Colorado Fire - Colorado Heart 2 (12 page)

He said bye to everyone, wishing he had an extra moment with Grant, but they had no privacy, and he wasn't going to make it known to everyone that they were in a relationship. Last night had been amazing, giving him hope that he could be happy again. It may take them a while, but he and Grant could have something.

Anticipation filled him. This was his first trip and he wasn't going to fuck it up. Once he landed in Cape Town, he'd only have eight hours to obtain his new identification, gather the supplies needed for his next mission, and become Patrick Smit, an inspector in the South African police system.

Chapter Ten

Marshal didn't like falling asleep again, but he couldn’t help it. He'd been tired and Zander had been keeping him up late. Duff had given him six months to rest. None of the guys said anything about it, but he still felt guilty at times.

Close to nine, he woke and rolled out of bed, refusing to sleep anymore. He'd kept his body in shape by working out. Pumping iron in their gym helped, but the farm work he'd taken on, that made all the difference.

He grabbed a quick bite before heading out. About thirty minutes after he started working, James found him in the barn shoveling out the stalls.

"Marshal, haven't seen you much."

"Yeah, I've been keeping busy."

James pulled out a stool and watched Marshal work. His brows were bunched together and it looked like he had something to say. Marshal kept working, deciding not to push the man.

"You ever think about leaving?" James finally asked.

Marshal stopped shoveling shit and leaned against the stall's doorframe. "I don't know. On the one hand, yes. Before Duff let me take this break, I thought about just walking away."

"I would have missed you."

He leaned the shovel up against the wall, and took his gloves off slowly. "So you don't think it's weird that I'm here but not working?"

"No, man. We all need a break. After you're done with yours, I think I'm going to ask for one."

"Don't wait." Marshal grabbed a bottle of water, cracking the lid open. "If you need a break, take it now. I was kidding myself sticking it out, thinking that I could handle things when it got to be too much. I probably could have taken a month off and worked backup for the next three and been fine. It was a mistake to wait. When I finally agreed to take time off, I was at the breaking point. Zander helps, but I'm snowed under with emotions that drive me crazy at times."

"Wait, you and Zander?"

His face heated and he shrugged. "Yeah, we aren't being overly open. I guess it's time everyone knew. We're just going slow I guess."

"Okay, I guess I should have known. Really, it's not a huge surprise. So how is that going—you and Zander?"

Marshal smiled, wiping his face with his hand as he tried to hide his ridiculously huge grin. "James, he's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"I wish I had someone like him."

"He's great, I wouldn’t trade him for the world. I love him so much. He's good for me. I wish you could find someone like him. He really is great. So, is there anyone you're interested in here at Wild Bluff?"

"Nope. Not one of these guys makes me hot. And I've tried to be attracted to them, but none of them turns me on."

Marshal nodded and took another sip of his water. "Zander has always interested me. I just never thought we'd be together."

"So you think you've been gay all along?" James asked.

"No, I'm bi. Women are still attractive."

"You think you'd ever leave Zander for a woman?"

"No, I'll never leave Zander. I can't explain it. He's the only thing that matters to me. Really, I don't think I could breathe without him. He's wonderful."

James laughed. "You've got it bad."

"Yeah, I do. Now, why don't you help me finish this work and then we can go grab a beer and catch the game on TV. I want to relax tonight, and with Roger gone, I know everyone else will be on duty making sure he's safe."

James stood and stretched, moving to the tack room to grab a shovel. He called over his shoulder, "Sure thing, I could use the company."

"So are you my official babysitter?"

"No, you don't have one. I just want to spend some time with you, and Duff asked me to help you with the ranch duties. So my responsibilities are out here on the farm."

"Cool." Marshal followed him and placed a hand on James's shoulder. "About England, you know, we never talked about it."

"What?" James looked down at the ground, not meeting Marshal's gaze.

"You know. You can't keep fucking people when we're out on missions."

James stiffened. "I do what I have to."

"No James, you go above what you have to, taking an option that isn't good for you."

