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Lucas rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We…I started this war with Jagger. I—”
“Green started this fucking war,” Rowe interrupted, shoving to his feet. He took a wider stance, his arms folded over his chest. “That bastard started with us over a year ago when he went after you and Andrei. Jagger chose to get involved when this had nothing to do with him. Well, you know what? We’re going to fucking end it. Fuck Chris Green. Fuck Jagger!”
Lucas opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a loud banging on the front door. Three of the seven people in the room immediately reached for guns and had them ready before the banging ceased. Lucas closed his eyes for a second. It would have been four if he hadn’t been fresh off a plane. His own nerves had been on edge recently, and he would have preferred to have the reassuring weight of a gun in a holster settled against the small of his back. Even after everything that had happened with Chris Green.
“Open up, Vallois!” shouted a familiar voice through the heavy doors. “Security said you’re home!”
“It’s Hollis!” Ian said, jumping to his feet. He started for the door, but Rowe was already there, grabbing Ian’s wrist and pulling him behind Rowe’s wider frame. “What the hell? He’s a cop.”
“And you’ve already had one attempt on your life,” Rowe snapped. “You’re going back under protection.”
With Ian secure with Rowe, Lucas went to the front doors as Hollis started banging again. Lucas jerked it open, nearly getting Hollis’s fist to his face when he surprised the cop. The man didn’t look good. His hair was darker than the last time he’d seen him and his face seemed leaner and more heavily lined.
“I need to talk to you,” Hollis announced before shoving his way past Lucas and into the penthouse. “Any chance more of your friends are here? Have you seen…Ian…?” He finished the question on what sounded like a relieved sigh.
Lucas locked the door and returned to the living room to find that Ian was free of Rowe and was standing directly in front of the cop, his eyes wide with concern. He clenched his teeth, swallowing back the urge to bark at Hollis to get his damn hands off Ian, but there was no missing the way he gently cupped Ian’s face or the way that Ian was soaking in the touch as if it were the only thing he wanted in the entire world. Lucas didn’t want to trust the cop, didn’t think he was nearly good enough for Ian, no matter how many times Rowe and Snow told him to back off.
“Hey, GQ. Are you okay?” Hollis asked in a rough voice. His fingers drifted down to nudge aside the collar of Ian’s shirt, revealing the bruises again.
Ian pulled back and grimaced. “One of Jagger’s goons grabbed me when I was downtown last night. Tried to strangle me.”
“I heard.”
“Why are you here, cop?” Lucas demanded, cutting him off and earning a look from both Rowe and Ian. He didn’t care. They needed to focus on getting protected and come up with a plan to deal with Jagger. They couldn’t do any of that with the police sitting in his living room.
“I thought you were still undercover. Something happen?” Ian asked. He stepped close to Hollis again, both of his hands clasping Hollis’s forearms.
Hollis pulled away from Ian and shoved both his hands through his hair, a laugh escaping that was edged with a note that sounded a little unbalanced. Undercover? Lucas arched a brow at Snow, who frowned and shook his head. Snow had told him months ago that Hollis saw the pictures Gratton had all over the walls. Some had been of Ian. The cop hadn’t taken it well.
“Undercover? You weren’t undercover at Jagger’s, were you, cop?”
“Hollis!” Ian snapped at Lucas. “His name is Hollis or Detective Banner.”
Lucas stared at Ian, his heart giving a little skip to see the flush to his face and the hands clenched at his sides. This wasn’t some passing interest for Ian. He truly cared for the cop…and if the cop…Hollis…had gone undercover, risked his life…
A soft sigh slipped from Lucas’s lips and he nodded to Ian. He got it. Walking over to Banner, he clapped a hand on Hollis’s taut shoulder, directing him toward the closest chair before the man finally collapsed where he stood. “Come on, Banner. You look like you could use a drink.” Lucas pointed at Noah, who was currently in the chair. “Up,” he barked, earning him a wide grin from the former Ranger as he rose to his feet and moved to lean against the window next to Andrei. Lucas gently pushed Hollis into the now-vacant seat.
Lucas turned and walked over to the cabinet where he had his whiskey and glasses set up, trying to ignore the shiver that went through him as he passed within a few feet of Andrei. The air seemed to vibrate for a breath and then it was over as he quickly poured the detective a glass of bourbon. He handed it over to Hollis, who downed the amber liquid in two quick swallows before Lucas could return to his place behind the sofa while Ian perched on the edge of the coffee table directly in front of the detective.
