15. Olivier

Chapter 15

After the shootout at the warehouse, Olivier was happy to be taken to a safe place by Bear. However he could never had predicted that he would find himself in the home of the one and only Dante Chiellini.

‘Wow, this place is awesome,' Olivier said, smiling as he took a sip from his milk bottle.

‘Thanks, I know I'm lucky to have my own playroom,' Mac replied.

Mac was Dante's Little, and it felt like a big relief to be able to spend some time with him. Olivier had actually found the spying mission very enjoyable, and the shootout was definitely an adrenalin booster, but he was now more than happy to be changed into a romper and sipping on some warm milk.

‘So, this is new to you?' Mac enquired, a smile on his face. ‘Don't worry, it's always weird at first. I definitely wasn't born into this life either. But… it's kinda fun too, right?'

‘Yeah, it really is,' Olivier said. ‘I was scared when the guns started firing. But I can't deny… I loved it too.'

The two Littles exchanged a knowing look. Olivier might have only known Mac for around twenty minutes, but the two of them had hit it off. With an array of coloring pencils and coloring books to choose from, the two boys were happily idling away the time while their Daddies discussed more serious matters in Dante's study.

‘So what do you prefer, this life, or life on the ice?' Mac asked, taking a yellow coloring pencil and neatly shading in a big, smiley-faced sun.

‘Well… I've always played hockey,' Olivier replied. ‘My pop was a former pro. So it's all I've ever known. But the more training I've done with Bear, the less I've been thinking about life on the ice. It felt great to get a chance with the Ice Bears, especially after making some mistake in the past. But…'

‘But now you're thinking that this might be the life for you?' Mac enquired, holding up his perfectly colored sun and smiling with pride.

‘Maybe,' Olivier replied, carefully coloring the multi-colored stripes down the side of his choo-choo train drawing. ‘I think I need to go pee-pee. Can I use your bathroom?'

‘Sure, we've got a few in the house,' Mac giggled. ‘But the nearest one is first door on the left, opposite my Daddy's study.'

With that, Olivier got up and made his way out of the playroom and toward the bathroom. After a quick pee-pee, Olivier was ready to go back to his new Little friend and have some more fun, but just as he was walking past the study he couldn't help but notice that the door was slightly ajar.

I really shouldn't eavesdrop.

Daddy would be mad.

But then again, maybe he shouldn't have trained me to be so observant…

Olivier giggled silently as he approached the study and put his ear up close to the crack in the doorway. However as he began to listen to what Bear and Dante were discussing, the smile was wiped from his face in double-quick time.

Wait, what the…

I can't believe what I'm hearing.

There's no way my Daddy would do that to me…

Later that evening, Olivier and Bear were in the car and driving home from New York City. They might have been an hour into the journey, but there had barely been a word exchanged between them.

Olivier was certainly in no mood to talk after what he had heard Bear and Dante discussing. The fact that Bear was considering leaving the academy and returning to New York to work for Dante was something that Olivier couldn't wrap his head around. Any thoughts Olivier had of them being in a relationship that meant something special were clearly a figment of his imagination as far as he could tell. After all, if Bear was giving so much thought to up and leaving without him, then his feelings were evidently clear.

As Olivier listened, he even heard Bear say that he would need to speak with Danilo Doni first before giving Dante an official response. That very much sounded like Bear was going to accept the offer, and if he did then it surely signaled the end of his and Olivier's relationship.

All in all, Olivier was in a rotten mood.

And Bear's whistling along to the car radio was doing nothing to put him in a better mood either…

‘Bear! You know you really suck at whistling,' Olivier said, turning his head away from Bear and covering his ears with his hands.

‘Jeez. What the hell?' Bear barked. ‘Obviously there's been something up this whole journey. But clearly you don't want to be a big boy and spit it out.'

‘No! You're what's up with this journey,' Olivier replied, petulantly slapping his heels down onto the floor over and over. ‘And you're driving so slow we might even be going back in time.'

‘Excuse me?' Bear bellowed, clearly about to hit the limit of what he could take. ‘Now you've got a choice, boy. Either you tell me what the hell is going on, or you shut that mouth of yours for the rest of this damned journey.'

Olivier could tell by the tone of Bear's voice that he wasn't joking.

And as much as Olivier was angry and disappointed with Bear, he also couldn't deny that Bear's biggest Angry Daddy Voice was enough to bring him into line, for the moment at least.

