Authors: Sara York
Colorado Hitch (7 page)
The next morning, Davis received a text from Grant, requesting that everyone meet in the den at one in the afternoon. When the time came, he took a seat on the couch beside Mike, and Ryan sat on his other side. The rest of the guys filed in, packing the den. This get together was different from their previous movie night, or any of the meals they’d shared together. The seriousness weaving through the group struck a chord with him.
Grant stood in front of the television with Marshal beside him. A ripple of excitement raced around the room, and he wondered if they were about to receive an assignment. When everyone settled, Grant turned to Marshal and nodded.
“It’s been a quiet summer and we’ve not had work for a while. Maybe it’s the political climate, or just the weather. Whatever the reason, we all know we run the risk of not staying sharp. Grant and I were discussing our options yesterday and we decided that it’s time to figure out who was working with Craig and if there even was someone working with him.”
Every man leaned forward, any smiles they'd had earlier erased. Eyes were narrowed and nostrils flared with each breath. The guys were serious, and it felt good to be in this type of environment.
Grant stepped forward, his gaze settling on Duff before sweeping over the group. “We should have tackled this earlier, but with Duff’s health issues and other items taking our focus, we’ve been distracted. It’s time to push past those distractions and move forward on this issue. Craig tried to kill Davis last March. We need to determine if he was working with anyone. If he was working with another person, we need to figure out who that person was.”
Zander lifted his hand, and Grant nodded to him. “Is there any other reason we’re doing this now?”
“No, there is no extra information, no ulterior motive, and nothing on the back burner. We just need to figure this out and it gives us a good reason to brush up on our skills,” Grant said.
Marshal stepped up and stood beside Grant. “I’d like Tucker and Mike to pair with Ryan and show him everything you do to research something like this. Run this like we would an op.”
“Sure, sounds good,” Tucker said.
Marshal continued, his gaze sweeping over the men. “Roger and Billy, I want you two to work with Davis. Zander will be supervising and fact checking everything both groups find. Every questionable item will be brought to Zander. Everything you find and determine is valid will be shown to me. After we develop a good picture and have an action plan, we’ll go over the information together. If anyone has any questions, any misgivings, any hang-ups, or anything else you think is off, bring it forward. Make a list of any and all questions.”
“Ryan, Davis,” Grant said. “No question is too small. We will run this like a mission. This will be a great test for you both. The big take away for you two is that when we’re working on a mission, no question is stupid or too small. We need every person here to be satisfied. The tasks we are charged with are too important to leave to chance.”
Davis cleared his throat. “So, are we only allowed to speak up at the end?”
“No, at any point you don’t like something you see, or if you are just wondering about an issue, speak up. If you notice a pattern or don’t see the pattern that someone else does, ask a question.”
Davis glanced over to Ryan and saw the anticipation shining in his eyes. He was ready for a challenge, too. Not that he thought living with Ryan had become boring, but he’d wanted to experience some excitement and this would fill the need. He turned his gaze back to Grant who’d started speaking.
“Okay, everyone has their basic assignments. We need to look at every aspect of Craig’s life, and everyone associated with him. Michael Ward, otherwise known as Michael Brown has to be investigated. He should still be in prison, but we need to make sure.”
“Now I wish we’d taken the papers from that office in England,” Marshal said.
Duff let out a huff. “We didn’t have the resources at the time.”
“Can we get someone into evidence in England?” Tucker asked.
Grant shrugged, his gaze falling on Marshal. “Maybe.”
Marshal turned to Grant and smiled. “You know I’d love to do it.”
“We’ll need two people to go in. Marshal, why don’t you take Ryan with you.”
A flash of disappointment flared, but Davis pushed it away. He would have his own missions soon enough. Ryan would enjoy the task of heading out into the field, and when he came home, they could talk about everything that had happened. He squeezed Ryan’s hand and Ryan squeezed back, his eyes bright with excitement.
Billy called over his shoulder. “Davis, come on, we’re going to the control room to start working.”
Duff slapped his hands together. “I’ll get some soup going.”
“I’ll brew some coffee.” Zander hopped up and headed to the kitchen.
“I know Craig is a sore subject, but this is exciting.” Tucker rubbed his hands together, the look on his face intense.
Mike smiled wide, his grin infectious. “Finally, work. I was beginning to wonder if we would ever get more stuff to do.”
