Coming to Colorado (16 page)

Ryan nodded and glanced around before meeting Roger’s gaze. “I will. So is it going to be an issue about me and Davis?”

Roger rolled his eyes and laughed. “Not like you think. Though I don’t know if Duff, Davis’s dad, knows he’s gay.”

“That should be all kinds of fun,” Ryan said just before he quickened his pace and caught up with Davis. Neither Davis nor Ryan talked. Instead, they smiled at each other and kept moving through the building.

When they stepped outside, Roger’s heart almost stopped. Grant and Marshal stood close together, their arms crossed over their chests. They both looked formidable, strong, and sexy, but he only had eyes for Grant. His man was looking at Davis, then his gaze fell on Ryan. Finally, their eyes met and Grant’s lips curved up just a little before his lips thinned out again. Grant stepped forward and reached to shake Davis’s hand.

“Davis, it’s good to meet you.” Grant turned to shake Ryan’s hand next. “You must be Ryan.”

“Yes, sir. I’m Ryan Pruitt.”

“Grant Stovall. Did Roger tell you there were some procedures we have to follow?”

“Yes, sir,” Ryan said. “I understand. If I choose not to stay, I won’t have any idea exactly where we are.”

Grant nodded and caught Roger’s gaze again but this time he held it. Heat filled Roger, leaving him without a doubt that they’d end up having a lot of alone time tonight after they got the new guys settled.

*~*~*

The drive to wherever they were taking him was annoying since he had a cover over his eyes, but it did give Davis time to think. He was going to see his dad. It was the first time he’d ever been at his dad’s place. It was frightening and exciting at the same time. Duff didn’t know he was gay and was about to find out. But worse, his dad didn’t know that he still worked for the government.

The vehicle slowed and the sound of the pavement under the tires changed. They had to be close. After about another twenty minutes they stopped.

“Okay, boys, here’s the rules. We won’t be removing the blindfolds. I swear someone will help you walk in, and you won’t be left to stumble over the steps or any other obstacles. We have food and drinks inside, as well as places for you to sleep and shower. We’ll walk you through a few things before we let you have full reign of the house. It might be a couple of days before you’re allowed to move about freely.”

“Really, that long?” Davis asked. He didn’t appreciate feeling like a prisoner in his dad’s house. Maybe this was why his father had never invited him over.

“Trust me, it’s for your safety as well as ours. We operate out of this house and we have sensitive information inside. If you decide to leave after a few days, you won’t have seen anything that could put you on someone’s list to torture and kill. Think of it as a way to keep yourself safe.”

“Wow, that’s an interesting theory,” Davis said. “I’m okay with it all. Ryan, are you okay, you haven’t said anything.”

“Yeah, I’m good. I just need to use the restroom.”

“Sure, we’ll get you moving now,” Roger said.

He heard the front doors to the vehicle open then the doors next to Mike and Ryan opened. Davis was in the third row of seats next to Marshal. He knew he’d have difficulty getting out with his blindfold on, but he’d agreed to keep his eyes hidden, and he wasn’t going to renege on the deal.

“I’ll help you after I climb through,” Marshal said.

Davis waited a few seconds before he reached out with one hand to feel the space between the second row seats. They were in a huge vehicle, that much was obvious by the way the seats were laid out, but he didn’t know the make or model. Before he could move, someone grabbed his hand. He jerked back, but the person spoke and he settled, comforted by the familiar voice.

“Son, I never thought I’d ever be able to have you visit. I’m glad to see you, but I’m not glad about the circumstances.”

“Dad.” Davis’s voice warbled as his emotions spilled out.

“I’m sorry about the last time we were together. I shouldn’t have said the things I did.”

“I’m sorry, too. I just couldn’t tell you the truth.” Lying to his father had been extremely difficult. Maybe he should have told him about his work, letting him know that he wasn’t only an antique dealer. Telling his father he was gay was another matter, one that he didn’t feel comfortable exploring.

“And I couldn’t tell you the truth either. Now, how about we get you inside and we can get that stupid blindfold off you. I’m sorry about that, but rules are rules.”

“Yeah, you always did like the rules,” Davis said.

