“I do, but he’s shaking his head no. He says he doesn’t want to distract you or upset you.”
“Shit, K. You really better marry this man,” Soren interjected.
Kairo was about to roll his eyes when Ed looked over his shoulder at him as they jogged through the edge of the forested area back toward their car. The big man nodded, his expression fierce.
“Do it, Charlie. I won’t be distracted or upset.”
There was a moment of silence on the line, and then Charlie spoke again. “Okay, Kairo and the rest of the team can hear you.”
Kairo nearly laughed aloud at the pointed reminder that this wasn’t a private conversation. Isidore was being added to the party line, and everyone was going to hear this. But he had a feeling his Isidore would not censor himself because of other people.
“H-hey,” Isidore’s sweet voice wobbled. He cleared his throat and when his words drifted into Kairo’s ear, everything felt better. Some of the anger faded and it was like he was already being hugged by this wonderful person. “I just wanted to hear that you’re okay. You didn’t get hurt?”
“I’m fine, I promise you. I’m dirty and very fucking sweaty and I think I scraped my elbow when Ed threw me to the ground,” Kairo said, trying to add a little levity to his tone so Isidore would worry less.
“I think you mean when I saved your ass,” Ed chimed in.
They stopped at the tree line just at the edge of the street. They had yet to see any police cars or hear sirens. He refused to believe that no one had called the cops at the sound of gunfire, unless people actually believed the sounds were from firecrackers. Not to mention Vanko’s dumb ass did start shooting on an occupied street. Insane.
Kairo glanced over at his equally sweaty companion and winked. “Yeah, saved my ass. But, Isidore, I’m sorry. I screwed up. Vanko is dead.”
“I don’t care,” Isidore’s voice wobbled again but gained strength as he continued talking. “As long as you are safe and coming back to me, I don’t care. We’ll get the answers some other way. The only thing that matters to me is that you return safe and sound so I can hold you.”
“I think you might need to let me take a shower first, but I’m looking forward to being held.”
“Awwwww,” several people teased. He couldn’t even tell which of the bastards was saying it. Probably all the voyeur assholes he called friends.
Didn’t matter. Isidore had the perfect reply. “I don’t think I can wait that long. I’ll just have to join you in the shower.”
Yes. Yes, he would.
14
ISIDORE PANOPOULOS
He madegood on his promise.
The second Kairo walked into the house, Isidore took him straight upstairs to the bathroom, where he helped the poor man strip out of his sweat-drenched clothes. He followed him into the shower, where they simply held each other for several minutes.
He’d known the meeting was happening today. Kairo and Charlie had been honest and up front about the risks. Isidore hadn’t truly felt any fear until he’d heard Charlie’s panicked shout.
Holding Kairo helped the lingering terror subside. He’d just found this man. He couldn’t lose him already.
Kairo tried to apologize again, but there was no need for it. He didn’t care that Vanko was dead. He didn’t care that they still didn’t have the answers they needed. He had faith they would uncover the truth. All that mattered was protecting Kairo and his family.
Of course, after he was done holding Kairo, he scrubbed every centimeter of his body and gave him a blowjob that curled his toes and left him clinging to the tiled wall.
While Kairo was relaxed, reinvigorated, and ready to jump into his work, Isidore was reconsidering his role in Kairo’s life. Which was why the next day he specifically sought out the two more dangerous men he currently knew: Alexei and Westin.
Isidore located them in the large backyard of the house that abutted a neighboring olive orchard that gently climbed up the slope of Mount Parnassus. His eyes slid over the silvery green leaves dancing in the afternoon breeze that was coming in off the gulf. The house was simple but nice. However, he was finding his favorite part about staying here—other than being able to cuddle up with Kairo each night—was the olive orchard.
The grove of trees reminded him of the farm he owned in Messinia on the Peloponnese peninsula. They were still a few months out from the harvest. He’d hoped to be there for it as he had been for the past several years. Would Kairo be interested in taking time off to join him for a little while?
Just past the patio that had a scattering of wrought iron chairs and a table for relaxing in the evening, Alexei and Westin stood. They both held two handguns with silencers. No, suppressors. West had already given him a lecture on how the movies had the wrong word for that device. They were using suppressors to muffle the noise of their shots. They were a good distance from other neighbors and the occasional gunshots weren’t unheard of as ranchers and farmers used the noise to scare off foxes, wolves, lynxes, and wildcats when they ventured too close.
The two men were amicably chatting as they took aim at a series of random targets they’d set up on some boxes and even hung from a couple of the trees.
He edged closer to them, his hands in the back pockets of the new jeans he’d recently acquired, trying to look relaxed when his stomach was twisting into knots. It wasn’t so much that talking to these men made him nervous, but rather what he wanted to ask.