Rescue Inc Collection Vol 3

by Megs Pritchard

  “No, I’m good, thank you.” Tank didn’t let go of Niles’ hand. For some unknown reason, he couldn’t.

  “Are you sure?” Niles tilted his head, once again smiling at him.

  Tank opened his mouth, but nothing came out. What was it about this man? And why the hell hadn’t he let go of his hand?

  “I’m… my friend was shot…”

  “Oh, the one brought in earlier, or from the incident here?”

  “Both actually.”

  “They’re both in surgery. Why don’t you go to the waiting room? The surgeon will be out to give you an update as soon as she can.”

  “Oh, okay.” Tank stared at his hand still in Niles’ and then looked back up at him.

  “Fancy a coffee while you wait?”

  “I…” He couldn’t think of anything to say. The close proximity of the man was playing havoc with his body, driving him nuts, and Tank couldn’t for the life of him understand why.

  “Come on. It’s not too far.”

  Tank nodded and allowed Niles to guide him along. As he blindly followed him, a frown appeared on his face. He couldn’t understand what on earth had got into him. This man made him feel something, something he’d never felt before, and Tank couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he knew it was something he couldn’t walk away from.

  No, Tank wanted to go. Wherever Niles took him, Tank would follow.

  Several months later…

  Targon 'Tank' Evans walked down the hospital corridor towards the room the blood slave was in. The blond one Troy had saved. The room Miguel was in too.

  When Tank found out the former slave was Miguel's mate, he'd rocked on his heels in shock. From the condition the vampire was in, Miguel had a long road to travel if wanted his mate.

  When he reached the room, he knocked quietly on the door and stood waiting. Receiving no answer, he slowly opened it and stuck his head in, glancing around the room. Miguel was asleep on a chair and the blond-haired man asleep on the bed.

  The vampire was thin, too thin, with bite marks and bruises covering every inch of pale skin Tank could see. He'd suffered at the hands of the vampires who'd had him. Tank stared at him, anger curling in his gut. Who did this to another person?

  He closed the door quietly, leaving them both asleep, and rubbed his thumb over his lips. No one deserved what that vampire had suffered. Yes, Miguel had a hard road to travel, but Tank knew he wouldn't give up.

  Hearing footsteps approach, he turned and froze on the spot. Niles Conway, the man who Tank suspected was his mate, was walking towards him staring at the paperwork he held in his hands.

  When Niles saw him, he walked closer, pausing in front of him and giving Tank a wary smile.

  "Niles. What at you doing here?" Tank glanced over him, noticing the white hospital coat he wore.

  "I work here now. I transferred recently when there was an opening for a cardiothoracic surgeon."

  "What? When did that happen?"

  Niles glanced away, a flush covering his dark skin. "A month ago."

  Tank frowned at him. A month? "You've been here a month already? You never said anything."

  "I wanted to get settled in." Niles shrugged, the movement causing the paper to rustle.

  Tank put his hands on his hips, staring at Niles. "Why have you moved here?"

  Niles looked away, the blush staining his cheeks deepening. "I needed something."

  Tank stepped closer, asking the one question he didn't know if he wanted the answer to. "Are we mates?"

  He watched Niles lick his lips. "We've known each other for months."

  "Don't avoid the question, Niles. Tell me."

  Niles paused, his eyes searching Tank’s. Finally, he sighed, looking down at the floor. When he raised them, he looked Tank square in the face. "Yes, we are."

  Tank rubbed his hands over his face, sighing heavily. All these months, Niles had known. "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "You had a girlfriend."

  Tank shook his head. "After. You know we broke up. I told you about it. You've had months to tell me, Niles. Why didn't you?"

  "Have you ever been with a man, Targon?"

  Tank looked away. "You know I haven't," he mumbled.

  Niles smiled sadly. "Now you know why."

  Tank gritted his teeth. He'd been lied to for months by the one person who shouldn't have lied to him. He knew about mates, so he knew they were honest with each other. Well, the ones he knew were. Anger burned at him, his limbs shaking as it increased. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Months, Niles. You've had months to tell me."

