Commander's Spitfire [Rescue for Hire 5] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  Cade had convinced Shane it was time to join him in deciding what direction his company should go. If Cade decided to keep things the way they were, he wanted Shane’s help running it. Cade felt it was time for him and Bret to concentrate on building a family.

  Another option was to pull back on the rescue missions themselves and direct their attention toward teaching. Each team member had elite skills that the public would love having a chance to learn.

  The last option was a combination of some of the men setting up a training facility and Shane creating a whole new team to lead in rescues. With Cade’s accident, Shane knew all of their plans were on hold for a while.

  Shane looked around the room, automatically scanning for anything suspicious. Finding nothing, he continued to put faces to the names he and his brother had discussed in their last telephone conversation. Shane purposely didn’t look at the dark Italian, wanting to save the best for last. Instead his gaze zeroed in on the brown-haired, brown-eyed man sitting in an outstandingly good-looking man’s arms. He immediately knew the plain man must be Alex Taylor, the expert tracker of the team. And the other man must be his partner, Leo DeLuca. Even though the two men were on opposite sides of the spectrum in the looks department, Shane could tell they were a very solid and in-love couple.

  Shane’s gaze was again drawn to the one he was sure was the computer expert, Tony Grayson. The man was very good-looking, with dark tanned skin and velvety brown eyes, surrounded by thick black lashes. His wavy black hair was longer, just past his ears, and pushed away from his face. The guy had a lickable hard body even a dirty, wrinkled, black, long-sleeved T-shirt and equally dirty black jeans couldn’t hide. Cade had mentioned Tony’s affair with the pro baseball player and had stood back, hoping somehow the train wreck he knew was going to happen wouldn’t. But the bottom line was that Tyler Hayward couldn’t and wouldn’t endanger his career with a boyfriend. Shane didn’t know the details of the breakup, but there was a haunted look in Tony’s eyes that included a hint of betrayal. Shane decided that more than one person had had a hand in the breakup.

  “Are you going to come over and say ‘Hi’ pretty soon, commander? Or are you waiting for me to get my ass off this chair and come to you?”

  “Treble Michael Walker, I see you’re just as charming as always.” Shane stood up and went to shake the man’s hand.

  “We both know I take the congeniality award, compared to you,” Treb countered.

  “True.” Shane looked Treb over and saw a peace that hadn’t ever been there before.

  “Commander, I would like you to meet my partner, Damian White. Damian, this is the boss’s brother, Shane. He was also my commander when I worked for the government.”

  Shane heard the slight sound of the people around him inhaling sharply. He knew his presence would bring a few surprises to this group. Now they had their second one. Yes, he had been Treble’s commanding officer. As of twelve hours ago, neither of them worked for the government any longer, but there was a very good chance he would command Treb out in the field again.

  “Nice to meet you,” Damian said, reaching out and shaking Shane’s hand. Shane was pleased to see that the pilot hadn’t removed his arm from Treb’s shoulders. Treb needed the stability of a good man and it looked like he had gotten it.

  Shane turned to shake the outstretched hand of Alex and then Leo, who had come up beside him. They said a few words of welcome and then the tracker and chef went back to their chairs. Shane noted that Tony hadn’t made any gesture of welcome. That was okay. Shane was a patient man and he was already forming ways in the back of his mind how Tony would greet him in the future.

  Tony knew it was rude not to welcome the boss’s brother, but he was barely holding on to a sliver of control in his life right now. He just knew if he got close to or touched Shane Miller, all control would be gone again. So he sat and hoped if he sat still enough, he would be over looked.

  But, as was Tony’s life of late, nothing ever worked out the way he wanted. This time it wouldn’t be any different, either. From behind him, the waiting room door opened and he heard the voices of a man and women coming into the room. Tony’s life, for the second time in a year, came crashing down around him.

  Chapter Two

  Tony looked up into Pip’s red-rimmed eyes, which held deep regret at what he was about to put Tony through.

