Tug of War (Legacy Book 5)

by Rain Carrington

  He was on his phone looking for his own place when Gary came in without knocking, erection making it in before he did.

  “I need to bone the hell out of you, Tommy.”

  Smiling, he held his hand up to stop Gary from jumping on him. “Give me a minute. I think I like this apartment and I want to get the application downloaded.”

  “Apartment, huh? Where at?”

  “North of town. It’s not huge, but it’s plenty big enough.”

  Gary sat next to him and snatched the phone from his hand, tossing it on the bed. “You’re a bodyguard, Tom. Don’t you think you should stay here?”

  “For one thing, Javi said he is good to go to watch over Daniel at night, and besides that, I’m tired of having to be so quiet while we’re fucking.”

  Tommy felt Gary stiffen beside him. “You’re…getting this for us?”

  “Well, that was one thought. Wouldn’t you like some privacy? I kinda like when you get me to scream.”

  While he was trying to lighten the mood, Gary’s very presence was bringing a dark cloud to settle over the bed.

  Tommy knew what was happening. He was pushing, in Gary’s mind. Tommy was pushing for more, and it had only been a month. If he could understand, he’d realize that wasn’t true.

  “Gary, stop. I didn’t ask you to move in with me. I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to, but guessing by the way you’re acting with me just looking for a place, I’d take it you’d rather fuck a cantaloupe than move in with me.”

  “Tom…”

  “No, I get it. It’s too soon. Which is why I wasn’t asking, but since we’re on the fucking subject, what exactly is going on here, with us? Am I just a pitstop for you? Some fuck before you take off and see the world again?”

  “No, Tommy, it’s not like that, but…”

  His heart hurt in chest, like he couldn’t breathe, it hurt so much. “Don’t make lame excuses, Gary. Just tell me.”

  He kept his face turned away from Tommy, which told him all he needed to know.

  He swallowed a few times so his voice wouldn’t crack, giving away the pain he was trying to hide. “So, let’s fuck. I’ll look for an apartment later.”

  Gary turned to him finally and whispered, “I want you to know you do mean so much to me, Tommy.”

  “Do you love me? I love you, so I’m just wondering.”

  Gary got up from the bed and threw back over his shoulder as he left the room, “When you’re in a better mood, let me know.”

  Two days later, he was gone. Tommy had barely seen him in those two days, passing by him in the hall while he was in a rush to talk to Javi about whatever the fuck they were talking about. Then, that day he left, Daniel handed him an envelope and when he opened it, it read, I love you too. I’ll be back, I just can’t say when. Gary.

  His heart broke and he didn’t think it would ever heal. For a week he lay in bed, turning Daniel away from the door whenever he’d come to check on him. He didn’t cry, he couldn’t. He was dry inside, nothing to ease the pain, not even tears.

  When he got up and out of that bed, however, he vowed to stop feeling sorry for himself. He had a job, had friends, and had a purpose for the first time in his life.

  Present day…

  They kept along the roadside for a couple more miles, then Gary stopped under a bridge and pulled Tommy with him. “They should be getting close.”

  “Who?”

  “Javi’s sending a guy to bring us a car and some weapons. No way we can rescue him with two pistols.”

  Tommy blinked at him, so many things he wanted to blurt out, but he only asked, “You’re really going to rescue him?”

  “What the fuck do you think of me, Tommy? That I’d be happy the competition is out of the way and I’d take you to Cancun to celebrate?”

  “No…I don’t know what I thought. If they’re sending one guy, can’t they send more? Can’t we get some of my guys down here to help us?”

  Gary touched him, setting a palm on his cheek. “Like I said, I’ll bring him back to you.”

  “I chose him.”

  “What?”

  Gary’s hand dropped and he waited while Tommy tried to sort it out in his head.

  Tommy walked out into the moonlight, raising his face to it. “He, uh, wanted me to choose. He never did before, he was patient with me, knowing I loved you still. More than patient. The guy is so damn good. I never did think I deserved him.

