Caught in Your Wake

by Darien Cox

  “Fairly certain, yes. The team has been in regular contact with Baz ever since the incident with the rogue hybrids. If this had anything to do with the Whites, they’d be informed.”

  “Okay, then again. Why the hell do you need me?”

  “On the off chance it’s something else. You’re the most qualified to identify and handle an unfamiliar entity, especially if it’s a threat.”

  Tyler scoffed. “Thought your village team was top-of-the-line and professional and all that.”

  “They are. They take threats seriously, and I trust them to recognize one when they see it. They’ve successfully done so in the past, albeit a bit slower than I preferred. They tend to give the benefit of the doubt first, especially since growing so close to Baz.”

  Chuckling, Tyler said, “You mean they screwed up with those rogue hybrids. Didn’t figure it out quick enough.”

  “Don’t be a little prick, Tyler. That mission was a success.”

  “Barely. Wasn’t much lag time for the Whites to prep before the Greys’ fleet arrived. Admit it. Your village crew hesitates. I don’t.”

  “Overconfidence can be as much a detriment as hesitation, Tyler. Even more so. Dial it back. That’s an order.”

  Shrinking in his seat, Tyler nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “That said, if we’re facing an unknown entity, I’d feel more comfortable having someone in the mix who has no problem pulling the trigger quick if it turns out to be necessary.”

  “Like me.”

  Ogden nodded. “The forest ranger is skittish. I need someone focused and fearless to go up there and do a proper assessment of the situation. And that’s you, Tyler.” Ogden grinned. “Fearless.”

  Tyler barely hid a flinch. Fearless. That was Ogden’s nickname for Tyler, since they first met. Because of the way they met. Tyler had done what he had to survive, and he lived with both the trauma and the shame over what that event entailed. He’d saved himself, but he’d never been fearless. But he accepted the nickname, and the reputation that came with it, then tried to live up to it. Which in hindsight, was probably Ogden’s motivation all along.

  “Fucking great. Where am I staying?”

  “Elliot and Nolan’s place.”

  “What? Why not the place I stayed before, with the underground rooms?”

  “It’s not available this time.”

  “Then what about Brett? He’s always saying I can stay with him anytime, and he’s set up for me.”

  “Brett’s place is small, it makes more sense for you to stay on the mountain with Nolan and Elliot. You’ll need to work closely with my team so it’s convenient, and you’ll be bringing a haul of equipment with you. Nolan and Elliot have a lot more space to accommodate you.”

  “That is the worst possible idea ever.”

  “Oh come now. Weren’t you just expressing envy at the big mountain house I bought them as a wedding gift? Now you get to stay there.”

  “Ogden cut the crap, you know I can’t stay in someone’s random guestroom and you know why.”

  “Relax. I’ve spoken to Nolan. They’re putting you in their finished basement and he’s installing a lock on the door. It’s a large space and has its own bathroom and shower.”

  Tyler’s eyes narrowed. Like it wasn’t humiliating enough that on his last village mission he’d finally told Elliot he had the hots for him, only to learn Elliot was in love with Nolan. Now Ogden was ordering him to stay with them, and to boot, had revealed Tyler’s personal problems? “What the hell did you tell them? About why I had to stay in the basement?”

  “Tyler, I was discreet. I promise. I only suggested you stay down there so you’d have room to work, and that you liked your own space and privacy. I suggested they install the lock because you’ll be bringing sensitive equipment with you. Nolan and Elliot know nothing about your past and thought nothing of it. They readily agreed to host you with no complaints, so please, try to be gracious.”

  Resigned, Tyler asked, “When do I leave?”

  “Chopper will be ready to take you to the village in an hour.”

  “Ah. Plenty of warning as usual.”

  “I’ll send you the details and a list of equipment you’ll need.” Ogden headed for the door. “You’re in charge of Patterson but you’ll be reporting to Brett and I expect you to work cooperatively with my entire team. Is that clear?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll leave you to get ready.”

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  Turning back, Ogden smiled. “You know you’re my favorite, right?”

  “I bet you say that to all your minions.”

  “Just you, Fearless. Have a safe trip.”

