Page 94 of Dangerous Rhythm

Marcus’ large presence filled the opening. The man was solid muscle and intimidating at first sight, especially when Curtis had first met him at the police station that fateful night in December. He’d quickly found out Marcus’ connections with the NYPD helped get him out of the station. With the case involving the Stilettos, the police had wanted his testimony as fresh as possible. Then the DA had insisted on keeping Curtis until they could talk to him in person. It’d been a long night—or morning, really.

Marcus patted Lina on the arm. “Good to see you, Major.”

Curtis could see Marcus’ regard of Lina from the affectionate but restrained gesture, though the concerned look he gave hersaid something else. It was interesting to see the dynamic between Lina and her mentor. There was trust, but right now Marcus was questioning her judgment in bringing Curtis home.

It was probably a good idea to keep their relationship under wraps for now, Curtis thought. He wanted Lina to be his, but he didn’t want to jeopardize her standing in B&Y Security.

“Curtis.” Marcus held out a beefy hand. “Glad you’re safe.”

“Thanks to Lina.” Curtis shook Marcus’ hand and immediately winced as the other man squeezed harder than necessary.

Oh, he knows.

The warning glint in Marcus’ eyes was crystal clear.Do not fuck around with Lina, or I’ll fuck you up.

Curtis mentally heard it loud and clear.

“Curtis,” a voice he didn’t expect to hear sent his gaze toward the door again.

Forgetting his aching hand, Curtis brightened at the sight of a familiar face. “Dean!”

He hugged his friend. He couldn’t tell what it was, but a burst of emotion overwhelmed him. He and Dean weren’t exactly close, but he was married to one of his closest friends and was a connection to his real life.

“You’re okay?” Dean asked, worry in his eyes.

Curtis nodded. “What are you doing here? God, it’s so good to see a familiar face.”

“Rae and I are worried about you. Everybody’s worried. Justin and Ram were ringing Rae’s phone nonstop when they couldn’t get ahold of either you or Brandon.”

“Fuck.” Curtis hadn’t thought Justin and Ram would’ve wondered where he and Brandon had disappeared to.

“They know what’s going on, but they won’t be relieved until they see you.” Dean squeezed Curtis’ arms in assurance. “Happy to see you in one piece.”

“We try to keep our clients in one piece,” Marcus said drily. “But that’ll be hard to do if the client insists on coming back to where it isn’t safe for him.”

“Why don’t we sit down and discuss that?” Lina interjected.

“Oh, Lina, I don’t think you’ve met Dean,” Curtis started an introduction.

“It’s good to meet you, Mr. Rowland.” Lina extended a hand to Dean. “Lina Cheung.”

“Miss Cheung. Or is it Major Cheung?”

“Lina, please,” she replied professionally, and ushered everyone to sit. “Please.”

Ken, instead of saying a greeting, winked at Curtis. He wondered what Ken was trying to convey to him. He found the older man hard to decipher. During their flight from Hong Kong, he had said little, but he’d been glued to his laptop, reading and doing things Curtis had no idea about.

“Is it safe if I call my wife?” Dean asked the security people, then explained to Curtis. “Rae wants to be here, but you know she can’t travel. She’s close.”

Right. Rae was in the last trimester of her pregnancy with her and Dean’s second child.

“How is she feeling?” Curtis asked.

“As uncomfortable as she was with Maya. But with her history of going into labor early, we didn’t want to risk her flying to New York.”

“Of course not. I’m surprised you’re here. You should be with your wife.”

“Her sister, Rowan, and Chris are with her. And my whole family, of course. She insisted I come when Marcus informed us you’d returned stateside.” Dean scanned his sharp gaze across the three B&Y people, pulling out his phone. “So, can I?”

---