  “I’m sorry, Tony, I had to call them,” he said in a small sad voice.

  Tony knew the day would come when he would have to see Pip and Tyler’s parents. Their father wasn’t so bad. But if he never saw their mother Janice again, it would be too soon.

  Tony watched in horror as Glen and Janice Hayward rushed over to their youngest son and pulled him into their arms.

  “Brian, we came as soon as we could. Is Jack going to be okay? What happened?” Janice asked. “I warned you his job was too dangerous. Have you eaten? Glen, go get Brian something to eat. He looks hungry.”

  “I’ve eaten, Mom. Tony and Shane brought us some sandwiches,” Pip said.

  Tony didn’t miss the pinched look that appeared around Janice’s mouth when his name was mentioned. His teammates quickly moved around so the three family members could sit together. Tony was grateful and surprised that they had maneuvered him to the chair farthest away from Pip’s mother.

  “What happened, son,” Glen asked.

  “From what I understand, an aftershock hit during a rescue and they fell down a crevice.” Pip looked at the guys for confirmation and received nods. Tony watched as Janice picked up and held Pip’s hands in comfort. Pip looked so lost.

  “From what I could tell, Jack has a broken arm and Cade broke his leg. They’re both in surgery,” Treb said.

  Pip took a deep breath, looking like he was trying valiantly to keep his composure. Shane leaned forward in his chair, which was right next to Tony, drawing everyone’s attention, and held his hand out toward the couple.

  “Hi, I’m Cade’s brother, Shane.”

  “Nice to meet you, Shane,” Glen said, returning the greeting.

  “Hello.” As Pip’s mother shook hands with Shane, she glanced over at Tony. The look of cold determination and hatred in her eyes took Tony’s breath away. From the corner of his eye he saw Treb, Damian, and Alex stiffen. But Tony couldn’t look away. He was caught like a mouse in the eyes of a snake. The last time he had seen that look on her face was the day his whole world had shattered around his feet. Tony shut down the images in his mind that tried to resurface about that day. He couldn’t revisit them and stay sane. If he was going to survive he had to get out of there. It was time to leave.

  * * * *

  Shane never missed much that was happening around him. He didn’t miss the look and the words whispered with regret from Pip to Tony. He didn’t miss the love shining in the eyes of Pip’s parents when they had embraced their son and sat talking to him, asking for details. Most of all, Shane had seen the look of warm welcome in Janice Hayward’s eyes briefly turn ice cold when she had looked at someone behind him. Then she had looked back at Shane and all was sunny warm again. He didn’t have to speculate who she had looked at when Tony abruptly stood up and rushed out of the room.

  Shane said a few words to the couple and then got up to find out what was going on with Tony.

  “I don’t give a shit if they are his parents. I know they were somehow involved. I think it’s time someone found out what happened. This is family,” Treb was whispering to Damian.

  “I think we should wait until Tony is ready to tell us,” Damian countered.

  “Right, that hasn’t happened in the four months since things went down. Did you see his face? One of our family is hurting.”

  Shane stepped over to the whispering, arguing pair. He could see Treb was two seconds away from jumping up and leaving the room. Damian had a hand on his arm, keeping him seated in his chair. Shane then knew how deep Treb’s love went toward the other man. No one else would have had a hand left if they tried to
stop Treb from doing something he wanted to. Very few could physically stop Treb from doing anything.

  “Treb, you need to stay and wait for news. I’ll go and see what’s up with Tony and try to get him to come back here,” Shane interrupted.

  “You don’t even know him, commander. How can you help?” Treb asked, starting to stand up.

  “I’ll go.” Shane looked straight at Treb, backing the other man down. Then Shane saw the understanding dawn in Treb’s eyes, followed by a bright smile, and he knew he had just been busted.

  “No problem, commander. You just go find Tony and take care of him. He needs it.” Treb sat back, looking like a cat that just ate some tasty cream.

