Shiver (Unbreakable Bonds 1)

He started to reach for Lucas’s cell phone in his back pocket when the sound of a key sliding into the lock echoed through the silent penthouse. Andrei pulled his gun from the holster at the small of his back and edged closer to the door. No call from security meant that it should be one of three men, but Andrei was taking no chances.

The door swung open wide but no one stepped in.

“Don’t shoot me, Hadeon.” Snow’s cold monotone voice swept into the room and Andrei breathed a sigh of relief.

“Enter,” Andrei replied but he didn’t holster his gun again until Snow closed the door behind himself, proving he was truly alone. In one hand, he held a large brown paper bag by the handles.

“Vallois?”

“Just went to bed.”

Snow didn’t seem surprised, giving only the barest of nods. Stepping forward, he placed the bag on the island with a soft crinkle of paper. “Ian sent food. Save Lucas the Portobello ravioli.” He then headed for the second floor without another word.

Andrei waited, straining to hear movement or voices, but there was no sound beyond the beating of his own heart in his ears. With a mental shrug, Andrei dug into the bag, the delicious smell wafting to his nose through the plastic containers. Rowe had mentioned that his friend Ian had opened a new Italian restaurant that was guaranteed to be a four-star joint, and he was eager to try it. The man had sent enough food for an army. There were two fish and pasta dinners, a classic lasagna, two steaks with roasted vegetables, the ravioli, a container of warm bread, and another of salad. At least they had food for a couple days. A peek in Lucas’s fridge made him think the man didn’t cook much. Andrei wasn’t much better, with his skills not extending far beyond steak, eggs, and the occasional grilled cheese.

Grabbing a steak dinner, salad and bread, he packed the rest away in the fridge. He ate standing at the island, letting the silence of the house seep into his tense body. The food and quiet helped to settle his uneasiness. By the time he was cleaning up, he was able to reassure himself that he’d blown everything out of proportion. It was just nerves over watching someone so important to his boss.

Before starting his rounds, he remembered to send both texts from Lucas’s phone. The man had missed several calls and texts over two days. Andrei scrolled through, looking only for numbers that didn’t have names associated, but none appeared. At least it didn’t appear that new threats had been leveled against the man.

Tucking the phone in his back pocket, he double checked the lock on the front door and then swept the first floor before heading to the second. In the small office, Andrei grabbed a recently published thriller from Lucas’s collection of books. He found mostly nonfiction on the shelves, but the man indulged in the occasional thriller or crime drama. Andrei figured he’d try to read for an hour before grabbing a few hours of sleep.

Back in the hall, he hesitated in the darkness, unsure of whether he should look in the master bedroom. Snow had left the door partially open as Andrei had placed it so he could hear noises and quickly check on Lucas. Cursing himself and his indecision, Andrei stepped up to the opening and looked in, his heart giving an odd jump. Snow was sitting up in the bed, his back against the headboard. His eyes were closed, but the man was awake. His fingers slowly threaded through Lucas’s short dark brown hair again and again in a gentle caress. The only sound in the room was Lucas’s deep, even breathing.

As if sensing Andrei’s presence, Snow’s eyes suddenly flicked open, holding the bodyguard in his steady piercing gaze before he closed his eyes again.

Andrei continued to stare for several seconds, his stomach twisting. Something in his gut said theirs was a strange relationship. He wanted to brush them off as lovers, but it felt too easy an excuse. What he was seeing was something else, something he couldn’t begin to define.

The only thing Andrei was sure of was that Snow had not come to comfort or ease Lucas. The injured man was unconscious and utterly oblivious to the fact that he had a bed mate. No, Snow was there for himself. Lucas was a comfort for the doctor, even when he was lost to the waking world.###

Three a.m. in the hospital. Snow once heard it called the time of gods and monsters. The bitch of it was he wasn’t sure which part he played anymore. He looked down at the blood and other body fluids covering his scrubs and grimaced. The hours between his beeper forcing him from Lucas’s side to now had been filled with the horrors of a four-car accident.