Torch (Unbreakable Bonds 3)

Noah’s laugh echoed through the bathroom. He still sounded tired, but his voice was lighter than it had been outside. “Real smooth, Ward.” The bottle poked out the shower and Rowe took it, dropping it the wastebasket.

“Stuff it.”

“Do you mind if we save the questions for tomorrow? Because I’d really like to know why you’re living in suburban hell.”

Rowe grunted. Yeah, the questions could wait. He was tired too and there were things he just wasn’t in the mood to talk about.

Noah peeked around the curtain, his features sharp with his hair slicked back. “If it helps you sleep, I’m not with the Army anymore.”

Rowe pushed away from the sink and smiled to himself. “I’m not sure that helps, Keegan.”

“It was an amicable split. I’m not AWOL. They’re not after me, you paranoid fuck.”

“Whatever. I’ve got to let the dogs in. Raid the fridge if you’re hungry. I’ve got a friend who’s a chef. Plenty of leftovers.”

“Thanks, Rowe. I mean it. Thanks.”

Rowe shuffled out of the bathroom on another grunt and checked on the dogs, seeing that they had enough water to get them through the night. He pulled on his jacket and played with them for a while in the yard, keeping Daisy busy with fetch while Vlad and Igor played tug. The slobbering trio still reminded him of Mel, but their own quirky personalities kept drawing reluctant chuckles from him when he thought it would just be better to get rid of them. They kept him floating on the really bad days.

And right now, they were a good distraction from the ghost in his bathroom. Damn. Noah Keegan. They’d seen each other briefly nine years before, but the last time they’d spent any time together, things had grown awkward. Then he’d stopped by the hospital to check on his partner, tease him about getting freaking pneumonia and get their friendship back to normal, before Rowe was due to go back to Serbia for a very short job.

Rowe hadn’t even gotten out of Germany. They never found the sniper that shot Rowe and three other American soldiers that day. Rowe was the only lucky one to survive. But even though they were stuck in the same damn hospital, Keegan hadn’t been able to visit Rowe before he was shipped stateside again.

It never crossed Rowe’s mind that Noah might feel guilt over Rowe’s injury. There had been nothing Noah could do to stop it and he likely would have been killed along with the others. Just the thought made Rowe rub his chest, remembering how thankful he’d been that Noah hadn’t been there. Losing him would have been devastating. The similarities between then and what he’d lost this past year hit him, raising questions he didn’t want to answer, so he moved away from that thought.

So had guilt kept his friend away? Or was it what happened in Prague? Of course, Noah hadn’t said one word about it so it was very likely that he’d completely forgotten and moved on with his life. They’d both had their share of one-night stands.

He snorted and scrubbed his hands over his face. That had been no one-night stand and he’d known it then. It was why he’d panicked. He watched the two Rottweilers tug at the same toy, playfully growling at each other. Daisy was flopped across the deck, waiting for Rowe to head to bed. He’d hated how he and Noah had drifted apart. While in the Army, he and Noah had found trouble just as easily as he had with Snow and Lucas. Hell, Noah had helped to fill a massive void in his life after Lucas and Snow left. Sure, Noah was as much of a troublemaker as Snow, if not worse at times, and his antics had very nearly gotten Rowe court-martialed once, but Noah always had his back.

But when Rowe was forced to return home, his focus has been entirely on getting his feet under him again. Surviving and just not fucking up had been his main focus. And then…time simply got away from him. Snow and Lucas kept him busy, and then he started his own business, and then…he met Mel.

The past wasn’t important. What bothered him now—what he needed to know—was why Keegan showed up out of the blue, looking as if he’d crawled out of hell on his hands and knees. He didn’t have the edgy, twitchy look of a hunted man. Just a really, really tired one.

Glancing at his watch, Rowe was surprised to find that it was already after midnight. He’d expected to see Noah stick his head out to say good night or grab some grub. He went back inside, tossed his jacket over a chair and ordered the dogs to bed. He silently followed the thundering herd down the hall. A couple of steps from the guest bedroom the low rumble of snoring reached Rowe’s ears.