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It didn’t take long for Ian to fall asleep. Hollis kissed the top of his head before flipping off the television. They both had early days tomorrow, so he woke Ian enough to get him into bed and then finally let himself relax. He held his husband close as he drifted off to sleep.Chapter SevenIan sat in the driver’s seat of his Volt and rubbed his palms on the legs of his pants. His hands were sweating. His freaking hands were sweating! This was ridiculous. He was never nervous to stop by Ward Security, particularly when he had a huge load of food in tow.
But then, he wasn’t usually planning to do something sneaky. He wasn’t a sneaky person. Rowe, sure. Half the man’s DNA had to be made of underhanded genes. Noah was the same way. Snow could be devious when he wanted to be, but it wasn’t often. Lucas didn’t have a prayer. Well, he could be when he needed to be, but Lucas was generally all bluster and bombast when he wanted to catch someone off guard.
And then there was Ian. He didn’t feel that he was particularly strong at sneaking, and right now, he was attempting to do it past the sneakiest man he’d ever met.
Taking a deep breath, Ian released his seat belt and climbed out of the car.
“Ian!”
Ian jerked around at the sound of an excited voice. Dominic Walsh was striding toward him with his hands thrown up in surprise. The bodyguard with the flame-red hair and handsome face was the company’s prime practical joker and all-around fun lover. And he was the perfect distraction.
“Dom!” Ian shouted with a wave.
“What are you doing here?” As he got within a few feet of Ian’s car, he drew in a deep breath and released a happy groan. “Oh, God! Did you bring us food?”
“Yep.”
Dom grabbed Ian in a brief hug, but Ian could also feel him leaning over his shoulder, peering into the rear window of the car to check out the large pans that were occupying his back seat. “What’s the occasion? Is it Rowe’s birthday?”
“No, I was tinkering with a new recipe, and I thought I’d use Ward Security as guinea pigs.”
Dom laughed and released Ian. “We are the worst guinea pigs and you know it. Bunch of oversized bodyguards in desperate need of nourishment at all times. We inhale everything you bring to us.”
“True, but sometimes I need a judge who already loves me before I seek out the harder ones.”
“Ahhh…a confidence boost. I gotcha. Anything I can help carry?”
“Lots, actually.” Moving the driver’s seat forward, Ian grabbed a large pan and handed it to Dom. “Why don’t you take this in and send out whoever you can find in there? I’ve got more stuff in the trunk I could use a hand with too.”
“We’ve got you.” Dom set off quickly across the parking lot, humming happily to himself.
Ian had made way too much for this simple little mission, but he’d been nervous thinking about trying to sneak past Rowe, Noah, and even Andrei. Those three men were the kings of devious and observant. They kept an eagle eye on Ian when he was around, and he could only think to distract them with food. Lots and lots of it.
Usually when he cooked for Ward Security, he brought enough to feed fifty, even though there were usually far less in the office. Most of the bodyguards would be in the field with clients, but the ones in the office tended to eat enough for two people.
Ian had just popped the trunk when he heard new voices in the parking lot. He turned back toward the building to find six tall, muscular men pouring out of the front door with looks of excitement on their faces. They acted like they hadn’t been fed in a week, and it was a great ego boost. Rowe’s men loved Ian’s cooking.
“Ian, you spoil us,” Sven stated as he reached the car. The Viking-like man towered over Ian, gracing him with a soft smile. Sven was an absolute gentle giant…unless you were threatening his boyfriend, Geoffrey, or any of his family at Ward Security. Then he turned into something quite scary.
“I thought you guys were due for some spoiling.” Ian laughed. Some of the tension flowed from his shoulders as praise poured over him for the smell of the delicious dishes and how happy they were to see him again. He might be on a mission to secretly enlist the help of Gidget, but Ward Security was a safe place. These were Rowe’s people. His friend trusted these people with his life and the lives of his own family.
It took only a minute to get the other four chafing dishes pulled out of the car and divided up while the last two men lucked into dessert and a box of plastic utensils and other serving items. Ian followed behind the crew with a small box with something special for his ultimate target.