Grant cleared his throat. “Okay, everyone, get your excitement out because this is going to take a lot on our part. Craig was a member of this team, and we might find things we really don’t want to know.”
Zander stepped back into the room, his eyes on Grant. “Hey, Grant, we really don’t mean to be insensitive.”
“It’s okay. I’m glad to be getting back to work, too.” Grant patted Zander on the shoulder before turning to talk to Marshal.
Davis’s heart expanded as they all dispersed. He followed Roger and Billy into the control room, settling in a seat next to Roger. They flipped on computers, and Billy logged him in. They’d done some training with him on the computer, but Duff’s health scare along with the news he’d learned about Duff and Beth had disrupted his training. Grant had assured him he was up to speed, but he felt he needed more. Building the O and perfecting their times took up most of their summer. He was ready for the change in pace and doing in-depth research appeared to be the answer.
“Davis, start tracking down all known associates. We need an accounting of every person Craig had connections with. We’ve developed a list of names Craig went by and they’re here, in this file.” Billy pointed at the screen to a file on the desktop.
“Okay, I’ll see what I can come up with,” Davis flexed his fingers, enjoying the challenge.
“I’ll be working beside you doing the exact same thing. You can ask Roger any questions you have. He’ll be going over bank records associated with the people we find.”
Davis looked over Roger’s shoulder as he opened a command window, typed a few lines of code, launching an attack script for a bank, exploiting the banks webserver, implanting a virus to watch for access information for known associates of Craig. Davis couldn’t help but smile as he turned to his screen and went through a similar process to break into the social security administration, hunting for names that were connected to Craig.
An hour into the process, he had two laptop computers searching through information for every place Craig had lived, along with the desktop he was using to search through government sites for addresses and information the normal person couldn’t get to. Some of the sites he'd broken into, other sites he'd gained access through the front door, almost like he had legitimate business looking at the information.
He was hunched over, his focus narrowed to the material on the screen. It appeared that possibly a woman, Linda Wall, had been in England when Craig had been there, and then in the United States later when Craig had returned. She hadn’t traveled with Craig, but it was worth looking into. Davis tagged her as someone to investigate further.
After three hours, he had two more names to look at. He sat up and stretched, noticing for the first time that he was alone in the room. Where had everyone gone and when had they left? He stood, stretching more as his lower back rebelled against the use of his legs. The door opened and Ryan popped in, the smile on his face wide.
“I thought you got lost,” Ryan said.
He straightened and smiled at Ryan. “What’s going on?”
“We’re eating and taking a quick break. I’m headed out in an hour.”
“Out?” Davis scratched his head. Had he missed something? Ryan stepped into the room and the door shut behind him.
“Yes, we’re leaving for London.”
Davis’s heart flipped. “Oh, yeah, I forgot. I’m surprised you all arranged it this quickly. I… I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” Ryan stepped closer, his fingers trailing over Davis’s shoulder and down his arm.
Davis shook his head. “Naw, you won’t. You’ll be too busy having fun on your first mission.”
“I’ll still miss you.”
Ryan wrapped his arm around Davis’s back. Davis sank into the offered hug, resting his head on Ryan’s shoulder. The tight hug felt good, like home.
“Be careful,” Davis said.
“I will. Plus, all we're doing is looking at documents. It’s not like we’re going on a real mission with guns pointed at us.”
Davis leaned back and reached up. He held Ryan’s chin between his fingers, gently caressing the smooth skin. “Be careful, you never know what can happen. All missions can turn dangerous.”
“Babe,” Ryan whispered before brushing his lips over Davis’s mouth. “I’ll be very careful. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything dangerous. Marshal and I both have something to come back to.”
Their gazes met and he felt like he would never get enough of this man. “After the military, when I was working with the CIA, it was so lonely. I'd convinced myself that’s what I'd wanted. Sure, I had some friends, but never anyone like you, not like this. What I feel for you is so intense and it keeps getting deeper.”
Ryan stepped closer. “I’ve never been in love this deeply. I can’t explain it and I don’t want to lose you. You’re my everything.”
Their foreheads met and he breathed in slowly, taking in Ryan’s scent, the way he touched, how he breathed, and he knew life after Ryan would never be the same. There would always be two halves to his heart, one that stayed with him and the other that went with Ryan when he left.
