Colorado Hitch (13 page)

In minutes, he’d erased any evidence of their presence in the Maryland area. Later, if the police went back to view the recordings, they wouldn’t find anything with the Wild Bluff crew.

When he pulled up the next segment of video from Maryland, Marshal called out. “I found Davis, and he looks fine.”

“Oh, thank God.” Relief flowed through him. Grant had been right, letting emotions get in the way of his work would only hamper him. He went back to reviewing videos in Maryland, glad that his man was okay.

Marshal’s phone rang and he answered quickly. Ryan couldn’t help but listen in a little as he worked on erasing the videos. He was close to having deleted their presence in Maryland when he heard Marshal say something about antibiotics.

“Hey, Ryan, I need you to fake a prescription and send it to a pharmacy near Tucker. Mike was injured, and they had to stitch him up.”

He nodded, relieved that it wasn’t Davis that had been hurt. “Okay, give me the location.”

A text popped up on his display, and he saw an address in Florida. He plugged that into some mapping software and searched for a pharmacy. He found one less than a mile away and logged into their system, faking that he was an established account and writing a script for one of Davis’s aliases for a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

After he'd finished with the script, Grant moved behind him and tapped the keyboard, pulling up another video of the team in Maryland going into the train station. Grant deleted the video and stood back. Ryan glanced up at him, his brows raised.

“I think the Maryland crew is good. Watch the cameras at other stations along their route. We don’t need to be haunted by any video evidence, showing where they get off the train. And go back through both Florida and Maryland traffic recordings and delete other traffic videos. We need it to look like a broad system failure,” Grant said.

“Sure.” He nodded to Grant before turning to Marshal. “I have a script for Davis at a pharmacy down the street from them. I’ll shoot the address and name back on the text I received.”

“Sounds good.” Marshal relayed the information to whoever he was on the phone with.

Ryan stood and wiped his hand over his face. “What else needs to be done?”

“After you delete some other random videos, we’ll regroup and go over what happened. Once we feel secure that we did all we could to get rid of their footprint linking them to Daphne, we’ll focus on getting our guys home.”

“Is it always like this?” This mission had been a pain in the ass so far. They’d had two explosions, almost lost Davis, and now one of their guys needed a fake prescription.

“No, some are bad, and I’ve been on a few doozies. We can chat about that tonight, once we take a break,” Grant said.

“Okay, I just need to use the restroom and get some more coffee then I’ll start doing random deletes. I’ve scrubbed their backup system of the files too. Many of these places are using cloud storage, but I feel confident that I've gotten everything. I've written over the locations where the files were stored, and I’m certain I’ve totally obliterated any evidence of them being in those locations. I’ll go back over the files, but I think we’re good.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. How did you know to look for the cloud storage sites?” Grant rubbed at the back of his neck. He looked stressed. Ryan wasn’t too surprised since this mission had gone to hell so quickly.

“I picked up the tip at training. A few of the guys were talking about computers, and I listened. Listening has taught me a lot.”

“Ryan, I think that’s the most intelligent thing I’ve ever heard. Maybe we’ll start sending you to trainings across the U.S. What you did was very valuable and probably saved us a lot.”

“Thank you. I’m going to grab some coffee and I’ll get back at it.”

He stepped out of the control room and into the kitchen, almost running into Duff. He paused and shook his head. Duff frowned then shrugged.

“I’m sorry about earlier.” Duff looked down at the ground then back to Davis. “I shouldn’t have even thought of leaving like that.”

He was hurt and angry. His stress was too high and he wasn’t in a good place. “Davis was missing for a few minutes. I thought he was dead. If you would have gone and he’d died, he never would have known that you were willing to abandon him again.”

“I was wrong. Since the heart attack, I haven’t felt right.” Duff rubbed his chest, his gaze sliding away again.

“Still not a good enough excuse. He just found out the truth about his past. He needs more from you. No, you may not be his biological father, but you are his father. He’s a good man, and you need to treat him better.”

Duff nodded, his gaze slowly rising to meet Ryan’s. “I will do better. You’re right, he deserves something more. Thank you for being good to him.”

