Colorado Fire - Colorado Heart 2 (20 page)

"Who the fuck is he?" Grant asked.

"Brody. He's going to stay silent on anything he sees here." James' voice was forceful, carrying weight.

"Brody, grab the stretcher with me and get Marshal out of here. James, head to Duff's room. There's a special package there for you."

"Fuck." James jumped up then turned back to Brody. "Nothing about this place crosses your lips. You may think you can talk without us knowing, we will know. You think the NSA has resources, they've got nothing on us. Don't say a fucking thing. You got it?"

Grant moved Marshal, hating the way his friend looked. They moved the sked to the den. "We need to transport him."

Duff burst through the door. "I have Washington on the line. A helicopter is on the way. When the sun comes up they'll send in a team to fight the fire. We'll get a handle on this."

"Duff, Craig has been subdued but he left a special package in your room."

"Shit." Duff stared at Brody, his eyes narrowing. "Who the fuck are you?"

Brody shook his head. "No one, and as far as I know I've never been in this house. I know nothing."

"Son, this is life or death, you speak of this place, of any of us, you'll end up dead. That's not a threat, that's for your own safety. It won't be us who will kill you either. I'm dead serious. You don't want to know any of us."

"Yes, sir." Brody knelt beside Marshal, checking the IV line.

Grant stared at the man for a few seconds before turning to Duff. "When is the chopper due?"

"Any minute."

"Brody, let's take Marshal to the barn. It's too dangerous to be in this house right now."

Brody nodded and lifted his end of the stretcher. When they were almost at the barn, the sound of the chopper coming in heavy filled the night. The fire was raging on the mountain, changing the landscape as it destroyed everything in its path. They ducked into the barn, shielding Marshal from the wash of hot air. Brody turned to Grant, his face serious.

"What is this place?"

"Don't ask any questions. You don't want to know. Just stay low, keep quiet and forget you were ever here. We're the good guys you don't want to mess with. One call and we have a US Military helicopter on our property. If you look close, you'll see it's armed."

The helicopter landed and the blades spun down. Grant opened the barn door and saw Zander stumbling around. At least he was up, but he didn't look good. Two guys dressed in military camo exited the helicopter. They ran toward Zander first. Grant and Brody carried the sked holding Marshal toward the chopper. Two more guys in military garb jumped out and headed over, grabbing the sked from them.

Grant turned and saw Craig being half carried, half led to the helicopter. Duff had his hand gripped on Craig's arm and Mike supported his other side. Grant watched as Craig was loaded onto the chopper and secured in a seat.

The military guys moved Marshal from the sked to their stretcher, strapping him in. Zander and Billy were placed in seats opposite Craig. The snarl on Billy's lip was enough to convince Grant they could handle any shit Craig threw their way.

Duff climbed up in the back of the chopper and the pilot signaled with his hand before starting up the rotor. Grant grabbed hold of Brody and pulled him to safety. Mike raced away, heading to the house. The chopper took off fast, heading north. The fire still raged, lighting the area with its yellow-orange glow. Grant held on tight to Brody's arm and tried to get him into the house, but the guy wasn't budging.

"I have a fire to put out," Brody said.

"I can't let you go."

"Why, because I know too much? I'm not saying anything. Plus, what the hell could I say? It's not like I have any clue what the hell happened here."

"Listen, wonder boy, there's a bomb in this house. I need you here in case someone is injured or if something happens to James."

"James?" Brody's cheeks turned red.

"Yeah, this won't take long, but we're short on men right now and need your help."

Brody nodded and followed Grant inside. When they stepped into the kitchen he could see Tucker bouncing on the balls of his feet and Mike chewing on his fingernails. He guessed that James was still working on disarming the bomb.

"Any news?" Grant asked.

"He thinks he has it figured out," Tucker said.

"This really sucks." Mike shook his head and sighed. "Who's he?"

"I'm Brody." Brody stepped forward to shake Mike then Tucker's hand. The move was ballsy.