  He needed to get away from Niles because at that moment he was close to losing his temper and he didn't want a shouting match in the hospital. He pushed past Niles, and Niles grabbed him, pulling him back. "Tank¬¬¬—"

  Tank shrugged him off. "Fuck you, Niles."

  Tank stormed off and didn't look back. He needed to get out before he did or said something he'd regret. All those months wasted. Maybe he should have asked Niles earlier, but in all honesty, he'd been too afraid to hear the answer.

  He'd known though. Deep down, he'd known who Niles was to him. He'd even kind of admitted it that morning in the kitchen with Chester, but after that, he'd closed down and refused to consider it.

  He wasn't gay. He loved women. Their taste and smell, the way they moved, and yet for some reason, fate had decided he was going to have a man for a mate. A man. He knew what felt good to him, what to do with his tongue and dick to make a woman scream, but a man? What the fuck did he do with a man, and did Niles think he'd take it up the ass? No fucking chance. That hole was an out one only!

  Reaching his truck, Tank leaned against it, resting his forearms on the roof and staring out across the parking lot. He was stumped. He had no idea what to do about the situation. Niles wouldn't have another mate. Tank was it for him. Grimacing, Tank sighed. What the fuck was he going to do?

  Chapter One

  Six months later...

  Tank sat outside the hospital entrance, watching Niles speak to another doctor as they were both leaving. He gripped the steering wheel in his hands when the other doctor stepped closer to Niles, his hand coming to rest on Niles arm in what appeared to Tank as a familiar gesture. Niles was smiling warmly at the other man, seemingly unconcerned by both his closeness and the touch.

  Tank fucking hated it. He was standing way too close to his mate.

  He growled under his breath, fighting the urge to jump out of his car and run over to the other man and punch him in the face. Niles’ head snapped towards him and their eyes met across the parking lot. He said something to the man stood next to him and walked over towards Tank.

  Tank kept his eyes on the other man, watching him watch his mate walk away before he too left. Fucker got the message.

  Tank got out of his truck and leaned against the side waiting for Niles to reach him. He crossed his arms over his chest, glancing over at the other doctor and watched him get into his car.

  "Targon."

  Only Niles and his mom called him by his given name. Sighing, Tank said, "It's Tank."

  "I prefer Targon. It suits you better." Niles glanced around the parking lot and said, "This is an unexpected visit. Why are you here?"

  Tank ran his hand over the back of his neck, unable to meet Niles' gaze. "You know why."

  Niles nodded. "The mate pull," he murmured quietly.

  Tank looked away, his shoulders slumping. "I don't know what to do here, Niles," he admitted.

  "I know." Niles gave him a small smile. "You only date women."

  Tank glanced away, his eyes watching the clouds float across the night sky. The moon was bright, lighting up the parking lot. There were millions of stars in the sky and this was the reason Tank loved living here. That and the forests and his friends and now his mate.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. He had no idea what to do. He felt the pull to Niles but had no idea how to react to it. He liked women and pussy, not
men and dicks, and the thought of having sex with a man made him slightly queasy. However, when he thought about having sex with Niles, he had a different unexpected reaction.

  "How does this mating thing work anyway," he asked. He hadn't wanted to ask any of the mated couples because he didn't want them to know what was going on. He knew they'd push him to Niles and Tank needed to get his head around it all first.

  Niles shrugged, moving to lean on the truck next to Tank. "Something in you calls to me. I felt it before I even saw you. I knew I had to find out what it was and then I saw you and I knew. There's a connection between us, like a meeting of two halves. Yin and Yang. Some vampires believe fate matches us to the person who is perfect for us. That person who will help us be the best we can." Niles frowned. "We fit."

  "What about kids? I want them and I don't think I can get you pregnant."

  "Surrogates, adoption. If we use a surrogate, we could use the same one each time, so the children are true siblings."

  "Human or Vampire?"

  "Doesn't matter as long as they are ours." Niles pushed away from the car and looked over at Tank. "We're a long way from children, don't you think?”