  After Ogden left, Tyler sat alone in the control room for several minutes, processing. He wasn’t feeling particularly fearless about returning to the village. And it had nothing to do with possible threats up on the mountain. He rarely experienced anxiety when sent out in the field, had learned to control those emotions long ago. If there really was something otherworldly vexing the Singing Bear mountains once again, he’d figure it out. It was the anticipation of all the people he’d have to contend with that had him taking a moment to prepare himself. Because when it came to people, emotions weren’t so easily shut off.

  He liked the village team, but he wasn’t like them. Maybe he resented them just a little. They were all so alive, and Tyler often felt dead inside. He was more comfortable dealing with people like himself, fellow soldiers and those who’d been trained the same way by Ogden, comrades with similar backgrounds and emotional discipline.

  But the crew in Singing Bear wore their emotions on their sleeves. All of their emotions, whether it was anger or lust or fear. Or love. He frowned, remembering Elliot and Nolan’s wedding vows on the beach. How anyone could stand there in front of all those people and reveal their deepest, most intimate feelings that way, Tyler couldn’t imagine.

  Emotionally volatile at times, Ogden had said. Wasn’t that the truth. Even their joy was jarring, their wanton celebrations and open affection for each other. And now, on top of all of that—which always made Tyler uncomfortable—he had to deal with Tim Patterson too, and whatever fallout and awkwardness might arise from their last encounter. It had been too long now to casually ask Tim how he was doing after the whole emotional breakdown thing. Not after months of silence.

  Besides, drawing attention to it might embarrass Tim. And even if Tyler wanted to let him know he cared, Tim would never believe him now. Not after running out he way he had then never checking in. He hadn’t known what to do when Tim curled up and wept after the sex. He supposed he should have stayed and comforted him more. But comforting wasn’t normally Tyler’s thing, and he’d already spent most of his emotional energy calming Tim down before the sex. He’d been tapped out, and felt strangely vulnerable himself after they fucked.

  But Tyler did care about Tim Patterson, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with the feeling. He’d had crushes before. But caring about someone else’s well-being like this? Worrying about someone? And it wasn’t the professional kind of worry he was used to, like making sure a comrade didn’t get slaughtered or abducted.

  What he felt about Tim was unique. Caring in a way that caused that painful pit in his stomach. Uncharted territory, especially since it didn’t have to do with sex. Well...it didn’t exactly have nothing to do with sex. It’s just the sex part was mixed up with all these other emotions.

  In short, this trip wouldn’t be easy, no matter what he did or didn’t discover crawling around in the mountain forests. Despite Ogden’s rah-rah encouragement speech, Tyler was not feeling particularly fearless about going. Because for him, the humans in Singing Bear Village could be a lot more troublesome than the aliens.

  Chapter Four

  Someone stole my jacket, damnit.

  Tim set his phone down after speaking with JT, who assured him no one else had been up to the ranger station. But Tim knew he’d left his jacket hanging on a hook just insid
e the door, and now it was gone. Pacing back and forth in the small cabin, he wracked his brain, trying to come up with an explanation that didn’t involve JT lying to him, since he had the only other key. Tim was trying to be more trusting when it came to JT and his cronies now that he was forced to work with them, but friendship was still a long way off.

  Maybe someone broke in, though there were no signs of that. The door was locked when he arrived tonight, no evidence of tampering. And nothing else was missing. There were binoculars and various tools in the station far more valuable than his stupid forest ranger jacket, but they’d been left untouched. If someone took it, it had to be a prank to screw with him. The jacket had the forest service emblem on it after all, it wasn’t like they could walk around in the village wearing it without being caught.

  On the phone just now, JT suggested that perhaps Tim was misremembering, that he hadn’t actually left the jacket here, and blah blah blah. Not surprising. These guys probably didn’t trust a word he said now that he’d admitted to being scared of the Whites and seeing shadowy figures in the woods. But that didn’t matter, because he trusted his own mind. And he clearly recalled leaving without the jacket because he was distracted and freaked out, then being cold on the hike back down to the road. He remembered cursing himself for forgetting the jacket, then thinking Screw it, I’ll grab it next time I come back.

