Colorado Flames WIth A Texas Twist (7 page)

After the silence had taken over again, James spoke. "There's something about him that makes me want him." James dropped to the seat across from Duff and sat quietly, his hands folded in his lap. Grant thought he looked calm.

"Son, you can find someone to fuck. I know there isn't a guy here at the ranch for you, but you could go into Denver and sow some wild oats."

James shook his head. "It's not about that. I don’t want to just fuck anyone. I think it's him."

Duff took another swig from his beer and said nothing as he stared at James. It was an interesting tactic. Grant sat back, holding his bottle of beer to his lips before tilting his head, letting the warm liquid fill his mouth. He swallowed down the drink, half wishing he had a shot of tequila to smooth out his mood. James glanced at him and licked his lips. Grant almost laughed. James had no idea the beer wasn’t cool and had begun to skunk.

"You have to make a choice," Duff said.

"Yes, sir. I'm not ready to leave Wild Bluff yet."

"Then you need to stay away from Brody. He knows too much and you hanging out with him will only open the door to him finding out more. If it was just some random guy you could come to an understanding with in town, that would be different, but this man has been inside the house, in the control room. The boundaries are already broken. He knows too much, and that is too huge of a liability. He’s been inside, and he’ll wonder why he can’t come back. For the safety of everyone here, he can’t set foot on this ranch again.”

James nodded. "I made that decision tonight. But I need to figure out who hit him. I don't think it was a random occurrence."

"Really? Tell me everything, but first go grab yourself a beer, and another for me," Duff said.

"Grant, do you want one?" James asked.

"Sure, another would be good."

Grant waited until James was in the house before he spoke. "What are you thinking?"

"This isn't over. The car hitting Brody may have scared James, but he's not done with the man."

Grant nodded. "I've done some research on Brody, he's clean."

"Lots of people are clean until they aren't," Duff said.

"True." Grant took another sip of the warm beer and curled his lip. He poured the rest on the ground before setting the bottle on the table. "I hope James has an idea who could have hit Brody."

"I don't," James said as he stepped outside. "I didn't get a good look at the vehicle. It was dark and they were waiting for him. They didn't know I was following."

"Really, they didn't know? Obviously they aren't well trained. Anyone we would normally deal with would have spotted you," Duff said.

"That's what I was thinking.” James shifted, running his hand over his face. “I was in a parking lot with Brody yesterday and noticed someone watching. That’s why I went back out to see him. I walked away this afternoon and was going to leave him alone, but then I realized something was off. He has a stalker—well, a stalker other than me.”

“Do you think you were followed when you left town?” Duff asked.

“No, I’m positive no one followed me out of town.” James set their beers on the table then took a sip of his before sliding into a chair. “I went back to town to keep an eye on Brody because of the guy watching him. Tonight, the guy who tried to run down Brody was sloppy. If this guy was after us, they would have used night vision. There’s no way someone of our caliber would have begun the operation without looking at all of the contingencies. They would have searched the area before making a hit like that. Anyone we know would have employed a second team to follow behind Brody. Hell, I would have just set up a sharpshooter a mile away. There wasn't a tail, and I wasn't that far behind Brody. We also stayed in the area of the attack for about thirty minutes. The car circled around, but no one came to clean up the mess."

Grant opened the bottle James had brought out for him and took a long draw. The icy beer tasted great going down. He took another sip before placing the bottle on his knee. "So the real question is, who did this and what did they want?"

"No clue." James drank a bit of his beer before sitting back and closing his eyes. "I've been watching him for a while. I know it's wrong, and I should have told you. I get that now."

"Any of his friends want him hurt?" Duff asked.

"I don't think so. But I don't know them well enough. This wasn't a mission, just me stalking him. It's pervy, I know."

"I think you need to go talk to him in the morning," Grant said.

"No way," James countered. “I can’t go back out there. Any information I need I can gather from the internet.”

