Colorado Hitch (10 page)

Marshal stood and turned to face Zander. “None of us saw it coming. We didn’t know.”

Zander nodded then sighed. “Come on, let’s get you in bed. I want to hold you.”

Marshal smiled, knowing that when Zander said stuff like that, they would usually end up having sex. He reached for Zander’s hand and tugged him to their bedroom. He tossed his clothes to the floor and turned to find Zander staring at him. A chuckle escaped his lips, and Zander frowned.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Babe, you so want sex it’s obvious. You’re not just going to hold me, you’re going to make love to me.”

The corner of Zander’s mouth turned up and he shrugged. “You know me well.”

He held out his hands to Zander and sighed when Zander pulled him into a tight hug. Exhaustion filled him, but he wanted Zander so he pushed the tiredness away and melted against his man, letting Zander love on him.

Each kiss was delivered with care, each caress taking him higher, winding him tighter. Zander licked up his neck to his ear, toying with his sensitive lobe. He opened for his man, letting Zander in his body and soul. Tonight the sex was slow, sensual, and totally involved.

“Marsh, I will always love you.” Zander held him close, their limbs already entwined.

Marshal groaned as he met Zander’s thrusts. “You’re mine. My one and only.”

Zander slid in all the way and pressed his hips against Marshal’s ass, grinding hard. His face twisted up in a mask of pleasure before he pulled out and shoved back in. Marshal reached down and stroked his own cock, coming hard as Zander stretched out above him, his breath coming in gasps. They lay twisted together, neither one of them moving as they recovered from their lovemaking.

Zander kissed his shoulder and squeezed his arm. “Let’s brush our teeth then get some sleep. Something tells me this is going to be a long week.”

“Yep, I think it will.” Marshal grabbed a washrag from the counter and cleaned the cum off his chest before tossing it to the floor. He needed to do laundry, and they had to dust their room, but everything would be put on hold while they figured out what the heck was up with Craig’s helpers. He hoped they only had this one person to deal with before everything related to Craig was done. They’d spent enough resources trying to get over Craig, and it was time to be finished.

Once in bed, he wrapped his arms around Zander and held him tight. He thought back to that first kiss he and Zander had shared. He shivered at the memory, and Zander snuggled in closer. This was where he belonged and who he belonged with. With Zander by his side, he could deal with anything.

Chapter Fourteen

Davis and Ryan were both going to stay at Wild Bluff while Billy, Zander, and Roger headed to Maryland to take down the woman who appeared to be using the alias Daphne Wall. It was imperative to hit Daphne hard since she’d infiltrated the government and was working with the CIA as an administrative assistant.

Anger curled through Davis, heating him up. How could this woman, who was a trusted person, work with Craig? She was on the inside and should have been vetted better. Maybe the relationship with Craig happened after she got the job at the CIA. They couldn’t be certain of the connection point, but 'when' didn’t matter at the moment because she was going to be eliminated. A small part of him wanted to contact his old handler and tell him, but he feared Daphne would find out and flee.

The day before the guys were supposed to leave, he found another alias for Daphne, putting her in Florida. Grant called them all together in the control room for a meeting.

“Okay, we have to decide what to do about this. We have reason to believe that Daphne is in Maryland but we didn’t know about her house in Ormond Beach, Florida until today. I want everyone to weigh in on the matter.”

Billy was the first to stand. “We have to send a group to Maryland. All of our intelligence has her in Maryland. But I think a group needs to go to Florida also.”

Tucker stood next. “That would leave us light here at the ranch.”

“We have nine active members at the moment,” Grant said. “If three go to Maryland and three head to Florida, we still have three here.”

Marshal cleared his throat and stood. “I don’t think having an operation run by me, Davis, and Ryan would go over well. No offense, Davis or Ryan, you two have never really had to do anything like this.”

“None taken,” Ryan said.

Davis stood and stared around the group. “I can’t go. This woman knows who I am. She knows my handler and she will see me a mile away. I could go to Florida, if we’re sure she’s not there. If I wear a good disguise and I’m not on the team going into her house, we should be safe.”

Grant moved to the center of the room and turned to face Davis. “I think having you on the Florida team would work. Does anyone else have anything to say?”

“I’m good doing ops from here,” Ryan said.

“Okay, so we have Billy, Zander, and Roger heading to Maryland, and Davis, Mike, and Tucker going to Florida. I’ll stay here with Marshal and help Ryan learn how to run an operation.” Grant turned his gaze on Davis.

Ryan had gone out before and he’d been worried. Now, he was excited and a little nervous about how the operation would go. What if he had an issue or made a mistake?