  Tank nodded, scuffing his sneaker on the ground. "I gotta be honest. I'm struggling with this. Women, pussy, yeah, I know what I'm doing." Niles cringed at the word pussy, causing Tank to smile. "Men and dicks. No fucking idea."

  "Let me show you." Niles stepped closer as he spoke, so there was only a small gap separating them.

  "Top or bottom?"

  "I switch. I like it both ways." His eyes shimmered, red bleeding into them.

  Tank swallowed hard. A dick in his ass? "You wanna stick your dick in me?"

  "Yes, I do, and much, much more."

  Tank actually felt his ass tighten, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was because it wanted it or not. Niles closed the distance between them, moving in between Tank’s legs and kicking them apart. Tank gasped when he felt Niles’ dick. He was hard, and Tank could feel it.

  He swallowed again watching the faint red glow deepen in Niles' eyes. He didn't know how to respond, and his hands seemed stuck, hovering in the air near Niles, but not touching him.

  "You can feel what you do to me," Niles whispered close to Tank's ear.

  Niles took Tank's hand and rubbed it over his dick. Both of them moaned and Tank froze.

  "Niles..."

  "You can feel it, Targon. Why do you fight it?"

  "I... I'm..." Tank licked his lips, staring into Niles eyes, the glow almost hypnotizing him.

  "Scared of the unknown,” Niles finished for him.

  Tank nodded. "I'm a fucking adult, Niles. I shouldn't feel like this."

  "It's okay. We can go slow. I've waited months for you. I can wait a little longer."

  "I'm sorry. This isn't fair to you."

  Niles smiled at him. "I'll survive."

  "But-"

  Niles silenced Tank's words with his lips, sliding them across Tank's. Tank gasped and Niles slipped his tongue in. Tank's hands gripped Niles' hips, and he moaned quietly when their tongues touched. He'd never kissed a man before and he could feel the difference. The slight stubble on Niles' face scratched his skin and Tank could smell aftershave, not perfume.

  Niles' lips were soft, and Tank angled his head so he could deepen the kiss. He needed more of what Niles was giving him.

  Niles groaned and his hands wrapped around Tank's waist, pulling him closer. Tank shivered, feeling the full evidence of Nile's arousal rub over his hip and felt his own dick respond, hardening in his jeans.

  Their tongues danced languidly, touching and tasting. Niles teased Tank, coaxing him to kiss him more and Tank gave in, giving him what he wanted.

  He was fully hard now, he could feel his dick press uncomfortably against the inside of his jeans, and he wanted to pull it out and watch Niles lick and suck it. On his knees on the ground, making him come.

  Niles stepped back, breaking the kiss, leaving Tank panting in the dark, his hands reaching out for him.

  "Think of me," he whispered breathlessly.

  Tank stared in shock, as Niles turned and walked away, leaving him panting and aching against his truck. When Niles reached his car, he got in and drove away, leaving Tank stood watching. His dick was still hard, an aching throb in his jeans, and he knew he had to get home and finish what they'd started.

  Groaning harshly, he got in his car and drove away. If tonight was a taste of the future, then Tank was willing to try.

  Chapter Two

  The rain hammered the ground causing the soil to turn to mud. Tank trudged on, following Dodge as he sniffed the area. He could hear the murmurs of voices behind him, but he tuned them out, his focus on his dog and any clue he'd find.

  Lightning forked across the sky and Tank counted, waiting for the thunder to hit. Two seconds later, it did, the sound crashing above his head and causing Dodge to jump before he got back to following his invisible trail.

  The storm was moving towards them at a quicker pace than expected and Tank knew they wouldn’t have long before the search would be called off. The deteriorating weather was making conditions unworkable. He could see Dodge pausing more and more, going back on himself and searching areas repeatedly and Tank knew Dodge was losing the trail. At some point, it would disappear completely.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Chester, staring for a second at the hair he now had. In all the years he'd known Chester, he'd been bald and to see him with hair still surprised him even though it had been three months since he'd grown it.

