Coming to Colorado (19 page)

Duff smiled and blew out a breath, almost like a laugh. “You always were the guy looking out for others. No one is going to care around here about you being gay. Hell, most of them are. Roger and Grant are a couple, Marshal and Zander too. Then there’s Billy and Tucker, they both have been together for a while. James, a guy who left the ranch last year is married to a man he met in town. We’re all accepting. We care for each other like a family because we really do rely on each other to keep us all alive.”

Davis felt something akin to regret. “So all of the secrets I’ve had, everything I’ve kept from you, it was all for nothing?”

“Son, I’m not sure if we can say it was for nothing. It got us here where we are now. You’re an amazing man. I’m proud of you.”

Tears burned his eyes and the last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of this crowd. He pressed his lips together and turned to look at Ryan. Calm washed over him, and he knew at that moment that what he felt for Ryan was real. It may be new, and he didn’t fully trust it, but it was real.

“Go to him. We’ll get down to business soon. I need to tell him about the cameras.”

“Let me,” Davis said.

“I need him to understand that no one watched. I shut down the video feed.”

“I’ll make sure he knows. And if he has any questions, I’ll point him in your direction.”

Davis shook Duff’s hand and turned to walk away before turning back. “Dad, I think we’d like to stay. We talked about it this morning. I don’t know what we’re in for, but we both want to give it a try.”

“Thank you for telling me. It’s hard work when we’re on a mission, but the rest of the time, we do have chores here on the ranch. It’s not much, but it keeps us busy.”

Davis put his hands on his hips and frowned. “I don’t understand it, and I don’t know anything about why you chose to do this, but I’m willing to give you and this place a chance.”

Duff nodded. “That’s all I can ask. Now go talk to Ryan and then we’ll start this meeting. Once we get a few things settled, you’ll be allowed to leave this set of rooms.”

“Thanks.” Davis walked over to Ryan and took his hand, ignoring the fear that passed over his face. “I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, what’s up?” Ryan glanced over Davis’s shoulder to the rest of the group then Ryan’s gaze met his.

He shivered at the intensity and stepped closer than socially acceptable before leaning in and placing a kiss on Ryan’s cheek. Ryan stiffened, his breathing stopped.

“What are you doing?” Ryan whispered harshly.

Davis didn’t step away because he wanted to keep this between them. “We didn’t do a good job checking last night. Apparently, there are cameras in here.”

Ryan didn’t move, didn’t breathe.

“Duff said he turned off the feed as soon as he realized what we were doing.”

“Fuck, how fast do we have to run?” Ryan asked.

“They’re all gay.”

Ryan pushed at Davis’s shoulder and stepped away from him. “Okay, what kind of shit are you pulling on us two?” Ryan stood with his hands on his hips, and his feet spread to shoulder width.

Duff stepped forward and held up his hand. “Nothing, Ryan.”

Davis looked around and saw that Marshal, Roger, and Grant were standing taller, they looked ready to pounce. Obviously, he’d done a bad job of explaining thing to Ryan and the guy wasn’t taking it well.

“You’re all gay, and now I hear you watched us have sex last night. What kind of shit is that?” Ryan’s chest was heaving, and Davis worried that he was going to cause a fight.

“Actually, I’m bi,” Marshal said.

Someone he didn’t know stepped into the room, his smile wide. “I’m Zander and I’m gay, no question about that. Tucker and Mike are both bi, though.” Zander handed Duff a piece of paper and stepped out again.

Marshal nodded, “Yeah, Billy used to have an issue with that, but they’re solid now.”

“Wait, you’re saying that none of you have any issues with us kissing?” Ryan asked.

“Well, sometimes during a mission, you might have to flirt with a woman to get what we want,” Marshal said.

Duff stepped forward. “It really is up to you all if you sleep with the women, though. I know that was a bit of an issue before, but we’ve got it settled now.”

Ryan said nothing, but held his back stiff. Davis moved to stand beside him. “They didn’t watch the video.”

“Well, I saw like five seconds.” Grant’s cheeks were pink, and he had a huge smile plastered on his face.

“Five seconds? Which five seconds?” Davis asked.

Grant shrugged and his face went even redder. “I don’t know.”

