Tug of War (Legacy Book 5)

by Rain Carrington

  “Worse than none at all, but I ain’t your daddy.”

  “You could be,” he mumbled loud enough for Gary to hear then ducked as Gary swung at him playfully.

  “Punk.”

  When they reached the top, Tommy stopped to look out over the scenery, and Gary started to unpack their tent. “Appreciate nature later. Get set up now.”

  “We’re not in the army right now, Gary.”

  “I’m always in the army, Tommy. Now go fetch some firewood. I need coffee.”

  There were very few pleases or thank yous in Gary’s vocabulary, but Tommy was getting used to it. He tried not to compare his lack of civility to Lee, but it was hard not to, causing him to question everything he liked about Gary.

  He found a good load of firewood within twenty minutes, and laughed when he got back to camp, seeing everything had been perfectly set up and there was a fire started. “You’re fast.”

  “Or you’re slow,” he laughed.

  The tent was up and the sleeping bags inside, zipped together to make one bed. The food was stored in a nearby tree so the wildlife wouldn’t get to it, and the skillet was waiting for the steaks they’d brought with them for dinner.

  “Come sit.”

  Tommy dropped the wood a couple feet from the fire and sat on the log Gary had found.

  “Up here, there’s not as much to forage but there are things to look for. Tubers, wild fennel root, then there are rabbits, snakes. I know we brought food for tonight, but I’d like you to go out and find us something for morning.”

  Disappointment wasn’t the half of it. He’d thought, when Gary asked him to camp for the night, that they’d make love under the stars and just…be together. “I didn’t realize this was a training mission.”

  “Well, it’s not, really, but it never hurts to keep your skills up and learn something new.”

  Frustrated, Tommy just jerked his head in a half-nod and sat quietly, watching the flames in the circle of rocks.

  “I want to know you can take care of yourself, Tommy.”

  “Javi taught me a lot. I’d be fine until I wasn’t, then I’d figure out a way to be fine.”

  “Javi didn’t have time to teach you enough. He’s good, sure, but there wasn’t enough time, Tommy. You have a big job now. You could have to protect him in weird places, and it’s good if you know how to adapt and survive and keep him alive while you’re at it.”

  The frustration was there, but he didn’t want to show it. Gary wasn’t the romantic type, he knew that. Tommy didn’t want to let on that he’d expected something else. “Okay. So, teach me.”

  “Why does it sound like you want to do anything except learn?”

  “Nah, just thought we were gonna hang out. Tired from the climb, I guess.”

  “Then get some rest first. Head into the tent and catch some sleep.”

  He did just that, except he didn’t sleep. Needing away from the man, he crawled into the tent, scoffing at how Gary had made one bed from the two sleeping bags. He was surprised, if this were a learning trip, that he’d want to fuck, but of course, he did. Fucking was their thing, if nothing else was.

  After lying there an hour, Tommy heard Gary on the phone. It was hard to get service there, he knew, so Tommy peeked his head out of the flap and looked around for Gary. He was off in the trees, and while Tommy couldn’t hear his words, he did hear the tone of his voice. It was tense, angry even.

  Once Gary had the phone stuffed back into his pocket, he went back to the fire, noticing Tommy coming from the tent. “Get some rest?”

  “Not really. Who were you talking to?”

  Gary didn’t answer right off, so Tommy went to take a seat with him on the log. “No one important. Just my past coming back to haunt me.”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  The mood had changed drastically, and Tommy’s own disappointment at the turn of the trip left him and he wanted to make Gary smile again, in any way possible. “Well, if you don’t want to talk, you wanna fuck?”

  A laugh came on a rush of air as Gary nodded. “Sure. That is a great offer.”

  They fucked twice in the tent, Gary slamming into him like he was trying to drive his anger from himself and place it violently into Tommy. Not that he minded, the sex was incredible, but still, it was nothing like he’d pictured.