"I'm fine."

"Don't give me that bullshit. I spent time on that mission. I saw you change. You weren't fine with it. So don't lie and tell me you were. I was there and saw how not fine you were with it."

"Fuck, do you really have to bring this up now?" James' face was red, his teeth gritted. "I'm fine. There is nothing wrong."

"You know, you're being awfully defensive and I don't like it. If you would have replied calmly, you know, just said that you were okay and you were taking care of it, I wouldn’t be worried. You bit my head off and that's very telling."

James dropped on the bench next to the tack room, resting his head in his hands. Marshal moved to him, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. James leaned against him and sighed.

"I hate doing it. I feel so used. Okay, so I'm not an angel, I've met guys at clubs, fucked them in the alley and said good night after a sweet hug, but what I'm doing for missions, it's different. Or I feel like it's different."

Marshal let out a huge breath. "I'm glad you're admitting it."

"I don't know what to do. Everyone knows I'll fuck anything. Need a mission where someone needs to get fucked, James will do it."

"That can change."

"But won't I be a hypocrite then? I mean really, if I'm willing to go out and fuck random guys I like at clubs, shouldn't I be willing to fuck guys or girls for that matter, on missions?"

Marshal saw the point James was making, but he didn't have to continue to be that guy on the team. "We can figure out other ways to make things happen. You don't have to be the guy who fucks people."

"I feel like such a fraud. Seriously, I don't know how to change." James didn't move for a long moment then he turned to face Marshal, the pain clear in his eyes. "Really, I don't want to fuck random guys at clubs any longer either. I want to be in a relationship like you and Zander."

Anything he said would be a platitude. James deserved to be happy. He sighed and shrugged his shoulder. "I'm not trying to blow smoke up your ass, but there's someone out there for you."

"Marshal, you're a very good-looking guy. I don't think I told you that earlier."

"Thanks, and when I told you that you were very good-looking, I meant it."

"I kind of feel a little weird now." James stood up and stretched, moving away from the bench.

"Yeah, we probably don't want or need to go down that path."

James glanced back at him, his emotions shuttered. "You know, before you got with Zander, had you been serious about fucking me, I would have." James ducked his head but Marshal could see his skin flush.

Marshal's heart beat wildly and his whole body heated. "I'm really in love with Zander."

"I know, big boy. I'm not hitting on you. Just saying, that if you were single and I actually knew you were gay, I would have wanted to be with you. Which is my problem. I fuck too much and don't look for love."

"Hey, you'll find someone to love you. Don't doubt that. There's a guy out there somewhere who wants a relationship with you."

"But being here, at Wild Bluff, I'll never find him."

"You could, you never know what will happen."

Marshal knew how James felt. It was difficult finding someone to be in a relationship with when your life revolved around eradicating the filth from the streets. He was lucky. Zander was amazing and kept him grounded. Had he not hooked up with his best friend, he feared what would have happened. Life as an assassin was tough, living at Wild Bluff made it easier, but by no means was this life easy.

*~*~*

Billy stared at the monitor, checking the information one more time. Craig had disappeared. Six weeks ago, they'd been looking at the same information. It hadn't changed. Craig was lost to them.

"Hey, hon, do you want a beer?" Tucker rubbed his shoulders and he sat back, leaning his head against his lover's abs.

"How about a Coke instead."

"Sure thing."

Billy stared after Tucker, glad that they were still a couple. Not that he doubted they'd be together, but working close, already living together, having to deal with their baby stallion, things could have gone wrong. He turned back to the computer and threw his hands up in the air.

"This is insane."

Duff grumbled and nodded his head. "You're telling me, kid."

Billy stretched his hand over his head. "I need a break."

"Take one." Duff glanced around, frowning at the rest of the guys. "In fact, let's all take a break. We aren't finding anything and Roger doesn't land in Africa until early morning for us. Once he hits the ground, he's going to need our support."

Zander stood and stretched. "I'm going to go find Marshal."