“It was the good five seconds,” Roger said, which made Grant blush even more.

“The good five seconds. What do you mean by that?” Ryan asked.

“Means Roger had a very good night,” Marshal said. “Now, how about we move on. The video wasn’t available for viewing, trust me, I checked.”

“Oh my God, why would you do that?” Ryan yelled.

“Fuck, are you kidding me. You two with clothes on are freaking hot. Together and rolling around in bed, I’d pay to see that. You two are probably so much better than any porn ever made. Hell, I bet loads of people would pay to see you two have sex together.”

Ryan stood still, his hands on his hips and his head down. Davis put a hand on Ryan’s back, testing the waters. When Ryan didn’t shove him away, he pulled him in for a hug and was relieved when Ryan placed one hand on his hip.

“See what I mean?” Marshal said. “You all see that, right? Hell, you two—fuck, I need some water.”

“More like a cold shower,” Grant said.

Davis stepped away from Ryan, hating that this was making him uncomfortable. “Is this going to be a problem for you all?”

Everyone glanced at Duff before they shook their heads. He turned to his dad, his hands on his hips. “And you swear you don’t have a problem with us.”

“Ryan, I promise you that I turned off the feed. Grant said something about it last night, and I checked, disabling the video the second I saw that you two were getting intimate. The guys may rib you about it, but just give them hell back. They can all take it.”

“You’re talking like you think we’re going to stay,” Ryan said.

“I spent a few hours going over your information. I think you would be a good fit for the ranch. It’s different than military, but like it in some ways. One thing we do differently here is that if someone has an objection to the mission, they say it, and we investigate fully before we act. Going up against Craig was the only mission we jumped on without spending hours talking about.”

“What happened with him, really? I mean, I know what you said yesterday, and I get that he went bad, but what was that about?” Ryan asked.

Davis was curious also. Craig had come at him, and though they’d explained why Craig had to die, they hadn’t explained the reason fully enough to satisfy him.

“We’re very careful about who we bring to the ranch,” Grant said. “I know it may not look that way right now, I mean you’re here and all, but few people even in the military and intelligence community know about us. We have training, and during that process, some people self-select to leave.”

“What about us?” Ryan asked.

“Well, I think if you want to stay, you’ll have to leave for a month and go through what these guys did,” Duff said.

“What about me?” Davis asked.

“Same, but some of the stuff you’ve already done as CIA. By the way, Davis, I contacted your handler. It’s been taken care of.”

“What?” Anger rushed through Davis, and he balled his fists. He hated when his dad took over things in his life without asking.

“I have connections that you don’t. He was worried about you when he found out his computer had been compromised. Someone on the outside—and guys, this affects us all, but someone had been feeding Craig information. They knew to strike against you, Davis, and somehow they figured out where you lived, that you were CIA, and who your handler was. Needless to say, I wouldn’t trust any devices you have.”

“Like my computer.” Davis walked over and grabbed his backpack, holding it up.

Duff took the bag from Davis. “I think the guys will take a look at this. Also, I’d like to do a blood draw from you both, just as a baseline.”

“I’m okay with it,” Davis said.

Ryan shrugged. “You know, the more you talk the more I want to stay. I’m okay with you taking my blood.”

“Okay, let’s do the blood draw. I’ll take the computer out to the main part of the house, and the other guys will start picking it apart and we’ll see if we can find out who was spying on you. Then we can sit down in here and discuss some more information. After that, we’ll see where we stand.”

“Sounds good,” Ryan said.

“Okay, let’s get this rolling. I’m ready.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Marshal took the computer out to the main room and told Zander and Mike what they were looking for. He was glad to see Mike up and moving around a bit, though he still looked exhausted.

“Easy enough,” Mike said. “I’ll see what we can do once we hook it up to some diagnostics.”

“You really up to it?” Zander asked.

“I have you for backup if I need to go take a nap. I’m not overdoing it, but I want to get out of bed.”

“I need to draw some blood. Billy and Tucker, you two up to doing some blood work?” Marshal asked.

“Sure,” Billy said. “So, do I get to meet these two hotties? I heard about the video but it was down when we went to look.”

“God, don’t tell them that. They’re a bit touchy about the subject.” Marshal opened up their medical cabinet to set up for the blood draw.

