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“Rowe,” he gasped, finally breaking Rowe’s paralysis.
Shoving his keys in his jacket pocket, Rowe closed the distance between them in just a few steps, then wrapped his arms gently around Ian’s slender shoulders. He tried to be careful, but Ian’s fierce hold and surprising strength forced Rowe to kneel down. A hard shudder ran through Ian as he sucked in deep, jagged gulps of air, burrowing his face in Rowe’s neck. The young man sounded as if he were trapped between sobbing and trying to hold it all back.
Rowe ran a hand down Ian’s back, soothing him. “Hey now. I’m fine. I’m back, safe and sound.”
“Tell me you’re not going to leave again. You can’t…you can’t do that again,” Ian said brokenly, his voice muffled in Rowe’s coat.
His eyes drifted shut and he cupped the back of Ian’s head, threading his fingers through his soft hair. Pain throbbed in his chest, but he knew he’d live with that phantom ache the rest of his life. It was better that he was here. “I’m home and I’m not leaving again, I swear.” As Rowe pulled away, he pressed a kiss to Ian’s forehead, grateful that the man was safe and alive.
“So, where’d the two new recruits come from?” Rowe shucked his winter coat and tossed it over the back of the couch as he had a hundred times before. His eyes skimmed over the penthouse, part of him searching for any changes while the other part was just basking in all the things that hadn’t changed while he was gone.
“Mike is my nurse.” Rowe looked over at the two men when Ian spoke. The dark-haired one looked up and nodded at Rowe. “And Sven actually works for you. He’s the bodyguard Andrei assigned to me. I guess he was hired while you were gone.”
Rowe looked over the tall, blond man who reminded him of a Viking from the front of a romance novel — all muscles and bright blue eyes. Rowe lifted on eyebrow at the man, who blushed lightly, probably realizing that he was meeting the owner of the company he worked for wearing a red and white apron while cutting up fruit.
“It’s good to meet you, Mr. Ward,” Sven said.
A faint smile finally tugged at Rowe’s lips. Andrei never ceased to surprise him. Other than one slip up with Lucas while serving as his bodyguard, the man had come through for him again and again. Ian had needed a bodyguard and Rowe was vaguely aware that the existing staff had already been stretched thin, so Andrei had wisely recruited someone new and experienced to watch over him.
Rowe started to comment when heavy footsteps echoed across the floor, stopping the words on this tongue. He turned to find Lucas, dressed in dark slacks and pale blue shirt. Missing only a tie and blazer, the man looked like he was ready for the runway or some kind of corporate takeover. Hell, Lucas was the only man he’d ever known to make a suit look like battle armor.
Lucas’s steps didn’t slow as he quickly closed the distance between them. It was like being hit by a truck when Lucas slammed into him, wrapping his powerful arms around him like steel bands. The same shudder than ran through Ian hit Lucas as well. This time, Rowe buried his face in Lucas’s shoulder, holding his friend tight.
The embrace lasted only a couple of seconds before Lucas stepped back holding him by his shoulders. Sparkling green-gray eyes swept over his face, taking in Rowe’s scruffy beard and the heavy circles under his eyes. He knew Lucas saw a man who was a little thinner and more ragged than he’d been when he’d left Cincinnati weeks ago, but he hoped he also saw a man who wanted to stand on his own two feet again. Rowe tensed, waiting for the angry tirade that was about to hit his head for leaving without talking to them first, for not telling them where he’d gone or when he’d be back.
Lucas gently cupped his cheeks and leaned close, brushing his lips across Rowe’s temple. “I love you. We’re glad you’re home,” he whispered.
Rowe wanted to make a snarky comment. He wanted to tease Lucas about getting more in touch with his feelings since he started dating Andrei, but he couldn’t. Those two sentences broke down his carefully erected walls so that he was blinking back tears as he hugged Lucas again. No questions. No accusations. No anger or frustration. Just love and understanding. That’s why these men were his brothers. The only family he ever wanted around him.
“Hey, babe!” Andrei’s voice echoed through the penthouse and Rowe could feel Lucas chuckle softly. “Where the hell is that tablet? I thought I left it on the nightstand.”
Lucas released Rowe and turned so that Rowe could see Andrei still buttoning his shirt as he crossed the living room, his bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. His easy gait, his smile…Andrei fit at Lucas’s. As much as any of them did.
