A Restored Man (29 page)

Cole tapped the folder on his boot. "I take it Mr. Asshole is blackmailing you. What are his terms?"

Ty shook his head and looked off to the side. His jaw muscles flexed with whatever was crossing his mind.

"Don't overthink, Ty. Just tell me."

Ty's focus returned to Cole. "He wants me to sabotage the launch of a new car line."

Cole laughed and tossed the papers back on Ty's desk. "Oh, my hot, sexy metal man, how is a mere mortal going to do that?" Cole raised his hands to quickly add, "No offense."

Ty chuckled weakly. "None taken. It's a new exotic car line Drayton's been working on for years. He rents out part of my bays sometimes to do some testing and customization."

Cole nodded and pursed his lips. "Ahh. Mr. Asshole knows this and expects you to fuck up whatever you're doing with Drayton to either slow him down or screw him over."

"Yes," Ty said.

"And in exchange for that, he keeps quiet about the counterfeit parts."

Ty nodded. "Yes. But even if he keeps quiet about the parts, that still leaves me with a list of clients who are at risk and I can't have that."

Cole smiled. "Of course you can't." His Ty was always worried about taking care of everyone else. "And Drayton's a friend."

"Exactly."

Cole gripped his boot and tapped the sole with his thumb. "What does he have against Drayton?"

"Robert has been working with a development team and a group of investors to launch a new line of exotics."

Cole frowned and continued to tap his boot. "Exotics are always appealing. Two can come into the market without issue. What's the big deal?"

"Drayton's is electric. Apparently the type of battery he's using for the engine is what makes it different and allows for a full charge within ten minutes that lasts a range of about two hundred miles. I don't know the technology he's using, but I do know it's a three-second car."

Cole blew out a whistle. "That's impressive. New tech electric with those stats will overshadow a no-name traditional gasoline exotic every time. What's the timetable?"

"Robert's line will be ready in a year. Drayton hasn't made an announcement but his line will be ready in about eight months maybe sooner. The prototype should be finished and ready to showcase in four months or less," Ty said.

"Does Mr. Asshole know that?"

Ty shook his head. "No one knows that it's moving along quicker than anticipated. And since it's such a specialized market and Drayton's got an established reputation in the exotic and high-end import markets, he doesn't have to work up the months of hype before launch. He's released enough information to tease the market to anticipate something big. He believes two months should suffice. He's already got a few people lined up to buy the car and they don't even have the specs I just gave you."

Cole chuckled. "Money to burn. Gotta love that." He quickly sorted the situation in his mind, prioritizing the details and itemizing what needed to be done. "Okay, so we need to get all these service issues out of the way before the prototype is ready so Mr. Asshole doesn't have you by the balls anymore. Does that sound right?"

Ty nodded.

Cole planted both feet on the floor deliberately fighting off the slew of 'balls' jokes that ran rampant in his head or the comment on the tip of his tongue about wanting to be the only one who had Ty by the balls. He needed to focus on the situation. "Let me help you with that."

Ty shrugged. "You're already helping me by doing some of the tickets with me."

Cole shook his head. "That's not enough. I need you to trust me."

"I do."

"I know you like being in control—"

"So do you," Ty said with a knowing smile.

Cole grinned. "True. But this, I need your complete trust. We've worked together for almost two months. I know how important this shop is to you and I'm not going to let Mr. Asshole take that away but I'm going to need you to give me a few liberties."

Ty leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands together. "I have two questions for you."

"Shoot."

"Is it legal and is this important to you?"

Cole's laughter echoed in the office. It seemed Ty remembered every one of their conversations. "Yes, it's legal. You're still buying the parts from your reputable distributors." He paused, wondering how much he should say or could say without screwing things up. "And yes, y
ou're
important to me."

A wealth of emotions flowed across Ty's face, then a glimmer of something Cole hadn't ever seen made an appearance in that brown-eyed stare. He felt something pass between them, as if long tentacles carefully wrapped their hold around Cole's heart and held it protectively. His throat tightened with the swell of emotions rising in his chest.

"Whatever you need, it's yours."

Cole felt a current travel his body with the offer. This was a big step for Ty. Cole needed to focus and not let his mind wander. Ty needed him and had just given him control over the situation, and essentially, his shop—whether he knew it or not. No one had ever had such blind faith in him. He grabbed the list from Ty's desk again, his eyes quickly glancing over the pages and his lips moving as he counted off entries on the list. "Do you have any custom projects on the schedule for the next two months?"

Ty shook his head. "I've got the body kit ticket wrapping up and I'm not taking any custom paint work until Sawyer's back on his regular schedule. I've got a few inquiries but I haven't committed to anything yet. Why?"

Cole's focus returned to the papers. He flipped the page over, then back again. "We need to get the body kit wrapped up today if possible. I'm going to need the paint, sanding, custom, and restoration bays to all be empty. I need you to schedule out any custom work after two months. Not before. And I need you to move the Yenko out of the bay. It's too tempting," he said, still concentrating intently on the pages.

"Tempting for what?"

Cole looked up. "Just trust me. I need you to move it. It'll spark too much conversation and I need laser focus not distractions. Ideally, I want you to find a way to close off the service bays as well and lock the showroom access. Also too tempting and I don't want the techs snooping around on what's going on."

Ty narrowed his eyes. "What
is
going on?" he asked. "I can literally see the wheels turning in your head."

Cole smiled warmly. He grabbed a pencil from the desk and began marking the pages with expert ease, occasionally pushing the hair out of his face so he could focus on the pages. He handed back the papers to Ty and pointed to the marked lines on the pages. "I need you to ask Stacie to get these scheduled out."