"Brody, what's your last name?" Tucker asked.

"Medders. I live north of town, almost to the interstate."

Grant moved down the hall and heard the shuffle of feet behind him. He glanced back, noticing that Brody had followed. Tucker and Mike weren't far behind.

"Just be quiet. James doesn't need the distraction." Grant moved to the doorway and looked in. James was bent over, staring at the device. A pair of wire snips were in his hand and sweat beaded on his brow. Grant wanted to tell James to leave, that he'd take the brunt of the impact. These guys on the ranch were too important to him. He couldn’t allow Mike or Tucker to be harmed by Craig's stupidity.

Grant was ready to tell the other guys to leave when James looked up. "Hey, don't go. I have it solved but I'm trying not to rush too much. You see, Craig didn't change his MO. He used the same type of explosive he would have made when he was working here."

"Really?" Grant asked.

"Yeah, it's like I don't trust that he actually did, but I'm looking and this is classic Craig."

"I guess the danger is less," Tucker said.

"Or am I being too simplistic and I'm going to regret it later? Well, I won't really regret it because I'll be dead." James lowered the wire snips and turned to look at the group.

"Can I look?" Grant asked.

"Yeah, but you aren't trained on explosives."

"No, but I know Craig. I know how he thinks and how he operates."

James nodded and Grant headed in, glancing down at the device. A few years ago they'd all learned how bombs were assembled, focusing on the methods commonly used. James and Zander were the experts, but all of them knew how to defuse a simple bomb, and this one looked simple.

Chapter Nineteen

Brody didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Who the fuck lived in a house where bombs were a common occurrence? Every cell in his body screamed for him to flee. The other guys seemed to almost be comfortable as they stared down at the bomb. Had that been the only thing that had happened tonight, he'd be worried, but the Army helicopter landing, the gunfire, and that secret room had him freaked out.

The first question he wanted answered was who the fuck were these men and how dangerous were they? James had threatened him, but he could almost guarantee that if he talked to the cops, these guys would manufacture evidence against him and he'd end up being in trouble.

"Okay, I think we're fine. Cut the green wire first then the red," Grant said.

"Everyone out of the room." James waved his hand, shooing them out.

Brody wanted to stay, to ask this man more question and find out if he were for real, but he also didn't want to be blown up. James stayed beside the bomb and didn't put on any protective gear. Of course, how much protective gear would he have to put on to be protected from a blast. Probably more than he could physically wear.

"Hey," Brody said before he left the room, "don't die because after this fuckup of a day, you owe me a beer."

James nodded and Brody turned away, following behind the other guys. Why the hell had he'd said that. He couldn’t drink on the job, and he really needed to get back to his truck and help the men up on the mountain to put out the fire. Nothing seemed right since they saw the fire on the mountain. His crew was close by doing training. They'd debated for a few minutes but knew there was a house up here. In hindsight, they should have allowed it to burn.

Before he made it to the kitchen he heard James yell. "All clear."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Brody headed outside and started walking toward the fire. After ten minutes of walking, a truck pulled up beside him. The window rolled down and he looked in to see James in the driver's seat.

"Get in."

Brody thought about turning him down. His options were limited. These guys could obviously take care of themselves. They were strong and powerful. It scared him a bit that they were living so close to his home. He opened the passenger side door and crawled in, setting his gear between his legs.

"I won't say anything," Brody mumbled. He couldn’t quite meet James's gaze, afraid that he'd let his fear show too much.

"We'll be watching. Really, it's not for our safety, but yours."

"Your people said that before, what the hell do you mean by that?"

James drove in silence for a while then they crossed over the cattle guard and stopped. The hand on Brody's shoulder was heavy, causing him to shiver. He was yanked across the seat, his face held only inches from James. The silence lengthened and he wondered if James was going to speak at all. When their gazes locked, heat filled him and it was almost like he'd been burned.

James' voice was at a whisper and Brody had to strain to hear him. "Trust me on this. Keep it quiet."