"I don’t know," Duff said. “I think James needs to stay away from Brody, not go to him.”

Grant held up his hand and shook his head. "Just give me a minute, I think you'll agree once you hear me out." Grant stared at James, making sure he had his full attention.

"Whoever is out to hurt Brody has probably seen you around town. If they're amateur, they may have thought that hitting Brody would get him on the ground and keep him there. If they’re after you, they might have thought that you'd go to his aid, which you did, but they weren't prepared for you to move him."

"Probably not. Had I thought his neck or back had been injured, I wouldn't have moved him."

"See that's the thing, you're trained in the oddities of injuries and pain. You know what happens if a car hits you at sixty miles an hour, or fifteen. You said there was a tree in the way, that probably saved Brody's life?"

"Yeah, the tree prevented the car from running over him."

"Okay, so let's say they are amateurs, they're most likely going to come back to finish it. What if one of the other firemen talked and someone who doesn’t understand what we do out here wants more information. Or this could have nothing to do with us. But they aren’t going to give up, not after trying to run him over."

"This is more complicated than I thought. Fuck, I can't let them kill him," James said.

"You'll be distracted and won't be worth shit on a mission until this is settled. Am I right?" Grant asked.

"Yeah," James nodded and set his beer on the table, clasping his hands together on his lap. “This sucks.”

"I think I see where Grant is going with this." Duff took a sip before continuing. "So go to town and tell him flat out that you are there to help him find the person who did this. But, and here's the big stipulation, you can't start a relationship with him. Tell him why you're there and once the mission is over, you leave."

James's lips thinned out. "Okay."

"You need to be careful. If you run into any trouble, call us," Grant said.

"I will." James picked up his beer and finished it in silence. His gaze was distant and his brow furrowed.

Grant watched James, searching for any clues to what was going on inside his head, but James was a trained professional and no one, not even Duff, would get much from him unless he wanted the information shared.

"I'm going to bed," James said.

“Just a second,” Duff said.

“Yes, sir.” James sat back down, his brows raised.

“We had a client package show up. We’re working a mission.”

“Oh crap. I should be here,” James said.

“This is what Grant was talking about. You’re distracted. On this one, we can’t afford any distractions.”

“Fuck, I’ve let you down.” James hung his head.

“James, we all need a break at times. I didn’t say anything when I saw you leaving every morning and not coming back until late. It’s okay. Take care of Brody, and then come home. There will always be other missions.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll take care of this thing with Brody, then end it and come home. You can count on me.”

“Son, you have to be true to yourself. That’s what makes you stronger. Get a good night sleep and we’ll see you when this is finished.”

“Thank you.” James headed to the door.

"I’m going to bed too. I’ll be up early to do some more reading on our subject." Grant stood and followed James. "You coming, Duff?"

"No, thanks. I'm going to sit up for a while before I check in on the guys in the control room."

"Are you still worried about Craig?" Grant asked.

"Aren't we all?" Duff took a drink of his beer and lifted his brows.

Grant nodded, fearing that the thing with Craig was far from over. He sighed and followed James inside. Craig was still out there and no longer just a benign entity, but an enemy. He was locked up, but he could escape, or blab their location to the wrong person. They needed to silence him, but he was in the hands of the government and they wouldn’t be allowed to get close.

He stepped into his bedroom and saw Roger curled on his side, the covers pulled to his chin. They were all tired from the work they’d put in today. He and Roger both had tasks awaiting their attention, but they needed sleep. Grant closed the door and leaned against it, watching his man snooze. It didn't matter what happened on the ranch, or how twisted their lives became, he loved having this.

Roger still talked about Hayden when they were lying in bed with the lights off. In the beginning, when Roger started talking about his first lover, Grant had felt odd, now he didn't mind. Hayden had been a huge part of Roger's life, and he knew that going into their relationship. One thing Roger never did that Grant appreciated was compare him to Hayden. Grant had asked about that once, and Roger had set him straight. What they had was special, different from what he and Hayden had, but still very special.

