Liam chuckled softly. “How many times have you watched this?”
It took him a moment to focus on the words Liam was speaking and not his lips.
“Underworld?” He suddenly grinned. “More than I can remember. Why?”
“You were quoting the lines under your breath.”
“Bite him.” He stage whispered the part again, keeping his laugh low, and his stomach warmed when Liam joined in.
The teens were stretched out on the carpet, eyes glued to the wide screen that wouldn’t have fit in his living room. It almost felt like he was in a theater, but much, much cozier.
Shifting the throw pillows aside, he relaxed a bit more into the couch. The expensive smell of leather was almost forgotten as he got more comfortable. It eased the ache in his back from sitting upright trying to watch the movie. The surroundings were so at odds with his own life, he had to admit it was intimidating.
He kept waiting for Wesley to knock over something, so he watched his brother’s soda can like a hawk. When Wesley was done drinking it, Spencer reached over and plucked it off the carpet and crunched it between his hands. He sat back on the couch. Wesley didn’t even glance over, his attention on the action-packed screen.
“Relax,” Liam whispered.
Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath and glanced over at Liam.
“Sorry,” he whispered back.
“You don’t have to be sorry.” Liam took the destroyed soda can from his grasp. “There’s nothing they could do that can’t be fixed. Nothing they do is worth stressing over.”
He mustered up a smile.
“Shhhhhh!” Adam said over his shoulder.
Liam chuckled and jerked his head for Spencer to follow him.
They made their way through the kitchen and out the back door into the warm Southern California night.
He stepped out and closed the door and came to stand beside Liam next to the clear, still swimming pool. The man stood gazing upward at the dark sky littered with stars.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It is,” Liam agreed. “When I was a kid, I decided that I was going to go to see the Hollywood sign and snap a picture.”
“Did you?” Spencer gaped, intrigued.
“I did. I traveled to Hollywood all by myself, climbed the hillside it’s on, and snapped a picture with my brand-new polaroid camera. It was only when I was waiting for it to develop that I realized how many stars filled the sky on a clear night.”
“You hadn’t seen the stars before?” He gave Liam a puzzled look.
“At twelve, I was too busy to notice, I guess.”
Spencer grinned at Liam’s proud expression. “I bet your parents freaked.”
“They grounded me for a month, took away my Nintendo.”
“No shit?” He hadn’t even owned a video game until one came on his phone. “I thought rich kids were treated like royalty.”
Liam snorted. “Most of my friends were. One of my friends got arrested breaking and entering. His dad hired a lawyer and pulled some strings and it all went away. My dad and mom weren’t like that. When we got in trouble, they didn’t let us slide because of our money.”
He suddenly saw Liam in a whole different light than the rich man he’d taken him for. Of course, Liam had worked his ass of in the Army to become a colonel, so that right there said much about the man’s character.
“What about you?”
“What about me?” He blinked.
“What’s the craziest thing you did as a kid?”
Stole money from his mother’s purse to run to the store and buy a loaf of bread to eat. He’d been punished severely for it, but his belly had been full. After Wesley was born, he’d gotten smarter about taking the money.
“I never did anything crazy as a kid,” he said. He’d been too busy trying to survive.
Liam studied him for a quiet moment. “What about in the military or growing up? Any pranks?”
“Nope.” Nothing came to mind.
“Well, we need to fix that.”
Before he could argue, Liam grabbed him around the waist and shoved him. It surprised him so much, he didn’t react as quickly as he could have before he lost his balance and toppled into the pool.
Liam’s loud laughter followed him until he sank beneath the warm water. He came shooting up with a gasp and a glare that morphed into laughter.
“One day… you’re going to regret doing that.”
Liam laughed louder. “I can only imagine.” Walking closer, Liam held out his hand.
Spencer shook his head and backed away with a grin. “I’d be too tempted to pull you in.”
“You could try,” Liam said with a smug look.
Spencer didn’t take the bait. If he put his hands on Liam, there was no telling when he’d let go. Plus, he could honestly say this was the first time he’d been shoved into a swimming pool. And probably the first time someone cared enough to pull a prank on him.
Reaching the stairs in the shallow end, he found Liam grinning like a loon and holding out a large towel. Thankfully, Spencer still wore his swim trunks and t-shirt. He took the towel and dried his hair before pulling off his shirt.
Liam cleared his throat and turned away. “I found you some sweat pants.”
Spencer reached the back door and stood dripping on the mat instead of following Liam into the house.
“You can come in,” Liam said, suddenly noticing him not following. “The house won’t melt.”
“I’ll stay here.” He shook his head. No way in hell was he dripping water through the house.
Liam sighed and hurried away. After a time, he returned with another towel, sweats, and a t-shirt. “Sorry it took so long, I had to take a call.”
Spencer ducked around the side of the house and changed. He felt good and grinned as he rubbed the towel at his hair.
“All right?”
He twirled the towel between his hands and snapped it at Liam’s hip. Liam dodged back with a laugh.
“Now you’re asking for it.” Liam glanced at the pool again.
“Oh, hell no!” Spencer laughed and lunged right and then left and around Liam. The man’s deep chuckle followed him as he ran back into the safety of the house.