  “Anyway, when we came down here to get you, he finally told me to choose and I didn’t think I could. How the fuck was I supposed to choose between two guys I love? Two very different guys that I love in different ways, and yet…when I was in that room all alone, and I thought, shit, I could have gone right or left, either room I would have gotten laid. It would have been great sex no matter which I chose, both guys I loved. The thing that cinched it for me, though, was that I could only count on one guy to be there when I woke up. And that wasn’t you.”

  He couldn’t see Gary, not with him under that bridge. He didn’t have to, though. They may not have been together long, but Tommy had memorized his every expression. It came as no surprise to him when he gritted out, “Guess you made the right choice then, huh?”

  “Yeah. I did.”

  A car was coming, and Gary reached for him, pulling him back under the bridge. “Keep quiet.”

  Gary was right there, so close to him that Tommy felt his body heat. They heard the car stopping overhead and Gary whispered, “Listen for the signal.”

  His mouth was close to Tommy’s and Tommy closed his eyes, remembering how his kiss felt. “What signal?”

  “You’ll know it when you hear it. Now shh, Tommy.”

  He half expected Gary to call him boy. If he had, Tommy would have lost his mind.

  After hearing a door opening, they heard a birdcall, kahooo, kahooo.

  “That’s it,” Gary said, heading out from under the bridge. Tommy followed him and climbed the embankment to the road.

  Gary was in front of a Mexican man, short and buffed like he did little else but work out and drink protein shakes all day. “You want a ride back to town?”

  “Nah, I’ll walk. The directions are on the seat, weapons in the trunk. Good luck.”

  Gary nodded to the passenger door. “Get in.”

  The older car, some eighties Oldsmobile, was beat up but it drove well, and Gary was turned around and heading back toward San Luis de la Paz in a heartbeat.

  “What are we doing? I want to know the plan, Gary.”

  “There isn’t one yet, Tommy. We need to talk to a few people, find out where they’re holding him, then plan on going to get him with as little fuss as possible.”

  He could blow up half of Mexico to find him, but Gary was right. They wanted to piss off as few as possible. “Can we do this? Us? They must have a dozen guys or more watching him. They don’t do anything in small numbers, Gary.”

  “I know that, Tommy. We need stealth, skill, and a lot of fucking luck. Once we find where they’re hiding him, we can scope the place out and then we will have enough to plan. Can you be that patient?”

  “Of course, I can. Anything to make sure he’s okay.”

  “So, you really love this guy. I mean…why? You said he’s good to you. I’m glad, Tommy. But…”

  “He’s sexy and good and sweet and lets me know every day how much he cares about me. It’s nice, for a change.”

  The words spit at him were hitting home, as Gary flinched at them. “Fuck you, Tommy, I always let you know I cared.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Tommy was being cruel on purpose and he’d sworn he wouldn’t be. Gary had shown him he cared, just in totally different ways than Diego. Taking him on that camping trip, it may not have been the romantic escape that Tommy had wished for, but for Gary, it was. He was assuring himself that Tommy would be safe and take care even in dire situations. For Gary, that was romance. Safety and security for those he loved, that was what he cared about, not
flowers and candy.

  “You chose him, why are we even talking about this shit anymore?”

  “You asked.”

  Another flinch like Tommy had hit him. “I just want to know you’re taken care of, Tommy. He’s a college boy, lawyer for the family, and he got himself kidnapped. Doesn’t seem like he could watch out for you.”

  “He doesn’t need to! I can look after myself, Gary. I am the one who could have died if I hadn’t worn the vest that saved my life! I am the one put in charge of Daniel, the fucking big boss’s son! Do you think Mike would trust me with Daniel if I couldn’t take care of him?”

  “Okay, okay, Tommy. I’m sorry.”

  Tommy wanted to say that he’d been dying to hear those words for months too, but he kept his mouth shut. Like it or not, he needed Gary, needed his help to rescue Diego.

  Getting to the city quickly, Gary drove through the streets like he’d lived there all his life and once he stopped, he told Tommy to wait in the car. “I need to talk to this guy. He was in the cartel, but got cancer and they let him leave. He’s like one of two that left while they were still breathing. He’s got connections there still.”