  He could almost hear Lee whispering in his ear, that nasty, snide voice he’d get, telling him to get over it and stop being such a girl. He hated that voice, the hateful way Lee had of putting everything that came out of his mouth.

  Gary was nothing like him, well, he was a little. There was no malicious intent in him like Lee existed on, but still, the similarities were unmistakable.

  For the few hours after they were sexually satisfied, Gary walked him around and showed him plants he could live on if he had to, how to make a good rabbit trap and how to best bury the bones and guts when they’d caught one.

  The steaks were bloody when Gary cooked them, and he ate it, though he liked his with much less pink, and they were set to fuck again when Gary surprised him. “I have a present for you.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  Tommy didn’t want to get his hopes up like it was something romantic, and that was a good thing, but still, the gift touched him. It was a Leatherman knife, with a compass on the handle, a pair of scissors, two blades, spoon, and tiny saw.

  “This, take it with you no matter where you go. Well, except on planes.”

  Tommy loved it. Something occurred to him then, something that never would have if he hadn’t thought of Lee. Gary showed he cared in different ways than Tommy expected. He had stupid expectations of flowers and candlelight, when Gary’s were real-world and practical.

  He leaned in to kiss him, and for the first time, it wasn’t a bruising kiss that would lead to sex. It was much more tender, and a glimpse at a possible softer side of Gary that he knew Gary would never show on purpose.

  Present Day

  Being so close to him again, it was making Tommy dizzy. The hurt from months sloughed away, and he was left with the emptiness he’d felt when Gary first told him he was leaving. He held onto that, better to feel nothing than that pain.

  “I never expected you to wait for me, Tommy. I don’t know what I expected. Is he…good to you?”

  It all hit him so fast, he felt like it would knock him from the bench. “He’s really good to me, and I’m an ass to him. I just this second realized that I’m treating him like you treated me. I’ve loved him for months and only told him today.”

  “You love him?”

  There was little that Tommy had wanted more for months than to see Gary and confront him, get something from him that he realistically knew he’d never get, and now that he was there, Tommy wished he was anywhere else. “I love him, yeah.”

  The long silence was the worst. Tommy wanted to run from the room, but he was there in a professional capacity. Gary let the words hang between them, but Tommy watched his leg bouncing, saw his jaw popping as he clenched it. The fact that Tommy had moved on affected him. That was something, he guessed.

  The doors opened and they both rose to their feet, Gary staring Diego down the moment he saw him. Colonel Crowley came between them and handed Gary a thick envelope. “Here’s your pay for what you’ve done up ‘til now. Sorry it didn’t work out.”

  “What the fuck, Colonel? Did I say I was quitting?”

  Diego spoke then, “The Montello family is in need of your services, so we bought out your current contract with the colonel.”

  Getting right in his face, Gary gritted, “I wasn’t talking to you, college boy.”

  Tommy thought they were going to throw fists right then, but Diego kept his calm, as usual. “Take it up with Mr. Norman and Mr. Duran when you return to Colorado.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, I will.”

  The three left together, getting into the car that was waiting for them. Gary took the passenger seat in front whi
le Diego and Tommy got into the back again. Tommy didn’t wait to find out if Diego would take his hand, he reached over to grab Diego’s.

  The ride was silent, but not relaxing in the least. Tommy felt the tension coming off Gary in dark waves. He was angry, and Tommy worried about Diego, if the spark of hatred between them would ignite into a full-blown inferno.

  Diego’s phone went off and he answered it with his voice calm and even. “Gomez.”

  Tommy wondered who’d be calling, but he knew Daniel and Javi, and they were probably on the edge of their seats wondering if Gary would be okay with their interference.

  “I understand. Set up a hotel for us for the night then. Three rooms. Thanks.”

  Tommy’s head moved slowly as he was hurt by the order of three rooms. “Three?”

  “Yeah. Three,” he said then cut off the conversation short by turning away from Tommy and staring at the scenery they were passing.

  Tommy ignored it on the way through, looking from Diego to Gary and back, wondering if he’d fucked up so badly that he’d lost both.