“Hey,” Ryan whispered at his side. He turned to stare into his lover’s eyes. “Everything will be fine.”

“I’ve never gone out on a mission like this with other people. In the military everything was different. With the CIA, I was always alone.”

Tucker moved to stand beside him, and Zander stood in front of him. They stared at each other for a short moment before Tucker smiled and began speaking.

“We have a lot of work to do before we head out. You need a good disguise since we're in the U.S. and this woman may know you. We’ll be leaving early. Pick your identification and prep tonight. We need to be ready in the morning. In forty-five minutes, we’ll meet here and go over our plan.”

“Sounds good,” Zander said.

Davis nodded then turned to face Ryan once Zander and Tucker stepped away. “I want to hold you tonight.”

Ryan placed his hand on Davis’s chest. “Go take care of stuff. I need to sit with Grant and Marshal and figure out what we’re doing.”

“Okay, everyone.” Grant’s voice carried throughout the room. “We’ll meet back here at five and get a detailed plan for each operation. We have two going at once. We’ll need to be ready.”

Davis caught Ryan’s gaze before they separated. This was why they’d come here. In the months that had passed since moving to Colorado, he’d become complacent. Now, with a mission hitting him full in the face tomorrow, his excitement levels were off the chart. But he couldn’t allow his emotions to get him worked up. This was just like every other mission he’d ever been a part of, but this one would go down in less than twenty-four hours.

*~*~*

The next morning Grant woke as Roger pushed the covers off his body. He reached over and grabbed Roger’s hand before he got too far. “Be careful out there today.”

Roger rolled toward him and hugged him close. “I’m always careful.”

“I know, you’re smart, but I’m feeling off about this mission.”

Roger ran his hand over Grant’s chest to his shoulders and cupped the back of his head. “Everything will go smoothly. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

Grant threw his arm over Roger, keeping him close. “Just be careful,” he whispered before kissing Roger’s forehead.

“I will. I need to shower and get ready. We’re leaving early since there are too many of us to ride in the helicopter.”

Grant followed Roger to the bathroom and showered with him. They kissed as they cleaned each other. When Roger turned off the water, Grant wanted to drag him back to bed, but even if he was having thoughts of keeping Roger to himself, he knew there were more important things at stake. Until they took care of this woman, Craig could still come back to haunt them. And that, more than anything else, had him letting Roger go. Because if he didn’t, and this woman came back to seek revenge on them for Craig, he wouldn’t have any future at all.

Six men left the ranch early that morning. Three headed to Maryland, and the other three flew to Florida. He and Ryan took care of the ranch chores as Marshal cooked them breakfast. When he came back to the house, he saw Duff standing on the porch with a suitcase by his side.

“What’s this about?” Grant wiped his hands together, making sure they weren’t dirty.

Duff frowned and shook his head. “It’s time.”

“No, not until Davis is back home and you say goodbye to him properly.” Anger spiked but he tamped it down. Being pissed wasn’t going to make Duff stay.

Duff glanced to the barn then turned slowly to face Grant. “It’s not been the same since he knows the truth.”

Ryan followed behind him and moved up the porch steps, his shoulders stiff and his lips turned down in a frown. “This isn’t fair.”

“Life is never fair.” Duff frowned as he straightened.

Marshal stepped out of the house, his brows bunched. They all glanced at Marshal who lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “You’re not leaving, Duff.”

“No.” Ryan shook his head, his gaze turning back to Duff. “You won’t leave Davis like this. Stay until he comes back. He’s a good man and doesn’t deserve to be abandoned. Be a man and face him before you walk out.”

Duff’s chest expanded and his face turned red. His eyes narrowed and his fists balled at his sides. For a second, Grant thought Duff was going to punch Ryan then he shook his head and turned back to the house. Before stepping through the door, Duff stopped moving and glanced over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Ryan. You’re right, he deserves more. I just feel totally useless right now. I don’t like being here and not helping when you all are working a mission.”

Grant cleared his throat. “We are shorthanded.”

Duff shook his head. “My time has passed. I-I don’t think I have the… I should just buck up and be there for you. Grant, Marshal, this is your ship now. You sail it where you think it needs to go. If I go into that control room with you, I’ll muck things up. I don’t want to be the reason someone gets hurt or the reason something bad happens.”

Grant took a step closer to Duff, but Marshal placed his hand on Grant’s shoulder, making him stop. Grant glanced to Marshal, and Marshal gave a quick shake of his head. Duff wasn’t strong enough to work, not yet. Since his heart attack, he’d changed too much. This was just another way he was different. The old Duff would have never snuck out of the house and tried to leave without saying goodbye. At least, Grant didn't think that’s how the old Duff would have done it, but he wasn’t sure.

