "The law wouldn’t allow for it. So while by Romani tradition we were man and wife, legally only Syeira and Guillaume were married. My father insisted on that. So when the boys were born, we made sure it was overseas, as you know. American citizenship is valuable, after all. When we came back to France, the locals assumed that Francois was Syeira's child as well, as the boys are too similar to say that I had a child from another man. Thankfully, I wasn’t one of those women who showed a lot in early pregnancy before we left this area. Even still, there were some who would have it be known that Francois is, at least under the law, nothing but Guillaume's bastard."

“Geez,” I muttered wonderingly under my breath. "No wonder Francois is resentful. Tell me, does he have any legal standing in the family fortune?"

Charani nodded. "When Guillaume was diagnosed with cancer, he made sure his affairs were in order. Half of his money, that which he had after giving the dowry to my father, he split evenly between Syeira and myself. The rest he gave to Francois."

"None for Felix?" I asked, surprised. "Why?"

"My father was already dead, his money had passed down to Felix and Francois. Felix was made much richer, although to his credit, he doesn’t use it for personal gain. He shares with the rest of us. He's even tried to rectify what he can, giving Francois the lion's share of every job they do. The mathematics are complicated, but I don’t think Felix cares about the money. He cares about his brother."

"Still, there are hurt feelings," I said. "Do you think they can ever be healed?"

Charani pointed at me. "That is entirely up to you, Jordan. I think it can. If your love is anywhere as pure as what it seems to be, I’m sure of it."



* * *



"Paris again?" I asked when the brothers came back into the house near sunset. When they looked at me askance, I shrugged and pointed to the laptop in the corner, the house one. "I saw the disc."

"It seems like it," Felix said after going over and closing the files, then coming to give me a kiss on the cheek. "But first, we have to do some traveling. There are things we need to acquire in order to be able to circumvent the security that the Institute has."

"What do you need?" I asked, curious.

Francois handed over a list on paper. "Most of that we can get in France, but there are a few items that none of our French sources have. We might need to go to Germany for them. Just think, we did talk about going to Germany, but I hadn't planned on it until closer to Octoberfest."

"Germany? I like the sound of that," I said. "When?"

"Whoa, wait a second," Francois replied. "This isn't exactly a sight-seeing trip. We're talking about obtaining electronics and other things needed for our job. The people we'd be talking with aren't wearing lederhosen and happily guzzling beer."