A Restored Man (41 page)

"Son of a bitch," Cole hissed under his breath, walking over to them.

"I suggest you leave before the cops get here," Ty said in a steady tone.

Robert laughed. "I'm not leaving until you give me an answer."

"I already did. You just didn't like it." Ty took a step closer toward Robert. "Now leave."

Cole walked up to them and stood by Ty.

Robert's focus shifted to Cole, his icy glare sending a chill in his direction. "This is between me and Ty."

"You think I'm just going to stand on the sideline and let you threaten him? Try to blackmail him? His name is the one outside this shop, not yours. Whose word do you think people will believe? I'm not an idiot. You don't have a bone in this fight at all." Cole stood firmly by Ty's side, crossing his arms slowly, clearly conveying he had no plans on being anywhere but at Ty's side.

Robert laughed. "I don't think you're an idiot. I think you're a criminal. Cole Renzo, right? Cole Renzo, car thief with the mismatched eyes, currently finishing up his prison sentence. Oh, I've looked into you. Seems you've got quite a reputation in the black market."

The blood drained from Cole's body, leaving him light-headed. He couldn't move and all his thoughts centered around one thing—he had just embarrassed Ty in front of his team. A searing pain pierced his heart, stealing his breath. He knew the techs were listening. Suddenly, a wave of thoughts circled his mind a million miles per second. He tried to stay still and remain calm. In the past few weeks, his mind had calmed, no longer haunted by the doubt that used to keep him buzzing all day. Now, the whirlwind of questions and words and thoughts was back in full force, pounding against the edges of his mind, all demanding his attention. How would they feel about him now? Would they hate him for working with them under false pretenses? His mind endlessly circled with questions about Ty, the techs, Jeff, Stacie…the non-truth. He hadn't lied, he just hadn't told anyone the truth. Was that the same thing? He had accepted the consequences of his actions, but now, the thought of how others might question Ty because of his decision to hire Cole…shredded him.

Robert shifted his focus to Ty. "I'm surprised by you. I would have assumed you would have run a background check on your staff. Just proves your affinity toward those who break the law."

Mr. Asshole had become brazen, no longer caring who heard his attempt to blackmail Ty. Cole could barely breathe and didn't want to risk a glance at Ty, to see the worry in his eyes or the embarrassment.

Jeff walked up to them and stood alongside Cole. "Robert, I suggest you leave now while you still have a chance," the older man said, slinging his arm over Cole's shoulders.

Cole took a deep breath, feeling renewed with the older man's support. He chanced a glance toward Ty and saw his jaw muscles flexing and his nostril flaring. He looked over at the techs and saw the staff standing with their arms crossed in a half circle formation with their focus on Robert. No one had backed away. Even Stacie stood at the sidelines with her arms crossed and not a glimmer of happiness in her expression. It was the first time he had ever seen her scowling.

Cole felt a surge of energy course through his body. He grabbed Robert by the front of his suit and dragged him toward the shop door. "I've had about enough of your shit. You're a coward coming in here and trying to hold something over his head because you're not man enough to get it done yourself."

Robert fought the hold on his shirt and pushed Cole away. "I've got Ty exactly where I want him," he said with a sneer.

Ty stalked up to them but stopped when Cole extended his hand to halt him.

Robert reached into his suit pocket and withdrew a set of documents then turned them toward Ty. "Do you see that?" He pointed to the signature line at the bottom of the forms and shifted through each of the sheets. "That's your signature, Ty."

Ty looked down at the papers.

If Cole hadn't been watching Ty so closely, he would have missed the worry that flew across his face.

"That's not my signature," Ty said.

"It's close enough. By the time anyone investigates and finds out what is and is not the truth, the damage will be done. So I need your answer. Now," Robert finished with a piercing glare aimed directly at Ty.

Cole had become familiar with most of those forms in the past few weeks while his crew worked the service tickets. Part orders, shipping agreements, standard work orders for the shop. And there were others, ones he knew from before. Export agreements. He'd seen them hundreds of times when he'd steal a car and drive it to the docks for export. Crap parts were bad, but traditional service was only a small portion of the work
Calloway's
was known for. Their bread and butter were the customizations, restoration, and work on exotics. If clients suspected Ty would turn around and export their car, he
could
potentially lose the client base he had worked so hard to build.

Robert laughed.

Cole's blood boiled with rage. Robert's attempt at blackmail may have had holes, but Cole's employment potentially added the teeth his claim needed to add merit to this bullshit about exporting stolen cars.
Son of a bitch
. This wasn't fair. There was no way in hell he was going to be responsible for Ty losing everything he had built, and for shoving him back into a black hole if this asshole was able to follow through. He grabbed Robert by the throat and pushed his body against him. "What the fuck do you want?"

Ty tried to pull Cole off the man but he was no match for the fury coursing through Cole's veins.

Robert was reddening under Cole's grip. "One of Drayton's claims is that the tech in his new model renders the car practically unstealable. I want to prove him wrong. Steal his car and that will invalidate all his other marketing points."

A million thoughts raced through Cole's mind in a split second, in search of a solution. "I'll steal your fucking car but then you're gone. I don't ever want to see your face around here again or hear that you're still trying to get to Ty." He released Robert and pushed him, slamming his back against the door. "Get out."

Robert turned to Ty with an evil grin on his face. "I'll contact you when I have the information on where to take the car—"

Cole stepped forward, inches from Robert's face. "You'll contact
me
. You leave Ty out of this."

"Or what?"

Cole took a few slow deep breaths in hopes of restraining the wrath his body craved to unleash on this man. He stood still, his hands clasped in front of him in a tight grip, trying to keep his protective instinct in check. "I doubt you want me painting that picture for you."