Ryan pursed his lips then headed into the bathroom to splash water on his face before he made his way back into the kitchen to fix another pot of coffee. He was angry, no question about it. Once in the kitchen, he found that Duff already had a fresh pot going so he waited until it was almost done brewing before he poured himself another cup. This ranch and these guys had come to mean so much to him. It was more than just Davis—all of these men were becoming family, even Mike, who he’d had the least interaction with.

Once back in his spot in the control center, he deleted files, cleaned up their trail, got rid of some random video logs, and made sure they didn’t leave a trace. This was his family, and he would do nearly anything to protect them.

Chapter Seventeen

The team found a hotel in New York where they could crash. Zander went out to pick up some food while he and Billy made sure they were safe in their rooms. He logged onto his computer and then called Grant. When Grant answered and spoke, Roger breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Hey, we’re safe. What do I need to know?”

“Everyone is alive. Mike has been injured, but he’s okay. They’re in a hotel near the beach and will start making their way home tomorrow.”

Roger nodded then caught Billy’s worried look and gave him a thumbs up. “What happened?”

Grant cleared his throat. “The house exploded just before they entered.”

“Shit.” Roger shook his head and rubbed his forehead. Craig had caused so much trouble and he was still causing it, even though he was dead.

“Yeah, it could have been bad. They’re fine, though, except Mike has a cut. He’s been stitched up, but we’ll need to watch him.”

“Okay, good. I’m glad they’re fine. We’re going to fly out tomorrow.”

“Good, I’ll see you when you get back. We took care of your trail. It went cold quickly, and we planted false evidence. You’re good.”

“Thank you for taking care of that.” Roger breathed a sigh of relief, glad that they wouldn’t be hounded.

“Do you need anything right now?” Grant asked.

“No, I think we’re okay. Zander is out getting food. Billy and I are sitting in the hotel. We’ll search for any mention of our group, but if you say we’re good, I think we’ll be fine.”

“I miss you,” Grant said.

“I know. I miss you, too.”

A heavy sigh from Grant sounded. “This mission went to hell fast.”

Roger sat down on the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. “It did. She’s dead and it looks like a heart attack. I have the computer, but it’s fried. I’ll search through the hard drive and see if I can recover anything, but I don’t think I will.”

“Do what you can. We’ll do a full rundown once you get home.”

Roger closed his eyes, thinking about Grant. “Home, that sounds good. I’m glad I have a home with you.”

Grant sighed again, and Roger knew there was love mixed in with that sigh. “Call if you need anything.”

“Bye.” Roger hung up and turned to find Billy staring at him.

“Are they okay? What happened?” Billy’s brows were bunched and he looked like he was about to jump out of his own skin.

“They’re fine. Mike was injured, but they’re fine.”

Billy nodded, his lips twitched as his gaze met Roger’s. “How is Tucker?”

“He’s good. Daphne’s house in Florida exploded before they went in.”

Billy gasped. “Holy shit! Are you sure they are okay?”

“Yeah, no one died, and Mike is okay or he will be.”

Billy sat on the bed next to Roger and shook his head. “This sucks.”

“It does. This is the last of Craig, though. He can’t bully us anymore.”

“Shit, this really sucks. I want to call Tucker but I know I can’t.”

Roger squeezed Billy’s shoulder. “I know. It’s not fair, I got to talk to Grant.”

“No, it’s fine. Grant is at Wild Bluff running the ops. Tucker is on a mission. Calling him could put him in danger. I’m sure Grant or Marshal will tell him that I’m okay.”

The door opened and Zander stepped in, his face falling when he saw them. “What’s up?”

“Everyone is fine, but Mike was hurt. The house exploded before they could go in,” Roger said.

Zander rolled his shoulders and shook his head. “Okay, well, that’s not what I expected to hear. It seems like Craig just keeps fucking us up.”

Zander placed the food on the desk and grabbed three bottles of water out of the bag then three bottles of soda. They all moved, adjusting so they could eat as they sat. He stretched out on the floor, leaning against the bed. Billy sat in a chair at the desk, and Zander on the floor, leaning against the wall. They ate in silence and when Billy finished, he started investigating Daphne’s mangled computer.

