Torch (Unbreakable Bonds 3)

Rowe held his breath as Lucas stared at Noah for several seconds, his face a hard, unreadable mask. “Rowe is the reason I have not returned to Munich,” he continued and Rowe rolled his eyes.

“And I thought,” Snow started and Rowe tensed, waiting for the other man to throw more fuel onto the fire, “it was because of the guy on his knees, sobbing desperate ‘I love yous’ in the hotel lobby after you’d fucked him.”

A bark of laughter jumped from Rowe and Lucas seemed to relax, though he was still fighting his smile. “There was that too,” Lucas muttered, wringing peals of laughter out of Ian who was still puttering around the kitchen.

“All that fuss and I was the only one who didn’t get some that night,” Rowe moaned.

Lucas gave a wave of his hand as he crossed the room to stand in front of Noah. “Rowe has undoubtedly made up for that one poor night over his many other outings,” Lucas said, as he extended his hand. “Lucas Vallois.”

“Noah Keegan and yes, he has.”

“You’ll meet Andrei shortly. Rowe is just going up to get him.”

Rowe lifted an eyebrow, bristling at Lucas’s imperial tone. “I am?”

“Yes,” Lucas hissed, suddenly turning back to face Rowe. Lucas let the anger show this time. Fuck, he was seriously pissed and Rowe almost found himself taking a step backward. “Not only was he shot at last night and injured, but he’s been dealing with other cases that have had issues all this evening. Maybe you could go assist him.”

“I don’t know. I’ve got a guest. I really shouldn’t leave him alone,” Rowe teased simply because he couldn’t help himself. Making Lucas lose his temper was just too much damn fun.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll just help Ian in the kitchen,” Noah said, taking a step toward the massive island in the center of the kitchen area.

“You don’t cook,” Rowe snapped before he could stop himself.

Noah grinned at him. “Maybe he’ll let me lick a spoon.”

“No—”

Ian interrupted quickly, grabbing Noah’s elbow. “I’d be happy to let him help me. He’s had papana?i before. He can give me some pointers.”

Rowe’s mouth fell open as he looked expectantly from Lucas to Snow, but neither man seemed inclined to stop Noah. Really? Were they that oblivious to Noah’s ridiculous flirting? Did they not care? Both men were ready to stomp a mud hole in that damn detective who had been sniffing around Ian for months. Hollis was a cop so you had to figure that he was likely a good guy. What did they know about Noah? Other than the fact that he was Rowe’s friend—well, that should have been a big fucking warning sign right there.

Throwing his hands up in the air, Rowe pounded up the stairs to the second floor where Lucas kept his office. Andrei sat behind the desk, a laptop open in front of him and the phone on speaker. George MacPherson’s gravelly voice filled the room as he relayed to Andrei the events of the evening. When Andrei’s eyes caught on Rowe, Rowe motioned for him to not mention that he was there, allowing Rowe to flop on the sofa at the opposite end of the room and watch the young man work.

The truth was that Rowe had met few people he was more impressed with than Andrei Hadeon. He’d thought he’d hired a former fighter with a cool head and quick reactions. What he’d gotten was a man who knew how to strategize, control chaos, and handle employees as well as picky clients. He’d also discovered a damn good friend he could lean on when shit hit the fan. He knew that if everything went to hell, he would just as quickly call Andrei as he would Lucas or Snow.

“That’s fine, George,” Andrei said evenly and his fingers flew across the keyboard, the sound of clacking filling the room under his voice. “You handled the situation just perfectly. I’m emailing Gidget now to get a copy of the police report for our records. And if Mr. Pottsfield gives you any problems about that broken vase, just remind him of the waiver that he signed when he hired our services. But I wouldn’t expect him to say a word. You saved his life. Daniel will be there at 7 a.m. to relieve you for two days.”

“Thanks, boss. I’ll pop by the office tomorrow for a new magazine and to fill out the paperwork.”

Andrei flinched, his eyes jumping up to Rowe as he ended the call. Rowe chuckled. He knew Andrei felt uneasy about sliding into Rowe’s position when he’d left town. Even after the Gratton incident was concluded, Andrei continued to fill in for Rowe for another three months as he tried to get his footing after the loss of Mel. And now that Rowe was back, his employees were still coming to Andrei for answers and in truth, Rowe liked that.