Boone's Cowboy [Rescue for Hire 8] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) (6 page)

Shane’s big hand came down on top of Tony’s and held on tight. Never before had Tony needed his rock, lover, and his commander’s strength as he did right now.

* * * *

Boone relaxed back into the canvass chair and stared at the golden flames feeding off thick chunks of wood. Nothing relaxed a man more than a cold beer and a campfire.

The only thing better would be if a certain cowboy were sitting next to him.

Buzzing vibrated Boone’s front pocket. A glance at the screen revealed a number he didn’t recognized. It sparked his interest that the area code and first three numbers were the same as the cowboy he was just thinking about.

“Hello,” he answered, hoping to hear the cowboy’s voice.

“Hi, my name is Tony Grayson. We met about five years ago at Whiting Field Navy Base in Milton, Florida. We ended up together fixing a computer navigating system for the Coast Guard before you were called out on a mission.”

Boone pushed aside his disappointment that it wasn’t Flynn on the other end of the phone. Thinking back, he remembered a handsome Italian man whose knowledge of computer systems was extraordinary. One night after spending the day straightening out a radar glitch in one of the computers, they had partied until walking became a problem. Boone had been more than willing to get horizontal with Tony, but Tony had been dating someone at the time.

“I remember you, Tony. How are you?” Boone responded.

“Well, I’ve ran into a health problem that I’m hoping will be cleared up in no time. I’m calling because the company I work for, Rescue for Hire, is getting shorthanded and I’m putting a list together of potential men with certain specialties to present to my boss. I was wondering if you’d be interested at being included on that list and are available if my boss decides to contact you.”

After meeting Tony and hearing firsthand about Rescue for Hire, he’d liked what he learned. One day he thought he might apply for a position there. It looked like lady luck was smiling on him today.

“I would like to be included on that list,” Boone said. “I’m between things right now and am taking a break. But I had planned on looking for work in the next week or so.”

“That works out perfect,” Tony said

Over the phone Tony’s voice sounded relieved. Boone’s senses were telling him Tony’s heath was worse than he was letting on and that Boone was going to be contacted by Rescue for Hire soon.

“All right then, I’ll be waiting for a call,” Boone said.

“Have a great time on your camping trip,” Tony said.

Boone chuckled. “With your computer abilities, why am I not surprised you know exactly where I am?”

“Because you would do the same thing,” Tony said.

Both men were laughing when the call ended

Boone sat back and pictured a bearded man with a gorgeous hairy chest wearing a straw cowboy hat. As far as he was concerned, their reunion was one step closer.

* * * *

Shane didn’t move a muscle. They’d taken his reason for living away over an hour ago. Shane waited, never taking his eyes off the door, hoping a nurse would come out and tell him what was happening inside the operating room.

“Breathe, Shane,” Cade said quietly.

Shane automatically pulled air into his lungs. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that Tony could have cancer.

“I should be in there with him,” he stated.

“You tried, man. But the doctor smartly told you, you don’t belong in an operating room,” Cade pointed out

“I should be with him,” Shane said again.

“Right, and the second the doctor cut Tony, you’d have him pinned to the wall by his neck,” Cade pointed out.

Shane nodded, acknowledging that Cade had a point.

“Tony came to my office for a private meeting the other day,” Cade said.

That got Shane’s attention. Turning his head, he looked at his brother sitting next to him. “What did he say?”

“He pointed out that Rescue for Hire is running with the bare minimum of personnel, and he recommended I start looking for a few more people.”

“You aren’t thinking of replacing Tony just because of this, are you?” Treble straightened from his slouched position in a chair near the corner of the room. He was the team’s weapons expert, and nobody could deny he had an attitude.

“No,” Cade said firmly, looking at everyone to reassure their small group. Every member of Rescue for Hire and their partners were gathered around, showing their support for Shane and Tony. Some of Tony’s family sat on the other side of the room. They had come and talked with Shane for a while, but gradually they found chairs near the television and soda machine.