"Hey," Roger said, interrupting his musings.

"Hey, babe. I'll be in bed after a quick shower."

"K."

"Sleep, my love. We can talk in the morning."

Roger rolled over and sighed. Grant figured Roger would be asleep before he finished in the shower. He moved to the bathroom and tugged his clothes off, dropping them in the hamper before stepping beneath the warm spray. The day had been long and he was ready for bed. Their problems on the ranch could wait until morning, tonight he would enjoy snuggle time with his man.

Chapter Eight

James woke early and showered quickly. Priority number one was to find Brody and have a little talk with him. He imagined Brody would be belligerent and wouldn’t agree to his proposal. Skipping out on a mission felt wrong, but Grant was right, he’d be distracted and worthless. After his shower, James packed his bag, bringing enough clothes for a week. He was probably assuming too much, but he would go prepared.

With his bag in hand, he swung by the kitchen and breakfast area, finding them both empty. He’d wanted to speak with Duff this morning, but he needed to hit the road and catch Brody before he left his house. The guys were probably busy with the mission and he didn’t want to disturb them. If they were already working, they would hate to be interrupted.

James’s gaze settled on the table where they usually sat around sipping coffee over breakfast while they shot the bull, making jokes, and decompressing. There were so many good memories mixed in with the hard work they performed through Wild Bluff. They laughed over meals, commiserated with each other when missions were over, and mourned tragedies together around that table. He'd miss this. Their time together was the biggest reason he didn't think he could leave the ranch. These guys were his family.

No one was up or out of their rooms when he opened the kitchen door to leave. Sadness filled him as he made his way to his truck. Even if he was in love with Brody, he didn't know if he could actually leave this place. During the night he’d convinced himself that what he felt for Brody wasn't love, just lust, and walking away from Wild Bluff for lust wasn’t worth it. He wanted more than just a few good fucks, and though he didn't have a relationship on the ranch, he had his brothers. They were worth more than anything he could find with another man.

The drive into town was fast and he lamented not sticking around the ranch for longer. When he pulled up at Brody's house he left his bag in his car. It would be hard enough to convince Brody to let him stay, and he didn't want to be shut down immediately. James knocked but no one answered. He knocked again, waiting for any noise behind the door, but nothing happened. After two more minutes, James left the front door and walked around to the back of Brody's house. Had they been in the middle of a huge community with the houses stacked on top of each other he wouldn't have even contemplated opening the door on his own, but along with the distance from other houses, there were trees between Brody's house and his neighbors. No one could see him break in.

That Brody wasn't answering the door worried James. Maybe he was just dead tired, but James feared he was dead. Not that breaking in and finding him dead would help, he'd still be dead, but sitting outside Brody's house sure as hell wouldn’t help him figure out if Brody was okay and just asleep or in trouble.

It took him two seconds to open the door with his pick. He was inside Brody's house, his heart hammering like a rookie doing his first B&E. In the Marines, he'd been asked to join a special team of intelligence officers. During training, they'd taught him how to use a set of picks that would allow him to best almost any lock. Working for the ranch, he'd improved his skills. House locks were the easiest, but he could crack almost anything, even safes. Of course he'd never use his skills to do anything really wrong. Illegal stuff he did all the time, but he had a strong internal compass that would prevent him from doing anything that would go against his deep-seated ethics that were at the core of his conscience. Most people wouldn’t understand his logic, but he made the world a safer place to live, and that mattered more than following the laws.

Brody was a conundrum. His desire to be with the guy made no sense. Following Brody, basically stalking him, was wrong, and James knew it, but he wanted something he felt only Brody could give him, and the threat of losing the ranch was barely enough to keep him in check.

The house had been silent when he'd entered, but now he heard a noise that seemed to be coming from his left. James moved slowly, staying quiet as he inched down the hall while he searched out the source of the sounds. The splash of water became clear and he figured that Brody was in the shower.