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Sighing softly, Jude rubbed his eyes. If this was life with the general, then he’d happily take it. He’d embrace the insanity, explosions, and danger if it meant that at the end of it all, he was able to crawl into bed with Snow and wrap his body around his lover’s.
“We’ll get him back,” Rowe said firmly. Jude nodded. The sooner they got him back, the better.
Despite being after eight in the evening, Ward Security was a beehive of activity. Most evenings there were self-defense classes, but tonight the various employees were running around, preparing equipment and discussing tactics. Jude and Snow had attended a few parties that included the majority of the Ward Security employees. They’d started to feel like an extended family, and it was quite touching to see that they were all rallying around their boss and Snow.
It was even more touching when Jude thought about the fact that what they were planning to do was highly illegal. From hacking into the traffic cameras to going into a private building heavily armed, it was all illegal. Jude’s brain said that they should be going to the cops with their information, but Jude’s heart said fuck it. He wanted to march in there and pull Snow out. He couldn’t trust the cops to care about Snow’s health and safety the same way these men did. They would give everything to get Snow back alive.
“We’re meeting up in Rowe’s office,” Noah said, pointing toward the metal stairs leading to the second floor. Jude followed the two other men up the stairs, taking two at a time to keep pace with them.
“I’ll poke my head into the Torture Chamber and tell them we’ve got Jude,” Noah announced before jogging down the hall away from Rowe’s office.
“When did you get a torture chamber?” Jude asked, stopping Rowe before he stepped into his office.
“It’s what I call the IT room. Every time I step in there, Quinn or Gidget starts throwing all this techie geek jargon at me, and it’s torture to listen to.”
“I don’t know how your employees put up with you,” Jude teased.
“I pay very well and offer discounts to Ian’s restaurant.”
Jude smiled. Yeah, that would do it. Ian’s cooking was amazing, and Rialto was the perfect date spot in the city.
He stepped into Rowe’s office behind the owner but stopped over the threshold to see Lucas sitting behind Rowe’s desk.
Rowe gave a sharp whistle and motioned upward with his right hand. “Up, you ass. That isn’t your desk.”
“Definitely not. My desk is cleaner,” Lucas said crisply as he rose. As he stepped past Rowe, he added in a low voice, “I also have a better selection of lube in my bottom drawer than you.”
Rowe flipped his friend off as he flopped into his chair.
Jude looked the other man over and his stomach knotted. The billionaire was dressed in a black turtleneck that looked like it was made from a material designed to guard against the colder weather. His black cargo pants and boots were a little worn, and Jude could only assume that it was from other moments just like this one. Lucas wasn’t there just for support from the office. He was planning to go into the field with them.
“You can’t do this,” Jude said in a strangled voice as he met Lucas’s dark gaze. “You have a baby daughter. She needs you.”
“And Snow is my brother. He needs me too. The rest of my family isn’t going to take a back seat to my daughter.”
“But—”
“Daciana is safe,” Lucas said calmly, placing a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “She’s spending the night with her adoring Uncle Ian and Uncle Hollis.”
“Who are also playing host to two of my bodyguards, Jackson and Garrett,” Rowe added with a smirk.
“Before tonight is over, I’ll have seen Snow in your arms, and I’ll have Daci in mine.”
“When do we get to see the lil lady?”
Jude turned to find Dominic Walsh sitting on the couch opposite Rowe’s desk. The redheaded bodyguard stared up at Lucas with bright eyes and a wide smile. Royce Karras, another bodyguard, was leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.
“After she’s had her first round of vaccinations. It’s too dangerous to have her visiting with everyone right now.”
“Fine,” Dom grumbled. He lounged against the back of the sofa and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “But she needs to come in for visits. She’s gonna be a fighter like her Daddy Andrei.”
Noah stepped into the office followed by a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark brown hair and a closely trimmed beard. The man was built like one of Rowe’s bodyguards, but he was actually one of the IT specialists. Jude had met Cole McCord only once before and he came off as a quiet, serious man who was very focused on his job.
