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Geoffrey shoved his shaking hands into the pockets of his shorts as sweat broke out over his lip. He paused and took a few deep breaths.
A murmur of conversation trickled from the owner’s office. He recognized Rowan Ward’s and Andrei Hadeon’s voices right before Rowe’s distinctive laughter rang out. His door was open, the man himself sitting behind his desk, with his booted feet propped up on one corner, his dark red hair mussed. A close, matching beard shadowed his jaw. Rowe, the titleholder of Ward Security, was the only person he trusted to help him at this point. He was just damn grateful the man liked to check in on the Saturday self-defense classes.
Andrei lounged on the black leather couch along one wall. The monstrous thing had to have been chosen to accommodate the high number of big men working there—a fact he loved with everything in him. Normally.
Of course, it could have been purchased for the gymnastic sex Rowe apparently had with his boyfriend, Noah. He’d heard rumors.
“You gonna hover in the doorway or are you coming in, Geoffrey?” Andrei waved him closer.
He nodded at the Romanian, noticing that his long, black wavy hair had been left loose for a change. He usually gathered it into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Andrei had been seen less frequently on Saturdays since Rowe had named him COO of Ward Security, but the former fighter also filled in for the self-defense classes when some of the other bodyguards were busy. Today, he wore jeans and a white T-shirt. The guy had probably just stopped in for something, and now he was getting drawn into his drama. Nearly black eyes narrowed as he stared at Geoffrey and it felt like he was being read. Andrei sat up straighter.
Rowe lowered his boots to the floor and put his arms on his desk. “What’s wrong?” All joking disappeared from his voice.
Geoffrey looked between the two. “How did you guys know something’s wrong?”
Rowe lifted a red eyebrow. “Not only is your usually perfectly coiffed hair bedhead flat on one side—but saying you’re the color of a ghost would be a step up.”
“Sit,” Andrei ordered quietly. He pointed to the other side of the couch and got up. As Geoffrey took the spot on the couch, Andrei quietly closed the door to the office. “Rowe, you still got that whiskey in here from the company party?”
Geoffrey held up his hand. “No. Please. No alcohol. There’s probably something still swimming in my system.”
Andrei didn’t move, but a subtle change filled the air as he became completely focused on Geoffrey. That stare was so intense, Geoffrey had to fight the urge to squirm.
“Something?” Rowe’s forehead creased as he leaned farther over his desk. “You don’t know what?”
Lips tightening, he could only shake his head. His words tangled in his throat, wrapping around the fear, and it took everything he had not to let them see him shaking.
Andrei came back to the couch and sat very carefully. “Did someone drug you, Geoffrey?”
He managed a nod.
His eyes turned black. “Tell us what happened.”
It took him several moments to unravel the words, but he laid it all out. How he’d been out of it after only a few drinks, all the way to the visit from the police. He even pulled out his phone and showed them the email threats. “They’re obviously connected.”
“Looks that way to me. The cops looking into it?” Rowe asked.
“They said they will.” He shrugged and shook his head. “But I don’t believe them. Something about me ‘reaping what I sow.’”
Neither of the men spoke and Geoffrey watched them, noting the angry flush reddening Rowe’s pale neck and the way Andrei didn’t seem to be breathing. The two men looked at each other and Rowe nodded slightly before his gaze came back to Geoffrey. “You should go to the hospital and have them do bloodwork. See if there are traces of anything still lingering.”
“Does it matter what it was?”
“It can. Everything we know puts us one step closer to figuring out who did this. If it was Rohypnol, there’s still a window of it showing up in your blood. After that, urine tests if it’s been over twenty-four hours. I assume you came here for help?”
“I came to hire Sven as a bodyguard. You can help with more?”
“We’re set up for a lot here, Ralse. We have our own IT department, security, and more. But Sven is booked. We can do rounds with Royce and Dominic.”
His heart started slamming in his chest, his breaths quickening. Terrified he was on the verge of a panic attack, he dug his fingernails into his palms. “No. Just Sven. I trust him. I’ll pay double. Money isn’t a problem.”
Green eyes narrowed. “I’m not going to charge you double, Ralse.”
