Page 61 of Flesh and Fury

“Well, I haven’t taken the time to work it all out but I know this…he’s not thereallthe time. In fact, I think he’s with Ted and Al a lot more than we even know about,” Ari said. “If someone was watching the house when we were away, all they’d have to do is wait until Bear joined the couple for a little scratch and tickle and then let themselves in to plant a bug.” He nodded. “The more I think about this, the more I think I’m right.”

Eoghan abruptly changed lanes, heading for the nearest freeway exit.

“What are you doing? I thought you were heading to the office,” Ari asked.

“I was.” He pulled off the freeway and stopped at the bottom of the ramp before looking at Ari.

“And now? Where are you going?” Ari asked, frowning.

“Home. I’m heading home to talk to myfuckingcat and sweep my house for bugs.”

Ari couldn’t help but chuckle as he sat back in the seat. He shook his head, really hoping he’d been wrong about everything.

Chapter Nineteen

EOGHAN

Eoghan was hopping mad. Even if Ari was wrong—and he was pretty sure he wasn’t—he’d somehow let that bastard, Kellen McGillis, get under his skin again. Worst of all, he had no one to blame but himself. He’d seen the handsome façade of the man and allowed himself to fall into his trap. He’d had a long affair with him and only ended it after learning that Kellen had been cheating on him, probably the whole time. That hadn’t been the worst part about their relationship, though.

He’d allowed Kellen to push his buttons over and over again, feeling jealous when he’d come onto Ari even though he’d known Ari was loyal and loved him. Kellen made him feel dirty. How he could’ve ever trusted the black Irish beauty to be true to him was a mystery. He knew Ari wouldn’t respond favorably to Kellen’s advances. He was a good man and didn’t deserve his loyalty to be questioned, even for a second. To top it all off, the very idea that Kellen or someone else at the Agency might have been in his house planting listening devices or God forbid, cameras, made him step harder on the gas, matching the tempo of his boiling blood.

“Sweetheart?” Ari’s hand on his shoulder made Eoghan jump.

“What?” he asked, then noted the worry in his lover’s expression. He held his gaze for only a second before turningback to the road as tears of frustration welled up behind his eyes.

“Easy does it, Eoghan. We’ll get there. No need to get pulled over by a cop.” Ari was smiling in that teasing way Eoghan loved when he darted a glance back at him. He felt himself blush as he dragged his gaze away. “I know you want to get home,” Ari went on. “I know how you feel, baby. The very idea that someone could have been in the house makes me want to scream but it might be nice if we got there in one piece. What do you think?”

Eoghan nodded emphatically, and instantly took his foot off the gas. “Yes. I’m so sorry. You’re right. I just don’t seem to be able to gather my emotions together today. I’m not really sure why.”

“I know why. It’s because you think that asshole might have been in the house and everything said between us could have been overheard which would somehow make our peaceful refuge less than it should be because of the trespass.” Ari squeezed his hand, punctuating his words. “Eoghan, I’m here to tell you none of that matters. I know you think if anyone has been in the house, it’s a violation of not only our privacy but our sense of wellbeing. If it’s happened, it doesn’t mean those fuckers win, Eoghan. No way.” Ari shook his head. “In fact, when this is all said and done, I’m going to talk to our landlords to see if they’ll let me give back the unit next door so I can move in with you…if you want me that is.”

“What?” Eoghan turned to look at him, feeling his eyebrows shoot up.

Ari smiled, reached over, and pushed his jaw shut with a finger under his chin. “You heard me. When Al and Ted first offered it and we were new in the relationship, it made sense to take on my own place, but the truth is, I haven’t felt like the unit next door was ever mine. I haven’t spent more thanfour or five nights in it, and only then, when you were so dead on your feet, you couldn’t stand upright, did I not share your bed. Sometimes, I felt compelled to go over there just because I wanted to give you your space. But I recently came to the conclusion that none of that was working for me. The truth is, Eoghan, I want to be in your bedeverynight. I want to sleep with you even if you have a lousy fever. I’m even used to the fact that you have another man living with you even though he spends most of his time sitting in a cat tree or chasing mice.”

Eoghan chuckled as he shot a quick glance over at Ari. His beautiful, bearded face was split wide with a grin and his eyes were dancing as he spoke. “Do you mean that? You really want to live with me?”

“Yes. Besides, with the money I save on rent, we could plan a damned nice vacation like we talked about.”

“If I remember correctly, we talked about how youdon’ttake vacations,” Eoghan said.

“Yeah, well, that was before I met the love of my life.” Ari squeezed his hand again making warmth flood through Eoghan. “So, what do you say, baby? Would you like a permanent roommate?”

Eoghan smiled broadly as he quickly glanced at the rearview mirror and changed lanes to turn onto the main road near the house. He tightened his grip on Ari’s hand, giving him an affectionate squeeze. “I’d love to have you in my bed every night, Ari Brown.”

“Good.” Ari said.

Eoghan decided that they should be equally cautious as they approached his house. If anyonewaswatching, his yellow Prius would stick out like a sore thumb. When he pulled into his neighborhood a few minutes later, he chose to park a couple of blocks over on a street with easy access to an alleybehind their house. They got out of the car and darted down the alley which bisected their tract of homes.

Most of the houses on his block had garages which were accessible only from the front, Ted and Al’s included, but the neighborhood had jointly decided trash should be collected from the narrow alley running along the backside. That way, residents could put their unsightly cans out of sight. When the homes had been built in the 30s, very few people had cars, so the alley had served for horse and buggy delivery of perishables like milk. These days, it was just wide enough for a trash truck to drive down to gather cans.

They took advantage of the design and ran down to Al and Ted’s backyard before easily scaling the fence behind the triplex, not making any noise as they dropped soundlessly into the grassy yard. He blew out a sigh of relief and headed for his front door, protected from the street view by their landlords’ larger dwelling. As he pulled out his key to unlock the door, Ari grabbed his shoulder and squeezed hard. With a strangled“oof”he stopped moving as Ari clamped a hand over his mouth, pulling him back against his body. He pointed at the blinds which had been closed when they left the house that morning. Sure enough, they were cracked open the tiniest sliver and were moving as if someone had hurried away from them.

“Open with caution,” Ari whispered into his ear. “It might be Bear but someone is watching us.” Eoghan nodded as Ari’s hand slipped away. They pulled their service weapons as he unlocked the door. The moment he opened it the slightest crack, he felt someone’s presence, someone other than his beloved Bear.

“It’s me, Sapphire,” the female voice whispered. “Come inside quickly and shut the door.”

Instant relief at the sound of the chief’s voice washed through him and they quickly stepped inside. He turned to find Priest there looking quite Laura Croft-y in camouflage tac pants and a black tank which clung to her shapely body. He grinned widely and scooped her into a massive bear hug before releasing her. When Ari did the same, the look on her face made Eoghan laugh. As Ari set her back on her feet, he grabbed her shoulders, holding her at arm’s length.