Chapter Twenty
“How much longer do youthink this might take?” Bas demanded of the one remaining agent in the room. Sean had left over an hour ago to apprehend Alexei, and though Drew kept checking his phone for the promised text, none of them had heardanything.
Then again, Deb wasn’t as keen on sharing information as Sean had been. Her primary job seemed to be compulsively scrolling through the video feeds, ignoring all the men in theroom.
“It’ll take as long as it takes,” Deb said, like she’d come up with something profound and philosophical. “It’s impossible topredict.”
Bas clenched his teeth against a stinging retort. It might have been impossible to predict Sean’s return, but it didn’t take psychic powers to realize they didn’t have time to wait around. One look at the security monitors showed thick, black smoke clogging the ballroom, effectively blinding the cameras in there. Though it was impossible to tell exactly what was on fire, the situation was obviously not under control and seemed to be getting worse. Other screens showed smoke billowing from the ballroom, filling the hallway, moving steadily closer to the supposedlysaferoom where his family was holedup.
He leaned back propping his ass against the desk, pulled Drew against his chest, and surveyed the room. Cort had moved to sit against the wall using his tuxedo jacket as a headrest. Cam was curled up in a ball with his head on Cort’s thigh, while Cort carded his fingers lovingly through Cam’s hair. Meanwhile, Damon was sitting against a wire shelving unit with his feet flat on the floor, knees bent and spread wide to accommodate Cain, who was leaning sideways against his chest. It couldn’t have been a comfortable position for Damon, even if he had a full range of motion in his legs, but given the way he and Cain were staring at each other, he didn’t reallycare.
Bas gathered Drew tighter, taking comfort in the solid weight pressed to his chest. The emotional whiplash of the evening - panic, to relief, and back to nagging worry - was taking a toll on all of them, and he knew they were all beyond ready for this night to beover.
He brushed a kiss over Drew’s temple and felt Drew’s responding shudder to the tips of his toes. If there was a silver lining to this cluster-fuck of an evening, it was exactly this - a pliant Drew in his arms. It was so rare - unheard of, almost - for Andrew McMann to show vulnerability and let himself be comforted, and Bas accepted it as the honor itwas.
And he was ready to take his man to bed for the solid month Drew had promised him… assuming they didn’t all die of smoke inhalationfirst.
He watched on the screen as smoke crept down the hallway like a sentient being. It wasunnerving.
“Agent Gutierrez,” he tried again, more deferentially this time. “I’m not sure we’re safe here anymore. We need to weigh the slim danger of Alexei slipping away from Sean Cook’s team against the very real risk of fire. If you could contact AgentCook…”
She shook her head stubbornly. “Orders are not to hail unless there’s an emergency. Your boredom doesn’t count. Please, Mr. Seaver, calmdown.”
Bas exhaled and exchanged a glance with his brother-in-law on the floor.Can you dosomething?
Cort inclined his chin. “Hey, Deb? I think what Bas is trying to ask is, what’s the protocol in case the smoke gets worse or the fireflares?”
“Same as usual.” Deb turned her chair to face them and pursed her lips. “Firefighters are on the scene, and they know where we are. If the fire becomes a real threat, we follow the orders of the guys in the masks and boots. But there are no flames to beseen.”
Bas and Cort exchanged a look of disbelief, and Cort grimaced as the first tendrils of smoke began to curl beneath the door near hisleg.
Still, Cort was polite as he said, “I have no idea what’s causing this smoke, but I think it might be worth hailing the FD, if you don’t want to bug Cooksy, so we know what we’re dealing with. Remember Cooksy appreciates people who take theinitiative.”
Bas gave Cort an approving glance. Bonus points for dropping Sean Cook’s nickname, a reminder that he was close friends with herboss.
It seemed to work. “Fine,” she sighed. She paused her compulsive scrolling to glare at Cort. “But you heard Agent Cook. We’re staying in the room until he makes contact.” She touched her earpiece and requested a member of fire personnel report to the surveillance room to assess thesituation.
Bas rolled his eyes. Assess?Please. The situation was fast approaching critical. On the monitor, a pair of firefighters came down the hall, half-crouched - probably for better visibility - and wearing full gear, including oxygen masks. He could imagine what their assessment wouldbe.
One of the firefighters knocked on the door and Cain shuffled to his feet to pull it open for him. The men stepped inside, shutting the door against the smoke, and the one in front removed hismask.
“Hey, I’m Greg Prada from Engine 4. This is Jack Rodi from the One-Three.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder at his partner who lifted a hand in acknowledgement. “Situation’s pretty bad out there. Damage from the initial device was inadvertently compounded by the sprinkler - some kind of alkali reaction occurred. The device was placed right by some wall hangings, and the fire got into the soundproofing foam in the ceiling. We’re getting it under control, but we’re evacuating the entire building as a precaution. That includes youfolks.”
Deb folded her arms over her chest. “These men are targets. They need to stay here as a precaution until my superior verifies that the person who planted the bombs has been caught. It’s nonnegotiable. I can’t guarantee their safety outthere.”
“With all due respect, ma’am,” Prada said, as the acrid tang of smoke began to fill the room. “We have an emerging situation happening. I can’t guarantee their safety if theystay.”
“I’m not abandoning my post,” she argued, sweeping a hand at the monitors. “We need to keep an eye on thesituation.”
“That’s your choice, but the others in this room don’t need to risk smoke inhalation!” Prada’s eyes were tired and his mouthgrim.
Damon tapped Cain’s arm, and Cain scrambled to his feet before turning to offer his boyfriend a hand. “I think we’ll take our chances out there,” Damonrasped.
Drew straightened and looked at Bas with one eyebrow raised. Bas nodded, linking their fingers as they’d done before. A team, always. “We’re goingtoo.”
“Same,” Cam agreed, standing up. He looked back down at Cort belatedly. “Aren’twe?”
Cort shook his head, hesitant. “I don’t like it,” he said. “Sean should have been back bynow.”