“This doesn’t look good,” Billy said.

“Any way to hook up to it?” Zander asked.

“No, it’s fried. The pins are blown. She knew how to kill her computer.”

Roger cleaned up his food trash and moved to where Billy was sitting, looking over his shoulder. “We should trash the computer. Maybe we can make it through security with the hard drive.”

“It would look odd,” Zander said.

“I never got the GPS disabled, but I think it wouldn’t work with the computer blown like that. There isn’t any power to emit a signal,” Roger said.

“I hate this.” Billy picked through the burned out parts, tossing everything that looked like crap into the plastic bag the food had come in.

“So do I,” Zander said.

“Let’s take this apart and see if there’s anything worth salvaging on the drive. Maybe it’s okay, but if the actual drive is burned, we can just toss it.”

“Sounds good.” Billy began opening the hard drive casing, eventually pulling the top off.

Roger and Zander sifted through the rest of the computer, finding that nothing had survived the fire. After a few minutes, Billy had the hard drive case open, revealing the destroyed disk.

“That answers that,” Billy said.

“Ruined.” Zander shook his head. “Well, we won’t get anything off that.”

“Okay, so that’s trash. We need to get rid of it.” Roger grabbed the bag of ruined parts. “I’ll head out and toss this. If there’s any tracking device, we don’t need it leading them to us.”

“I’m fairly certain there isn’t anything here.” Zander nodded to the bag and shrugged.

“I don’t want to chance it. I’ll be back soon. Need anything?” Roger asked.

Zander shook his head. “Nope, I’m good.”

“Same here.” Billy stood and stretched. “I’m going to shower then sleep.”

“I’ll share the bed with Roger,” Zander said. “Take the bed nearest the window.”

“Sure.” Billy stood and stretched before moving to the bathroom.

Roger grabbed the key card and headed out. The streets were busy with people running about. It was typical New York City—horns honking, people yelling, and just an overall hum of noise that wasn’t present on Wild Bluff. It was nearly overwhelming, almost depressing, with the sounds overriding his thoughts. He loved traveling with Grant, but if they went anywhere, it was usually to a deserted island or a quiet mountain. This was chaos.

After dropping the computer parts in a trash can, Roger headed back to the hotel. He took the long way around, weaving down alleys and across parking lots, making sure he wasn’t being followed. Zander was in the shower, and Billy was already asleep when he got back. With the door bolted, he slipped out of his clothes when he heard the water switch off. Zander opened the door and stepped out. Roger didn’t look at him as he moved into the bathroom, showering quickly. He didn’t spend long in the shower, just enough time to get clean.

After he finished, he pulled on underwear and shorts, then headed to bed. The lights were off, and he checked the door one more time before he slid between the sheets. The day had sucked, leaving him angry and confused. They’d done the mission and their mark was dead. He didn’t know the full story on Daphne, but he knew enough to believe that what they’d done was right.

Roger rolled to his side, facing away from Zander, and tucked his hand under the pillow. Sleep edged his consciousness, teasing him with warm thoughts of Grant. Just as he was about to fall asleep, Zander’s arms came around him and pulled him close. He froze, his heart thundering as he gulped down a breath.

“Hey, I’m Roger, not Marshal,” he whispered, not wanting to wake Billy.

“Pretend.” Zander’s breath tickled his neck as he tried to scoot away.

“Fuck no.” The words came out in a harsh burst.

“Shh, not like that. I just need to be held. I don’t want to have sex, that’s mine and Marsh’s, but I need a… friend.”

Roger turned over, his gaze finding Zander’s in the dim light. He saw pain in their depths, and his heart melted. “How is Marshal?”

“He’s angry that he can’t come out on real missions. He’s hurting, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to make him whole.”

“When Hayden died, I didn’t know what to do. Then I found Grant. And I love Grant with all of my heart, but even with his love, I’ll never be whole again. When something bad happens, it changes you. I know you love Marshal, but he’s changed. It will take a long time for his emotions to heal, and he may never get back to what he was before.”

Zander closed his eyes and bit his lower lip. Marshal was Zander’s best friend and his lover. They seemed solid, but he knew Marshal was taking his injuries hard. Getting rid of the last tie to Craig had to be emotional.

