Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds 2)

“Good afternoon, Dr. Frost,” greeted a smiling middle aged woman behind the receptionist’s desk. Was her name Karen? Sharon? Marion? He couldn’t remember. He’d seen her only a couple times before walking back to Rowe’s office. “Andrei said you’d be stopping by,” she continued as if she hadn’t actually expected him to reply. “You can go on back if you’d like.”

Snow grunted and started for the double doors that would lead to the heart of the building but stopped when he suddenly realized he didn’t know where he was going. “Where’s Andrei’s office?”

Her smile dimmed a little and she appeared uneasy. “He’s been working out of Mr. Ward’s office the past couple of days.”

Snow nodded, his face carefully blank as he absorbed that information and he stepped through the double doors. Anger bloomed hot and sweet in his veins as he marched across the vast open floor. What the hell was that about? Rowe disappears and Andrei slides into his friend’s spot. What did the former fighter know about running a business? All Snow knew about Andrei was that he was pretty good in a fight and fucking his best friend.

He was vaguely aware of the different training stations Rowe had set up for keeping his men up to date on different hand-to-hand combat techniques and weapons training. There were other rooms with stacks of some of the best spy gear Rowe could get his hands on, while the basement had its own shooting range. Lucas popped by a few times a month to fire off a couple magazines with Rowe and when Rowe got a new toy in, but Snow never joined them. He’d spar with Rowe on occasion, but his weapon of choice was usually his fist.

But today it was all a blur. Mounting the metal stairs in the center of the room, Snow ignored the feeling of eyes on him. He didn’t know whether they were looks of sympathy because he was a close friend of both Rowe and Melissa or if it was speculation in regards to the murdered man. He couldn’t deal with either at that moment. His heavy footsteps banged on the stairs, echoing through the room before he reached the second floor filled with offices and a massive meeting room.

A couple turns and he found himself standing outside of Rowe’s office, the low-banked anger slipping away with each passing second. Andrei was pacing behind the massive desk stacked with files. He was reviewing a sheaf of papers in his hand while he spoke to someone over the speaker phone, conducting a planning meeting.

Snow leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, his hands still in his coat pockets, allowing himself a minute to stare at the man who had stolen away his best friend’s heart. A laugh bubbled up in his throat, but he swallowed it back. It was like watching Lucas in action in the boardroom, cool and collected, completely in control. Who would have thought the fighter had a brain? Or rather, maybe Snow should have been paying closer attention when he was around Andrei to notice the man was pretty damn smart. Hell, Lucas would never have fallen for someone who wasn’t brilliant.

There was no question as to why Lucas had started fucking the man. Andrei was gorgeous, even in jeans and black T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. Despite being trapped in an office, his movements were smooth, fluid, and silent as if he were just a series of well-oiled joints. If Snow had spotted Andrei in a bar months ago, he would have been all over the man. But his dark eyes and dark complexion reminded Snow of another man that he didn’t want to think about at that moment. He was finding his thoughts far too often consumed by Jude and he still didn’t know what to do about that.

Or about Andrei for that matter… not that there was much that he could do. Lucas was in love and if the way Andrei looked at Lucas was any kind of gauge, Andrei was in love with Lucas.

On another pass back toward the massive dark wood desk, Andrei caught sight of Snow, his head jerking up as he stopped mid-stride. His frown deepened before he dropped the papers on the desktop and Snow could see the tension creeping into his shoulders as they pulled straighter, tauter. Still staring at Snow with an unwavering gaze, he quickly wrapped up the call before tapping the button a little harder than necessary to end of the call.

“If Lucas could see you right now, I think he’d have you bent over that desk faster than you can blink,” Snow slowly drawled, not moving from where he leaned against the doorjamb.

Andrei’s eyes darkened and Snow’s smile grew. The bodyguard definitely liked the idea of getting pounded by his friend, but Andrei’s words surprised him.