How was he supposed to explain to Ian that he was struggling with those old recollections when he knew that Ian had survived far worse?
So, they both pretended everything was okay.
But the appearance of Joey Pinscher was a sharp reminder that not everyone from Jagger’s crew was locked up and far away from Ian.
God, he wanted to scoop Ian up and carry him far from this fucking city!
Far from all remnants of Jagger’s world so they could start fresh where Ian would be safe.
But Ian would never leave his family. Never leave his beloved restaurant.
Hollis didn’t want to leave their unique family either. As much as he hated to admit it, he loved Lucas, Snow, Rowe, and their husbands. Yet, Hollis would do anything to keep Ian safe.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” Hollis muttered under his breath as he picked up his cell phone again. He looked down and quickly dialed a number he hadn’t called in years. When the phone started ringing, he turned his attention back to the binoculars, watching the punk unlock the rear door and slip into the warehouse.
“Looks like he had a key,” Shane grumbled. “Can’t get him on B and E.”
“No, but this is the guy that one of our targets hired to rough up the client.”
“Banner, if you’re calling me because you’re going to jail, you deserve to stay there,” a low, rough voice that brought a ghost of a smile to Hollis’s lips grumbled.
“Kirby, you old dog. Did I catch you sleepin’?” Hollis teased. Taylor Kirby worked homicide with the Cincinnati PD. And thanks to the high body count linked to Jagger’s men, their paths crossed on several occasions while Hollis was on the force. Kirby was a salty older cop who’d worked the CPD for nearly two decades. Damn good cop. And it was just lucky that he also liked Hollis.
“Yeah, I was sleeping. I’m on the day shift now.”
“Slacker. Everyone knows the good shit happens at night.”
“What the hell do you want, Banner? Some of us gotta work in the morning.”
“I’m sitting here in this van working—”
“Are you in a van down by the river?” Kirby demanded suddenly.
Hollis glanced over to his right and sighed as he clearly saw the dark waves of the Ohio River. “Yeah.”
“Ha! I won the pool! Oh, shit! Sorry, honey. Go back to sleep. Everything is fine.” There was a sound of rustling fabric and a loud creak like Kirby was climbing out of bed while apologizing to his poor wife. A couple of seconds later, Kirby continued, his voice a whisper. “I knew you’d end up in a van down by the river.”
“Ha. Ha. Focus, old man. This is serious.”
“What’s up?” His voice was sharp and the joking was gone.
“I’m working surveillance on a case. Looks like possible extortion and maybe attempted murder. I was surprised to see Joey Pinscher could have been hired for this job.”
“No Nose?”
“The one and only. How did he escape the roundup after Jagger went down? Shouldn’t he be locked up doing at least ten somewhere?” Hollis struggled to keep his voice light and even when he really wanted to grind his teeth in frustration. Joey had hurt plenty of people while working for Jagger. He should be rotting behind bars for far more than ten years, but here he was, running around free in Cincy.
“Joey slipped the noose. When Jagger bit it, all his little minions scattered like fucking cockroaches with the lights on. The DA was stretched thin, trying to tackle Jagger’s entire organization, so they focused on his upper lieutenants in hopes of breaking any chances of someone trying to re-form his businesses. Low-level nobodies like Joey got a free pass.”
“Fuck.”
“Exactly.”
“How many got through? How many other Joeys are running around the city?”
Kirby heaved a heavy sigh. “More than you want to know.”
“Any way I can convince you to do a favor for an old friend?”
“I’m not getting fired for you, bastard. I retire in a couple of years with a full fucking pension.”
Hollis winced. He was not going to cost Kirby his pension. The guy had definitely earned his retirement. But that didn’t stop him from asking. “Just want a list of names. The ones that got away.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Kirby. I mean it.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Thank me with reservations at your boyfriend’s fancy restaurant. It’ll convince my wife that I can be romantic.”
“It’s husband now. You get me that list, and the dinner will be on the house.”
Kirby chuckled. “Keep your fucking head down, Banner.”
“You too, Kirby.”
Hollis ended the call and looked over at Shane to find him paging through the pictures he just took. “We got what we need?”
“It’s a start. We can show some of these to the client and see if he recognizes the guy. You’ve got us a name and some background. We got nothing illegal yet for the cops, but I’m sure that’s only a matter of time.” Shane looked up at Hollis, worry clear on his face. “You and Ian okay?”
“We’re good. Safe.”
“You sure? You know that I’d do anything for you both. No questions asked.”
Putting the binoculars in his lap, Hollis reached over and clapped his hand on Shane’s shoulder. He’d never expected to find such a good friend in his boss, but Shane Stephens was a hell of a guy.
Fuck, Hollis was lucky to have so many amazing friends in his life. He needed to remember that he had these people to lean on. He might not be able to tell Shane the full story about Jagger and his involvement in Ian’s life, but there were other men who knew everything. Maybe it was time for another “No Boyfriends” meeting with Andrei, Jude, and Noah. That trio could give him some much-needed perspective.
“We’re safe. This is just to help me sleep at night. I think the whole weirdness at the restaurant has me a little rattled and jumping at shadows.”
