“I’ll be sure to pass that along.” Rowe laughed. “Got a secret desire to flip houses?”
“No. I just think all kitchens should be roomy because they’re where everyone gathers.”
Hollis brought in a flat of bottled water and Ian’s gaze went right to his ass as he bent to set it into the corner of the room. The man should really wear tighter jeans to show that thing off. Butterflies filled his stomach as he thought about how close he’d be to the sexy cop again. The house was small and Hollis’s big frame made it feel even more so.
He stood, turned and cleared his throat. Ian blushed when he realized he’d been caught. Again. He had over a year of being attracted to this man built up in his system, so he wasn’t about to apologize. The corner of Hollis’s mouth went up and Ian glanced toward Rowe to see that his blatant ogling hadn’t been missed there either. Rowe turned back to the refrigerator, but his shoulders shook with laughter.
Ian scowled. Sharing this house with Rowe and Noah wasn’t going to be easy. They were both nosy fuckers. All of his friends were.
The bedrooms were off the one hallway leading from the kitchen. They’d decided to let Rowe and Noah take the larger master bedroom since the couple would be sharing the room. Ian glanced into the first one and saw that Rowe had put his things in it. He tested the doorknob. Thankfully, it locked. Not that that would stop him. He’d locked his door at home and still found himself in other rooms in the morning. Maybe he could wedge a chair under the handle or something.
Just the thought of Hollis seeing him crawling along the floor in the middle of the night made his stomach twist. But he was glad the cop had come here with them. Glad he was taking the danger seriously. Ian knew Jagger. The man had been cut off from most of his men, his money, and he was facing prison. A smart man would run, take on a new identity. He knew Jagger was prepared to jet off to another country for such a situation, but he’d want revenge first. His anger had been the only thing to send him blindly into stupid decisions, so Ian had no doubt he was out there.
Hunting them.
Noah knocked on the sliding glass door as Ian walked back into the kitchen, and Hollis unlocked it for him. The dogs ran inside, their nails loud on the wood floor as each scrambled to be the first to explore down the hallway. The kitchen immediately felt even smaller.
“This is a great place to hole up,” Noah said as he set out the dogs’ food and water bowls. “There are trees around the back and sides for privacy, but they’re at the outer edge of the property. We’ll have to hike out to keep an eye on those areas, but you can see anyone coming a mile away in either direction on the road. Nice, tall fence all the way around, too, so these babies won’t be tempted to take off.” When he poured food into the bowls, all three dogs ran back into the kitchen.
“You know they already ate tonight,” Rowe said as he folded the last of the grocery sacks and set it on the stack on the rickety table.
“Yeah.” Noah shrugged. “But I thought this would give them comfort being in a new place.”
“Do they look uncomfortable?” Laughing, Rowe walked to his boyfriend and cupped the back of his neck. He pressed a lingering kiss on Noah’s mouth. “You spoil them.”
“I’m not the only one,” Noah mumbled, frowning at the shorter Rowe. The frown didn’t stick around as he sighed. “I’m beat. I’ll go make up our bed.”
Rowe pulled him in for another kiss. “As soon as the dogs are done, I’ll round them up and bring them in for their goodnight smooches. I’ll take the first shift and then come wake you in a few hours.”
“Shift?” Ian asked, amused that they treated their dogs like children—giving them goodnight kisses.
“Just a little guard duty,” Rowe said, flashing him a reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach his tired green eyes.
“Why? I thought we were safe out here.”
“It’s a precaution.” Noah clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed as he walked by, heading down the hall with Daisy, the German shepherd, trailing behind him.
“It’s late and we’re all too damn tired to set up proper security measures tonight. Royce just inherited the place, so it’s not going to be easy to discover electronically and I doubt anyone followed us, but I want to be sure. Tomorrow, we’ll set up alarms.”
“Do you want me to take a shift?” Hollis offered.
Rowe shook his head. “Noah and I are good. We’ll figure out the rest in the morning.” He pointed at Ian. “I’ve got breakfast. No arguments. You should probably get some sleep, too.” He winked. “Our dogs get up early. Just warning ya.”