  He tried to put it out of his mind, and for the next hour, periodically went out on the deck that surrounded the station and searched the darkness with his binoculars. Twice, he trotted down the ladder and did a more thorough search of the woods with his flashlight. Bear Peak was way up at the top of one of Singing Bear’s large mountains, so it still felt like winter, especially at night—and without his damn jacket. But he was happy to suffer the weather, because he saw nothing unusual in the trees tonight, and that was a huge relief. No dark shapes or clicking sounds. No male voices calling for help or babies crying was a worthy tradeoff for having to endure the chill in his light cotton shirt.

  A short time later, however, he heard someone climbing the ladder that led up to the cabin door. Tim didn’t panic, because it was definitely a human sound, and he’d been told by Brett at their meeting that someone would be showing up to assist him tonight. He didn’t even move from his position tipped back in his chair, feet up on the table, perusing a magazine.

  He expected it would be either Christian or Nolan. He’d learned over the past months that those two were involved more often when it came to ‘action’ assignments. JT was a bit of an egghead astrophysicist always on assignment involving star charts or some shit. And Elliot handled security, legal problems, and disinformation.

  It would most likely be Nolan that walked through the door. Brett said Tim would be provided surveillance equipment, and that was usually Nolan’s thing. They’d be giving him cameras, perimeter sensors, recording devices and the like. Tools to acquire ‘evidence’ so Tim could prove he wasn’t an insane, scared little bunny rabbit who was imagining things.

  The door swung open with a gust of cool air, and Tim’s mouth dropped open as Tyler stepped inside, carrying a large duffle bag. He nodded. “Patterson.”

  Too surprised to return the greeting, Tim just stared.

  Tyler kicked the door closed behind him, then with a heavy thump, set the big black bag down on the desk edging the wall. Ignoring Tim, Tyler unzipped the bag and began pulling items out. Like this was all perfectly normal and expected. But Tim was completely thrown. He hadn’t even known Tyler was back in town, and he sure as shit hadn’t emotionally prepared himself to see him. And speaking of seeing him...damn. Still hotter than Hades.

  In jeans and a camouflage jacket with boots, Tyler hadn’t changed much. His hair was cropped short as usual but grown in a bit since Tim last saw him, an extra inch of dark blond fringe hanging over his forehead. “You can stop using these,” Tyler said, picking up the binoculars Tim kept by the window. “Ogden sent a new high-powered set for you. Can see a lot farther in the dark. Way more detail.”

  Shaking himself, Tim drew his feet off the table and sat up straight. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Tyler’s smoky eyes glanced over briefly before focusing back on the bag. “I was told you were informed someone would be coming by.”

  “I was but...I was expecting Nolan.”

  “Course you were.” Tyler shrugged his jacket off and slung it over a chair. “Sorry to disappoint.”

  The attitude in the comment wasn’t lost on Tim, but he was too busy examining Tyler’s perfect body to care, especially now that he’d removed the coat to reveal a tight black tee shirt. The globes of his ass made the jeans pop. Shapely arms and shoulders, smooth olive skin visible on the back of his exposed neck—a neck Tim recalled biting the night they fucked.

  But he was distracted from the lusty daze when Tyler pulled a long, thick gun out of the bag and set it on the desk. It was a weird-looking thing, green casing that looked like plastic, square, boxy shape. “What the fuck is that?”

  “It’s a gun.”

  “I can see that it’s a gun, Tyler. What do you need it for?”

  “For whatever.”

  Tim sighed. He’d forgotten how difficult it was trying to have a normal conversation with Tyler. Conversation wasn’t really Tyler’s thing. “So why are you here? I’m not disappointed, so don’t snark at me again. I expected Nolan because Brett said they were setting up motion sensors around the station and he’s the tech guy.”

  “Yeah, well I already set them up. Surprised you didn’t hear me out there.” He glanced at Tim, then at the magazine he held. “But I can see you’re very busy.”

  Tim stood, setting the magazine down. “I’ve been checking outside since I got here, was just about to do another sweep. Not that I have to answer to you, Captain Creepy.”