“True, but there are some rules that were meant to be bent in certain circumstances.”

Davis exited the car with Duff’s help. Once on solid ground, Duff took his arm and gave a little pressure.

“We’re on a walkway and it’s straight. At the house, there are a couple of steps. Marshal is on your left side and is going to help.”

Another set of hands grabbed his left arm, and he jerked away a bit but relaxed. It was weird trusting strangers, but they knew Duff. Hell, they lived with Duff, apparently. What type of group did his father run? He’d heard whispers of secret groups, operations that even the CIA didn’t have access to.

“We’re at the house. It’s five steps up to the porch then we’ll go through a door. Once inside, you can take off the blindfold.”

Duff and Marshal helped him up the steps and into the house. He heard Ryan come in behind them and he relaxed. The place smelled nice. The scent of fresh food hit him and his stomach growled.

“You can take off your blindfolds now,” Duff said.

Davis reached up and pulled at the cloth, uncovering his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, searching for Ryan. When his gaze fell on the man, he sighed and took a step closer to him. Ryan moved at the same time and they were almost touching, their gazes still on each other. If Duff didn’t know by now that he was gay, he would soon.

“You okay?” Davis asked Ryan.

Ryan’s lips tilted up in the corners. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“The bathroom is this way,” Grant said, leading Ryan away.

Davis watched, glad that Grant stayed outside the door instead of going in. He glanced around, more uncomfortable than he probably should have been. Duff stepped forward, and extended his hand. When their palms came together, Duff pulled him close for a hug.

Emotions that had lain dormant for far too long surfaced, and tears burned his eyes. Duff held him tighter and swallowed a couple of times, sounding like he was probably fighting tears too. The bathroom door opened and Ryan stepped out. Their gazes met, and he was about to look away when Ryan’s lips turned up and he nodded.

That little acknowledgement of his pain without any condemnation twisted his heart even tighter. Duff had been absent from his life for a long time, and they were both to blame. They might have met up a time or two, but he’d lied, not allowing his father to see him for who he really was. Hardheaded and angry at the world, Davis had pushed Duff away when he was younger. Soon, not right now since there were too many people around, he’d tell Duff he was sorry.

Duff backed away and wiped his eyes before straightening. “You two need to eat and then we’ll get down to business. This isn’t how we normally bring people to the ranch, or how we recruit. I’m not sure that either of you will want to stay after we start our discussions.”

“Sir.” Ryan stood taller, his angular jaw more prominent. “I was in the Marines, clearance level—”

“I have your full military record right here.” Duff tapped a binder on the table behind him. “We know everything.”

“But how—most of it sealed.” Ryan’s eyes narrowed, his lips pursed.

“Son, this may be alarming, or hard to understand, but if we need information, we get it. The only thing they ever hid from me was Davis’s affiliation with them. Well, they might be keeping other agents a secret from me, but for everyone else, we have everything they’ve ever done. I even have what preschool you attended, Ryan.”

Ryan dropped to a chair and placed his head in his hands. “This is unbelievable. I killed a man today, and now you’re telling me you have all of my records. What type of place do you run? Am I going to go to jail?”

“Slow down,” Grant said. “We aren’t the enemy. I know what happened today was pushing the limits, but once you get some food, we’ll tell you what Craig did. Maybe, if you see the faces of the kids he killed with the bomb he made, you’ll feel a little better about today.”

Davis moved to the table and took a seat, his hunger waning. “Can we make the dinner a working dinner? I kind of want to know what’s going on and I’m not sure how much I can eat anyway.”

“Sure, let’s do introductions and then we’ll get to it,” Duff said.

Ryan stood and Davis moved to stand next to him. He could feel the nervous energy coming off Ryan. It was weird being here, seeing Duff in this element. The men had a certain look about them, one that screamed
I’ve been trained, don’t mess with me
. He saw it in their eyes, in the way they stood, the angle of their head. All of these men his father lived with were deadly as vipers, he had no doubt about that. Davis turned his gaze on Duff, and he wondered if this was why his father hadn’t been able to accept him as just an antique dealer.

“I’m Marshal.” A tall man with brown hair and brown eyes stepped forward and shook Ryan’s hand then Davis’s. Davis noticed that his right arm moved stiffly and a scar ran down the inside, marring the flesh.