  They traveled quite a distance for riding in uncomfortable silence. Once they arrived at their hotel, the Mineral del Cielo Loft Boutique, however, Tommy forgot the two men for the moment, marveling at the place they’d be staying.

  The buildings looked modern, a sleek box design, but the walls were two feet thick stone. There was a large pond with fountains in the center of the buildings and the desert was so close, the landscaping blended beautifully with it, being done in succulents and cacti.

  Their rooms were in a row and had ceiling to floor windows that looked out onto the grounds and the desert beyond. The only thing that would make it better was if he were sharing his room, but with which one? He knew why Diego had ordered three rooms. It was time for Tommy to choose.

  With one look to him before the bellboy took their things into their separate rooms, Tommy saw the love in Diego’s eyes. He wanted to tell him to forget the three rooms, and forget Gary, but he couldn’t. He knew it too, it was time to choose.

  Inside, the bed was big and had an overly thick mattress, raw wood furniture complimenting the scenery from the window. He pushed his bag aside and sat on the bed, wondering what the hell he was going to do. How would he choose? He loved them both.

  Besides, it wasn’t only his decision. If he chose Gary, there was no guarantee Gary would choose him. He may take off again, not to be heard from for months if not longer.

  Laughing at himself in a sarcastic way, he thought crazily that he didn’t have to sleep alone in the big bed all night. All he had to do was to choose and he’d have great sex that night. Either way he picked, he’d have great sex, but there was only one man who Tommy could be sure would still be there when he woke.

  That was the thought that he had as he drifted to sleep that night, alone in the bed, giving himself and the other men the space they likely all needed to think. The thing was, though, he thought he was finished thinking. To have Diego there, and knowing he would always be there, it was the one thing that tipped the scale. After everything, after months of beating himself up, it took one thing to decide.

  ****

  He woke in the middle of the night to a sound that he couldn’t place. Not that that was unlikely, he had never been here before, but he got up, went to the window and peered out. It was dark, very dark, no outer lights to illuminate the grounds like he thought there’d be.

  That was strange enough, but when his phone rang, he jumped practically out of his skin.

  He rushed to the night table to grab it, seeing the caller was private. He answered, wondering if it was Gary, but when he heard the voice, a robotic voice, he knew something was terribly wrong.

  “If you want Diego Gomez back, you’ll call his boss and get him to pay two million American dollars, non-sequential, with no tracking devices or paint bombs. We will call back with instructions in two hours. Do not attempt to call the police in Mexico or America. Do not call the FBI. If you do, he’s dead. If you don’t get the money, he’s dead. Answer when we call.”

  The line went dead and for one solid second, Tommy’s body grew cold, and he was unsure if he could move. Then, all the things Javi had taught him came screaming back to him and he wished for a gun he didn’t have.

  Leaving his room quietly, he moved down the sidewalk to Diego’s room, seeing the door was ajar by just a crack. After making himself flush with the wall beside the door, Tommy lay his hand on the door and pushed it slowly until he could see a little of the inside of the room.

  Javi’s lessons, listen first, see second, feel, taste, sense things, look for details other people would ignore, see what’s hidden in plain sight, never think a room is empty until you assure it’s empty.

  After pushing the door open wider, he moved to enter the room, listening intently for any sound that could tell him he wasn’t alone.

  He got into the room and immediately saw what made the noise he heard earlier. The lamp, though still lit, was on the floor by the unmade bed. Diego’s shoes and clothes were scattered on the end of the bed and on the floor under it, as if they’d ransacked his bags before taking him.

  Before he moved further into the room, he let his eyes investigate, and saw boot prints in the carpet, an empty glass tumbler that was overturned on the rug, leaving a dark spot of what smelled like scotch.

  Diego’s favorite drink.

  That hit him in the chest, and he suddenly, irrationally remembered asking his favorite color. Would he ever get the chance to know it?

