A Restored Man (14 page)

"I was twelve. My first few were typical slim jim jobs, then I got bored. I had a few friends with high-end auto body shops," Cole said, raising an eyebrow at Ty. "But don't ask me who because
that
I won't ever tell."

Ty nodded, a thrill traveling his body at the welcomed trust.

"They'd let me into their yard where they kept the crashed cars. I'd practice on the ones that still had their alarms in place. I learned how careful I needed to be with some, how sensitive the proximity sensors were in others, and which ones needed hacked keys," Cole said, nudging Ty to start walking back to the service bay where lunch was probably already out for the techs.

"You were really young," Ty said, walking alongside Cole.

Cole snorted a laugh. "It takes a while to build up the skills. I can't just sign up for a class on the subject. Besides, it takes years to build enough credibility in that market to get contracts."

Ty looked over to Cole. "You know how to work on cars, why choose to boost them and run the risk of getting caught?"

"Because I'm better at boosting them."

Ty stopped walking and lowered his brow. "Not sure about that. I've seen how you work. You're very good. You paint better than my best guy and you know your engines. Your skills rival Jeff's and he's my senior tech."

The smile slid off Cole's face. He looked away and swallowed heavily.

"Did I say something wrong?" Ty asked.

Cole shook his head. "People usually slam me, not compliment me. C'mon, I'm starving and we need to get moving if we're going to finish those cars today."

Ty walked with Cole to the sandwich station Stacie had prepared. Rather than retreating to his office as he usually did, Cole managed to convince him to stay and hang out with the other techs. The other workers were quiet at first, but it seemed they couldn't resist taking a verbal jab at Cole when he started talking. Thirty minutes later, Ty was crumpling up the wrapper of his sandwich with a lingering smile from a joke one of his techs had shared. He missed spending time with the guys, catching up and just joking around. He shook his head and wondered how the hell he had let himself slip so far into this dark pit he wallowed in.

"Are you sure you can't come to my mom's party on Saturday?" Cole asked Matt as they hung out, watching an evening show in the living room.

Matt lay on the couch with his legs slung over the armrest and his head on Julian's thigh. He had his eyes closed as his partner's fingers combed through his hair. "I don't think so. Sam is supposed to be coming by to discuss a few case files. Seems he's got a group of guys who are begging to come here when they get released."

Cole would love to see Sam again—the rehabilitation officer who had brought him and Luke to the halfway house. He hadn't seen him in almost two months. He looked over and fought the stab of jealousy as he watched Julian's fingers run though Matt's hair. He yearned for the day he could sit with someone like that on the couch doing nothing other than just spending time together. "Why are they begging to come here?"

Matt sat up. "Apparently, news travels fast that we're a gay couple running this house. So he's received a few solicitations from inmates and attorneys for potential candidates who would feel more comfortable coming here."

"I'm not gay and I'm here," Luke said, coming down the stairs.

Cole looked up. "Dude, you know you're lusting after me. Admit it."

Luke swatted the back of Cole's head as he walked behind him, making his way around the couch to sit next to Cole.

Cole rubbed the back of his head over his beanie. "Damn, man! See? You can't keep your hands off me."

Luke glared at Cole. "I'm not gay. I have a girlfriend."

Cole smiled. He opened his mouth to say something and that earned a smack from Julian. He turned to his right. "You guys are going to give me a concussion," he said, rubbing his head again. He stood and moved over to the loveseat on the side.

Julian glared. "Stop giving Luke a hard time. Whatever his preference, show some fucking respect."

Cole crossed his arms and scowled. "And you wonder why the hell other guys want to come here. This place is a mecca for acceptance."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Matt said defensively.

Cole sighed. He shouldn't let his cranky mood affect the others in the house. He was nervous about the party. He threw his booted feet over the armrest and tucked one of the throw pillows under his head. He needed a few non-Renzo faces there to ease some of the possible family stress. "Luke, you want to come to my mom's party Saturday? You can bring your girlfriend if you want."

Luke looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"My mom said I could bring friends." Cole groaned loudly. "Did I forget the magic word? Pretty please?"

Luke scowled. "I'll see if she wants to go," he said before excusing himself from the room to answer his ringing cell phone.

Cole sighed when he realized his position on the loveseat gave him a better view of Matt and Julian. He wanted to have that closeness with someone. Not just anyone, he wanted Ty. "When did you guys know you were it for each other?"

Julian half smiled. "I knew almost right away."

Matt tilted his head up. "It took you a while to kiss me."

Julian looked at Matt, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "But I did."

"Yeah, you did," Matt said, snuggling into Julian's hold.

Julian looked over at Cole. "Call Jessie, he'll go. But keep in mind, if Aidan gets wind of it, he'll probably show up."

"I don't get those two," Matt said with a yawn. "You can feel the tension when they're in the room together."

Cole smiled. He and Jessie Vega, Hunter Donovan's former assistant, had become friends and he knew the man had a thing for Aidan.

Why? He had no idea.

Jessie was quiet, but always seemed to make time to patiently sit and listen to Cole when he'd visit the house to review updates on Cam's case. Cole had managed to pry a few bits of information from him, but generally, Jessie kept to himself and was guarded, except when Aidan was in the room. Aidan seemed to be the sole owner of the key that unlocked Jessie. The guy would come to life in Aidan's presence, his eyes would brighten and his smile was coy but welcoming…but only for Aidan. Once Aidan had figured out Jessie's visiting schedule, he would stop by more often with some bullshit excuse about keeping tabs on Cole and making sure he was complying with the agreement. But Aidan never paid attention to Cole during his visits, he would only have eyes for Jessie.

