Conquering Love (The Santorno Stories)

by Sandrine Gasq-Dion

Cameron got up and moved over to Evan, who was in full gear. “You guys off to catch this sick fuck?”

  “Yeah. I’m so sorry about your dad, Cameron.” Evan hugged him.

  “Just, let me and Max know when you find him, okay? I would go but I just can’t.” Cameron looked over at Toby.

  “I know. Stay here and be here for him. He’s going to need you.” Evan smiled and palmed Cameron’s face. “We’ll get him.”

  Max was finally allowed to see Jesse. He was still sedated from the surgery. Max sat down in the chair next to the bed and took his hand; it was so cold. He pulled the blanket up, covering Jesse and kissed him softly. His dad was gone, taken out right in front of him and now Jesse’s parents were dead. The worst part was that Jesse had no one else. He didn’t know what would happen when Jesse found out but Max was terrified that he would leave him, and Max wouldn’t blame him one bit. Because of him, Jesse was an orphan.

  “Hey.” Jensen stood in the doorway shuffling his feet. He didn’t know whether he should come in.

  “Hey.” Max smiled. Jensen was all geared up and packing quite a bit of heat; he could see at least three guns on him. “You heading out?”

  “Yeah, I just wanted to say I’m so sorry about your dad. He was a really good guy.”

  “Yeah, he was.” Max smiled. “Stay safe. Shoot first ask questions later.”

  Jensen smiled and winked. “It’s the rule. I’ll let you know when we get them and don’t worry, no one will kill them until you and Cameron arrive.”

  “Good.” Max got up and joined Jensen. It was funny to look at him now; seeing him as a family member was a bit unsettling. He smiled and let out a soft chuckle.

  Jensen blushed. “Stop it, I know what you’re thinking. Take good care of Jesse.” Jensen hugged him hard.

  “Take care, Jensen.” Max hugged him back and watched him walking down the hallway. He returned to Jesse’s bed and took his hand again. “I’ll fix this; somehow I’ll make it better.”

  Within twenty-four hours all of them had left except for Max, Cameron, and young Stefan. Phoebe had told him to go but with her pregnancy he had refused to leave her.

  Damon had watched all means of transportation out of Fort Worth and they had gotten a break. Augusto and Phillip had boarded a private plane and had taken a flight to Peru. Vince and Tyler were the first ones to hit the ground running. They hit the top of a ridge and looked down at the house below. Vince pulled his radio out and looked at it.

  “Fuck.” Vince looked around, then looked at Tyler. “They have a jammer. Nothing’s going to get through.”

  “We need to warn them somehow.”

  Vince raised his eyebrow. “How do you suggest we do that? Send up a flare and scream ‘here we are!’”

  Tyler sighed. “Cocky son of a bitch.”

  Tyler went back down the side of the mountain they had just climbed. “When did we lose the signal?”

  “Tyler, watch out!” Vince flew forward and caught Tyler’s hand. The gravitational pull was too much, though, and they both went down. Vince had no idea how long they were falling but he landed right on top of Tyler in water.

  “Fuck!”

  Tyler felt something crack in his leg and let out a howl of pain. “Oh, my God! What the fuck!”

  Vince looked around. Shit. They had fallen a good thirty feet from the top of the ridge. He grabbed his flashlight and looked at their surroundings.

  “Well, the good news is the water looks pretty clean. The bad news is it’s rising and you may have broken something.”

  “No shit, Captain Obvious.” Tyler grabbed a hold of a rock and tried to lift himself. “Damn, that hurts.”

  “Let me see.” Vince came over and picked Tyler up. He pulled his pant leg back and looked at it. “Ah, shit. That’s not good.”

  Tyler looked up. “You should get out.”

  “Fuck that, I’m not leaving you.” Vince grabbed his jacket and took it off then stripped his T-shirt off. He wrapped it around Tyler’s leg.

  “Let’s hope there’s not a shark in here.” Tyler giggled.

  “Dammit, Youngblood.” Vince looked at him. “This is not funny.”

  Tyler felt his teeth chattering. “Stop looking like that.”

  Tyler pushed Vince to the side. “You can make it up and then you can get help.”

  Vince watched the water rising and counted. There was no way. “No, Tyler. Even if I did manage to get up there, by the time I got back,” Vince shook his head. “Not going to happen.”

