another chunk of tension broke away. He exhaled another deep breath, tightening his hold around Ben’s waist and pulling him closer. The thought of missing out on the chance of having moments like this with Ben had him ducking his head at the crook of Ben’s neck and breathing him in.
Being in the line of fire wasn’t new. His role of bodyguard for clients had resulted in a few close encounters. But this time had been different.
The thought of never having a chance to hold Ben this way had sent a tremor of panic through his system.
Just as it did in that very moment.
He closed his eyes when a calming hand stroked the back of his neck, soothing the sudden tension away with ease.
The quiet man in his arms was powerful, strong in his ability to ward off the fear Bull had fought so hard to keep buried these last few days. He pushed his nose into Ben’s hair, inhaling his scent, willing the strength of this silent man to invade his senses. With every minute that ticked by, another layer of tension fell away.
He hadn’t realized how quickly time had passed until the back door opened and Julian’s voice tore into their private bubble. “Sorry, man, curfew’s a bitch.”
He glanced up at Julian and nodded, reluctantly breaking free of the embrace. Julian retreated into the house and shut the door, but the fucker turned on the back light as a reminder their time was up. Bull tapped his watch when Ben backed away with a frown.
“Call me when you get home,” Ben signed.
“Video chat tonight?”
Ben nodded. “I want to make sure you get home. I want to make sure you’re okay. And I want to know what happened.” He hesitated for a moment and bit into his lip as he surveyed Bull’s face, carefully observing him as he often did. “We don’t have to if you’re too tired,” Ben added, his hand movements slow and hesitant.
“Never too tired for you.”
Ben reached out and flattened his hand against Bull’s forearm.
The caring gaze and smile aimed at him was exactly what he had needed, and the touch against his skin brushed away the last bit of tension lingering in his body. Refusing to push his luck with Julian or Matt or risk getting Ben in trouble, he signed a thank-you and stood. He made his way to his SUV a few steps away, stealing a glance back at Ben.
He had toyed with the idea of slowing things down with his work—a lighter schedule with less travel and more time at home. But an empty house with no one to share things with had killed that thought almost as quickly as it had appeared.
Until Ben.
Now, the once planted idea had finally taken root. And Bull refused to let a chance at the dream slip through his fingers.
He would come up with a plan in the coming days after his mind settled.
Tonight, he had a video chat date with Ben, and that was mission critical.
“And what about Patrick? Did you reach out to him already?”
“Yes, Bull,” Anthony said, not bothering to hide the frustrated sigh or the frown from the camera view. “And I called Shane in Chicago and Paul in Texas. We’re all on alert and have the escalated plan you sent over yesterday.”
Bull nodded as he took another sip of his coffee. Sitting at his worktable for an early morning conference call with only a few hours of sleep to fuel him wasn’t his idea of a good morning, but he had a big to-do list to get through. Everyone at Davenport headquarters knew about Rachel’s meetings as did everyone she met with and likely their business teams. Narrowing down the list of suspects with such a large pool would have exhausted far more resources.
“Did you have the call with Vic?” Anthony asked.
Bull shook his head as he set his mug on the tabletop. “No. I gave him a heads-up I was stopping by his office after we wrap up our call. I want to make sure I have his undivided attention.”
“Do you mind giving us a few minutes?” Rachel asked, squeezing Anthony’s shoulder.
Anthony looked into the camera and smirked. “Someone’s in trouble.” He rose from the office chair and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Jerk. The prick had a little more pep in his step than usual.
Rachel sat in Anthony’s chair and remained quiet for a few beats before she finally spoke. “How are you holding up?”