“I’m Grant, and you’ve already met Mike and Roger. Don’t worry about Mike. We have more guys in the other part of the house making sure he’s fine. Ryan, this is Duff, Davis’s father.”

“Hello, sir.” Ryan shook Duff’s hand, and Davis wanted to blurt out that they were lovers—well, they would be soon if he got his way—but now wasn’t the time.

Duff started handing out plates, and the guys grabbed food, Davis only taking from platters and bowls that Grant, Roger, Marshal, or Duff ate from. He didn’t think his dad would do something like try to poison him, but he’d not thought his dad lived with men who were trained killers.

Chapter Eighteen

Ryan stared at the sheet of paper in front of him one more time. “I know you’ve already gone over this twice, but I just need to make sure he really deserved to die.”

“Son, I know what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq. I know that you feel like your country let you down, and it did. There are differences in how we operate, and how the military works. I can’t tell you everything just yet, and honestly, if you decide that you’d like to stay here, you’ll have to undergo training.”

“What type of training?” The longer he was in the company of Marshal, Roger, Grant, and Duff, the more curious he was about what happened here and how they operated.

“You’re military, so that helps. Actually, all of us have military training. We all have been through close combat training. Some of us are pilots, others have knowledge of computers, and a couple of us are bomb specialist. Almost all of us can perform minor surgeries,” Grant said.

Roger held up his hand, his lips thinned out before he spoke. “The only reason we took Mike to the hospital was because I didn’t have the blood he needed for a transfusion. Otherwise, we would have just done it in the room.” Roger shook his head, pain flashing in his eyes. “We weren’t prepared for everything that happened. That was our bad, and we should have planned better, but we weren’t expecting Davis to be on the ground in Boston. Had we known that Craig was going after Davis, we would have sent more guys.”

“I never really thought you’d be in danger,” Duff added. “If I thought for a moment that he would go after you, I never would have left you in the dark about what we do here, or how dangerous it could be.”

“It’s okay, I’m fine, and Mike really will be okay, right?” Davis asked.

“Zander sent me a text—Mike is going to be fine. He’s back on an IV drip and they’d transfused more blood. He’ll be in great shape in no time,” Marshal said.

“You have the equipment to do a blood transfusion here?” Ryan asked.

“We do.” Grant said. “Actually, we even do transfusions in the field if needed. We all know each other’s blood types and get tested regularly for any types of diseases that might be transferable. We’re careful and we take care of each other.”

“This is a lot of information.” Ryan rubbed his forehead, trying not to freak out.

“I have an idea, why don’t you two go ahead and get ready for bed. There’ll be food out here and coffee in the morning. Once we chat again, you can make a decision about what you want to do. If you want to stay, we’ll take you out and introduce you to the rest of the guys, but there’s no hurry. Take as long as you need to make the decision,” Duff said.

Ryan and Davis stood at the same time, and he caught Davis’s glance. He knew without a doubt that Davis would stay. His dad seemed to run the place, and it would be easy for him to commit. Ryan had no idea what he was getting into and he wondered if it was too deep for him.

He shook their hands and they said their goodbyes as they filed out the door. When the deadbolt slid home, locking them in, he shivered. Davis stepped behind him, his fingers feathering over Ryan’s side. The touch was soft, gentle, and filled with longing. He turned, catching the heat in Davis’s eyes.

“Please tell me you want to shower together,” Ryan said.

“That and more.” Davis tugged at the hem of Ryan’s shirt, exposing his belly. They both moaned as Davis ran his hands over Ryan’s skin.

“I don’t want to think anymore today, only feel you under me, inside of me, and around me.” Ryan closed his eyes and let Davis take over. He usually wasn’t submissive in bed, but at this moment he didn’t have the energy to take charge.

Davis tugged off Ryan’s shirt, his breath hot on Ryan’s back. They stayed like that for a long moment, Davis breathing in and out, his nose gently skimming over Ryan’s shoulder and neck.

“These muscles are so freaking beautiful. Up here, your traps, and along here, your deltoid, and then God, your lats make me want to rub every inch of your body and never let go.”