Page 87 of The One-Night Heist

“Yes, that would be fine,” I replied before carefully placing the phone receiver back on the base, willing myself to remain calm.

Everything's under control.

As I pulled on the robe and tied it closed, my gaze trailed over Rowen’s sleeping form, his deceptively innocent face peaceful and his naked body half-tangled in the sheets, covered in bite marks.

Mine.

I hated to wake him, especially after how little convincing it took for him to spend the night in my bed, but Franz and Mick would be arriving at any moment

“Ro…” I gently shook his shoulder and leaned down to kiss the skin behind his ear. “You need to get up.”

“Oh, I’m up, Moneybags, trust me…” he mumbled into the pillow, giving me a saucy wiggle of his tempting ass. “And if you come back to bed, I’ll let you make sweet, sweet looove to me again—just like you did last night.”

I wish.

“Rowen.” I used as firm a tone as possible considering how badly I wanted to bury myself inside him and never leave. “There’s a… problem.”

He cracked open an eye just as someone began banging on the door.

“What the…?” He shot up into a seated position, eyes wide and red hair sticking up in all directions. “Who the fuck is that?!”

“It’s just Franz and Mick,” I soothed, tossing him another robe which he hurriedly pulled on after stumbling off the bed. “But they said it’s urgent…”

The knocking intensified as he smoothed his hands through his wild hair and glanced around, clearly attempting to get his bearings. “Okay. Okay, I’ll just… grab my things and sneak into the adjoining suite, and you can pretend to come in and wake me up and⁠—”

What?

“No,” I growled, advancing and grabbing his arm, pulling him closer, making him gasp. “I told you, I don’t want to hide anymore.”

Rowen rolled his eyes, even as he let me maneuver him. “You want to hard launch our relationship status in the middle of an urgent crisis, Giano? How very Bonnie and Clyde of us…”

My blood ran cold. “We’re not fugitives, Rowen.”

Right?!

He sighed and patted my chest before gesturing toward the sound of increasingly frantic knocking. “I guess we’ll see. Lead the way.”

I suddenly questioned the wisdom of telling the hotel clerk to send everyone up—and of not getting dressed beforehand—but my anxiety wouldn’t rest until I knew the facts. So I released Rowen’s arm, slid on my practiced impassive mask, and hurried to greet our visitors.

“Sorry about this, Giano,” a visibly flustered—and noticeably disheveled—Franz brushed past me the moment I opened the door. “But Agent Lowry called this morning as a courtesy and… what the hell happened here?!”

I turned and took in the full scope of the scene from Franz’s perspective. Our discarded clothing was scattered across the floor, along with pillows from the couch and a lamp we must have knocked over in our initial haste to get to the bedroom. The remains of our room service feast was spread over the coffee table, and I knew more could be found in the bedroom, where we’d continued our movie marathon during dessert.

Among other things…

It admittedly looked like there had been either a wild party or a brawl—or both—but as I followed Franz’s angry gaze to where Rowen leaned in the bedroom doorway, with his signature smirk and bruised evidence of my claiming on clear display, I knew the mess wasn’t the issue.

Too bad.

“We ordered in,” I coolly replied, allowing my gaze to pointedly drift to where Mick was lurking just inside the entrance with Franz’s carry-on in hand. “I trust you enjoyed your evening as well?”

Franz blushed as Mick tossed the luggage off to the side and kicked the door shut behind him.

“Sure did,” the other man snickered. Then he grabbed a pack of peanuts from the minibar before flopping onto the very chair his foster brother had occupied last night. “But now shit has hit the fan. Apparently.”

“What do you mean?” Rowen snapped, but Mick just tossed a handful of peanuts into his mouth and shrugged.

“It doesn’t look good, Giano.” Franz removed his fedora and fidgeted with the brim—a clear tell that he was upset. “As I said, Lowry contacted me as a courtesy… so there wouldn’t need to be a scene…” He blew out a shaky breath. “Someone called in an anonymous tip and la polizia are requesting both of you come down to the station until things get sorted.”