“Let’s go get some food before they send someone else in here looking for us,” Ryan said.
“Sure.” Davis followed behind him until they got to the door. Then he tugged Ryan off balance before pushing him against the wall, pressing his knee between Ryan’s legs, and leaning in hard. “I fucking love you and I need you. Don’t do anything stupid over there.”
Davis planted his lips on Ryan’s, his tongue delving in to Ryan’s mouth, twining together in an erotic dance that left both of them breathless. He drank Ryan in, his hands searching, exploring as they rocked together. After a moment, he pulled out of the kiss and stepped back. Ryan lifted his hand, sliding his fingers over Davis’s lips. His eyes were dark with lust, his breathing heavy. Davis thought that Ryan had never looked so sexy. He wished he had his phone out so he could snap a picture, but Ryan would probably change his expression if he dug into his pocket to take a photo.
“I’ll be thinking of that kiss while you’re gone,” Davis said.
“When I get back, I want you to make good on the promises that kiss delivered.”
“I will. Now, let’s get you some food.”
After Ryan and Marshal left for the airport, Davis searched for hours, looking for more information on Craig and anyone he’d been in contact with. He still had hours and hours of work to do, but he was exhausted. He headed to their room, sadness filling him when he closed the door and realized he was really alone. He stretched out on his side of the bed and looked at the empty space where Ryan normally slept. He’d grown used to having someone in his bed and his lover not being there felt weird.
Davis rolled to the other side and hugged Ryan’s pillow close, sniffing deep. The scent washed over him, and he sighed. He closed his eyes and drifted off as thoughts of Ryan filled him. Ryan would be home soon enough and when he arrived, Davis would show him once again how much he was loved.
Ryan heard the pilot make the announcement and slowly opened his eyes, smiling to himself as thoughts of Davis came to him. That kiss had been scorched into his mind, heating him up as he’d slept. Thank goodness he’d placed a sweatshirt in his lap or he would have given everyone a show with his tented pants.
As they landed, he pushed thoughts of Davis from his mind, concentrating on their mission. He and Marshal entered the country separately, traveling to their hotel in different cabs. Being on this mission gave him a confidence boost. They were traveling under fake names, which was a kick. One of the things he and Davis had done during the summer was to make up a few identities that they could use without revealing who they really were. Today, he was Blain Simmons.
Going through customs with his fake name had been kind of harrowing, but once through, he felt like a kid in a candy store. If they had been headed out on a different type of mission, he probably would have been more serious, less lighthearted, but being in London, helping the guys figure out if anyone had been working with Craig was just pure fun. He caught a cab and had it drop him a block from the hotel. After he'd checked in, he texted the room number to Marshal. Ten minutes later Marshal showed up.
“Hey, did you have a good flight?” Marshal asked.
“Yeah, I thought so. You know, I’m just glad to be on this mission.”
“Tell me about it.” Marshal rolled his eyes and plopped down on the bed.
“So, this Craig dude, he’s the one who hurt you and who tried to kill Davis?”
“Yeah, I’d like for everything associated with him to be done and over with. But I am happy to be out in the field. It’s been a while. I don’t like just sitting around doing nothing.”
“It would frustrate me to no end, but at least you still get to be a part of the group. So many guys from my unit were basically kicked out when they got injured. The military found them useful until they were blown apart. I understand to some extent, but those men lost everything.”
“Yeah, I’m lucky, but it still bugs me at times. Duff is the best.”
Ryan nodded, not saying anything. Marshal knew the truth about Davis and Duff, and he guessed it really didn’t matter. Duff seemed like a good guy, though he hadn’t done much other than cook recently. Grant and Marshal had taken over operations, which was good.
During their talks in the middle of the night, Davis said he’d forgiven his father, and Ryan had too, but the subject still bugged him at times. During the summer, Duff had talked about moving away but seemed to be waiting for something. Maybe he wouldn’t leave after all, but maybe he would.
Marshal stood and stretched. “Okay, I’m going out to grab us food. I’ll be back. Stay here, we’ll go over our plan for tomorrow after I return.”
“Sounds good.” Ryan waited until Marshal was gone before he texted Davis.
Ryan: Hey, you up?
Davis: God I miss you.
Ryan: Miss you too.
Davis: Can you talk?