“So what are your thoughts, boss?” Jack asked. He had been the head paramedic for the team until a rescue went wrong, injuring him and Cade, taking them both out of the field. Jack now kept all the equipment in top condition and took care of ordering and keeping their supplies stocked. He also, along with their current field medic, Gabriel, taught basic first aid and CPR classes.

“Tony recommended a few people for me to look into. I’d like to bring one of them here immediately for an interview,” Cade said.

“What’s he got, boss?” Damian, the pilot for the company, asked.

“Ex-Navy, specializing in electronics and bombs,” Cade answered.

“Electronics?” Gabriel asked.

“He’s an expert in computers, navigational equipment, and telecommunication devices that I’ve never heard of but can’t wait to see,” Cade explained.

“Will he fit in?” Alex asked. He had been the head tracker before a bullet ruined his hip. A hip replacement allowed him to walk again. Now he was working with law enforcement and accepting government contracts to train dogs and teach people the art of tracking and finding people.

“He’s gay, knows his stuff, and from all reports is wild as hell,” Cade said.

“Well, I’d say he’s going to fit right in.” Rock laughed, before raising one tattooed arm, and pushing a long dreadlock over his shoulder. Rock was the team’s new tracker.

The door opened, and a nurse walked into the room. Shane’s heart started pounding hard as she walked toward him.

“Mr. Miller, everything went well, and Tony is in recovery right now,” she told him. Shane stood up, ready to go to Tony. The nurse shook her head. “Relax, Mr. Miller. The doctor will be here soon to talk to you. By then, Tony should be out of recovery and back to his room. You can see him then.”

Shane wanted to be with Tony now, but he needed to know what had happened in the operating room. At best, they’d cut out the lump and Tony could heal and go on his way as usual. Shane couldn’t think of the ramifications if it was bad news. He wasn’t sure how he would react.

A long half hour later, Doctor Bonson walked into the room. Shade stood, trying to brace himself for what the doctor was about to tell him.

“Would you like to come into this private room?” The doctor gestured to a room off of the waiting room.

“It’s not big enough for us all, and everyone here is Tony’s and my family. Whatever you have to say can be said to us all,” Shane said.

“Okay. Well, sit,” the doctor ordered.

“Is Tony okay?” Shane asked.

“Yes, Tony made it through surgery very well,” the doctor said. “Shane, the biopsy of the lump came back malignant.”

Shane’s stomach seized, and part of him waited to hear the gun report from what had just felt like a bullet ripping through him. Helplessly, he looked at the doctor.

“We’ve caught the cancer in its early stages. We ended up doing a moderate radical mastectomy on one breast, as was Tony’s decision if the results proved positive for cancer. We left both pectoralis muscles but did take the lymph nodes as a precaution.”

Cade’s hand squeezed Shane’s arm. Shane still couldn’t speak.

“What happens next?” Cade asked.

“We’ll let Tony take a couple of weeks to heal, and then the team will prepare him for radiation,” the doctor answered.

“How long will his radiation last?” Cade asked. Shane was glad his brother had taken over.

“Five days a week for three weeks,” the doctor answered before looking at Shane. “I’ve placed a few tubes in his chest to drain any excess fluid. The nurse will make an appointment for him to come in later in the week and have them removed.”

Shane nodded.

“Do you have any other questions, Shane?” the doctor asked.

Shane shook his head no.

Doctor Bronson put his hand on Shane’s arm. “I know this wasn’t the news you had hoped for, but things went well in there. We’ve already discussed statistics and percentages. Tony’s are very good, and he is receiving the best care. I’ll check on him later tonight and tomorrow. He should be able to go home the following day. If you have any questions or concerns, call my office.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Shane managed to say. Inside he was screaming.

* * * *

Boone squeezed the throttle of his Polaris 800 four-wheeler. The three riders following him sped up and kept pace. He skillfully maneuvered a series of sharp curves on the remote trail through the thick woods. The three behind him had no trouble keeping up.

For the last week, Boone swam the lakes, climbed the sheer rock ledges, and enjoyed racing the four-wheeler over designated trails of the campground and the surrounding national forest. A couple of evenings he took out his Harley and enjoyed the night breeze on the back roads. For the first time since getting out of the Navy, Boone finally felt more like himself and not a caged rat.

