Chapter Twenty-Two
Rory
Rory eagerly awaited Andrew’s arrival. He’d heard from his friend Nolan that morning and he’d been ecstatic to get the food donation from Everett. Rory had spent his morning putting the finishing touches on the special surprises he had for Nick and Andrew and sizing an engagement ring. Now that lunch was almost here, Rory couldn’t wait for his date with Andrew.
Back when Everett had first suggested bringing a third person into the relationship, it had seemed like a ludicrous idea and Rory had rejected it. At first. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed to be a potential solution. Then Nick befriended Andrew and Nick fell for Andrew. And Rory would be a huge liar if he pretended that he didn’t feel something for him, too.
The bells above the door jingled and Rory turned. Andrew was a little grubby from his job at the construction site, but that made Rory want to kiss him even more. “Hey handsome.” Rory waltzed over to Andrew and pecked him on the lips. “You ready for our date? There’s a great little place around the corner where Nicky and I go, or we can venture out and find our own place.”
“I’m not picky, so long as it’s not fancy. I’m a little dirty.”
“We could run out and get sandwiches from the deli around the corner then I could give you the grand tour of my office.” Rory trailed a finger down Andrew’s chest. Behind Andrew, the bell jingled again. “I’m so sorry,” Rory called out. “We’re closing for lunch.” Normally he’d stick around and make a sale, but he really wanted to get Andrew alone in his office.
“This won’t take a minute.”
Rory and Andrew turned to look at the customer at the same time and Rory felt the blood drain from his face. “Now, friend. Don’t do anything hasty.”
The robber wore a ski mask and was probably as tall as Andrew, and broader, he’d have been intimidating without the Glock. He swung the gun and aimed it at Andrew. “You, get on your face.” He motioned to the floor. “Do it. Now!”
Thankfully, Andrew listened. Rory’s stomach clenched, and he broke out in a cold sweat. Andrew laid on the floor at his feet, he linked his hands behind his head. The robber pointed the gun at Rory and tossed a couple of canvas bags on the counter. “Fill them. Make it fast.”
Rory had no desire to piss off the man with the gun. With shaking hands, he grabbed the first bag and walked around the counter. He opened the display case, grabbed a handful of jewelry and shoved it in.
“Hurry up.”
Rory tried to go faster, but the more he tried to hurry, the more his hands shook. He managed to fill the first bag, and he moved to the next counter. Rory dropped the first bag on the counter and opened the second. He shoved necklaces and bracelets into it until the case was empty and the bag full. He set the second bag on the counter and watched as the robber snatched it.
“Get on the floor. Don’t move.”
Rory lowered himself to the floor and stretched out on his stomach. Footsteps. The bells above the door jingled and Rory exhaled. One minute there had been a gun pointed at him and the next minute, Andrew’s hands gripped his biceps. Rory blinked the world back into focus and he stared dumbly at Andrew, who knelt next to him.
“Roar, we need to call the police.” Andrew was pale, and his wide eyes and pale skin made him look terrified.
“Yes. Absolutely. Lock the door, will you?” Rory came back into himself slowly. As he forced himself to his feet and fumbled with his phone, he tried to recall the last few minutes. There was Andrew, and Rory’s dirty thoughts about him. Then the guy with the gun and Andrew on the floor while Rory shoved jewelry into bags. What Rory remembered most was the gun and the way it trembled in the hands of the robber.
Andrew plucked the phone from Rory’s hands and made the call to the police. Andrew gathered Rory in his arms and held him close. “You’re not hurt. I’m not hurt. He took some things, but you probably have insurance.” Andrew squeezed him tighter. “Do you need to sit down? You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine.” Rory said automatically.
“You’re not. I’m not either.”
Rory gripped Andrew’s shirt and exhaled. He swayed a little, and clung tighter to Andrew, who was positively the only thing holding him up. He buried his face against Andrew’s chest. He tried a few deep breathing exercises as he attempted to calm himself, but they helped only marginally. He was vaguely aware of Andrew talking on the phone again. He’d kept one arm looped around Rory while he talked to someone who had to be his boss.
His phone rang, and Andrew answered. “Yeah, we’re fine. Promise. We’ll fill you in when you get here.” A pause. “He’s pretty shaken. Yeah. Okay. See you soon.” The call ended and Rory knew it had been Nick on the phone.
Once he got off the phone, Andrew wrapped his other arm around Rory. He rubbed Rory’s back in long, slow strokes. “Nick’s on his way.”
The tension in Rory’s shoulders started to ease. “You’re good in a crisis.” Rory mused.
“I’m okay.” Andrew kissed the top of Rory’s head. “You’re okay, too.”
Rory laughed, and the strangled, watery sound that came out instead, shocked him.
Andrew held him tighter. “The police are here, Rory. I have to let them in.”
He’d expected Andrew to let him go, an icy fear flooded through him at the thought, but Andrew kept an arm looped around Rory’s waist and he walked them both to the door. The click of the lock disengaging made Rory flinch.
Andrew let two police officers in who Rory might have recognized on a good day. He did his best to stay focused and answer their questions, but it was hard to stay focused when he was counting down the minutes until Nick arrived.
The bells above the door signaled another arrival and Rory found himself enveloped in familiar arms.
