Rowe released Noah and reached across the open space between the two beds, grabbing JB’s forearm. “You did the right thing by coming here.”
The relief on JB’s face nearly broke Noah’s heart, but Rowe seemed to mend it in an instant. He didn’t think it was possible to love the redhead beside him more than he already did, but Rowe proved him wrong time and again. Noah wasn’t foolish enough to think that Rowe was at all comfortable with JB or Noah’s unknown past with the man, but Rowe undoubtedly saw someone who was hurting, scared, and only trying to keep Noah safe. All things Rowe could understand all too easily.
“Someone shot at us when we were leaving a wedding.”
“Someone shot at you,” Rowe corrected as he released JB and straightened.
“We thought it was just a random drive-by shooting,” Noah continued, giving Rowe a little side eye, but Rowe just puffed up his chest. Obviously Rowe had been right, and Noah had been the intended target.
Oh yeah, let’s just add this to the list of things I’m going to hear about later. God, it’s going to be a long fucking night.
“What about this ‘Afghanistan ambush’ you mentioned?” Rowe asked, dropping the topic of his victory for later.
“We were on deployment in Afghanistan. It was 2014, I think,” Noah started.
“Late 2014. Almost winter,” JB added.
“It was one of our last missions before we were going to be rotated out. We were accompanying a weapons delivery, acting as added protection. We stayed with them for three days. Slow moving through some bad terrain. We reached the temporary base, no problems. The escort team replacing us was already there. We completed the handoff, ate some chow, caught a few hours of sleep, and then left, heading back to HQ. It was only when we reached HQ that we found out the base had been hit hours later, probably about 0300. Never really got a clear answer on the how, but everyone was killed.”
“Except for the men who went missing,” JB said.
“Missing? AWOL?” Rowe asked.
Noah shook his head. “They think three of the men were taken captive, possibly to torture for information. I never heard that their bodies were recovered, but that wasn’t uncommon, unfortunately.”
Rowe roughly rubbed his hand over his face. “Except that Chris thinks he spotted one of the captives working at this security company in Virginia. He tells his two good friends, and now two of the four men in your team are dead. To quote Mark Twain, something smells fishy to me.”
Noah smiled broadly at Rowe. “Mark Twain never said that.”
Rowe smiled back at him, and Noah’s heart melted a little more. “According to the internet, Mark Twain said everything.”
“I think you’re confusing Mark Twain and Scooby-Doo.”
“ ‘Jinkies, gang. I think we’ve got another mystery on our hands,’ ” JB quoted.
Noah fell on the bed, laughing. Rowe shot to his feet, groaning, which only made Noah laugh harder.
“Aren’t you a little young to remember Scooby-Doo?”
“First, I’m thirty-four, old man. Not eight. And second, everyone knows Scooby-Doo.”
Noah jumped to his feet and inserted himself between a glaring Rowe and a smug JB. “Grab your bag. You can follow us to our house.”
“What?” Rowe and JB demanded in unison. Lovely.
But where JB just sounded surprised, Rowe sounded resistant.
Noah looked over at his boyfriend, placing his hand over his heart. “We’re far better armed at the house. Plus, there’s the security systems and the kids. We both know that JB isn’t safe here on his own and we need to give Gidget a little time to start her digging.”
“You’ve got kids?”
Noah smiled over his shoulder at JB. “Just three adorable little puppies.” Which was a massive understatement when it came to the more than three hundred pounds of slobber, fur, and teeth charging through the house anytime the doorbell rang.
“Bite your fucking balls off,” Rowe grumbled under his breath.
“It might be better—”
“No,” Rowe said with a heavy sigh. “Noah’s right. Our place is safer. We can at least get some sleep and try to come up with a plan of attack tomorrow.” Rowe then directed his narrowed gaze up at Noah. “And we’re going to be having a long chat too.”
Noah had no doubt as to exactly what they’d talk about. He wasn’t going to hide or sugarcoat his past for Rowe. He’d been single and alone. They’d made no promises to each other. No talk about a tomorrow, because Rowe had run from their one intimate encounter.
But the important thing was that they had been given a second chance, and nothing was going to take that from them. Whatever was said between them, Noah’s only goal was to make it clear to Rowe that he was the only person in the world for him.Chapter FiveRowe leaned back in the passenger seat and watched the city lights reflecting off Noah’s face as he drove home with JB following. Rowe took note of his tight hands on the wheel, the way he kept glancing at Rowe as if he was waiting for the grilling to begin.