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Ian released Snow and with a little grumbling, finally got to his feet. His head throbbed, but he didn’t want to keep sitting there on the couch. He had too much nervous energy, too many questions rattling around in his brain. The feeling of being trapped and helpless would go away only if he was moving.
His head throbbed and the world swayed a little when he stood, but he found his footing again and moved to the kitchen. When he arrived, he discovered that Noah was bringing in the last of the groceries from his car and setting them on the counter. He smiled at Ian reassuringly. That man was just too sweet for Rowe.
“Hollis said he’s on his way and will be here in about twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Noah.” He knew better than to try to call Hollis himself and talk him out of abandoning Shane while on a job. Hollis would only feel better when he finally laid eyes on Ian and saw for himself that his husband was safe.
When Rowe arrived back in the kitchen and announced that it looked like nothing in the house had been touched, Ian set them to work putting the food he didn’t immediately need away in the pantry and fridge. He grabbed the cutting board and knife to start chopping up vegetables.
“Ian, you need to take a break. I don’t think you should be cooking right now,” Lucas gently advised.
Ian snorted at him and kept working on the prep. “You really think anything else is going to help me calm down right now?”
“True.” Lucas sighed. Pulling out a chair at the breakfast bar, he sat down and rested his arms on the counter. “All right, tell us everything. Did you see or hear anything?”
“Did you notice being followed while you were out at the store?” Noah added.
“No.” Ian paused and sighed. “My mind was on a hundred other things. No one has been after me for years. My mind was on the foster classes, the new restaurant, the problems with Rialto. I didn’t—”
“Whoa! What problems with Rialto?” Rowe interrupted, holding his hands up in the air.
Ian clenched his teeth together in frustration. He’d really wanted to deal with this on his own. Well, just him and Hollis, actually. Lucas, Snow, and Rowe liked to exclude him from all the interesting and dangerous stuff as their overprotective way of keeping him safe. But this was his restaurant, dammit!
Reluctantly, he launched into a quick retelling of everything that had been happening at the restaurant—the ICE raid, the fake bad reviews, and the reports to the health department about supposed food poisoning. Though Ian felt a small amount of glee in informing Rowe that he had already secretly gotten the help of his IT team. Noah snickered and Rowe crossed his arms over his chest as he thundered softly like a little black raincloud.
“Why didn’t you tell us all of this when it started?” Snow demanded. Ian winced at the hurt and betrayal in his voice.
“We’re family,” Rowe groused. He still looked like a redheaded powder keg ready to explode. “We’re supposed to be honest with family. We’re always there for each other.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, but you have to admit that your way of taking care of things sucks for me.”
“What are you talking about?” Rowe asked.
“You cut me out of everything. You leave me out and shove me aside. This is my restaurant,” Ian said, tapping his chest with his index finger. “You leave me out in the name of protecting me, but you never do that when it comes to Snow, Lucas, or Rowe. Or even any of your spouses. You’re all right in the middle of the shit and explosions.”
“But you’ve never trained for that,” Snow countered.
“Neither has Jude.”
Snow sighed. “And I pray that he’s never in the middle of the shit and explosions ever again.”
“Whatever. And I don’t want to hear any more of that Army training crap from you two,” Ian said, pointing the knife in his right hand at Lucas and Snow. “It has been decades since either one of you was in the Army.”
Ian stood with his hands pressed into the center island counter, watching as the four other men in the room exchanged looks. Oh, Ian knew he had them trapped between a rock and a hard place. He welcomed their attempts to wiggle out. They weren’t going to work. Not this time.
“Ian, we’re just trying to keep you safe. After everything that you’ve been through—” Lucas started, but Ian simply shook his head.
“This isn’t just an attack on your restaurant any longer. Someone came here and physically attacked you,” Snow picked up when Lucas fell silent.
“You need a fucking bodyguard with you again,” Rowe growled. “I’ll check the roster. I’m sure—”
“No! Absolutely not!”