“Turn over, I’ll hold you,” Roger whispered.

Zander’s eyes shot open and he smiled before nodding. Moving quickly, he kissed Roger on the cheek before turning to face the bed where Billy slept. Roger slid one arm under Zander’s pillow then held his other loosely over Zander’s hip. He kept his body away from Zander, not wanting to get too close, but Zander pushed back, plastering his back to Roger’s front.

“What’s going on?” Roger whispered.

Zander twisted a little in his arms and turned his head so they could look at each other. They were close, as close as lovers, and it made Roger a little uncomfortable. He scooted away an inch. Zander let out a slow sigh then began speaking.

“When the computer started to catch fire, I thought about how much Craig has costs us. You weren’t here. You didn’t know him. He was our friend, our brother, and he betrayed us. He used us. Then the house blowing up, and Mike getting hurt—Craig has just costs us too much.”

Roger hadn’t been there, and Craig hadn’t been his friend. Instead, Craig had been his lover’s ex, the one who’d hurt Grant. There wasn’t a point where he’d loved Craig, or thought of him as a friend. He wrapped his arms tighter around Zander, pulling him back so he had to turn away and Roger couldn’t see his face. He leaned in close and kissed the back of Zander’s head.

“I’m sorry. I know it must be difficult. I didn’t know him. All I know is that he hurt Grant.”

Zander nodded and squeezed Roger’s arms tighter. After a few minutes, he sighed. “Thank you for letting me be upset. It was so hard, and I don’t think we ever really got over Craig turning against us.”

“It’s okay. Sleep tonight. I’m here, and he’s gone. You’re safe now.”

After he spoke, Zander relaxed even more. They’d been through so much, and he guessed the guys just needed a break. When he’d been on his SEAL team with Hayden, the nights when they both felt safe had been the best. It wasn’t about the sex, but the way they’d been able to relax. He drifted off thinking about Hayden and the men who were now his family.

The next morning, he woke to find Zander’s head on his chest, one arm slung over his waist, and a puddle of drool making his skin sticky. The fact that his cock was hard had more to do with him just waking than it did Zander being in his arms, at least that’s the story he would stick with. He shifted and Zander moved, arching against him. The second he got home, he was going to drag Grant into their room and explain why he knew what Zander’s wood felt like against his leg. Heat washed over him as Zander snuggled closer, his cock grazing against Roger’s hip, making his hard-on stiffer. The guy was pushing all of his buttons, but those buttons wouldn’t go anywhere. He loved Grant, and Zander was in love with Marshal, he had no doubt about that.

Zander shifted in the bed and moved away, his eyes blinking open. His gaze caught with Roger’s and he blushed before smiling.

“Thank you. I really appreciate you not judging me,” Zander whispered.

The bed dipped behind Roger and he looked around, seeing Billy climbing under the covers, his naked chest pressing against Roger’s side as he stretched out and slid closer.

“I wish you two would have told me that you were going to do a puppy pile last night. I was all alone,” Billy said.

“You too?” Roger asked.

“I heard a bit of what Zander said. Craig did a number on us. Tucker could have been killed if he’d been inside that house.”

“That’s true, he could have.” Roger shivered thinking about all of the close scrapes they’d had because of Craig. They could have lost Davis, Tucker, and Mike. Roger put his arm around Billy and held him close, kissing the top of his head like he had with Zander. When he got back to Wild Bluff, he was going to make sure the men all knew how he felt about them. They’d had fun over the summer working on the O, and that had been a start, but it wasn’t enough. They needed to become better friends.

“I’ve got to pee, but I don’t want to get up,” Zander whispered.

“Go, we have to get up and get moving soon. We need to head out to the airport and catch our flight.” Roger gave Zander another quick squeeze before he stood.

Billy leaned back a little and caught Roger’s gaze. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Roger asked.

“Being nice. You came after Craig. We’ve been brittle. Everyone was hurt, not just Marshal, and we need a break. You holding Zander and not making it sexual is something that man needed. We are friends at Wild Bluff, but we need to get back to being brothers.”