  Looking around, there were few clues as to who could have taken Diego, the boot print, was it, and he would go ask for any recordings they had as well, seeing the security cameras all around the place. First, though, he’d go get some help.

  Carefully, he left the room, closing the door, and made his way to Gary’s room. He didn’t want to knock, unwilling to make any noise. Instead, he pulled out his phone and sent Gary a text to open the door.

  He was awake, which didn’t surprise Tommy, and opened the door dramatically, grinning. “I was hoping you’d come by.”

  Tommy, irritated, pushed him out of the way and checked outside before he shut the door and turned on him. “Someone took Diego.”

  The smile left his face and Gary turned it fully on soldier. “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked while looking out of the peephole in the door.

  “I heard something that woke me up and then I got a call. They want two million dollars for him.”

  Gary grabbed both his arms and shook him a little. “Did they say his name? Do they know who he is?”

  “Yeah, they said his name. Why?”

  “Shit. Fuck!”

  Gary went to the bed and started to get dressed, pulling his camo pants over his hips while he explained, “Kidnapping is big down here, of course, and they target Americans, who they think are all rich. If they knew his name, though, and called you right off, that means someone probably sent them after him.”

  He went cold again. “They know who he is?”

  “Yeah, which is a good fucking question. Who, exactly, is he? Some associate of Montello’s, but how high up?”

  Tommy went to the bed and sat on the edge, his head in his hands. “Real high up, Gary. Consiglieri.”

  “Fuck. Fucking hell, Tommy. This is bad. Get your shit packed, pack whatever stuff they left behind of his. Fuck! We don’t have a car!”

  “What about the driver that brought us here?”

  “We can’t trust him, Tom. We can’t trust anyone here.”

  Tommy wanted to shake apart, but he had to hold it together. For Diego.

  “Then what are we going to do?”

  “Go get packed, like I said. I’ll call Javi. They’ll need to get Daniel and Mike to safety.”

  Mike, Mia, the baby, and Daniel. Shit. “Please, make sure they listen to you.”

  “They will.”

  Tommy didn’t know he was crying until Gary grabbed him and held him still
while he wiped over Tommy’s face with a palm. “Be strong, Tom. He’ll need you.”

  After he sniffed once, he got angry. “He has me. Always.”

  The flicker in Gary’s eyes told Tommy that hit home for him. “I’ll fix this. I promise, Tommy. I’ll bring him back to you.”

  “You fucking better.”

  Chapter Five

  Gary had them leave the hotel grounds and skirt the edge of the road while he spoke to Javi on the phone. He was carrying the bulk of the bags, leaving Tommy free to watch out to make sure no one was following them.

  Gary had two guns and had given Tommy one. His grip on it was going to make his hand hurt for days, but he wouldn’t let up. Not only had they taken Diego, but they could come back for him and Gary, too. Then there would be no one to help Diego.

  When he finally ended the call, Gary explained, “It had to be fucking Crowley. He’s in with that fucking cartel up to the neck and if he could win some points with them by giving them a big fish to kidnap and get some money from, and also screw the Montellos for taking me, he’d do it in a heartbeat.”

  “Then let’s go there and get it out of him where they took Diego!”

  “We can’t, Tommy. If we go anywhere near that compound, we’ll be dead. We have to play this a little smarter.”

  “Fuck you! Maybe you just don’t want to piss off your old colonel. Like you give a fuck if they kill Diego!”

  Gary dropped the bags and turned to him, fire in his blue eyes that Tommy could see even in the dark. “Shut the fuck up, Tommy. You know I would never do that.”

  “How do I know that?”

  The anger was gone and hurt was there in its place. “Tom…you know me.”

  “Do I? I thought I was beginning to and then you left. You fucking took off because you couldn’t handle that someone cared about you.”

  “That’s not it.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Nine months before…

  Returning to his room after having dinner with Javi and Daniel, Tommy changed out of his dress shirt and pants, pulling some sweats over his bare ass and flopping down on the bed.