A serious look comes over him, and he throws the cloth aside, turning me over to spoon me close. The warmth of Raffi's body pressed against mine makes me feel so secure. So…cherished. The scent of our mingled sweat and the soft sound of his breaths as we lie entangled in each other brings me a peace I've never known before.
"No," he says at last. "It's not like that all the time. But I think…with you, I think it would be. Sweets, I…"
I wait, heart pounding for a different reason, wondering what he's about to say. But he just kisses my shoulder and stays silent. I take a breath, find my courage.
I'm about to speak, to pour my foolish heart out, when our quiet moment shatters with a sudden banging on the door.
CHAPTER 26
RAFFI
"JesusChrist,"I hiss as I pull my clothes on. "Do I have to hang a damn Do Not Disturb sign on the door?"
Darian snorts. I haveneverheard such an undignified sound coming out of him, and the look of surprise on his face suggests he's never done it before, either.
With a grin, I plant a quick kiss on his forehead. Oz Santarelli's voice filters through the main door of the suite again. "Raf, you in there?"
"Stay there," I tell Darian automatically. I shut the bedroom door, then crack open the main door just enough to see Oz, his chest heaving as if he's run all the way here. "What's going on?"
"Ms. Rochford…has reported…Chops Lollo…missing," Oz pants, struggling to catch his breath. "We went around and had a look, but…" He shakes his head. "Then I ran down here to let you know. Didn't seem the kind of thing to put over the airwaves—yet."
Shit.
"Get every available non-essential guard into the salon. I'll be there in ten." I shut the door before Oz can respond, locking it again with a soft click.
"What's happened?" Darian asks when I return to the bedroom. He sits up in bed, clutching the sheet to his chest. The sight of him like that rips at my heart. He's so vulnerable…
"Chops Lollo is missing—or gone—I don't know, I have to go deal with it." I pull off the robe and wash as fast as I can, then dress.
Do I really think someone got the jump on Chops? Six foot seven, built like a tank, trained in personal protection?
Or is he the killer we've been looking for, gone rogue?
"Be careful," Darian murmurs, and it takes everything in me not to crawl back into bed and stay with him.
"Always am." I give him a quick kiss again before leaving the room, mentally switching gears from lover to head of security as I lock the door behind me.
Sometimes I wonder how the others do it. Sandro and Jack. It can't be fun to know your lover could get caught up in these things. Jack keeps Miller as far away as he can most of the time, while Sandro has Teddy here for formal events, but always with extra protection around the place.
Leo and Julian are different, of course.
But Darian?
Darian's an innocent, and he's right here in the middle of this mess, and he's only got me.
Looking around the house guards gathered in the salon, I take a deep breath and shove my personal feelings aside. It's past midnight now, and time is of the essence. I need to focus on finding Chops.
"Listen up," I say, raising my voice a little over the murmurs, and they die down. "Chops Lollo is apparently missing. Anyone seen him? Or seen anything out of the ordinary? Speak up."
"Uh, I think I saw him talking to Ms. Rochford earlier," offers Marco Vecchi.
"Very fucking suspicious," chuckles another guard.
"Not helpful," I snap. "Okay, I'm about to go up and speak to Ms. Rochford, but before I do, tell me anything I need to know."
Voices overlap as a bunch of them try to relay the sequence of events. But none of the details add up. The security footage shows nothing amiss—Chops hasn't been wandering outside, and no unauthorized access points were breached. No one has hacked the video feed, so far as anyone can tell. Gino Bernardi had a few visitors to his wing today, but all of them were sanctioned—people like Jack and Leo, or the kitchen staff.
At least we know Chops Lollo is still inside the house. That narrows it down some, though I want to cover all my bases.