Robert looked at him, probably gauging whether he'd follow through on his threat.

Cole had never been mistaken for someone who wouldn't back up his words with action. Usually good-humored, the rare presence of this degree of rage was difficult to dampen, even for him.

"I'll contact
you
," Robert said, looking at Cole, "when I have the final details. You can expect to hear from me before the end of the month."

"Next month," Cole said. He didn't want anything screwing with the end of his time at the halfway house.

Robert shook his head. "Has to be this month. Before the…" He trailed off, lost in thought. "Before the official announcement of the prototype." He straightened his suit collar and tugged on his jacket to flatten the fabric. He looked at Ty and smiled. "Always a pleasure doing business with you." He turned and finally exited the shop.

Cole's lips parted on an exhale, trying to cool the anger that had threatened to burst. He turned to Ty and saw those whiskey brown eyes filled with a fury that rivaled Aidan's.

Ty muffled a curse and stalked back to his office with Cole taking long strides immediately behind.

Ty entered the office and slammed the door behind Cole. 

"W-w-what th-th-the h-h-h-hell were you th-th-thinking wh-wh—" Ty stopped midsentence with a frustrated growl. He paced the room, running his fingers through his hair.

Cole walked up to him and smashed his lips against Ty's, pushing into Ty as if his life depended on it. Ty pulled away from the kiss, gasping for air.

"D-d-don't—"

Cole grabbed Ty's chin, forcing eye contact. "Take a deep breath. You're too pissed off right now."

Ty closed his eyes, his chest heaved and a hint of a sneer crossed his expression. He finally opened his eyes, the fury still simmering in his whiskey brown gaze.

Cole's lips twitched. "I think we figured out the source of your stutter."

Ty scowled and turned away.

"I think you stutter when you feel you've lost control of something. It's like what happens in my head sometimes. I get a million things going in my mind and I can't think straight. Just calm down. The words will come."

Ty glanced back at Cole. He was slightly calmer, but definitely still pissed. "I'm so fucking pissed off at you right now." He closed his eyes and took a few more deep breaths. "You're not stealing Drayton's car. I don't—"

"Yes, I am."

Ty's lips tightened. Oh, his Ty was pissed. "I didn't sign any of those p-p-papers or do any of those things." He stopped and took a few more deep breaths. "I can take whatever that prick dishes out and we'll get through this. You're not doing this for him."

Cole watched Ty intently, every emotion that crossed his face and every spark that flickered across his gaze. Ty's hands fisted and relaxed at his sides and his jaw muscles flexed. Cole was so fucking turned on by Ty's level of control that he needed to wrap this up and leave the room before he threw him onto the couch.

"You're right. I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for
us
."

Ty shook his head and closed his eyes. "No!"

Cole grabbed Ty by his jaw, forcing him to focus. "Stop it and listen. There's only one way that asshole is going to stop. If it's not the forms from today, it'll be something else tomorrow. He knew the parts issue wasn't going to flip you, but these forged forms put you on edge. He'll keep pushing until he gets what he wants. You know that."

Ty took a deep breath and his shoulders slumped slightly as if the realization finally began to weigh him down. "No. I'm not risking
us
. I'm not letting you do something that's going to send you back to prison. No."

Cole released Ty and took a step back, crossing his arms. "You really think I'd risk
us
?" He planted his hand in the center of Ty's chest and pushed him back against the desk. "You're getting Aidan on the phone and he's going to come up with a plan where I can steal that car and he can charge Mr. Asshole for it. You're going to tell him everything that's going on, I mean everything, even the parts thing this prick tried to do. And Aidan's going to be a super-cop and do his thing and nail that bastard on every tiny thing he can get. I want him out of our lives and Aidan's going to help us do that and you're going to let him."

A slow smile spread across Ty face.

"Yeah, you better smile. Because the makeup sex after you realize how fucking awesome I am is going to be so worth it."

"I already know you're awesome."

"Good." Cole slammed his lips against Ty's in a demanding kiss, leaving Ty breathless when they separated. "Let me know when Aidan gets here." He turned and walked out of the office to return to his sanding work. If he stayed in that office a moment longer, he would have Ty stripped and ready in seconds. As much as he wanted that right now, he needed to work on focusing his energy. He was about to help plan the biggest boost of his life. And failure was not an option.

"Let me get this straight," Aidan said, leaning against the desk. "You've had this son of a bitch come into your shop for months and threaten you and you haven't said a word to me about it?"

Ty closed his eyes and sighed. He knew getting Aidan involved would go something like this, but he also knew he didn't have a choice. His stomach twisted, but Cole was right, Aidan had to be involved.

"Yes," Ty responded.

Aidan crossed his arms. "Does that little prick have something to do with this?"

Ty rose from his seat and slowly walked up to Aidan, invading his space. "If you're referring to Cole, he's the only reason you're in my office right now and we're discussing this. So cut him some slack."

Aidan's brow lowered and he mumbled a curse. "Where is he?"

"Over at the sanding station. He wanted me to let him know when you arrived. I thought it might be best to give you the background first. And, Aidan?"

"Yeah?"

"Robert made it a point of calling him out in front of all the guys, so they all know he went to prison. We didn't talk about it but I know that stung. So go easy on him. This isn't his fight. He's doing this for me."

His brother walked toward the door and stopped before turning the knob. He stood still, focusing on no particular point on the ground as if lost in thought. He finally looked over his shoulder back at Ty. "How deep was Robert in the shop's day-to-day before you took over?"

Ty shoved his hands in his pockets. "He ran things with Dad for years. He had a relationship with the clients, knows the paperwork, the vendors, everything. I didn't do any of the things he's suggesting—"