  “Jesus, Vince, you have got to be the most stubborn asshole I know.” Tyler wrapped his arms around himself. The pain in his leg was excruciating and the cold water felt like needles poking him.

  “Fuck.” Vince grabbed Tyler and held him close to his chest hoping to transfer some body heat. “I am stubborn and you know it.”

  “How long do you think we have?”

  Vince looked up. “I don’t know.”

  Stefan was with Jordan on the far side of the mansion watching Augusto and Phillip toasting with champagne. He flipped his radio on and noticed no bars. “Oh, for fucks sake. They jammed reception.”

  Jordan took out his radio. “We all know what to do.”

  “Let’s just hope it goes down smoothly.”

  Colin set up his rifle and looked through the scope. Nikolai was next to him looking through his own.

  “Watch the wind speed.” Nikolai looked through the scope and zeroed in on Augusto. “You have one shot, Colin. After Augusto goes down, Tanner takes Phillip.”

  Colin already had his sights on Augusto. He knew as soon as he fired Phillip would run. “Time?”

  “In three, two, one.”

  Colin pulled the trigger and Augusto went down; a half a second later Phillip joined him. Nikolai smiled.

  “Damn, Tanner’s good.”

  “What about me?” Colin smiled and grabbed Nik’s ass.

  Justin and Hunter showed up on time five minutes later. They all headed to the mansion and met up with the rest of the group. Tanner came in with Nico and Nikolai ran to his dad.

  “Where’s Pops?” Nikolai looked around. “Shouldn’t he have been here before us?”

  “Yes, he should have.” Andrei looked at Damon. “Tyler?”

  “Nope.” Damon looked at his map. “They should be right up on the ridge.”

  Stefan looked at his son. “Go find your husband. We will take care of the mansion.”

  “I hope they are okay.” Andrei ran a hand through his hair.

  Damon looked at the mountain ridge. “Me too.”

  Tyler snorted. “Dammit, Vince! Will you just go?”

  “Fuck you, Tyler. I’m not leaving you.” Vince looked around for anything to use to get Tyler out of the water. His lips were turning blue and his whole body was shaking. The water was steadily rising and Vince knew he could tread water until he could get a hold of something but with Tyler’s broken leg, he’d have to do it for both of them. He reached up with his left arm and got a hold of rock. “Hang on to me.”

  “No.”

  “Tyler, so help me God I’m going to kick your ass.” Vince grabbed Tyler’s hand and pulled him into his body wrapping a leg around Tyler’s waist. “Stupid asshole.”

  “You don’t have to fucking die, too! Jesus, Vince just leave!’ Tyler tried to push away and hit his leg. “Fuck!”

  “Still got some life in you, huh? Now shut the fuck up and hang on.” Vince pressed his forehead to Tyler’s. “I’m not leaving without you.”

  “God, I hate you.” Tyler’s teeth were chattering and the only good thing about the cold water was that his leg was going numb.

  “Remember when we first met?” Vince chuckled.

  “Big, bad, sexy Vince.” Tyler smiled and wrapped his arms around Vince’s neck.

  “I am sexy, huh?”

  “If I wasn’t married…” Tyler smiled and closed his eyes

  “No shit. Really?” Vince laughed and pulled Tyler closer. “I always t
hought you were immune to me.” Vince heard Tyler chuckling and looked at him. “You weren’t, were you?”

  “I’m so cold, Vince.” Tyler tried to get more heat from Vince.

  “I know.” Vince looked up. They still had a while to go before nearing the top and Tyler wasn’t going to make it that long. Not injured. “Would it help you to know that I thought about you, too?”

  “You did?” Tyler tried to smile. His hands were going numb now and he felt his heart rate slowing down. “I always thought I wasn’t your type.”

  “Everyone was my type before. The first time I saw you, though.” Vince smiled shaking his head. “Damn. I was hoping we’d be paired up.”

  “That’s why you made me leave that one time. Aw Vince, you do care.” Tyler closed his eyes and leaned into Vince. “It’s so cold.”

  “Hang on. I will get us out of this, I promise.” Vince pulled Tyler’s face up. Jesus, his face was so pale. “Tyler, open your eyes.”