"I'll call Jessie. He'll go," Cole said. He'd find a way to casually drop a hint to lure Aidan to go to the party. After all, he did promise Cam to try to hook up Jessie and Aidan, but he had no idea how long those two would take to get with the program.

If Jessie was there, Aidan would follow. Cole couldn't wait to hear what sort of creative bullshit Aidan would dish out for attending a Renzo family event.

He launched from the couch to call Jessie.

Who knows, maybe he'd be lucky and Aidan would bring Ty as a cover. That was probably wishful thinking. He sensed there was distance between the Calloway brothers. He'd have to find a way to remedy that, too.

Cole was staring, but he didn't care. Ty had ditched the coveralls for a work shirt and pant set and it seemed he was offering Cole a private little show for the better part of the day. He needed to find out where Ty stashed his coveralls so he could burn them all. He was in a trance, watching the flex of Ty's biceps as he worked the machine. He memorized every sharp line and plane of Ty's face, envying that lucky smear of grease that lay on his cheek for almost an hour now. His gaze always seemed to return to those full lips.
Those lips
. The top lip was just as full as the bottom one. He followed a trail along his strong, square jaw down Ty's neck, to his shoulders and over each curve of his flexing arms. After his perusal, he started all over again. He had lost count how many times he'd repeated the tour of Ty's features.

"You're staring," Ty said, never shifting his intense focus from his task.

Cole swallowed heavily. Damn right he was staring! Who could blame him? The hard-on in his pants didn't let him move.

A hint of a smile appeared, coloring Ty's expression as he worked.

Fucker
. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Ty looked up, his eyes locking with Cole's stare.

Cole's pulse raced. He didn't know what was worse, the hard-on that could possibly dent the metal of the car he was working on if he pushed against it, or the blue balls from Ty's subtle teasing. His lips parted slightly, trying to take in some air. Those brown eyes were piercing into him, spurring on his already vivid imagination. How was it possible being near this man still drove him crazy after three weeks?

He flinched when the radio chirped then cursed under his breath. He was going to burn all the coveralls, smash all the radios, and lock Stacie and her perfectly imperfect timing in a fucking closet.

Ty broke away from the trance to answer the radio call.

Cole took a few deep breaths, willing his body to calm down.
Pause. Be good. Breathe. Pause. Be good
. His breathing began to level off a bit and his raging hard-on had slightly softened.

"Cole? You okay over there?" Ty asked with a half smile.

Motherfucker
. Cole scowled when his hard-on resurrected at the sound of Ty's voice. How the hell was he going to keep doing this every day? He took a deep breath and tried to focus on his work.

Ty stopped what he was doing and walked over to Cole. He stood next to him and crossed his arms at the top of the open car door. "You seem distracted," he said, resting his chin on his crossed arms.

Cole looked up with a raised eyebrow. "You know exactly what you're doing."

"Do I?"

Cole stopped and turned to face Ty. He crossed his arms and made it a point of flexing his arms in the process.
Two can play that game
.

Ty's teasing smile faltered. "What is it you think I'm doing?"

"Now you're just fishing for a compliment."

Ty quietly chuckled. There was no way in hell he was letting Ty get the upper hand this time, or any time. He was too much of a control freak to let that happen. He pulled the shop towel from the back pocket of his pants and reached out to wipe the grease from Ty's cheek.

Ty stilled.

"You have some grease on your face," Cole said, taking his time to remove the smear, which had vanished after a single swipe of the fabric.

Ty closed his eyes and his lips parted slightly.

Cole casually threw the towel over his shoulder and softly brushed his thumb along Ty's cheek, unable to resist the need to touch Ty's skin. Ty opened his eyes slowly, the desire in those brown eyes screamed at Cole.
Pause. Be good. What if you're wrong? Don't do it. Pause. Do it, you idiot. Pause
.

He closed his eyes and withdrew his hand, trying to silence the inner struggle in his head. He couldn't risk messing things up right now with Ty. He was already mentally screwed thinking about his mom's party this weekend. He couldn't deal with losing Ty if he was wrong. Cole looked back up and saw Ty's intense stare focused on him. "Now you're the one who's staring."

"You're distracted today." Ty reached out and tugged on Cole's beanie as if centering the embroidered logo. "Is everything okay?"

Cole took a deep breath. He wanted Ty's hands on him.

"You seem…worried about something," Ty said.

Cole shrugged. "My mom's birthday party is tomorrow. It's kind of a big thing. All the family will be there and I'm a little nervous about it."

"Why?"

Cole shrugged again and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm not sure how I'll fit in."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Ty said. "They've probably missed having you around all these years."

Cole wasn't too sure about that. His family was resilient and independent. It was both a strength and a curse of the Renzo heritage. They were all strong in character and each at the top of their chosen careers. He was the exception. He didn't stand out, he barely measured up, and now, he was officially a criminal. He craved fitting in, being needed and wanted. Maybe it was part of the whole deal of having so many siblings or a big family. He didn't know. But he
did
know his family was perfectly fine without him being around. Loved him? Sure, without question he knew they loved him. Well, most of them did.