“So how hot are they?” Tucker asked.

“Molten. Damn, just thinking of Ryan on his back, his legs spread wide,” Marshal shook his head.

Zander tossed a wadded up napkin at Marshal. “Hey, I’m right here,” Zander called out.

“I didn’t say I wanted to sleep with them, you’re more than enough man for me, I just want to watch while I’m—well, you know.”

The guys laughed, and Marshal stalked closer to Zander, grabbing him and tugging him into a hug. He nuzzled his lover’s neck, nipping at his earlobe. Zander squirmed and Marshal clasped onto Zander’s butt cheeks, holding him still.

“You are such a cock slut. I swear you were into girls at one point,” Zander teased.

“All I want now is your cock, doesn’t mean I can’t look, though.”

“You can look, just know where your bread is buttered.”

Marshal grabbed Zander’s ass and squeezed. “Right here, baby, right here.”

After they finished teasing each other, Marshal grabbed the blood draw kit and headed back to the rooms where Davis and Ryan were being kept. He’d come a long way since the first time Zander had kissed him. He accepted his sexuality now. Before, it bugged him to have any desire for guys. Now, he knew it was just a part of who he was.

Marshal drew blood from both men, labeling each vial properly. Grant and Duff were chilling, talking about basketball and baseball, not going too deep on the subject at hand. Before Marshal left, Duff called to him.

“When you drop those off to the guys, come back. We want to get started, but I think it would be best if you were included in this conversation.”

He wasn’t sure what to think. He wasn’t ever going to be in good enough physical shape to go out on a mission that could get deadly. Duff had included him in everything dealing with Davis and Ryan. Maybe Duff would include him in the decision making and running of the ranch. Grant was the man, or at least the guy everyone thought would take over, but maybe Marshal had a place here at the house, running operations like Duff did.

Marshal gave the blood vials to Billy and returned quickly, knowing that they had a lot to discuss. What they did took more than just following orders; it took initiative and the ability to weigh options. They had to communicate well for all of this to work. If something broke down, it could mean death for one or all of them.

When Marshal got back to the room, Davis spoke for about twenty minutes, and then Ryan relayed his story. Duff and Grant both asked questions. Marshal relaxed and observed, talking when he had something to add to the conversation. They were deep in the middle of their discussions when a knock sounded on the door. Marshal got up to answer, admitting Billy into the room.

“Billy, what’s up?” Marshal asked.

“I need to ask Davis a question. I’m Billy by the way.” Billy waved at both Davis and Ryan.

“Sure,” Duff said.

Billy’s eyebrows were pinched together, his lips thinned. Billy stopped across from Davis and didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “Um, Davis, did you take any drugs recently?”

Davis shook his head and frowned. “No.”

“Are you sure?” Billy asked.

Davis nodded. “Yes, I’m positive. I don’t take drugs at all. I even balk at taking aspirin. Why?”

“You have barbiturates in your system. Do you know why that would have happened?” Billy asked.

“No.” Davis shook his head and rubbed his forehead. “I did feel off the morning that Craig tried to kill me.”

“Off?” Duff asked.

“Yeah, like I wasn’t with it. Slow. Everything seemed weird.”

“Well, it looks like we know how he got the drop on you. Though, I’m not sure why he didn’t kill you when you were drugged up the night before,” Marshal said.

“I’m careful when I travel. He probably thought I wouldn’t lock up properly after being drugged. I don’t know. Or he just wanted my reactions to be slow.”

“Damn, that man was the worst,” Grant said.

“I can’t say that I’m not glad he’s dead,” Duff said. “Did you find anything else?”

Billy glanced at the floor then back to Duff. “Um...in his bag, we did find a GPS tracking unit. We figured it was his and he was keeping track of where his computer was.”

“No fucking way. Shit, no. I have no idea how the fuck that got into my bag,” Davis’s eyes were wide, disbelief evident on his face. He looked shocked and his reaction seemed genuine.

“Maybe at the airport, or room service the night before,” Ryan offered.

“It seems like he had a very elaborate plan.” Davis dropped his head to his hands and groaned. “The room service guy was a little off. Damn, I could easily be dead now.”