Just saying the words out loud helped. It was like rational thought was seeping in again. Jagger was dead. His goons were either dead, in jail, or scattered to the wind. They had no reason to go after Ian. The ICE raid had to have been a stupid mistake. The bad reviews were just a matter of poor timing. Or a bored internet troll. Everything was fine.
“Let’s wrap this up,” Hollis said as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. “I’ve got a sexy husband to get home to.”
Shane hummed. “Yes. And I have a boyfriend who needs to learn how to take a proper post-shower picture.”
Chapter Five
Ian woke and turned over in the bed to look at Hollis, who was still dead to the world. His mouth hung open and little snores left his lips. They were adorable. As was Hollis’s messy blond hair. He still remembered when Hollis had colored it while undercover and he was glad he hadn’t done that again. Those chaotic, light waves were his favorite.
He snuggled closer and Hollis automatically pulled him into his bigger form. He also loved the way he held him while asleep and over the years, he’d gotten good at stopping Ian from leaving the bed and crawling around the condo. Not that he’d done that in a long, long time. Thankfully, those days seemed to be over. No more embarrassing wake-ups in the corners of the laundry room or bathrooms. He still occasionally had nightmares, but they were few and far between.
No, he was perfectly settled and loved every moment of it. Loved being married to this man and felt thankful every day for it.
He buried his nose in Hollis’s neck, taking in the faint odor of sweat that overlaid Hollis’s unique scent. Hollis hadn’t taken the time to shower when he’d come home from his late-night surveillance. All he’d done was crawl into the bed and hold Ian. His skin had been cold, so Ian had been happy to warm him. He smelled so good like this, and Ian thought of waking him for some loving.
But he seemed so peaceful, he decided to wait. Ian wasn’t due at the restaurant until nine that morning, though his sous chef and others were supposed to go in earlier today.
He could just enjoy the snuggle time before he woke Hollis up a little later for sex.
His phone rang from the nightstand, and he cursed and rolled over to shut it down before it woke Hollis. But when he saw it was the restaurant, he quickly scrambled from underneath the covers and took the phone into the hall. It was way too early for problems there.
“It’s Ian,” he said as a huge yawn overtook his mouth. He walked down the hall, tugging up his loose boxers as he went.
“We’re having a surprise health inspection,” James said quickly, worry and annoyance coloring his tone.
“What?” Ian paused halfway down the stairs. “We just had one less than a month ago. It’s too soon!”
“I know, but he’s saying stuff about multiple complaints. You should maybe come down here.”
“I’m getting dressed now.” Ian hurried into the room to find Hollis sitting up and looking sleep-rumpled with the covers tangled about his legs.
“Come back to bed, GQ,” Hollis said, his sleepy, rough voice laced with the promise of sex.
“Can’t,” Ian answered as he rushed to the closet.
“What’s going on?” Hollis asked. He sounded instantly awake and ready to jump to Ian’s defense.
“Health inspection and this time, he’s come because of complaints. I have to hurry.” He grabbed slacks and a white button-down shirt off the hanger in the closet and pulled them on. He buttoned the shirt as he raced into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Glancing in the mirror, he grimaced at his hair and worked to smooth it down with one hand while he brushed.
Hollis appeared in the doorway, naked as the day he was born, and if Ian hadn’t been so worried, he would have thrown himself at that big, beautiful body. But instead, he eyed the man as he brushed his teeth, then gave up and ran a wet comb through his hair. He splashed water on his face, dried it off, and frowned at Hollis.
“Something’s going on. It has to be. This is too many things too close together.”
Hollis scratched the side of his head. “You think someone is doing this on purpose?”
“I don’t know. I mean, all those reviews looked like they came from different places, but what if they didn’t? And actual complaints bringing the health inspector to my door? I can’t help but feel this is all related.”
“My gut is churning, too, so you’re probably right.”
“I don’t have time to figure this out now, though. I have to run.” He kissed Hollis and scurried past him to hit the stairs. He didn’t stop to have his usual coffee and rushed outside to his car.
The whole time he drove to the restaurant, his hands were white-knuckled on the wheel and his underarms were sweating. Dammit, he’d forgotten to put on deodorant. He had some stashed in his office, so he wasn’t too worried about it. Luckily, he’d also showered the night before.
He parked his little Volt in his parking space and jogged inside the restaurant to find everyone standing around in the kitchen as the health inspector moved about. Sean looked positively livid as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Tell me why you’re here again when you just did this a few weeks ago,” Ian demanded, hands on his hips as he faced the inspector.
“Multiple complaints of food poisoning have come in since then.”
“Since then, or have they been over the last week?”
The inspector, a small, thin man in khakis and a blue blazer, consulted his notes. “Looks like you’re right. All in the last week.”
“I haven’t heard a thing about this.” Ian waved his hand around the kitchen. “But go ahead, you know me. I follow all the codes to a T and keep everything in tip-top shape.”
“I know, Mr. Banner, but I still have to do my job.”
