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His friend Sam was gone. Sam with the sweet touches and strange food preferences. Sam with the flashy clothes and great laugh. Sam, who didn’t make him feel bad about his sexual hang-ups and the sketchy past Ian wouldn’t talk about. Sam, who would never hurt another living creature and celebrated each day. Sam was gone and it was Ian’s fault. Oh God, Sam…
“I’m so sorry, Ian. So sorry.” Hollis kept repeating those words over again, his lips pressed into his hair.
“He didn’t deserve this. Sam never hurt anyone. He shouldn’t have…” Ian spoke between ragged breaths.
“No, he didn’t and we will make Jagger pay for this. He’ll pay for everyone he’s hurt.”
“If I’d just—”
Hollis tightened his arms around Ian until his hold was almost painful, but it still couldn’t compete with the pain in his chest. “There is nothing you could have done.”
“Don’t listen to Jagger,” Rowe growled, shoving his cell phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “This isn’t your fault.”
“But—”
“Jagger would have still killed Sam even if you were standing right in front of him. You know that man is a sick fuck. He takes pleasure in hurting people. He’s trying to manipulate you into doing something stupid.”
“Don’t let him win,” Hollis murmured softly.
Ian turned his face into Hollis’s neck and let the tears fall freely as he wrapped his arms around his lover. Logic said Hollis and Rowe were right. He knew there was nothing that he could have done to save Sam. He had no clue Jagger even knew about his friendship with the young man. If he had, he could have put Sam under protection, gotten him far from Cincinnati.
But logic didn’t stop his heart from hurting for his friend. Sam deserved better than this.Chapter 16“Candace, can you give us a moment, please?” Lucas asked but his eyes didn’t move from Andrei’s tense form near the door to the private room they’d been given before the press conference. His long hair was pulled back, allowing him to easily see the raised eyebrow in question. Lucas smiled, reluctantly shifting his gaze to his long-time assistant. Her smartphone was clutched tightly in one hand and her tablet in the other. “Just a moment,” he repeated.
“We’re expected in ten minutes,” she said at last before starting for the door, which Andrei opened for her. She paused and looked back at Lucas, worry digging lines around her dark brown eyes and mouth. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need something.”
Andrei closed the door behind her and walked over to Lucas’s side. He was perched on the edge of the conference-room table, enjoying the sight of Andrei in his new dark suit with sharp blue tie. He didn’t often see Andrei in a suit. Yes, he preferred the sexy Romanian in his birthday suit, but the finely tailored ensemble that perfectly conformed to his broad shoulders and tight waist was damn appealing too.
“I think Candace has become overprotective of you,” Andrei said when he was standing a couple of feet away from Lucas.
“She took the news of Snow’s injury hard,” Lucas murmured.
“She’s known Snow long?”
Lucas nodded. “About as long as she’s worked for me. Five, six years.”
This was not what he wanted to talk about. The surgeon was going to make a full recovery thanks to Andrei’s quick reaction and the skill of the staff at the hospital. It had all been a horrible reminder that they were vulnerable as long as Jagger was on the loose, but they were taking an important step to put an end to that with the press conference.
“I think I’ve changed my mind,” Lucas suddenly announced, though he couldn’t hide his smile from Andrei. “How about I just write a check and we skip the press conference? Let someone else handle the announcement. We can sneak out the back and go home. Spend the rest of the day naked.”
Andrei made a sound in the back of his throat and stepped closer, so he was standing between Lucas’s legs, running his hands slowly up his thighs. Leaning in, he brushed his lips along Lucas’s jaw, causing him to tilt his head up a little to give him better access. The erection he’d been attempting to tamp down at the sight of Andrei came roaring back. His cock strained against his briefs.
“Mmmmm…” Andrei murmured. “That sounds good. Just you and me…and Snow and Jude and Royce and the two cops loitering outside the front door and the one on the balcony.”
Lucas groaned and pulled away from Andrei, making a face. Andrei grabbed his mouth in a quick kiss before stepping back. “The penthouse is getting crowded, baby.”
“I’m ready to start our life,” Lucas complained.
Andrei stopped, his smile softening as he looked at Lucas. “I like the sound of that. Our.”
“Our life. Our future.”