  “I’m tired,” Tyler couldn’t keep his head up. It felt so heavy. It was a constant effort just to breathe. “Just let me go. You could make it by yourself.”

  “What part of fuck you did you not understand?” Vince looked at Tyler. “Now open your fucking eyes and look at me.”

  Tyler opened his eyes and looked into Vince’s face. He was going to miss his son’s weddings, his anniversary with Damon. Damon. The one man he had loved from the age of seventeen. They’d had a good run.

  “Vince.”

  “Don’t you dare say it. Don’t you fucking give up on me!” Vince grabbed Tyler’s head and kissed him.

  The warmth traveled through Tyler’s body at lightning speed and when Vince’s mouth pried his mouth open and their tongues met Tyler’s body exploded with heat. Tyler was vaguely aware of his hands going around Vince’s neck squeezing their bodies together. Vince’s hand traveled down his back and stopped at his ass, pulling Tyler into the heat, that warm heat that felt like a furnace. It wasn’t even a desperate kiss. It was slow, sliding, smooth as silk into each other’s mouths, tasting. Tyler heard himself moan. They broke from the kiss, both of them panting.

  “I—”

  “I shouldn’t have done that,” Vince looked at Tyler’s face. His lips were pink again.

  “Then why do you look like you want to do it again?” Tyler searched Vince’s face. The words had barely left Tyler’s lips and they were kissing again. Tyler was hanging on with both hands because Vince was supplying him with life-giving heat, slow burning heat that started in his toes and spread like wildfire to his fingertips. And God help him, he wanted more.

  “Fuck. Tyler.” Vince knew he should stop. Every screaming thought in his head was telling him that but he couldn’t. The thought of losing Tyler was too much. His heart ached at never seeing him again, of holding him, laughing with him. The fear took over and Vince deepened the kiss, hanging onto to Tyler like a life preserver. Vince slid his hand up the back of Tyler’s shirt running it up and down hoping to keep him there, tethered to him, tethered to the moment.

  “God, don’t leave me.” Vince brushed his lips across Tyler’s.

  Tyler opened his mouth to Vince’s insistent one. He slid down Vince’s body and felt his hard prick on his stomach. Tyler had a hard-on from hell. His hands tunneled into Vince’s hair and the kiss became a lot more than they both bargained for. The sounds of rushing water were drowning out the sounds from above but then Tyler heard something. Faint, but it was there. Tyler broke the kiss and looked up.

  “I hear someone.”

  Vince looked up and shouted. “Hello? We’re stuck down here!’

  Damon grabbed Andrei’s hand before he stepped into the hole. “Fuck. Back away, Andrei. Hang on. I’ll get you guys a rope!” Damon turned and saw Andrei looking at him. “We have to get them out of there. Tyler doesn’t look good.”

  Vince saw Damon’s black hair and then a rope came down. He tied it around Tyler’s waist and slung it around his shoulders for good measure. “Okay. Hang on.”

  “Vince.” Tyler ran his hand over Vince’s cheek.

  “Go!” Vince pulled on the rope. “He’s ready!”

  After getting Tyler out and wrapping him in a warming blanket Andrei and Damon pulled Vince out of the cave. He rolled onto the ground and coughed up water. Andrei threw a blanket on him and within minutes the rest of the group had shown up with injured Augusto and Phillip in tow. Jordan checked Tyler’s pulse along with Vince’s.

  “Get them to the hospital.”

  chapter sixteen

  Max and Cameron were waiting for them when they got to the hospital. Tanner and Damon went with their father and Nikolai looked at his Pops. He took his hand and dragged him to one of the open rooms. Vince slumped down on the bed, wrapping the blanket around him tighter.

  “Spill, Pops,” Nikolai pulled his father’s face up. “Why do you look like that? Uncle Tyler’s going to be fine.”

  Vince broke down. In all his years he had barely cried and now he was doing it again. He felt Nikolai holding him. “I did something, and I know it was wrong but I did it.”

  “What is it, Pops? Talk to me.” Nikolai had never seen his dad like this. It was starting to scare him.

  “I kissed Tyler,” Vince whispered.

  “Jesus, you scared me! Is that all? Look, you guys thought you were going to die. Shit like that happens all the time.” Nikolai looked at his father’s face. “But this was different. Wasn’t it?”