  "Chester. He's losing the trail."

  Chester grimaced, running his hand through his hair and shaking it off. "Shit. We're going to have to pull back soon if this continues. Silas said the weather is set to get worse. There's a storm front coming in." He looked up at the dark sky, the clouds moving rapidly across it. "Shit," he muttered again.

  "We can't leave them out here, Chester."

  "I know. Fortunately, Elliot knows this area well. He'll find someplace safe for them to ride this storm out. It's the kids I'm worried about."

  "Injuries?"

  "Last report said three were injured in the rock slide."

  "Elliot has six kids and three are injured?" Tank shook his head. He wasn't going anywhere, no matter how bad the weather got. "We need to carry on and find them. How did they go off track?"

  Chester shook his head, running his hands over his hair again, grimacing. "Why did I grow it?" he muttered. Looking over to Tank, he said, "I don't know, but even an experienced walker can get confused. We lost connection before he was able to tell us what happened."

  "Roberts’ team is on the other side?" Deputy Roberts was searching the other side of the woods, making sure they hadn't missed anything that would lead them to Elliot and the children.

  "With Hunter and Jensen," Chester confirmed.

  "We keep going, Chester. I'm not leaving injured kids out there in this."

  Chester grinned. "I knew you'd say that." He paused, then nodded. "Silas agrees. None of the other teams want to return either. We stay until it's too great a risk to us, then we pull back. Oh, Niles is here as well."

  Tank looked sharply at Chester. Why was Niles here? "He is?"

  "You're out here in potentially dangerous conditions. Plus, there's injured kids. He volunteered to come." Chester pierced him with a look. "I know he's your mate."

  Tank nodded. "Okay."

  "You can't leave him hanging, T."

  Tank sighed. He knew he couldn't, but he was still struggling to get his head around the fact he had a mate and he was male. "I know. We had lunch yesterday. I'm trying, Chester."

  "Yeah, I know."

  Dodged pulled at his leash and Tank watched him indicate where they should go. "He's picked up the scent."

  "Let's go then."

  The mud clung with every step they took, but they trudged on. The storm was almost on top of them now, the rain falling in sheets that obscured the way forward. Several ti
mes, Dodge lost the scent and worked his way around the area until he found something, but Tank knew it was only a matter of time until it was completely washed away. The rain wasn’t their friend.

  Eventually, Dodge stopped and indicated that it was gone. Tank closed his eyes, then opened them and shouted, "Dodge has lost the trail."

  "I'm not surprised. He did great just getting us this far."

  "What now?"

  "Let me listen."

  Tank nodded, watching Chester stand still and close his eyes, focusing on the sounds around them. Tank hoped they were close enough that Chester could pick something up, but the background noise from the rain was loud and likely to obscure any noise Elliot and the kids made.

  He watched the frown deepen on Chester's face and he tilted his head, taking a step to the left. Tank moved in that direction and listened as well. When he heard nothing, he took several more steps in that direction, Chester following behind.

  Chester glanced at him and he shook his head. "I'm not sure. I thought I heard something, briefly."

  "Let me and Dodge wander over there and see if he can pick anything up."

  Tank gave Dodge the signal to go, and he moved forward, nose to the ground. They followed behind, watching every move Dodge made. He paused and looked at Tank then headed forward again.

  "I think he's got something."

  "Let me listen again."

  Again, Chester closed his eyes and Tank held his breath, watching and waiting. Suddenly Chester's eyes opened, and he grinned. "Ahead. I heard murmurs, faint, but there. Dodge's on the right track."

  "Silas?"

  "He knows, and he's updating the teams now. We might have to carry them out. There's no chance a helicopter can fly in."

  "Shit."

  "I know. Come on, Tank, let's find them."

  They moved forward, following Dodge, who was pulling more. Five minutes later, they found a cliff wall and Dodge moved along it until they found a small opening.

  Chester squatted at the front and shouted, "Hello?"

  A chorus of greeting returned, and they grinned at each other. "Thank fuck," Tank muttered.