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With a nod to Abe, Rowe led the way into the dimly lit bar. Abe followed close on his heels, happy to let the more experienced Rowe lead in this situation. They barely got more than a couple of feet inside before a man jumped down from where he’d been sitting on a stool in front of the bar. He rushed over to them, one open hand raised.
“Hey! You can’t come in here! I thought they locked that fucking door,” he growled. He was a large, behemoth of a man with a massive chest and a slight gut. Abe couldn’t tell the color of his hair in the relative darkness, but it appeared long as it was pulled back into a ponytail.
“Hey, man!” Rowe called back. “The sign out front says the place is open. My friend and I just want a beer.” Rowe’s tone was friendly, completely different from what he’d heard from the man since first meeting him back at the office. Even his entire posture had changed. His arms swung free at his sides and his gait was looser. The guy was a damn chameleon.
Abe glanced around the bar, his eyes immediately locking on a slumped figure in a chair. Red hair shined like a beacon in the light hanging above the one pool table. Dom! But he couldn’t move. Couldn’t rush to him to make sure that he was okay, that he was still fucking breathing. He wanted to scream.
“We’re closed. Get the fuck out of here!” the large man shouted. He pointed back toward the entrance as he got up in Rowe’s face.
“Dude, it’s just one beer,” Rowe cried, giving him a shove so that the guy rocked back on his heels.
“Fuck this,” Abe snarled under his breath. As the guy was left slightly off balance, Abe balled his hand into a fist and delivered a powerful blow to the guard’s jaw. The guy flew backward, falling onto one of the tables. The spindly legs collapsed under the man’s massive girth, sending him sprawling to the floor with a groan.
Rowe cackled as he jumped on the guy and hammered him again, knocking him out cold. He then looked up at Abe from where he straddled the other man and gave a low whistle. “I thought Shane said you were an accountant.”
“I am.”
“That’s a killer right hook. If that’s how you take on the IRS, I’d be happy to hire you.”
Before Abe could reply, there was another clatter of noise from the back. Something wooden broke and then there was a heavy thud against the wall.
“Garrett, report!” Rowe commanded, jumping to his feet. The former Army Ranger looked ready to charge toward the back to save his guy. Abe was torn over following Rowe to back up Garrett and rushing to check on Dom, who had yet to move in the noise of the shuffle.
“Stomped this cockroach!” Garrett said with laughter in his voice. “We’re clear.”
“Go check on our boy,” Rowe said with a nod of his head toward Dom. “I’ll take care of our friend.” Rowe reached into one of the pockets of his cargo pants and pulled out a roll of kitten-covered duct tape.
Abe didn’t need to be told twice. Weaving through the various tables, he ran over to Dom’s side. As he approached, he could see blood crusted in the back of his hair. Abe dropped to his knees in front of Dom and hesitated. Was this really Dom? Both Dom and Rowe had pointed out that James was an identical twin of Dom. Could Dom have captured his brother and then left to chase after the rest of the criminals?
But that didn’t explain the other guy…
His eyes scraped over the man before him. Blood still oozed from wounds around his wrists from where he’d pulled against the plastic zip ties binding him. There were no visible wounds to his face, but his breathing was slow and ragged. Abe was afraid that he had injuries that he couldn’t yet see. And then he saw the scar stretching down along the left side of Dom’s face. The same scar he’d traced with his fingers after they’d gone to bed the night before. Though some fucker had cut a fresh line down its side.
This was Dom.
Gently, he laid his hand against Dom’s other cheek, rubbing his thumb along his cheekbone. “Dom. Wake up. I need you to open your eyes, baby.”
A low groan fell from Dom’s parted lips. “My fucking head,” he mumbled.
“Come on, Dom. It’s Abe. I need you to open your eyes for me.”
Dom’s head snapped up and he immediately winced in pain. “Abe,” he gritted out. He scrunched his eyes closed for a second and then blinked them several times as if he was struggling to get them to focus on Abe. “Abe? How? What are you doing here?”