“Fucking hell, Roar.” Nick croaked. “Andrew, you guys are okay, right?” Nick pulled away and Rory nodded. “What happened? I heard the call on the radio. I got here as fast as I could.” Nick asked, he didn’t seem to know who to touch or who to look at, and Rory understood that feeling. Right now, all he wanted was to go home with his men and curl up in their bed together and kiss them and touch them and convince himself that they weren’t going anywhere. Rory needed Andrew to hold him tight, and he needed Nick to kiss away his fears and as he gazed at them, both so calm, as Andrew detailed the event, Rory suddenly wondered if either of them needed him at all.
The thought made him queasy, but he couldn’t shake it. Andrew and Nick had each other, and Andrew had taken charge of the situation, while Rory stood there using all his available mental capacity to keep his quivering bowels from trembling him into embarrassment.
When Andrew pulled Rory against him again, it was hard to let himself feel the same level of relief that he’d felt earlier. Right now, he had everything. He wouldn’t care if someone had taken every bit of jewelry in his store, he had Nick and Andrew. He tried to hold on to that thought, but the fear that he could lose them was greater.
He stood there, as more police showed up, and answered questions by rote, giving what little information he could. Nick was the bigger help. He retrieved the security footage for his colleagues and took control of the situation. Andrew tugged Rory into his office and made him sit down while the police conducted their investigation.
“Come on, Roar.” Andrew said as he coaxed him up out of the chair. “Let’s go home.”
Rory blinked almost sleepily as Nick stepped in front of him and cupped his cheek. “Are you okay, Roar?”
Rory closed his eyes and nodded. “Just take me home.” Rory reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys, which Nick promptly confiscated. “Hey.” Rory balked and tried to reach for his keys, but Nick pocketed them.
“Andrew is driving you home. You look exhausted. I have to finish up here, but I’ll be home soon, okay.”
Rory wanted to argue, but then he saw the look of concern on Nick’s face and he relented without a fight. “Okay.” He kissed Nick. He didn’t know if he should, seeing as how Nick was on duty, but it was just the three of them in Rory’s office so he indulged himself and quickly brushed his lips against Nick’s. “See you soon?”
Nick nodded. “I need to wrap things up here, but I’ll be home as soon as I can, okay?”
Rory nodded and gathered his jacket and let Andrew take him home.
Andrew, it turned out, was not only good in a crisis but also in the aftermath. While Rory was still a quivering mess of terror and nerves, Andrew stayed calm and collected. He took Rory home and brewed him a tea, then took him out to his sanctuary just off their bedroom. It was Rory’s favorite space, and it meant a lot to Rory that Andrew knew to bring him out here.
“Sit down, Roar.” Andrew said as he set Rory’s tea down in front of him. Rory, feeling suddenly frail and helpless and not at all himself, wrapped his hands around his tea cup. The ceramic was shockingly warm and Rory absorbed the heat.
Andrew shot him a strange, sad look and Rory felt a pang of guilt, so he offered him an apologetic half-smile. “You’re good at this, you know.” Unlike me. “And you were good back at the store, too.” Unlike me. “And during…”
“I thought I was going to shit myself when I saw that gun.” Andrew sat next to him. He slung an arm around Rory and tugged him closer.
“You seemed so calm.”
“I was freaking out on the inside.” Andrew glanced at him. “Sort of the way you’re doing right now.”
“I’m fine.” He meant to sound insistent, but the tremor in his voice and the way water pooled in the corners of his eyes gave him away. Rory covered his face and sucked in a deep breath.
“Roar. Roar, look me.”
Rory forced himself to take his hands off his face and look at Andrew. He stared at Andrew, unblinking for a long moment and finally saw the fear that he hadn’t been able to see before. Rory furrowed his brow. “You called me Roar.”
“Nick calls you Roar. I didn’t think you’d mind. I sort of like it.” Andrew’s cheeks pinked.
“I sort of like it too.” Rory’s stomach clenched as he thought about the gun being pointed at Andrew. And him. Either one of them could’ve been shot and killed. Rory had seen it before. Not in person, but in a million stories on the news. Lives torn apart. Families mourning their lost loved ones. And Rory could have lost it all. The knowledge that there was so much left undone, so much left unsaid, gripped his heart.
“Is there room in there for one more?”
Rory turned so fast, he sloshed his tea. He yelped a little and wiped his hand on his pants. “Nicky. I didn’t expect you home so soon.”
“I’m magic, what can I say?” Nick smiled at Rory, but it was tight and his face looked pinched. “You okay, Roar?”
Rory rolled that question around in his head. Neither he nor Andrew had been injured. Things could be replaced. He had good insurance. The most important things in his store were tucked away in the bottom drawer of the desk in his office. Scratch that, Rory thought.
The most important things were right here. Rory exhaled for what felt like the first time in hours. “I’m okay. Today was awful, but it’s over now.” Rory rolled his shoulders to loosen the tension and he took another deep breath. “Today was shit, Nicky, absolute shit, but today helped me realize something.”
Nick arched an eyebrow as he stripped out of his shirt. “Yeah? What’s that?”
“I love you.” Rory brought his gaze back to Andrew. “And you. My men. My everything.” Rory kept his gaze on Andrew and said words that were meant for them both. “I love both of you.”