Chapter Thirty-Two

The morning came too quickly, and Marius was sore. He groaned as he turned over to see Ruben already awake, running a hand over his chest as he inspected his bruises. The sweetest part of it was the collar. He was still wearing it.

During aftercare, Dallas had tried to take it from him, but he'd resisted. He said it meant the world to him that his men had collared him. Dallas asked Marius later, when they'd arrived home, and Ruben got into the shower, if it was too soon.

"Sure, it is. But it doesn't have to be his permanent collar. We can get him a better one, later, and, well, make the commitment official. Right now, I say let him wear it. It reminds him of us, and that's never a bad thing."

"I guess I'm gonna worry over every little thing with you guys. I'm fucking sorry about that, but I can't help it."

Marius drew him close and held him. "We love that about you, Dal. I promise."

"I feel like some ol' grandma, wagging a finger at you two."

"If we get sick of it, I'm sure Ruben will complain loudly."

He moved back and laughed. "He don't hide his feelings much anymore."

"He hid them too long. I'd like to take the credit for him finally getting up the nerve to flirt with you and make his move."

"I'll give you that. But we need some sleep. We got work in the morning. Go get him out of that shower and tell him if he's touching that dick, I'll make him sleep with his hands behind his back, trussed up again."

That was the previous night. Now, Ruben sat in the bed, smiling at his many, many bruises. "Are they that interesting?"

"They're…I like them."

Marius kissed the side of his face. "Yeah, marks of how much your men love you?"

"Kinda, yeah. Weird?"

"Not a bit. Where's the blond guy?"

"Went to make coffee, cussing because he'd have to sit on the coffee pot so the other guys don't take it all before we get some."

"I say we head to the bunkhouse. Her coffee's better than ours anyway."

Ruben stopped Marius from getting out of bed. Marius watched his eyes filling with tears. Pulling him close, he demanded, "Tell me what's wrong right now."

Ruben was possibly the sweetest man he'd ever met. Beautiful, there was no denying that. The first time Marius had seen him, his heart skipped a beat. The smile that was so big and showed how open he was to the world, even with that fear that came with it. Always a little fear mixed in with the joy.

That morning, as Marius held him, he felt mostly fear, and that worried him. "Tell me."

"If we…if that Alex asshole kills more people, or whatever, and if this place is stopped before it even really gets started, what will happen to us?"

"We'll figure that out, Ruben. Together. Fuck, I got money. Maybe I'll buy us a place like this. Not as big, of course. I don't have Carrillo money, but a little ranch, anywhere you guys would like, and it's yours."

"You're so good to us, Marius. To me."

"That's what happens when you're loved, baby. I want to only see you smile. Forever. Is that too much to ask?"

Ruben turned so he could nuzzle Marius's neck and Dallas came in to see it. His smile was wide, eyes shining. "Nice love scene. Sorry to interrupt."

"Not interrupting. Joining. Get over here, shitkicker."

Dallas set the three cups of coffee on the chair and crawled onto the mattress with them. "I need to get the bed done."

"It's in, we've just been busy," Ruben said before he moved over and hugged on him. "We'll do it soon."

"We have this great house and haven't had a minute to set it up," Dallas lamented. "Now it's full of big ol' boys sweatin' all over the place."

Ruben looked so good in Dallas's arms. Marius wondered how they'd gone so long without even getting busy. Maybe they both wanted more, even from the start. "We do our share of sweating all over the place too, or we did."

"The barn's better," Ruben said, running his hand over his bare chest. "That was so fun."

"Lots more of that comin', little one," Dallas said, kissing him tenderly. "I liked letting loose on you."

"Me too," Marius added. "I'm still patting myself on the back."

"You deserve to, but I'll still like it better when we can mess this man up together here in our house."

Our house. He was still wrapping his mind around that. "Come spring, that forewoman says that things will start happening fast. Right now, even in the cold, they're getting a lot done. The cabins, done, some of the upgrades to the existing structures, done. If they can do that in a cold Montana winter, think of what can be accomplished with warm weather and more men."

"And less threat of Alex Brooks," Ruben whispered. "Do you think he's really gone?"

"Neil tracked him to Detroit. Sure, that's not far enough away for my taste, but he's also getting into my former territory. I have people from Michigan to Kentucky out looking for him now."

Ruben's voice was so low, they could barely hear him. "I'm sorta glad Dante dealt with the law for us."

"He's got ins that we can't fathom," Marius agreed. "Well, he's got them, his brother and soon to be his nephew."

"Right, he said his nephew has his parents pissed off because he's coming here against their wishes."

"And he wants his own house in the compound near Blaine and Dante. And, he's getting it. Roland was frazzled with a new house to design, but he's also in his glory. He's making this entire compound scandi style, plenty of room between houses for privacy, a central building that will house a little bar for the family, meeting rooms, an indoor pool."

"Can we go there sometimes?"

"Ruben, I can have a house of my own there, if I wanted it, but I'd rather be here with you two. We are welcome anytime. You're with one of the family, remember?"

"I never think of you that way," Ruben admitted.

"I do, and it makes me want to fuck him hard," Dallas said with a wink to Marius. "Nothing like overpowering a big mob guy and fucking his ass until he cries."

"I have never cried!"

"Oh, you will, eventually."

Suddenly, Marius was ready to fuck again, but they didn't have the time. Dallas was about three-quarters finished with his coffee and any second, he'd tell them they had to hit the trail.

Ruben and Marius watched Dallas tipping his coffee hard and as soon as the cup came away from his lips, he said it. "Time to hit the trail, fellas."

Ruben and Marius both laughed while Dallas stared from one to the other. "What?"

As soon as they were at the bunkhouse, while Dallas was giving the daily orders, Marius sneaked back to the kitchen to speak to Vic. "How's it going?"

