“Shit!” Rowe rubbed his face, surprise widening his bright green eyes.
Hollis dragged Ian into his lap and wrapped both arms tightly around him, tucking his face into his chest. “Come on, Ian. Please wake up.”
When brown eyes blinked open and stared at him with confusion, he only held tighter. “It’s me, Hollis. It’s Rowe and Noah.” Rowe was squatting near Ian again, his face completely washed of color, except for the red spot on his cheek. Noah stood, watching quietly. Both men wore pajama pants that looked like they were brand spanking new because they still had package creases in them.
“Hey, you’re safe. We’ve got you.” Hollis stroked one hand over Ian’s hair. “You awake? You with us?”
“Shit,” Ian frowned, shutting his eyes. “I was afraid this was going to happen.”
“This happen often?” Hollis asked.
Ian shrugged, not meeting his eyes.
“Hey.” Hollis turned his face back. “Talk to me.”
“It’s not too bad. Usually only when I’m really upset about something.” He still wouldn’t meet Hollis’s gaze. “You can let me up now.”
He knew his movements showed his reluctance to let go, but Hollis released him. Ian started to stand and Hollis’s huge shorts dipped fast to show his sexy hipbones and the thatch of light brown pubic hair above his cock.
“Oops,” Ian said, his face turning red and he hauled them back up. “They’re kind of big. Yours?” He finally looked at Hollis.
“The elastic is a little stretched out. Sorry. They were the first thing I grabbed.”
“Thanks. They’re better than me crawling around with my bare ass in the air.”
Hollis had to bite his tongue to keep from responding to that, but he glanced at Noah to find his lip twitching as he lifted an eyebrow at Hollis. Yeah, he actually would love Ian like that if it hadn’t obviously been a result of some traumatic memory.
“I remembered something.” Ian swallowed, gathering the waist of Hollis’s shorts tighter in his fist. Fuck, he looked so fragile, yet so beautiful; it was like he reached inside Hollis’s chest to squeeze his heart.
Hollis was sure he wasn’t going to survive his feelings for this man. He stood and resisted the urge to tug Ian back into his arms. “What did you remember?”
“We’re looking for a place with an old cemetery. Akeldama was one of the names on a headstone. I see flashes of it and then the fear that comes…it drowns everything out.” He closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could remember more.”
It was Rowe’s turn to wrap Ian up in a hug. He grabbed him so fast, Ian nearly dropped the shorts again giving Hollis another glimpse of those sexy hipbones. Hollis decided then and there to have Ian wear his too-big clothes as much as possible in the future. But only when they were alone.
“Never apologize, Ian,” Rowe said, his voice hoarse. “Never. Fuck! I’d rather we figure all this out any other way than whatever this is. Why were you crawling like that?”
“I don’t know why I do this. I don’t understand the cemetery or why I can’t recall what we need. It’s there. I know it’s there.”
Hollis couldn’t handle the note of despair in Ian’s voice, so he reached out and plucked him away from Rowe, tugging him back into his arms.
He turned his face into Hollis’s chest and whispered. “I’ve been doing this so much lately. I was so worried I would.”
“Doing what?” Rowe asked. “This thing you do in your sleep?”
Ian nodded against Hollis’s chest.
“We’re gonna fix this,” Rowe said. “I swear, Ian. We’re going to find those kids and put that asshole in jail and you won’t have to worry anymore.”
Ian pulled away from Hollis, not getting far because Hollis wouldn’t let go. He turned to face Rowe as much as he could. “Rowe. I’m okay,” Ian said softly.
“Ian.” Rowe’s voice broke.
“You gotta let me go,” Ian said to Hollis.
Hollis reluctantly opened his arms.
“I’m sorry you guys saw this. I’ve been doing it for years. I’ve done everything I could to keep it from you all. I would wedge chairs under doors in the hotels we stayed in on vacation and well, I’d hoped a lot during the camping trip. I don’t know why it happens. Snow caught me once, but he…he didn’t realize what a problem it really is. It’s probably going to get worse. I feel like we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough when it comes to…Jagger and what he’s doing.” He turned back to Hollis, apology turning his brown eyes into liquid pools.
“Don’t,” Hollis whispered. “Don’t you dare feel bad about anything that has to do with what happened to you. None of it was your fault. None. Whether you remember or not, we’ll still figure this out.”
Ian nodded. “Thanks for the shorts, by the way. I really hate the idea of crawling around naked. It’s why I don’t usually sleep that way.”