Ian watched as the man got busy. First, he washed his hands. He checked all their food storage, including using a thermometer to test the temperature of the freezer and refrigerator. He even tested the internal temperature of the food in the freezer. He looked over the shelves and saw they were clean and well-organized. He saw that all their prep tools were color coordinated to prevent cross-contamination. He checked the tableware and that there weren’t any entry points for pests to sneak in. He did all the things he’d just done a short time ago.
He was damn thorough, and Ian was glad because he had nothing to worry about. He kept things exactly the way they should be. Rialto meant so much to him, and keeping it up to code was important to him.
The inspector stayed to watch them work as they began prepping for lunch. Ian’s employees used the sink that was designated for handwashing often, and they kept everything separated the way they should. Several of them threw nervous glances at the health inspector, and Ian didn’t blame them. He was like a dark presence, looming over them to ensure no one made a mistake.
Inside, Ian was a mass of fury. Hot acid kept flowing up his throat. He could no longer think these were all random attacks coming along at the same time. This was someone out to get his restaurant, and the thought was like a fist to his gut. He had another enemy and just when he had so many good things going on in his life.
Ian closed his hands into fists before he forced himself to jump into the fray. He put on his apron and thoroughly washed his hands before heading to the vegetable section to chop veggies for the lunch salads. Might as well help and keep busy while he was there early.
By the time the health inspector was done, Ian was quivering from all the repressed anger. Rialto had passed with flying colors, which he wasn’t surprised about in the least. But still, the thought of multiple complaints made him sick. Something was definitely going on. He just wished he had some idea of why. His phone rang and he pulled it out to see Hollis calling.
He took the call in his office, happy to be in the privacy of the small room to decompress.
“How did it go?” his husband asked, and he felt warmth swell in his chest at the very welcome sound of that voice.
“Apparently, there were enough complaints about food poisoning to send the inspector here fast.”
“Wouldn’t you have heard something about that beforehand?”
“You’d think, but I didn’t.”
“It sounds like someone has it out for the restaurant.”
“It does,” Ian agreed as he sat in his office chair and rubbed his eyes. “What am I going to do, Hollis?”
“I don’t know, baby. Don’t think there’s much you can do with the kinds of attacks you’re getting. They’re all being done through professional channels. You looked into one of those reputation firms, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” Ian sighed, his eyes gritty and irritated as he worked to blink back tears. James was looking into the top three companies who did everything from monitoring blogs to populating search engines with positive information. But the attacks were happening so fast, Ian felt overwhelmed. He just wanted to go home and crawl into his man’s arms and forget about the world for a while. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Was sad when you had to take off so fast this morning. I was enjoying the cuddle.”
“I thought you were asleep.”
“It’s hard to sleep when your perfect little body is against me.”
“Aw, I’m not that little.” But he did like their size difference and the way his husband could carry him around the condo. There was nothing like the feeling of safety in Hollis’s strong arms. He sighed, hating that he had to get off the phone. “I should help with the lunch prep, but thanks for calling.”
“We’ll figure this out, Ian,” Hollis said softly before he hung up.
Ian helped get lunch going and when everything was working smoothly, he walked out into his restaurant to see that all the tables were full, and people still waited to be seated. Word of all the problems hadn’t gotten out enough to damage traffic at least. He’d ask James to review the numbers over the past month, see if there had been any drop in sales or reservations.
As his eyes skimmed over the restaurant one last time, he spotted a friend at
a table and walked to greet Lucas.
“I didn’t know you were coming in today,” he said as he stood beside the table.
“Got time to join me?” Lucas waved at the booth seat across from him. He was dressed in a gray classic Brioni suit, looking fabulous as usual.
“Of course.” Ian sat and worked to bring himself under control. He didn’t want to worry Lucas with his problems. “Andrei with Daci?”
“She’s actually with the nanny today. Andrei is at Ward Security, and I’m headed home after this lunch. I’ve been pulling too many long hours lately. I miss her. But I wanted a good lunch and time with my friend if he had it first.” He picked up his menu, then set it down. “What’s the special for lunch today?”
“Parmesan bread pudding with broccoli rabe and pancetta. Lots of pancetta, so right up your alley.”
“I’ll be ordering that then.” He waved the server over and smiled up at Johnny, who gave Ian a nervous glance. He was fairly new. He set down a water glass in front of Ian. Lucas already had his.
“We’ll both have the special,” Ian said, “and bring out the new Italian roasted coffee for us both as well.”
“Will do, Chef.” He hurried away.
“I’ve told him to call me Ian, but he forgets.” Ian took a sip of his water, glad when it helped chase away the dryness in his throat from all his anger that morning. He forced himself to relax into the booth, enjoying the sounds of utensils and the voices of people around them. He glanced over to see that a lot of people were eating the special, and his heart gave a little pitter-pat of happiness. His restaurant was still going strong, despite someone’s attempts to cause problems.
He looked up to find Lucas’s gaze pinned on him, a frown of concentration on his handsome face. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Do I look like something’s wrong?” Because damn, he was working hard not to look that way.
“I know you better than anyone in this restaurant. So yes, I can tell there’s a problem. Foster classes going well?”
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