  Shane made his way down the hall, hoping that Tony hadn’t left the building. As he passed a small room, movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Going into the room, he found Tony hunched over the keyboard of a computer, frantically typing something. On the monitor, Shane could see the logo of the local airport he had just arrived from. Looking closer he saw a flight schedule and a box to make ticket purchases. Tony was in the process of filling out a line in the box, buying a ticket.

  “Planning on going somewhere, Tony?”

  Tony looked up, startled to see Shane standing there. “I need to take a little time off, get my head together.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible. With Cade and Jack laid up, the rest of us are going to have to step it up if we’re called out on a rescue.”

  “When did you become part of the team? I’ve never even heard of you before today,” Tony challenged, twisting in his chair to face him.

  Shane was glad to see Tony still had a little fight left in him. He would have been disappointed if the man he was so attracted to was so easily dominated.

  For a while now Shane had been looking for a man who had a little fire in him. Shane knew he would always be the master in the end, but he wanted more than someone saying “Yes sir” and bending to his will all the time. When that happened in the few relationships of the past, he had grown bored and had ended things. Okay, maybe he had dumped them. Tony and the team would find out real quick that Shane’s deadly skills and abruptness made Treble look like a pussy cat and a saint.

  “About two months ago, Cade asked me to move here and help him run the company,” Shane informed Tony.

  “What the hell? There is no way Cade would do that without talking to the team about it. At the very least, he would have told me. I’m responsible for all the accounting and payroll for the company.” Tony stood and the chair he had been sitting on tipped backward, crashing to the floor.

  Tony took a step forward, getting up into Shane’s face. That was when it became apparent to Tony just how big a man Shane was. Tony was just over six feet tall. Now he could see that Shane topped him by five, maybe six inches. Tony was not a lean man. He had wide shoulders and was solidly built. But Shane’s shoulders were so wide he almost had to shift them to get through the doorway. Suddenly, Tony decided, standing toe-to-toe challenging this huge man might not be such a good idea.

  Shane’s first instinct was to grab the handsome Italian in front of him and kiss him until he settled down. Then he realized that wasn’t what Tony needed right now. So he used his body to herd the smaller man back a few steps until the back of Tony’s knees hit the couch behind him and he plunked down onto the cushion. Shane then sat down next to him and took Tony’s hand into both of his. Tony tried to jerk his hand out of Shane’s, but that of course wasn’t happening. Shane knew in time Tony would realize that until Shane decided to let him go, he wasn’t going anywhere.

  Tony sat looking around the small waiting room that was set up for families of patients to check their email and let children play with a box of toys in the corner. Much to his own frustration he realized it was useless and quit trying to take his hand back. Now he didn’t know what to say or do, and thought maybe just ignoring the man was the answer. The shock of the accident and getting his teammates to the hospital, then the arrival of Pip and Tyler’s parents, had made for little sleep and a lot of stress. On top of that, he was being manhandled by a huge, gorgeous stranger who was Cade’s brother. A stranger that had just informed him that he was taking over the company and wouldn’t let Tony run away and hide like he wanted to. Just a few more key strokes and then hitting the enter button and Tony could have disappeared, maybe forever.

  “Cade is worried about the team,” Shane stated. “You guys are all getting older in a young man’s profession. Injuries have taken their toll. Some want to start a family or add to the family they have.”

  “Is he going to shut down the company?”

  “No. He called me and asked if I would come and help him decide which direction he should take the company.”

  “When you’ve finished helping him decide all of our fates, then what are you going to do?” Tony couldn’t help the slight bitterness that tinged his question. He didn’t even know why he was asking the question in the first place.

  “I think first, we have to get Cade and Jack home. Then while they heal, we’ll have a series of meetings with the whole team. Only after Cade and Jack are healed up and everyone has had a say in all of the options will any decisions be made.” Shane smiled at Tony. “I was planning on staying with Cade until I had found something of my own.”

