“No, I haveit.”
Drew blinked, something cold slithering through his stomach at the tightness in Bas’s voice, the thin thread ofhurtDrew could feel there, but he nodded and stepped back, letting Sebastianpass.
“You’re, uh, the first one here,” Drew said lamely, following Bas to thekitchen.
“Figured. No other cars in the driveway.” Bas put the bag on the counter and started removing boxes stamped with the name of their favoritebakery.
“PanaderiaPascal?”
“Yep.” Bas didn’t pause or look up, but the muscles of his back were visibly tight beneath his sweater. “Figured you were right about me baking a cake.” His voice was flat. “I don’t do so well with following rules.So.”
Drew closed his eyes. Had he wounded Sebastian’s pride by rejecting him? For the umpteenth time, he berated himself for the drunken idiocy that had started them down this road. “Sebastian, listen, I didn’twant…”
“No, it’s cool,” Bas said, holding up a hand. “We don’t need to rehash anything. You made your feelings pretty clear the other night. You want to be friends. I respectthat.”
I made my feelings clear?Drew almost laughed. In that case, he kinda wished Bas would explain them tohim, because Drew couldn’t say what he was feeling, except unsure, guilty, and a little bitnauseous.
“It’s just that you mean more to me than anyone, and I—” Drew threw his hands up in the air,lost.
Bas grinned at Drew’s eloquence, and though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, it was a start. “Nah. It’s fine. You wereright.”
“I was?” Of course he was. Andof courseBas had realized it. Drew ignored his racingheart.
“I’ve hurt you a lot. So we’ll chill for now. Be friends. See how things go. And focus on SILA, getting justice for my parents andAmy.”
“Right,” Drew agreed, though his voice sounded hollow to his own ears. “We can…chill.”
“So, you have a particular plate you want me to put these sweet rolls on,Martha?”
Drew cleared his throat. “Ah, anything in the cabinet to the right of the fridge.” The doorbell rang again. “Cavalry’shere.”
But Bas was busy looking in the cabinet and didn’t turn around as Drew left theroom.
He desperately wanted to tell whoever was on the other side to go the fuck away, and then sit down with Bas so they could eat and talk and laugh, and get back to normal.Fuck,but he was tired of dealing with this bullshit.Evil politicians who betrayed their friends, Russian mobsters who’d killed people they loved and could come after them at any moment. He wanted toscream.
Drew took a deep breath to collect himself before answering the door. He was being irrational, yeah. He fucking knew it. And he knew it wasn’t going to get him anywhere, either. But the section of his brain where his calm, logical center lived - the part he’d relied on for years - seemed to be stubbornly silent this morning. Control Freak Drew, where did yougo?
“Hey,” he said, opening the door to Cam, who carried a platter of something that smelled deliciously of onions and herbs, and Cort, who had his arm wrapped around his boyfriend’s waist and appeared half-asleep. “Comein.”
“Sorry we’re late,” Cam said, stepping inside. “This one was up until all hours working on a securityissue.”
“You’re fine. Cain and Damon aren’t here yet.” But he stopped when he saw Damon’s beaten-up truck pull into the driveway, and traded a grin with Cort as he passed by. “Nevermind.”
Cain hopped down from the passenger’s seat, cradling a plastic container, and waited for Damon to make his way around the front of the cab. Damon’s leg, which had been injured in the plane crash and then again as he and Cain ran from some of Alexei’s thugs a month ago, had healed significantly, but he still walked with a noticeable limp. That didn’t stop him from grabbing the container from Cain’s arms and holding it aloft as they made their way down the walkway, despite Cain’s attempts to jump up and snatch itback.
“Morning, Drew,” Cain said, pointing at the container. “We broughtcookies.”
“McMann,” Damon greeted Drew, his voice sandpaper-rough as always. “I’ll have you know, my sister and niece baked these cookies and sent them to us. I’m bringing them under duress.” He turned his head to glare atCain.
Cain glared right back, folding his arms across his chest. “He has three dozen more back at our apartment,” he told Drew, rolling his eyes. “And he’s already eaten two dozen in the last two days. He’s going to be the size of a house if he doesn’t learn toshare.”
“He’s mad because I ate the last macadamia one last night,” Damonconfided.
“Yes! Because you knew they were myfavorite!”
Damon smirked at Drew and handed Cain the container. “Which is why I put a couple in the freezer for you,kid.”
Cain’s narrow-eyed expression, a combination of outrage, amusement, and absolute love, made Drew’s heart twist with want. “You were holding out onme?”