  “I should have been thinking about you and your father and our life together more. I was so scared I would lose Tyler,” Vince put his face in his hands. “God, I’m sorry Nik.”

  Nikolai sat down and hugged his father. He didn’t know what to say to make him feel better so he just held him until he fell asleep.

  Damon sat by Tyler’s bed watching the color slowly come back in his face. They had set and cast his leg and now Tyler was semi-conscious. Damon took his hand and kissed it.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like I’m in a freezer,” Tyler wheezed. “I have to tell you something, babe,” Tyler whispered.

  “Just rest, Tyler. Whatever it is can wait.” Damon ran his hand over Tyler’s hand trying to warm it up.

  “No. It can’t.” Tyler opened his eyes and looked at Damon. “I thought I was going to die. I could hear my body shutting down in my head and then,” Tyler looked at his husband. “I kissed Vince.”

  Damon backed up and almost hit the wall.

  “You what? Like a peck on the cheek goodbye?” Judging by the look on Tyler’s face it was a lot more than a peck on the cheek.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Damon. I love you so much but at that moment,” Tyler trailed off. “I was so terrified and already half dead.”

  “Just stop.” Damon stared at his husband. “I never looked at another man, never kissed another man, never fucked another man but you. You thought you were going to die and you made out with Vince?”

  “I’m sorry, Damon!” Tyler tried to sit up and felt the pain in his back.

  “I have to go.” Damon went to the door and put his hand on it. “I’ll be back, but I don’t know when.”

  “Damon, please.” Tyler felt the tears coming. He saw Damon tense up and then he opened the door and walked out. Tyler lay back and closed his eyes, letting the tears fall.

  “Dad?”

  Tyler heard Tanner’s voice and sobbed, “Tanner?”

  “God, Dad. What’s wrong?” Tanner ran to his dad’s bed and hugged him. He held on to him as the tears kept coming. He was in the middle of heart-wrenching sobs and Tanner had no idea why.

  Vince looked up when the door opened to see Andrei looking at him. He put his hand out and Andrei went to his side. Vince held his husband and began to cry. Andrei wrapped his arms around him tighter. Vince pulled away and pulled Andrei’s face to his own.

  “I love you,” Vince wiped his eyes. “I have to tell you something.”

  Nikolai stood outside his father’s room
holding Colin’s hand. His Uncle Damon had left and Nik knew His Uncle Tyler had told him what happened. Now he watched his fathers talking. Colin squeezed his hand and Nikolai looked at him. “I love you, Colin.”

  “I love you, too.” Colin watched his Uncle Andrei’s face and knew. Things were going to change.

  Tyler woke up and it was dark. He rolled over and saw a figure in the chair next to the bed. “Damon?”

  “No.” Vince sat forward. “It’s me. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I saw Damon leave. He hasn’t come back. Your dads are still here, though, checking on Toby and Jesse. They were in here earlier but you were asleep.”

  “You should go, Vince. You’ve done enough.” Tyler lay back and closed his eyes.

  “Whoa, excuse me? There were two of us there and you kissed me back. If you didn’t want it you would have pushed me away, Tyler.”

  Tyler struggled up and looked at Vince. “Don’t you think I wanted to? Fuck! God, I don’t know what happened.”

  Vince stood up and leaned over the bed, studying Tyler’s face. “Look me in the eye and tell me it was just me, Tyler. Say it.” Tyler turned his head and closed his eyes. “That’s what I thought. I’m not leaving you alone to deal with this, so you’re stuck with me. Get some rest.” Vince made it to the door when he heard Tyler’s small voice.

  “Wait.”

  Vince stood with his hand on the door. God, he knew he should go. Andrei had left upset and told Vince to stay away from him for a while but Vince knew he had to fix things with his husband. Yet one small word from Tyler had him standing there frozen.

  “What?

  “Please don’t leave me alone.”

  Vince banged his head on the door. Dammit, Tyler!”

  Vince turned around and looked at his friend, broken, on the bed. “Jesus.”

  Vince went back to the bed and sat on the edge. Tyler’s big blue eyes looked up at him and Vince pulled him into his arms. “I wouldn’t leave you then and I won’t leave you now.” Tyler broke down in his arms and Vince smoothed Tyler’s hair back and kissed his forehead. “I won’t leave you. I promise.”