Had James yelled at him, or maybe used a normal voice, he wouldn't have been unnerved, but the whisper left him shaking. He didn't doubt for a second that James could easily kill him. Brody had seen videos of guys who defused bombs and after the experience they were shaken. James seemed to be unaffected.

The truck started to roll again. Brody moved back to his seat and stared out the window, his mind racing. It would be dangerous to have these men on his bad side. When the truck stopped, he leapt out without another word and raced to the fire truck. The images from tonight were forever scorched in his mind, but he'd do his damnedest to never talk about this night with anyone.

*~*~*

After a few hours sleep, Roger woke to the announcement they would be landing. He sighed, happy to be on to the next step of his mission. He was staying in a small hotel near the prison, just like Smit would do if he came here.

The plane touched down and everyone around him flipped on their cellphones. He pulled out his and turned it on, waiting for the cell to find a signal. Roger was about to pocket the device when he saw he had a voice mail and a text message. He read the text first. It was from Grant and simply said
Call Me
.

He wanted to listen to the voice mail but there were too many people too close for him to have privacy. The plane stopped rolling and the doors opened. They were shuttled to customs where he lied, saying that his name was Patrick Smit. After minimal scrutiny, he was allowed into England. Finally there was a bit of privacy so he whipped out his phone and tapped the screen to listen to voice mail.

"It's Grant. Hell broke loose. Craig was captured at the ranch. Come home."

Disappointment wove through him and he pocketed his phone, trying to act like nothing had happened. Roger made his way outside before calling Grant. The phone connected after five rings and the sound of Grant's voice made his pulse race.

"Hey," Grant mumbled. It sounded like he'd just woken.

"I got your messages."

"Yeah. Can't really explain. I think you should come home."

"I'll catch a flight. I need to change." He had a fake mustache and had grown out his stubble, trying to look more like Patrick. That his first mission was a bust had him down in the dumps. He wanted to prove he could do this.

"Roger, I know you're probably disappointed, and you'll get your chance to go on a mission. But this is over."

"I'm fine."

The line was silent for a moment before Grant cleared his throat. "I miss you."

Roger's lips turned up and he nodded. "Miss you too."

"Now come home so we can kiss again."

Pain lanced his heart and he wondered if Grant knew. But there was no way for him to know that Hayden used to say the same thing to him when they were separated.

"I'll be there before your lips get cold." Roger's throat closed up as he echoed the words he used to say back to Hayden. He missed his partner more than he'd ever missed anything before. The loss was so painful, he didn't know if he could ever love like that again. He might be able to have something with Grant, but how deep could he go?

"Bye, Roger."

He disconnected the call and headed over to catch a cab. Changing his appearance at the airport bathroom would blow his cover. He had the taxi take him to a mall where he transformed. With the mustache off and his clothes changed, Roger headed back to the airport, ready to be home with Grant, snuggled close under the covers as they explored each other's bodies.

Chapter Twenty

Twenty-four hours after the incident at the ranch, Zander stood beside Marshal's bed, waiting for him to wake. They'd flown him into Colorado Springs and Zander had stayed with him, only leaving his side when the doctors took him in for surgery. The operations were done with, and he'd woken a few times, but the drugs had muddled his mind so much Marshal hadn't said one thing that made sense.

The drugs were wearing off, at least the heavy drugs were, and Marshal was beginning to stir again. Zander wanted to be there the minute he opened his eyes. Roger was scheduled to come back to the ranch later in the day. They would sit down and debrief him, though he hadn't actually performed all of his mission so it wasn't really that important, more just an exercise to make sure they didn't lose their edge. Since the mission had been called off, Zander wouldn't need to be there. Eventually, after Marshal left the hospital, they'd spend time talking about what happened on the mountain, but for now, he'd be happy if Marshal came back to him.

The fire was out. He'd been relieved to hear that the ranch was no longer under threat. Grant didn't think there would be any issues with the firemen coming to Wild Bluff. Of course, they'd all need to keep an eye on Brody.