Two days before, Boone had acquired three tagalongs. They followed and observed everything he did. It became obvious pretty quickly that they were making no effort to be subtle about it.

For a while, Boone had fun seeing if they could keep up with him. But now Boone had enough. If they wanted a cat and mouse game, he would give it to them. Veering off the trail, Boone parked the wheeler in a grove of small willows and took out a six-foot cable and padlock. After locking the wheeler to a tree, Boone took off running.

For the next two hours, Boone avoided Single-braid, Dreadlock, and the Other Guy. Fifteen minutes ago, they had separated in their search of him. From his perch high up in an old oak tree, Boone watched Dreadlock meticulously and expertly follow the elaborate trail Boone had created. Other Guy was good but not quite in the same category as Dreadlock.

Single-braid intrigued Boone. He watched the man use every one of his senses as he walked toward Boone’s tree. Single-braid didn’t say a word or react in any way when he spotted Boone in the tree. He just started climbing toward him until he was sitting on the thick branch below and kitty-corner to Boone.

“You’re good,” Single-braid stated relaxing back onto the branch.

Boone looked down at the man with hair so black it reminded him of a raven’s wing. He was shorte
r
and thinner than Boone with skin the color of coffee mixed with cream, and his eyes tilted at the corners. Instinctively, Boone knew the man could and would kill him in a heartbeat if he felt like it.

“What’s your name?” Boone asked.

“Treb Walker,” the man answered.

“Why are you and your friends following me?” Boone watched Treb scratch his nose. A knife glinted from a strap attached to his wrist. It matched the strap and knife encircling Boone’s wrist. That told Boone the man had major self-defense skills and more than likely had been a member of Special Forces.

“My boss asked us to contact you concerning a job proposition. We couldn’t resist seeing for ourselves what you’re made of. Our boss knows his stuff, but sometimes we like to have a bit of fun,” Treb answered.

“So you make a potential employee pass some kind of initiation or something?” Boone challenged. He recalled Tony’s phone call and figured he knew what company these guys were from.

“Sometimes, sure, if that’s the way you want to look at it.” Treb shrugged his shoulders.

“Cool.” Boone smiled.

“Would you like to go back and discuss the company we work for? We’re camping on the other side of the same campground you’re in,” Treb said.

“I know. I checked you out the first night you arrived,” Boone admitted.

Treb whistled long and low before he laughed. “I like you. I think you and I are going to get along.”

“I guess we’ll see how things go. Let’s go find a beer, and you can tell me about this company you work for. What’s the name of it?” Boone asked.

“Rescue for Hire,” Treb answered.

Excitement surged through Boone. He hadn’t mentioned it to Tony, but before he’d met the man in Florida he’d heard of Rescue for Hire. It didn’t matter what division of the armed forces a person was in, the grapevine of gossip spared no one. Scuttlebutt said if your skills were good enough, once you retired from the service, there might be a position at Rescue for Hire. The rumors also stated that if you had a homophobic bone in your body, don’t bother even applying.

Easily, Boone followed Treb out of the tree to join the other two men now standing at the bottom waiting for them. So far from what he’d seen, these guys were just as wild as he was. Boone wondered if his search for a place in life had ended. He also wondered if it somehow could include a certain sexy cowboy.

* * * *

The small glass vase shattered against the bedroom door after Shane’s hastily departing figure. Tony collapsed onto the floor in agony. He shouldn’t have used his right arm to throw the vase. Because the doctors didn’t take his pectoral muscles, he didn’t have much pain there. But his underarm hurt like a bitch, and the arm itself seemed to hang uselessly sometimes when he tried to use it. The doctor assured him this was normal after having the lymph nodes removed.

Tony lay on the floor and let the pain recede. Doc Bronson had taken the drain tubes out of his chest earlier today. Next week he was scheduled to have a tiny dot tattooed on his skin so the technicians knew where to direct the radiation.

Lifting his hand, Tony touched the bandages that covered the right side of his chest.
Cancer
echoed through his mind. He had
cancer
. He knew his thinking was screwed up. Pain pills combined with the thought that this horrible disease had invaded his body made him unbalanced.