  “Be careful, Gary. As much as I want to help Diego, I don’t want you to get killed doing it.”

  Gary stopped and looked over at him. Tommy couldn’t read his face, which was slack and tired. “I feel the same about you, Tommy.”

  He left the car and Tommy to his worry. Diego didn’t deserve what was happening to him, and Tommy blamed himself.

  Then Gary, going back into a line of work he’d hated because he was trying to erase his mother’s death from his mind and heart. It wouldn’t work. Tommy’s mother had been a terrible human being, but when she died, it still hurt. He couldn’t imagine what Gary was feeling, and there he was, dumping on him.

  Everything was so fucked up that Tommy wanted to scream. He was angry and hurt and couldn’t sort out the rest of his feelings because those kept standing in the way.

  It wasn’t long before Gary was back in the car and telling him what he’d found. “Well, he knows where they’re holding him. They hold prisoners in the same couple places, and they’re well-guarded. The thing is, though, they’d never suspect two guys to come in to get him. They expect armies of men. That’s dangerous.”

  “Expect the unexpected, Javi always told us.”

  “Yeah. Exactly. So, the two of us have a good chance of getting him out of there, but Tommy, you have to do everything I say. Everything. No hot dog bullshit and you trying to be a hero, like jumping in front of bullets.”

  “I did that to save Daniel, which was my fucking job, Gary! I’m not stupid.”

  “I know, baby…I mean. I mean, Tommy, I know you’re not stupid.”

  The word hung over them, choking the air right out of the car. Baby. He’d never called Tommy that when they were together. It told more than Gary likely ever wanted Tommy to know.

  They stopped at a run-down motel in the city, and Gary jumped out to secure them a room for the night. Once he was back in the car, he pulled behind the building to park and got out, Tommy doing the same.

  The trunk was full of guns, vests, a small cache of grenades, and sleeves of long knives. There were also two laptop computers and those were what Gary grabbed first, handing them to Tommy. “Take those in and I’ll grab some of these. Get into the room before anyone sees you,” he added while handing him a key on a long wooden fob.

  Tommy got the computers into the room and set his phone next to one on the wobbly table. A roach immediately crawled over the screen and Tommy retched, swiping it across the room. “Fucking gross.”

  Gary came into the room, pulled the curtains closed, and set the weapons he’d brought in into the closet.

  The room stunk and he couldn’t imagine the last time the bedding was washed, but he’d sleep on fresh dog shit if needed to get Diego back and out of harm’s way.

  “Open the laptop and turn on the satellite connection.”

  “Listen, Daniel taught me some tricks, sure, but I suck at navigating these things.”

  “I’ll navigate, you just get it started.”

  Tommy smiled at that and opened the computer, turning on the Wi-Fi to the satellite connection. Gary sat at the table and slid the computer to him, then pulled Tommy’s chair close to his. “Watch and learn.”

  He typed fast and got a topographic map up and pointed to a spot that looked like just another piece of desert. “It’s there.”

  “There’s nothing! Not a shed or a damn house or anything.”

  “Underground. You can’t see it here, but there’s an entrance built into the side of that little hill. My contact told me that each bush you see here has a man in it or is a man.”

  He wasn’t sure about how much he trusted Gary’s informant. “It doesn’t look like shit, Gary. Are you sure about this guy?”

  “Yeah, I am. I paid him well for the information and he’s never lied to me before. He doesn’t give a shit about the rest of it, he’s collecting money for his family before he dies.”

  He may not trust the informant, but he did trust Gary. No matter what, this was what Gary excelled at. “Okay.”

  Gary pushed the computer away and turned to him, pleading, “You have got to listen to me now. I know you’re worried about him and that is what’s in your mind right now but listen. When they call back, which should be soon, try to keep them on the line as long as possible.”

  “We know where they are, so why are we trying to track them?”