Ryan dialed Davis’s number, waiting for it to connect overseas. Then Davis answered, his voice pure and clear, and Ryan sighed. “It’s good to hear your voice.”
Davis laughed. “It’s not been that long.”
“But don’t you miss me?” Ryan asked.
“Of course I do. I miss all of you,” Davis said the last few words in a harsh whisper.
“Mmm. Are you in bed?” Ryan closed his eyes, his body heating as he thought of Davis lying in their bed.
“Sure am. I tried to sleep on my side of the mattress but I kept waking up. I’ve been on your side for a while.”
Ryan reached down and grabbed his dick. “You make me warm just thinking about that.”
Davis chuckled and Ryan heard the sheets rustling. “Are you at the hotel yet?”
“Yeah, we just got here. Marshal went out to find us food.”
“What else will you do today?” Davis asked, his voice losing its sexiness.
“We’re going over the plan a few more times then head to bed.”
Davis moaned and it sounded like he was stretching. The noise was driving Ryan insane. He groaned, and Davis chuckled again.
“When you come home, I’ll make good on that kiss.” Davis’s voice was low and sexy.
Ryan pushed at his dick, wishing it would deflate. Marshal would be back soon, and he didn’t want to be all boned up.
“Fuck, I swear I’m going to need a full night of sex when I get back.”
“Deal,” Davis said.
“I’m going to let you go and figure out a way to look decent before Marshal comes back. I love you.”
“I love you too. I can’t wait until you get home.”
“Same here. Bye.”
He hung up then headed to the bathroom where he turned on the cold water in the small sink and splashed some on his face. Marshal came back before he was done. Ryan took a few calming breaths then stepped out into the main room, hoping he didn’t look too indecent.
“Smells delicious. What did you get?” Ryan asked.
“There’s a pasty shop around the corner. I picked up four, two beef, one chicken, and a lamb pasty along with some drinks and chips. We should be set for the night. It may seem boring, sitting in here until we’re on in the morning, but we can’t afford to go out sightseeing.”
“That’s smart.”
Ryan shrugged, eventually he would want to come back with Davis and really see the city. He dug into the bag and pulled out one of the pasties. It was huge, much bigger than anything he would find in the states that was similar. They settled at the small table with their food, and Marshal grabbed his iPad, pulling up a list of things they needed to do. The main thing was to get into the building where the documents on Craig were stored. Grant and Marshal had explained that originally the papers had been in a warehouse in Leeds, but the documents had been transferred to London before Michael’s trial had started. Now they were in a document warehouse that wasn’t anywhere close to the police station. Getting in would take some skill and a few modifications, both of which he was up for.
The next morning, after applying makeup, a prosthetic nose, and a wig for each of them, they headed to the warehouse, both taking different cabs. Breathing and talking with the added facial hair and the nose was strange, weird in a way that was beyond anything he’d experienced when he’d been with the military. Back then, he hadn’t bothered with disguising his features, but then again he’d been mostly covered by his gear. Walking into a building and falsifying his identity was so new it kind of pleased him to be able to fake everything and still have authority. It did worry him a bit, because if he could do it, couldn’t other people. Though they did have to do some behind-the-scenes magic, breaking into the computer systems and making them an appointment, but they’d accomplished that task easily.
There were about twenty people, law clerks, magistrates, other cops, looking for information at the warehouse, all waiting for their appointments. He and Marshal had picked a good day to come and blended in with the group. Marshal had a requisition to see files for a case that had nothing to do with Michael. He went in first and by the time Ryan made it into the lobby, Marshal was nowhere in sight. Ryan flipped out false documents, giving him access to the warehouse to view files on a totally different case than what Marshal was viewing. Once inside the storage area, he found the row of boxes they actually needed and took the top one off the stack to the table where he was working.
His heart hammered as he began going through the papers from the office where Craig and his group had worked. He snapped photos of each sheet of paper, wondering if that would be the moment someone would come in and discover their deception. It was weird how faked credentials could get them into a police warehouse. Throughout his military career, he’d focused on playing by the book, and now he was lying to gain entry into a place he had no official business being.
Ryan worked through the boxes from top to bottom, Marshal from bottom to top. After an hour, they were each on their last box, meeting in the middle of the stack. He started clicking through the pages, snapping photos of each sheet of paper. He was almost done with the box when a door opened behind him.
