Rialto (Unbreakable Bonds 8)

He loved feeling Hollis lose it on him, loved knowing he affected the man as much as he affected Ian. Ian collapsed onto the bed, grimacing at the huge wet spot he’d left. But he didn’t have time to relax before Hollis was hauling him up and into the bathroom. Hollis turned on the water and when it was hot enough, he stepped into the spray with Ian.

They washed each other slowly, their gazes mostly locked, and it was so intimate and loving, Ian didn’t want to ruin the moment with words. Though they needed more words. After they dried off, he stripped the ruined comforter off the bed and grabbed a blanket out of the closet to replace it.

Crawling into bed, he held his arms out for Hollis, and Hollis settled on his back and pulled Ian half on top of him.

“We still have baggage,” Ian whispered against Hollis’s chest. He swirled one finger in the hair there before looking up to meet Hollis’s gaze. “I’m going to call tomorrow and make an appointment for me.”

“If that’s what you need, then it’s important. I should have told you about seeing Jagger’s enforcer. Should have realized you’re strong enough to handle that kind of information.” Hollis palmed his back, softly running his fingers over Ian’s skin.

“I am. I’d gotten too relaxed about things since Jagger’s death. It was nice to not be looking over my shoulder all the time, and I resent that I’m having to do so again.” He sighed and snuggled closer. “I don’t want to spend my life doing that, so we have to get to the bottom of this.”

“And the foster classes?”

“We’ll finish. We’ve come too far to stop now, and I still want it. I let my anger speak for me earlier. My anger and fear. But I am worried. I won’t bring in any children until this situation is resolved.”

“We will resolve it. I promise.”

Ian sighed and kissed Hollis’s chest. “No more yelling at each other, either. I didn’t like it.”

“Me neither, baby,” Hollis whispered, nosing into Ian’s hair. “We should try to sleep. Maybe tomorrow things won’t feel as bleak.”

“They don’t now. As long as you and I are good, I can deal with the rest.”

“I promise, we’re good. Hell, we’re great.”

Exhaustion pulled Ian nearly under before he remembered something. “I never covered the brownies,” he murmured.

He fell asleep to the deep, rumbling chuckle in Hollis’s chest.Chapter ThirteenHollis stood to the side, smiling as he watched Ian talking animatedly with another couple they’d made friends with in their foster training class. It turned out that they were unable to have their own children and were now looking to adopt but wanted to start out as foster parents. They were currently chatting about the anxiety and stress of preparing their home for the first check to make sure they’d made all the necessary changes to accommodate young children. He and Ian had yet to go through that, but it was coming soon. They’d agreed to get through the mandatory training classes first.

Reaching into his pocket, Hollis pulled out his phone and turned it on. The classes were the only time they both turned off their phones as a way of making sure there were no distractions. The world could get along without them for three short hours. Right?

He looked up from his phone as Ian started to make sounds of wrapping up his conversation when Hollis’s phone started buzzing and vibrating like a thing gone mad in his hand. He stared at it, his brow furrowing as missed calls and frantic texts started rolling in.

“Everything okay?” Ian asked. His hand came to rest on his bicep, his gentle touch meant to soothe.

“Turn on your phone. I’ve got calls and texts from James as well as Jude. Something bad happened.”

Ian released him and immediately reached for his phone. Hollis shoved his own phone away and grabbed Ian by the shoulder so he could get them both walking toward his car while Ian dealt with whatever was happening on his phone.

He’d just gotten Ian into the car when his phone finally booted up and messages started scrolling through along with missed calls. “James, Jude, and Isabella for me.”

Hollis shut Ian’s passenger door and hurried around the car to jump behind the wheel. The Chevelle roared to life, and Hollis carefully backed out of the parking spot, planning to head directly to Rialto, though he couldn’t understand how Jude Torres was involved in anything to do with the restaurant. Had he and Snow stopped there for dinner and something happened?

“Oh, God!” Ian gasped, his fingers partially covering his mouth as he pressed the cell to his ear. Hollis could only guess that he was listening to a voice mail. “Go to UC hospital.”

“What? What happened? Is Snow okay? Jude?” Hollis demanded.