But as Olivier sat in silence, he knew that he had to speak. Knowing that Bear had pretty much accepted a job offer behind his back felt like a betrayal. There was no other way of putting it. And Olivier had been through enough lies and deceit when his parents divorced. No, Olivier was going to be brave and speak out – even if it meant that Bear was going to get angry with him again.

‘I know,' Olivier said, his voice trembling. ‘I know that you're leaving me and going back to work with Dante Chiellini.'

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,' Bear replied, not wasting a second before responding. ‘First off, where did you get that information? And secondly… screw it, we need to talk properly.'

With that, Bear powered down the road and pulled into a nearby diner.

Olivier knew that he might not like what he was about to hear, but if it meant Bear giving him the truth about matters, then he was ready to hear it.

‘So… you haven't accepted the job?' Olivier asked, a puzzled look on his face.

‘Well if you let me finish, I'll explain,' Bear replied, handing Olivier his strawberry milkshake. ‘And by the way, don't expect this to be a met Milkshakes standard shake either. I think it's mostly black coffees that get served here.'

Olivier let a little smile out from the corner of his mouth.

Try as he might, Olivier found it difficult to be angry with Bear, even in a super-charged moment like this. But Olivier still very much saw this as a serious stumbling block in their relationship, and he wanted a clear and definitive answer on matters.

‘Yes, I do want to work for Dante again,' Bear said, a serious look in his soulful eyes. ‘But… I don't want to leave you. And I'd also like to maintain my relationship with Danilo. So, as you can see, it's complex. What I need more than anything though is to be open and honest with Danilo. He's a man who I respect a lot. And as friendly as we are, I also don't want to get on his bad side. Friendship or not, Danilo Doni is still one ruthless sonofabitch who doesn't take kindly to people going behind his back.'

Olivier nodded.

It was clear that Bear had given the situation a lot of thought. And Olivier truly didn't want Bear to feel unhappy either. If he wanted to work with Dante again, he should be able to. But it still didn't answer Olivier's question about what would happen between them…

‘Daddy… it's just I thought we had something special,' Olivier said, shyly moving the spoon in his milkshake around the edge of the tall glass. ‘I kinda thought… maybe… we could be… forever.'

Olivier felt his heart beating at a thousand miles per hour as the words came out of his mouth. This was the last place or time he expected to be laying everything on the line in regard to his feelings for Bear, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

‘Boy, I-'

But before Bear could finish what he was saying, Olivier saw a cold, calm look descend on Bear. Something was up. And it was something very serious too.

‘Daddy?' Olivier asked, looking in the direction that Bear was looking, a direct line out into the parking lot. ‘Oh no… are they…'

Bear placed his hand on top of Olivier's mouth.

Bear and Olivier watched in silence as three SUVs pulled into the parking lot. They were all black, had New York City plates, and were seemingly not at the diner to pick up some coffee and pie.

‘This is Trocco's men,' Bear said. ‘It must be. They don't know we've seen them yet. They might not even have spotted us. Quick, follow my lead.'

Bear and Olivier got up from their booth and quickly made their way toward the bathroom at the rear. Once inside, Olivier watched as Bear scanned the room.

‘Fuck, that window is too small for me,' Bear said. ‘But it's big enough for you. I want you to climb out and run and hide in the overgrowth at the side. They won't find you. And to be honest, it's probably me that they're here for.'

‘I won't leave you, Daddy,' Olivier protested. ‘I won't! I won't! I won't!'

‘Boy, don't make me pull your trousers down and tan that ass right here and now,' Bear barked. ‘you'll do precisely as your Daddy tells you. I love you. And I will not put you in the line of fire again. Now follow my orders and get that ass of yours up and out of here.'

‘Fine,' Olivier replied. ‘But I want your spare pistol. Just in case I need it.'

‘Got it,' Bear nodded, handing the pistol over. ‘Look after yourself. And don't worry about me. I've got this boy. This is what I was born to do.'

Olivier took one last look – and hopefully not his final ever – at Bear before clambering up and out of the bathroom window.

As he collapsed down onto the rough patch of grass beneath him, Olivier's first thought was to run toward the bushes and hide himself just like his Daddy had commanded him to do.

But while Olivier had learned a whole new way of being disciplined thanks to Bear, this was one time where he was determined to revert to his old ways and simply do what came naturally to him.

It was time to cause some chaos, Olivier Rennes style…