  “Why do I have the feeling there is a double meaning in that sentence?”

  “Because, you are a very smart man,” Shane answered, his blue eyes twinkling.

  “Stop right there, Shane Miller,” Tony instructed. “I have to tell you right now. I am not planning on getting involved with anyone for at least a couple of years. I just can’t right now. I have nothing left inside.”

  Shane let go of one of Tony’s hands and relaxed back against the overstuffed sofa. Keeping a hold of Tony’s other hand, he encouraged him with a slight pull to relax back with him.

  “I think you may have to shorten your timeframe, Tony. I am not a man who is big on patience. When I see something I want, I usually get it,” he warned.

  “Then it’s good that I’m not a thing, huh?”

  “I have a feeling you might end up being the only thing,” Shane countered. “Now tell me what Janice Hayward did to you.”

  Chapter Three

  Tony hadn’t told anyone about the events that had almost broken him. The last four months he ate, slept, and did his job. He went through the motions of life and little else. Sometimes he thought his insides were incased in ice, and other times it was all he could do to not puke his guts out.

  Now this stranger, who didn’t feel like a stranger, was asking him to talk about his most painful experience. Tony held onto that huge hand tightly and opened his mouth to tell Shane why he couldn’t talk about it.

  What came out was, “You know Pip’s brother is a professional baseball player, right? Well, many involved in the sport of baseball believe you have to be a heterosexual to be successful. If you are anything else, you have to hide it. The reporters are like Alex’s hound dog. They never stop, until they find their next victim.” Tony looked into Shane’s intense blue eyes, finding enough strength in them to go on.

  Tony began explaining how he met Tyler at the twins’ christening party. He was totally honest, even though he couldn’t stop his legs from shifting uncomfortably when he told Shane how the chemistry between him and Tyler was off the charts.

  He went on describing how happy they were when they were together. How much in love they were. Tony dropped his eyes and stared at his hand now joined with Shane’s. His heart ached from those happy times, now lost.

  Then Tony came to the part where, after about six months, the press started sniffing around and he became a dirty little secret. Looking back up, his brown eyes flashing with anger, he talked about having to sneak into Tyler’s apartment and not being able to go out in public together. How they started to have arguments and how hurt both felt at not being allowed to just be together. He described the fear of the
press. How the couple worried they were being followed and had to always shut the curtains or shades on the windows, in case someone was taking pictures.

  Tony took a moment, staring off in the distance, chewing on his bottom lip. Now he came to the hardest part. Taking a deep shaky breath and squeezing Shane’s hand even tighter, he went on. “One morning I opened my front door to find Tyler’s mother standing there, asking me to let her in. When she came into my home, she walked up to me and slapped me across the face. She screamed at me to get out of her son’s life. She said his career was too important to him and the family to lose it over some good-looking foreigner. She told me that the whole family had worked too hard and had given up too much for Tyler to blow it because of me.”

  “She then warned me that she wouldn’t stand by and let the family be marred by a huge scandal. She informed me I had to step aside and let Tyler find a nice girl that would further his career. He needed a woman that would project the right image and give him a family. Then she left, threatening to ruin me before I could ruin her son.” Tyler remembered standing there looking at the open door, swinging slightly from her dramatic exit, and feeling completely stunned.

  Tony ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath before telling Shane the end of his tale. “I immediately called Tyler and told him what his mother had said and done. He told me to ignore her and said everything would work out. He made me promise to fly out to his apartment the following weekend and stay with him.”

  “So I did. I flew in and caught a cab to his apartment. I went up and used my key to get in. It was quite early in the morning, so I knew Tyler would probably still be in bed. I walked into the bedroom, ready to take off my clothes and make some sweet love, only to see the long slim legs of a woman wrapped around Tyler’s waist as he was…” Tony couldn’t go on as the tears clogged his throat.