“I wouldn’t do that twice.” Liam came inside and shut the door.
“I don’t believe you.” Spencer snickered and made his way back into the living room.
The kids were crashed out, all but Wesley.
Liam woke up Jessica and Adam. “Come on, it’s time for bed,” Liam said as he ushered all the teens toward the hallway.
Wesley came to him and Spencer hugged him tightly.
“Did you go swimming again?” Wesley looked curiously at his wet hair.
“Not on purpose.”
Liam chuckled at him and Spencer gave the guy a teasing scowl.
“See you in the morning, bro,” Wesley whispered.
“Sweet dreams, Wes.”
With the kids down, Spencer thought Liam would call it a night as well, but Spencer found himself back in the living room with a fresh cup of coffee and Liam on the couch. They spent the next hour going through the list of movies Liam owned. Which was just about every one that had ever been made. When he pointed that out, Liam argued.
“Nah, I don’t have them all. I’m not a fan of stupid comedy movies.”
“What about Ace Ventura or The Mask?”
“I loved those two, even Liar Liar, but I didn’t like Dumb and Dumber.” Liam made a face.
Spencer snorted and gestured to the list on the screen. “Me neither. But I see you own every movie that I’d watch.”
“I call that a win,” Liam smirked.
Heat tightened his chest and he returned the smiling smirk just as his phone buzzed. Spencer almost ignored it, but he forced himself to check it. Tugging the phone out of his pocket, it was an alert from Eagle.
Got a possible location on Rocco Bowman. Wheels up in forty-five.
“Shit,�
�� he muttered and glanced at Liam. “I got to go.” He wasn’t sure just how much the colonel knew of what he did.
“Fury calls,” Liam murmured with a small smile.
Spencer froze for a split second. “Okay… Not going to ask how you even know that.”
“Good. I’ll tell you the next time we meet up.”
Spencer laughed and stood, heading back down the hallway toward the room Wesley was in.
“Don’t.” Liam pulled him to a stop.
“What?”
“Let him stay.”
“Nah, I got him. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” He pulled away. He didn’t want Liam thinking he couldn’t handle his own business.
“Spencer.” Liam’s hand drew him to a stop again. “Let him stay. I’ll take him to breakfast with Adam and Jessica in the morning and drop him off at your parents’ house.”
“Our dad is dead.”
“Mother’s house then,” Liam said softly.
Spencer paused, cringing inwardly when he imagined Liam seeing his mother’s house. Maybe that was a good thing. It would show Liam how different they were, and it would save him time.
“Okay, let me tell him goodbye.” He never left without saying goodbye to his little brother.
Standing on the bottom step to the front porch a few minutes later, he looked up at Liam.
He flat out didn’t want to leave and it had nothing to do with his little brother in the other room and everything to do with the confident man gazing into his eyes.
“I’ll take care of him, I promise.” Liam read his hesitation wrong.
Still, though, Spencer didn’t move. Liam’s brow furrowed and he stepped down those few steps that would bring him closer.
Something knotted up in his stomach the closer Liam came until Spencer couldn’t take it and froze. His awareness of Liam hung thickly in the air between them. Could Liam feel it?
“I know,” he rasped suddenly through a dry mouth and took several jerking steps back.
Liam stilled, smiled slightly, and slid his hands, palms flat, into the front pockets of his jeans in a move that was so goddamned sexy, Spencer had to spin away to hide his reaction.
“I’ll see you later,” Liam called after him.
Spencer kept walking.
Liam
Fucking Christ. Wesley’s house was located in a rough part of Torrance, but then he reminded himself that most people didn’t live behind a gate, protected from the world. Still, though, it sucked when he noticed some shady characters hanging out near the corner liquor store.
He pulled into the cracked driveway of the house Wesley pointed at. Fuck. He didn’t want to leave the kid there. It went against everything inside of him. It wasn’t that the house stood out, it was in the same disrepair as the surrounding blocks, faded, cracked paint over the stucco in a similar rundown state. It was the overgrown, dried up weeds filling desert dry flower beds that gave this one more disrepair. The other neighbors seemed to care about keeping their yards tended even though the yards were yellow from lack of water.
“Listen, do you have a cell phone?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Wesley pulled out an old flip phone that had seen better days.
“Program my number in.” He waited patiently for Wesley to put the number in his phone.
“Thanks.” Wesley smiled at him, but made no move to get out of the truck.
“Here.” He pulled his wallet and handed the teen a twenty. “Lunch is on me. See if you can get ahold of Spencer or ask your mother if you can stay over this coming weekend. I know Adam and Jessica would love it.”
Wesley’s eyes grew wide at the twenty, but he eagerly tucked the bill away in his sock.
“Hell yeah. I’d like that. I’ll make sure it’s okay.”
“I’m headed to the base, but call me when you find out.”
“Thanks, Liam!”
He found his arms filled with Wesley as he was given a brief, tight hug. Even though Wesley had been sad his brother had been called in, the boy hadn’t let it ruin their fun that morning. Wesley had managed to eat Adam under the table and Liam was left in awe at the amount of pancakes and bacon the teen had consumed.