James entered the control room carrying a mug. "Marshal's in the theater watching a movie. I'm headed back in there. We just started Skyfall."

Grant groaned, Mike jumped up, and Billy let out a whoop. Duff chuckled and pulled out his phone. He punched the screen and Billy wondered whom he was calling.

"Hey, Marshal, press pause. We're going to make a movie night out of this." Duff hung up, his grin wide. "Someone pop some popcorn. I'll heat up some hotdogs. We'll have fun."

Billy helped the guys shut down the computers and clean up their mess. They shredded any documents that were classified that they could reproduce, locked other papers they needed to save in the safe, and made sure the control room was sanitized of any important material. This was how Craig should have left the office he and his terrorist cell were using. Leaving papers out was cocky. Taking care of business properly always came first.

They headed to the theater, some of the guys gathering snacks before going into their theater room. The entrance to the room was higher than the screen, allowing those at the back to see over the chairs below. Three two person couches were arranged at the top level, and below them were four theater style recliners that had tables set between them. The bottom row, the one closest to the screen, had three more recliners. All in all, they were very well taken care of when it came to amenities.

Billy doubted that he'd ever live anywhere this nice if he left Wild Bluff. He did save his money, keeping a huge sum overseas so few knew about it, but he also invested. The type of money that went into building Wild Bluff went way beyond what he'd ever feel comfortable spending.

The guys started to settle into their favorite seats. He noticed Zander and Marshal opt for recliners instead of one of the couches. Billy claimed a couch, patting the seat next to him when Tucker showed up.

"Hey, no kissing," Grant told Billy.

"Yeah, like we're not going to be back here making out. Get real."

Zander shot Marshal a glance and Billy narrowed his gaze, noticing for the first time the heat between the pair. He jumped up and slapped his hand on his knee. All eyes turned toward him. He threw up his arms then moved to stand in front of Zander and Marshal.

"Holy shit, how long have you two been sleeping together?" Billy asked without lowering his voice. Not that a lowered voice would have helped, everyone was paying attention to him.

Marshal took Zander's hand and kissed the knuckles. "I guess that means everyone knows now."

"Wait," Duff spoke up. "You two are actually sleeping together?"

Zander stood and pulled Marshal to his feet, planting a hot kiss on his lips. Billy grabbed his crotch and whimpered, looking for Tucker.

"They are so hot together," Billy whined as he moved to Tucker, pressing him back on the couch for a scorching kiss.

The guys laughed and whistled but Billy ignored them. By the time their kiss ended, the lights had dimmed and the movie began playing. Marshal and Zander were holding hands across the table. He was happy for them. It was nice to see another couple find love on the ranch. Being at Wild Bluff was tough. It wasn't like he could bring any other guy home with him. No one other than the guys who lived here could sleep here. Maybe that's why guys who wouldn't normally sleep with other men ended up admitting their feelings.

They'd watched Skyfall a few times before so Billy didn't really pay much attention to the movie. Instead, he kept his eye on Marshal and Zander. He wished he could have been a fly on the wall the first time they got together.

"What are you doing?" Tucker whispered in Billy's ear.

He adjusted, sliding his hand over Tucker's crotch. Tucker stopped his roving fingers, glaring at him.

"Babe, we are being watched."

Billy turned his head and sure enough James was staring at them. If they didn't have to work together and were just friends, he would have let James toy with Tucker, but he had more respect for their job than to play that type of game here.

After adjusting his dick to be more comfortable, Billy turned his attention to the movie, wondering what was up with James. The movie ended and Duff turned the lights up. Billy still thought Marshal and Zander were too hot for words. He was horny as hell just thinking of the two of them together.

Though distracted, he helped clean up their food trash before they headed to the kitchen. He kept one hand on Tucker, needing the touch.

"Anyone want more food?" James asked.

"Naw, I'm headed to bed," Grant said.

"Same here," Mike replied.

Marshal pulled Zander into a hug. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched. "What?" Marshal said.