"When?" Ty asked, looking through Cole's notes.

"For Monday."

Ty looked up. "All eight of them."

"Yes," Cole said, tapping the pencil on his boot. Cole stood and walked over to Ty's side of the desk. "Now get out and let me use your office. I need to make a few phone calls and I can't make them from my cell." He nudged Ty out of his seat when he hesitated. "One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Stop torturing Aidan. Get together with him this weekend and catch up."

"So I take it you guys
were
conspiring," Ty said, crossing his arms. "I'm trying, but it's tough. He treats me as if I'm fragile or something, like I can't handle things on my own." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

Cole scowled and planted both hands on his waist. "Then tell him that. Your brother's an ass but even I can see he acts that way because he's afraid of losing you. You guys lost your parents. He almost lost his brother once. He lost his best friend to WITSEC to keep him safe. I think he's the one who's going to break if he loses someone else. Out of the two of you, I'd say you've got fewer issues."

Ty grabbed the beanie off the desk and walked back over to Cole. "I didn't think of it that way. It's been tough lately. It's as if I don't even know what to talk about with him."

Cole reached out and rubbed his thumb along Ty's cheek. "He's your brother. You guys'll figure it out. If you get stuck and don't know what to talk about, ask him about Jessie."

Ty cocked his head. "Who's Jessie?"

"Jessie's awesome and someone your brother's interested in."

"Why do you know about her and I don't?" Ty asked with a scowl. "It's sort of Aidan's unspoken rule. His private life is off limits."

Aidan was going to kill him. He'd let the cat out of the bag about Jessie, but there was no way in hell he was going to push Aidan out of the closet if he was hiding. "Um, just ask him. It'll give you guys something to talk about." Cole leaned in and gave Ty a chaste kiss. "Now, go and let me make some phone calls."

Ty looked at him with an odd expression but didn't push the topic further. He ran his fingers through the thick black hair and put the beanie on Cole's head.

Cole smiled. "I think you have a hair fetish."

Ty's cheeks heated. He turned and walked toward the door, pausing as he held the door knob in his hand. "I think I have a Cole fetish," he said before exiting his own office.

Well, damn. Maybe his Ty
was
a little twisted after all. He took a deep breath to focus his thoughts. Ty was relying on him and there was no way his focus was going to shift to anything other than taking care of what had to be done so Ty had his shop back. Cole smiled as he picked up the receiver of the office phone and began making his calls.

Cole paced Ty's office Monday morning and looked up at the wall clock for the hundredth time.

"Would you stop it already," Ty said, grabbing Cole's wrists to still him.

Cole sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, shifting his weight on the balls of his feet. He hadn't seen his crew since he went inside, and he was…anxious. He'd contacted them on Friday and all were enthusiastic about helping him with his special project. Not a single one of them hesitated when he asked them for a huge favor—two months of doing legit repair work for free. Cole had refused to snitch out his crew for a lesser sentence and they all showed their gratitude with an instant 'yes' when he called. They claimed two months of free labor still wasn't enough to repay Cole for his sacrifice of two years inside while they continued on with their lives.

But still, he was nervous.

Ty leaned against his desk with his arms crossed. "What the heck are you so worried about? You said you already spoke to all of them on the phone."

Cole shrugged, not really knowing how to explain what he was feeling or what he was worried about.

"Cole, just talk to me. You're too quiet and that's worrying me more than having a half dozen people here who are experts at jacking and stripping cars."

"I don't want you to hate me," Cole said quietly, chewing on his lip.

Ty reached out and pulled Cole by the waist. "How could I possibly hate you? You're doing everything you can to save my ass here."

Cole shrugged.

"Talk to me. Please," Ty said, reaching up to stroke Cole's cheek with his thumb.

Cole closed his eyes and tried to focus on the heat of Ty's palm and the rhythmic stroking of his finger. "I'm different around my crew."

"Different how?" Ty said in a coaxing tone.

"I don't know how to explain it."

Ty pulled him into an embrace and ran his fingers up and down Cole's back.

Cole sighed and rested his weight on Ty. He wrapped his arms around Ty's waist and just enjoyed the quiet of the moment where nothing existed but the heat of Ty's body and the dull hum in his head.

Ty placed a gentle kiss at the side of Cole's head. "They're due to arrive at any moment. So just spill it. Tell me how you're different."

Cole stepped back and tugged on his beanie. He worried his lip and shoved his hands in his pockets. He looked at the wall clock again and shuffled his feet. "I'm bossy."

Ty chuckled. "I hate to break it to you, but you're normally bossy. You're more of a control freak than I am."

Cole huffed a quiet laugh. "I get bossier."

A smile spread across Ty's face. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Cole crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. "Underneath that calm, cool, conservative, clean-talking guy is one twisted, potentially submissive man."

"Maybe it's just me liking all the layers of your personality."

Cole looked up at the clock again.

"Staring at it won't make it move any faster," Ty said. He pulled the radio from his pocket when it chirped. "Go ahead, Stacie."

"Mr. Calloway, we have cars arriving and some of the new people."

"We're on our way," Ty responded, returning the radio to his pocket. "C'mon, boss man."

Cole placed a gentle kiss on Ty’s lips. "Just don't hate me," he said before walking out.

Cole exited the office and exhaled heavily. Two months was a tight timetable to get everything finished, but he didn't have much of a choice. He had to make sure Ty had everything under control before his time at the halfway house was over just in case there wasn't a long-term job for him at the shop. He had planned every last detail of the schedule to make sure everything would work out. Even if Ty hated him after all this, that would be fine. He just needed to know Mr. Asshole didn't have a leg to stand on should he try to come back to blackmail Ty again.