“Don’t forget to call me. For anything,” he said, and with a tightness in his chest, he released the boy.
“I won’t!” Wesley sprang from the truck and shut the door. Jogging to the broken-down front porch, Wesley turned and waved at him with a smile.
Liam waved and waited until Wesley was inside before he backed out of the driveway.
If only your brother was as receptive to my charms, he mused before driving down the street.
For one moment, and maybe it had been his imagination, he’d thought Spencer wanted him to kiss him.
“Keep dreaming, Cobalt,” he muttered to himself, checking both ways before taking the freeway onramp.
It turned out to be a relatively quiet week filled with meetings. He was just about ready to give thanks that it was Friday when a set of mission details crossed his desk. It took a few hours to relay the orders.
Leaving his office, he hurried down the hallway and punched in the code to the command center before entering the secluded area. Inside, people were working at a row of monitors.
“Status.” He walked over to Sergeant Samantha Kimpton, Infinity’s dispatcher, and picked up the chart on the edge of her desk.
“Fury has just entered the area, sir,” she responded.
“And Infinity?”
“They’ve taken position on the outskirts,” Sergeant Craig Truman responded from his spot next to Sam.
Liam picked up a headset. “Get Maddox on the line.” Elijah had returned to Crumpet on personal business.
“Roger that.” Sam sent the alert and connected him to Captain Stone.
“Sir?”
“Fury is lead on this.”
Maddox sighed. “I know. I don’t like it, but I know.”
“Good. The situation is too unstable to have Infinity go in, but they’ll need you when they come out.”
“Understood,” Maddox replied.
He tossed down the headset and pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off worry, but it didn’t help.
Sam reached over and flipped the switch that kept the sound on as well as what Infinity was seeing from the camera attached to River’s helmet. The compound looked deserted, but Liam knew it was anything but. It had taken several days for Fury to locate Bowman. The man and his crew were inside with possible hostages.
While he could see what Infinity saw, Fury had no such monitor. The only communication was between the three men. It kept fuckups to a minimum.
He really should have told Spencer he was in charge of Fury, but he hadn’t had the heart to potentially sour the evening. If he were being completely honest, he feared Spencer would back away if he found out.
Their renewed friendship was still fresh and frankly unstable. He hadn’t wanted to risk ending what they’d started because he was the man’s commander. Last year, Liam had offered Spencer a spot in Infinity and had been turned down flat, making it very clear he didn’t want to report to him.
“Vehicle approaching,” River’s voice came through the com and the camera attached to his helmet turned, affording the command center a view of the jeep.
Several men stepped out of the jeep and entered the compound. Five in total, business men carrying briefcases and wearing expensive suits.
“Infinity, move in closer to the perimeter and hold new position,” Liam ordered.
“Is that Bowman’s buyer?” Sam murmured.
“Possibly.” He stared at the screen as if he could see inside the building and know Spencer was okay. He had to trust at this point; those three men were some of the toughest and highest skilled in the military.
In the distance, sudden gunfire irrupted and light flashed inside of the building.
“Shots fired!” Maddox shouted.
Sergeant Samantha Kimpton swiveled in her seat, her gaze locke
d on him. He gave her a quick nod.
Sam spun in her chair and gave the order.
“Infinity, move in.”
“Roger that, base,” Maddox returned and gave the order to the rest of the team.
Through the darkened night, the compound lit up again. The flash of gunfire brightened the darkened sky to the east side. Infinity broke out in a run, converging on the building.
Liam snatched up his headset, too impatient to wait.
“Report when Fury has been informed Infinity is on site,” he snapped.
“Roger,” Maddox grunted.
Through the camera attached to River’s helmet, he watched as Infinity moved in.
Several tense moments went by. From his end, all he could hear was shouting, gunfire, and the sound of war. It fucking sucked, and for a moment, he actually missed being out there. At forty-five, though, and too many years out of the field, he’d be nothing but a hindrance.
Maddox shouted orders and the sound of gunfire and running filled the mic and the camera wobbled. Attached to a rope, the captain scaled the wall and leaped onto the balcony. River followed Maddox along with the rest of Infinity.
The backup camera on Infinity’s jeep gave an alternate view of the parking lot. From the corner of the building, three men shot out and ran with one lone man hot on their asses.
From the way the black figure flew over the ground, he’d bet money it was Spencer. Two more black figures emerged and charged after the first. The three were lost to view once they left the floodlight lit area around the building. From there, they disappeared into the surrounding trees.
While most of Infinity was inside the building, three soldiers charged from an open door and followed the group into the trees.
Liam stood watching the screen. It was several long, tension-filled minutes before Maddox and what was left of Infinity returned to the parking lot.
“Scene’s secure,” Maddox said.
“Roger that, Alpha team,” Sam replied.
Liam released a hard breath, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. Not until he knew Fury, and more importantly, Spencer, was safe.
“Bowman and two of his accomplices got away,” Maddox reported at the thirty minutes from breech mark, but the captain hadn’t said the words that would take away Liam’s worry.
Taking It Slow (Code of Honor Book 4) Page 5