  “We’re not, but we want them to think we are. To keep them on the line, they’ll think we’re still working on finding him. They’ll relax some, and that is what we’re really after. Then, ask to talk to him. I don’t want to scare you, but then…I guess I do. They will kill him, Tommy. Whether they get the money or not. The best bet for him and for us is that they keep him alive to give us proof of life, so they still get their money. Tell them if you don’t talk to him, they don’t get their money.”

  “Okay. I’ll insist on it.”

  “Don’t be a dick about it, but yes, insist. Then tell them you’re already making arrangements for the money, but being they want cash, it’s going to take some time. At least two days. Tell them Mr. Montello is handling it personally.”

  “Is he?”

  “No. Javi has Daniel in hiding and Mike and Mia are the same. Even we won’t know where they are, in case we’re captured.”

  “You mean in case I’m captured. You’ve said you can’t be broken.”

  “That’s nothing against you, Tommy, I hope you know that.”

  He did know that, but his nerves were raw. “Listen, Gary, I’ve been so caught up in my own shit…even before Diego got taken…I’m really sorry about your mom.”

  His head dropped and he admitted, “Yeah, me too. I was so fucked up. I just needed to run away from it. I wanted to run to you, but Javi mentioned you were…occupied. It hurts, man. Like the rug got pulled out from under me.”

  “You wanted to come to me? Gary, even though I’m with someone, I would have been there for you.”

  “I’m sure Diego would have loved that. My crying on your shoulder.”

  “He’s not like you. He didn’t dominate me.”

  Gary’s brows rose as he fell back in his seat. “And you still like him? Surprising.”

  Wanting to be offended at that, he couldn’t, and it showed as he let out a laugh. “That’s not all I am, Gary. There are different sides to me. He found the one you didn’t, and you found the one he didn’t. That’s all.”

  He gave Tommy a little nod, then changed the subject. “Gomez, huh? Never thought they’d let a Mexican be consiglieri.”

  “He’s not Mexican. He’s Mia’s cousin. Diego’s mom married a Spaniard, from Spain. Mia’s father and uncle disowned their sister for not marrying an Italian. Mia, though, she kept in contact with her cousins, and once the old consiglieri died, she asked him to come take the job.”

  “Sh
e’s smart, that lady. I kinda thought she was running things instead of Mike, but it wasn’t for me to say.”

  “She could. She’s smart and a really good person. When they adopted the baby, man, they both changed. They were all about that baby, without leaving Daniel out of things. He’s finally got a family that loves him.”

  Gary leaned over and asked, “Now, what about you? Don’t you need that, too?”

  “I have one. Daniel forgave me for everything I ever did when I was friends with Lee and pretty much tortured him. Javi is like a dad to me. Diego…”

  “I get it, Tommy. I do. I wish…I wish I could have done that for you.”

  “You did. You didn’t know it at the time, but you helped me figure out why I thought I loved Lee. It was a need in me, but he didn’t want it or appreciate it. You did.”

  The phone rang, cutting off the increasingly uncomfortable discussion. Gary’s hand lay over his before he answered. “Remember what I said.”

  “I remember.”

  He picked up the phone and said, “It’s Hathaway.”

  The robotic voice came on the line. “Mr. Hathaway, do you have the money?”

  “If you need it in cash, it’s going to take a couple days to get. They’re liquidating some assets now. Before we go further, though, I need to hear Diego’s voice. I need proof of life.”

  “Fine. One moment.”

  Tommy and Gary’s eyes met, and he drew strength from him, though he hated himself for that. When he heard movement on the line, he tensed, then he felt like crying.

  “Tom?”

  Diego’s voice was hoarse and weak, but he was alive.

  “Diego? Are you okay? Did they fucking hurt you?”

  “I’m okay.”

  The phone was taken from him, and Tommy wanted to scream when he heard that robotic voice back on the line. “There’s your proof of life. Two days.”

  “Wait, I need to know where you want the money!”

  The line went dead and Tommy dropped the phone to the table. “Fuck.”

  “You did great, Tommy. Really. They think you wanted to keep them on the line, you didn’t try to tell Diego anything.”