“That’s not what I meant,” Vlad gritted out, his accent suddenly much thicker. “I’m not a native speaker, you misunderstood me.”
Luke raised his eyebrows. “That’s awfully convenient. You’re forgetting I’m in a relationship with a Russian. Roman plays the foreigner card when it suits him, too. Come on, spill.”
Vlad heaved an irritated sigh, turning his face away. “Drop it. And don’t compare us to you and Roman.”
Luke grinned. “Us?”
Vlad shot him a withering look and closed his eyes demonstratively.
For a while, he was silent.
“The police thinks a few minor members of the cult might still be out there,” he said at last. “That’s why I asked about him. That’s all.”
Luke frowned. “You think Sebastian might still be in danger?”
“Maybe,” Vlad said, without opening his eyes. “Crazy fanatics are the hardest to predict.”
Luke studied him, but it was impossible to tell whether Vlad considered the danger serious or not.
“Maybe you should go check on Sebastian,” Luke said slowly. When Vlad didn’t react, he decided to make it an order. “I want you to go check on Sebastian. Make sure his place is secure.”
Vlad opened his eyes. He looked toward the private lift before dropping his gaze and shaking his head. “I’ll go after you go to bed. It’s safer that way.”
“Go now,” Luke said. He knew Vlad had installed some complicated security system in the flat in case Vlad had to leave him alone at night. Vlad had never used it before, because with the exception of the trip to Sebastian’s hometown, he was adamant about staying close 24/7 even though it wasn’t required by his contract. Roman had been right that Vlad was nothing if not dedicated to the job, going above and beyond requirements. “I’ll stay put,” Luke said. “You can go now.”
“I’ll go after you go to bed,” Vlad said with finality.
Luke eyed him for a moment before nodding and standing up. “I’m going to bed, then.”
Vlad looked at him suspiciously. “After I turn on the security system, you won’t be able to leave your room without tripping it.”
Luke shrugged and faked a yawn. “I’m really beat,” he said, and headed to his bedroom.
By the time Luke emerged out of the en-suite, Vlad knocked on the door and said, “You can’t leave your bedroom until my return.”
“Okay,” Luke said, climbing into his very soft, very empty bed. He sighed. “Vlad?”
“What?” Vlad said, his impatience barely concealed.
“When was the last time you spoke with Roman?” Luke said, without looking at Vlad. “He hasn’t called me in two days.” He had been wanting to ask Vlad all day, but his pride hadn’t let him. He didn’t want to seem like a clingy baby. He had hoped Roman would call by the evening—he had promised to call every day—and there wouldn’t be a need to ask Vlad. Except Roman hadn’t called. He had never missed a call before.
There was a pause before Vlad replied, “Three days ago.”
Luke closed his eyes, biting his lip hard.
“It’s not the first time Roman has gone missing for a few days,” Vlad said gruffly. “Stop being a worry-wart.”
Was he actually trying to comfort Luke?
“Thanks,” Luke said with a small smile. Roman was right: Vlad wasn’t that bad.
Vlad just grunted and shut the door.
Hugging his pillow, Luke squeezed his eyes shut and told himself to stop being stupid. Vlad was right. Roman was fine. He was probably worrying over nothing. Please let me be worried over nothing.
At times like this, Luke almost wondered whether it was worth it. But then he thought of Roman’s arms around him, his masculine, comforting scent, his firm lips, his beard tickling Luke’s face—and missed him so badly that something hurt deep inside him.
“Come back,” he whispered, barely audibly.
Trying to distract himself, Luke thought about Sebastian and Vlad. Truth be told, he wasn’t all that sure he’d done the right thing by urging Vlad to go check on Sebastian. He could see that Vlad had some sort of feelings for Sebastian—it had been impossible to be in the same room as those two and remain oblivious to the thick, almost suffocating sexual tension between them—but Luke wasn’t sure Vlad and Sebastian could ever work. There was something disturbing about the way Vlad looked at Sebastian: like he hated him and craved him at the same time. Taking Vlad’s deeply ingrained homophobia into consideration, it was a recipe for disaster. Luke could only hope he hadn’t made a huge mistake and things wouldn’t turn ugly at Sebastian’s flat.
Chapter 19
Roman was going to kill him if something happened to his precious boy while Vlad was out. It didn’t matter that the danger was minimal after the cult had been caught (he might have exaggerated a little when he’d told Luke about the police’s concerns) and the security in Luke’s building was top-notch. No security system was impenetrable. Not to mention that it was a little worrying that Roman hadn’t contacted either of them in a few days.