Maybe Duff had played them all, but Grant didn’t want to think about anyone else being a manipulative backstabber. And Duff was nothing like Craig. This was nothing like Craig. Duff was getting old, and the changes in him since the heart attack were plain enough to see. The heart issue was only one in a dozen that had popped up. If he were truthful with his memories, he would admit that Duff had been forgetting things. His behavior had been off but hidden behind house chores, cooking, and business. Why hadn’t he seen it before? He didn’t have time to talk to Duff right then, but later, after all of the guys got home safely, he’d have a chat with Duff. There might be some issues with medicines, or something else making him change his behavior. Duff was a good man, Grant was sure of that.

“Okay, well, breakfast is done,” Marshal said before opening the door and following Duff inside.

“I don’t want to tell Davis that his dad was sneaking off without saying goodbye,” Ryan said.

Grant nodded. “They have enough to deal with without having to worry about Duff right now. Plus, I think it has less to do with Davis and more to do with us finishing up with Craig. What he did devastated us, and Duff has to be feeling the effects. His heart attack may not be his only health issue and he’s on some strong meds. Let’s eat, let Duff cool off, and then we need to get in place before the planes land. Ryan, this is going to be complicated since we have two operations running at the same time, but we can do it.”

“I feel good today.” Ryan smiled over his shoulder catching Grant’s gaze.

Grant chuffed out a laugh to cover his nervousness. “I’m glad you do, I’m glad you do.”

Worry still spun through him. Something was going to go wrong. He just felt off about everything. If Duff had been acting normal, he would go to Duff and get him on board. But Duff wasn’t acting like himself, and Grant thought it would only make matters worse.

“Eat up,” Marshal said as he placed plates filled with bacon, eggs, and biscuits on the table.

Grant grabbed a biscuit and bacon before shoveling some eggs on his plate. One thing was for certain, they wouldn’t be losing any weight with Marshal cooking. He might have had some missteps in the kitchen in the beginning but now he was spot on.

They finished their breakfast and moved to the control room. Marshal was in charge of the Florida group, and he was over the Maryland guys. His team would be landing in about forty minutes, and Marshal’s would land in a little over an hour. Ryan was pulling up maps for both locations, hacking into municipal cameras, and securing the audio for the police scanners in both areas. It was a huge operation they were running with only the three of them in the command center.

“The plane headed to Dulles has landed. The boys are on the ground and moving,” Ryan said a little later. “I have a visual from the airport.”

“Okay, Ryan, sounds good.” Grant felt out of his depth. Two operations at once was crazy. “Are you tapped in where they can hear you?”

“Yes, sir.” Ryan was taking their situation seriously, and Grant appreciated him for it.

“Marshal, how long until your men land?” Grant asked.

“A storm popped up in Orlando. The plane slowed its speed and should land in about twenty minutes.”

“Good. Maybe the guys in Maryland will be done before we start our Florida operation.”

Grant knew it was only wishful thinking but he needed a break. After a few seconds, he picked up his phone and looked at it, thinking that calling Duff would be smart. He drew in a deep breath, remembering Duff’s words. He couldn’t pull him in. Duff had dealt with a lot in the years of running Wild Bluff, and though he was scared, he could do this with Marshal’s help.

“Before it gets crazy,” Marshal said. “I’ll get everything set for the Florida op. If you need me to hop on with anything in Maryland, I can lend a hand.”

Grant nodded then turned to Ryan. “You’re being tossed straight into the fire. We need the cameras on the big screen up front. I’ll help you get those up before the men travel to Daphne’s house.”

“Okay. I have access to all of the cameras in Washington DC and have already identified the ones that should be on the route to Daphne’s house. I’ve also got all of the cameras in Florida on the way to the house there. I’m listening to the scanners for four different police departments. I think we’re covered. I just need help getting it all on the big screen.”

“I really like you, Ryan,” Grant said.

The smile Ryan shot him was nearly electric. Marshal was smiling, too, and for a moment, everything seemed like it would run smoothly. They could get through this; Grant knew it. Ten minutes later, Roger sent a text. They were stopping to put on disguises and change the plates on the van they had acquired. If the cops were paying attention to them, they would be harder to track. After another hour, Roger called.

“We’re in place. Daphne is at home, and I’ve made visual contact. We have a delivery van and the flowers. Billy is going to make the delivery. He has the poison in place and will make sure she is stuck before she leaves his presence. She’ll be dead in minutes.” Roger’s voice was strong and steady. He didn’t seem to be nervous at all, and Grant envied his calm demeanor.