“Excuse me, what are you doing?” The voice was crisp, tinged with an English accent, and very much a woman who sounded like she always got what she wanted.
Ryan spun around and flashed her a smile, one that had gotten him out of so much shit when he was younger. “Hello, I’m DS Jason Rylon.” The woman cocked a brow and her lips turned down even more severely. He laughed and stood tall. “I know I have an American accent. I lived there for years but moved back and have been working in Leeds for a while. I’m almost done here.”
The woman stepped closer, her lips pressed together in a tight line. “What are you doing? Why are you looking through this material?”
His heart raced and he worried his mustache wasn’t on well enough, or maybe his nose had started to peel. Would she be able to see that he was wearing a wig? And good lord, these guys from Wild Bluff did this type of thing all the time, but normally they were in battle situations and he was only copying papers from a box. What would he do if he were having to kill someone and this woman walked in, interrupting him? The worry and fear were almost too much. He cleared his throat and turned back on the smile, hoping to ease the woman’s mind. “Oh, this case? My DI wanted me to find information on an old case. We were just trying to get ahead before we'd need to do some real work.”
The woman stepped forward, her frown getting deeper. He had a feeling that this part of the mission could go south really quick and he needed to do some fast talking. The woman glanced at the papers he’d been photographing then back to him, her eyes narrowed as they settled on him.
“This case isn’t under your authority now. Could you provide me with your credentials and I’ll ring up your DI? We need to have a little chat.”
Sweat formed on Ryan’s brow. His heart went wild as he realized that on his first assignment, the one that was supposed to be easy, he was already having trouble and was about to be found out. He would never live it down. Words were about to come out of his mouth to give some half-assed explanation of why he couldn’t provide this woman with his DI’s number when Marshal rounded the corner.
Marshal lifted his hand and waved at the woman. “Oh thank God, I found you. There was a cup of coffee left on the top shelf of one of the units. Someone knocked it over and spilled it all over the boxes.”
“What?” She rushed away, and Ryan took the last few photos of the papers in front of him, grabbed his things, and headed out, fleeing the warehouse. Marshal was right behind him. Once they exited the building, they headed straight to an entrance to the Tube.
Ryan hopped on behind Marshal and they rode the train to the second station. As they were pulling in, Marshal cut his eyes to Ryan, which was the first amount of recognition Marshal had given him since they’d left the building. Marshal nodded as the doors opened and he hopped off. Ryan followed a few paces behind, knowing full-well that his image was splashed all over closed circuit TV. Being seen together was a mistake. He only hoped the officials didn’t put two and two together and place them back at the warehouse they’d entered illegally.
They wove their way into a bathroom, Marshal barely acknowledging him. There were three other men in the room, and Ryan wondered if any of them would pay any attention to what they were doing.
“Take off your disguise,” Marshal whispered at him before heading into a stall.
Ryan entered the stall, praying they weren’t caught on too many cameras and that their true identities couldn’t be determined. Every little thing had him worried. More guys shuffled in, a couple of them talking. He breathed out a little sigh of relief as he leaned against the stall’s metal wall. What if the English government figured out who they were? The United States government had nothing to do with Wild Bluff, and he really was on his own.
Once he caught his breath, he tugged off his mustache, fake hair, nose, and everything that made him look like someone else. His heart thundered as he took off his button down shirt and pulled a T-shirt from his brief bag. He slid the clothes he’d been wearing into a pouch before strapping the thin nylon bag around his middle. He tugged on a sweatshirt and tucked the rest of his disguise into the pouch, hiding it all under his clothes. Now he looked a little overweight and his disguise was safely hidden away on his body.
After he looked halfway presentable, he turned his bag inside out, going from a brown leather satchel to a black cloth bag. He put on a baseball cap he’d been carrying in the bag, and left of the restroom. Both of he and Marshal needed to get out of London soon so they headed to the airport, tossing their disguises in a trashcan along the way. Marshal sent him a brief text, telling him how to send the photos to the guys at the ranch. There was barely enough time to get the file sent, but he saw the email go out just before he had to shut down his phone prior to his flight departing. He didn’t really breathe easier until they'd landed and were through customs in New York, safe and sound on their own soil. Here, in the U.S., he could figure out a way to talk himself out of anything. In London, he’d almost froze, unable to come up with a good story. Working for Wild Bluff was beyond anything he’d ever experienced before.