  Tyler glanced over, cocking an eyebrow. “You do have to answer to me, actually. When it comes to global security, Captain Creepy outranks Ranger Tim.”

  “You’re joking. I’m supposed to be your underling now?”

  “Only while I’m here, Patterson, relax. Remember that contract you signed for Ogden? Read the fine print.” Tyler set down a computer he’d pulled from the bag. “Don’t worry. I’ll try not to lord it over you too much.”

  “I thought you were out of town.”

  “I was,” Tyler said, busying himself unraveling a coil of wire.

  “So now you’re back?”

  “Obviously. Shut up for a second while I boot up this computer. I need to concentrate.”

  “Oh, pardon me.”

  “I can still hear you talking.”

  Rude prick. Rude, bossy little prick. But Tim was only moderately annoyed, because something more powerful was dominating his senses. Excitement. His heart was beating fast and his eyes couldn’t stop drinking Tyler in. He’d expected if he ever saw him again, humiliation would reign. Not this odd exhilaration, like he’d been asleep for months, and had not only just woken up, but been hit with a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

  He blamed it on the surprise of seeing Tyler so unexpectedly. Because even as attracted as he’d been to Tyler the night of the wedding reception, he hadn’t felt this weird, instantaneous buzz. Sure, they’d had that crazy embarrassing sex since then but...Tim didn’t think he’d ever felt this jittery excitement just to be in a man’s presence. Not even when he had his huge crush on Nolan, and that had him nervous and tongue-tied every time he saw him.

  The computer screen was lit now, and Tyler was screwing around with the wires again, so Tim crossed the room and stood beside him. “May I speak now, Your Eminence?”

  “If you must.”

  “Okay, quit being shady. Why are you back in the village?”

  Turning, Tyler nearly bumped into him. “Excuse me. Power outlet over there?”

  “Yeah. Under the table.” Tim stepped back and let him pass.

  Tyler crawled under the table, dragging a snake of cable with him. “Ogden
ordered me to come.” Crawling back out, he stood, brushing his hands on his shirt. “Because of you. Hearing things that go bump in the night.”

  “Oh.” Tim frowned. “They sent you back to the village just for this?”

  “Yep. Lucky me.”

  Tyler’s snotty attitude was in full force, but for the first time since arriving, his eyes lingered on Tim’s. His face was still boyish and appealing despite the stony expression, and Tim felt a zing of electricity pass between them. “You’ve been gone a long time.”

  “I have.”

  “Well, hopefully we can get it figured out quick, so you can leave again. Much as I enjoy your scintillating conversation skills.”

  He thought he’d scored a point for sarcasm there, but Tyler’s expression didn’t change or give anything away. “Yeah, hopefully,” Tyler said. “Can you head outside and take a walk around the station a couple times? I want to make sure the motion sensors are registering on the computer and the alarm’s working.”

  “I can do that.”

  Tyler moved to the desk, sat down and began tapping computer keys. He glanced back at Tim. “Now, please?”

  “Oh. Sir, yes sir.” Tim clicked his heels together, saluting.

  “Yeah.” Tyler faced the screen again. “Don’t do that.”

  “Too much?”

  “Way too much.”

  Grinning, Tim headed out the door, proud of himself for even slightly annoying Tyler. It wasn’t easy to crack that shell. Tyler was being rude, but it was almost a relief. Because it made clear he had no intention of bringing up that awful night when Tim broke down, fucked him, then wept like a baby afterward. Silver linings.

  Maybe Tyler’s rude behavior was intentional? A rude Tyler was a normal Tyler, so perhaps he was going out of his way to show Tim there was nothing to worry about. That everything was chill, and there would be no awkward confrontations about past events. If so, it was kind of sweet.

  But Tim was probably reading too much into it. When Tyler’s name came up at the pub recently, JT had referred to him as ‘the robot’, which brought laughter and agreement from the others gathered round. So maybe Tyler wasn’t trying to do anything. Maybe he really was just a cold fish, and had either forgotten about their weird sexual encounter, or didn’t see it as anything worth giving a second thought to.