"Got some news for you. Daily is pissed at this place, and he's going to do everything he can to shut it down."

Marius's shock only drove him to ask more. "One, how do you know this, and two, why is he pissed?"

"I don't rightly know, Marius. Maybe because you all almost caught the bad guy and showed him up in front of the state police. Maybe you all make him look bad. Who knows?"

"Vic…it's been nagging me for a while now. I'm not the only one that thinks it either."

"That Alex Brooks wasn't working alone?"

"Yeah. That, exactly."

Vic moved a step closer so she could keep her voice low. "I suspect he knew a lot more than any of us figured. We have months before I can challenge him in a vote. Maybe not before this place opens. In that case, he'll start harassing you all. He's a bigot, and not just about you boys' sexuality. He doesn't like Italians, for whatever reason, doesn't like any Mexicans or those from the south of the border. He's bought into the racism, sexism, all that kinda stuff, and maybe you all need to find something on him. Seems you're good at that."

Marius smiled shyly. "I've been known to be, yeah. I'll, uh, get some people on it."

"Good. Because I'm about to announce my candidacy soon, and if I know that jackass, he'll be fucking with me hard and you all harder."

"Okay, Vic. We got you covered, you know that. I can assign a couple guys to you, watch out for you."

"Not a fucking chance. I don't need a goddamn babysitter."

As soon as he left the bunkhouse, he got Tango on the phone. "Tango, can you assign two of our guys to watch after Vic, and not let her know they're there?"

"Of course. I'll call now. Is she for sure running?"

"Yeah. She is and she's about to officially announce it to the town. Once that is done, she'll be a target. I don't think Daily is anxious to give up his power."

"I've thought about that. He's been in the job a long time, and I'd bet he's got side deals all over the place. Some of those deals might be what's keeping him in the sheriff's office. If we could, I don't know, break those deals…"

Marius knew what Tango was saying. "We'll make some of our own. Sure. Dante loves using his money for the good of the family, and like it or not, you are all a part of the family now."

"I don't mind. We'll get to working on our deals, and Vic will be protected. Kiss your guys for me."

"I will and you do the same. Tell Jace he needs to take Dallas out for a beer some night. We're together so much, I'm afraid he's gonna get tired of our asses."

"Not a chance of that, but I will let Jace know. He's very fond of Dallas. He thinks they're so much alike, they could be brothers."

Marius liked that. Everyone needed good friends. He was anxiously awaiting his cousin, Dex, to move to Montana, after his and his guy's honeymoon in Italy was over. "Talk soon, Tango."

Leaving the ranch alone, he knew Dallas and Ruben would be horribly pissed, but he had weapons on him and a will to see things come to their inevitable conclusion. That was the first day he started to follow Daily around, get to know his routines, his contacts. Armed with more than guns, Neil had given him a list of possible backers to Daily staying in power. And he had power. In fact the more they learned about him, they discovered that even the mayor had no say over him. He was the law, he was the ruler over all of it, the smallish county and those beyond, by what they'd discovered.

As he started his surveillance, Dallas called, and he knew for the first time, he'd have to lie to his partner. "Where the hell are you? No one knows."

"Had to come to town for some things. You and Ruben need anything?"

"Yeah, you in one piece!"

Here comes the lie, and it hurt him to do it. "I'm not alone. I'm okay, Sir."

Dallas chuckled in relief, sure, but more so in arousal. "I love it when you call me that."

"I know. Kiss Ruben for me. I'll be home tonight."

"In one piece. And pick us up some of that fancy beer you brought home last time. That was good."

"I'll have you sipping champagne yet. Love you."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too."

That hurt him to do, and that surprised him. He'd lied so much in his life, there were times he couldn't remember the truth. Two people he never wanted to lie to were his partners.

The town was beautiful. It wasn't a chore to sit and watch the station, as the backdrop to it was a wall of peaked mountains, snow covering them, the sky in back so blue it was almost a solid tangible thing.

When Daily emerged from the building, Marius watched him as he spoke on the phone, and then got into his Blazer. Marius followed him far behind, so as not to raise suspicion. They traveled on the highway, one that was devoid of much traffic. As Daily turned off onto a dirt road, Marius called Neil Harrison.

"Marius, what's up?"

"Track Daily's cell for me. Let me know where he's going. If I follow too closely, he'll know I'm here."

"On it." He was quiet for a few seconds then said, "He's on County Road 228.5, and all that I'm seeing at the end of that road is the house closest to Dante's property on the north."

Marius didn't like that. "Who owns the place?"

"Dominic Velker. Old man in his eighties, owns ten thousand acres. Let me check the will."

Marius groaned, "Fuck. What the hell is he up to?"

"Velker had a son that worked the ranch and was about to take over running it after retiring from the car dealership he owned in Billings. Marius, Velker's son was just killed in a car accident two months ago."

"Is there a side road of any kind that will take me to Velker's house?"

"Yeah, on that, and if you travel a mile more down the highway, turn right, and then there's a big curving road that was mostly used for logging. Take that, and it's…it's pretty winding, and you'll come out half a mile from the house. There are stables there at the cutoff and a barn."

"Thanks, Neil, and if you see Daily moving, call me immediately."

"Will do. What are you suspecting, Marius?"

"A lot. A lot."

He got out of the SUV once he was a hundred feet from the stables. As he sneaked around in the trees, he went past the stables and headed to the house, his gun at the ready. That wasn't exactly wise, being that in Montana he'd seen just about everyone carrying, and he was on private property, but he was driven. He had to find out how Daily was involved.

Creeping along the trees, he got to the edge of the forest to see the big two story farmhouse, so like the one where he lived with Dallas and Ruben. The porch was wide and full of chairs, crates, and other clutter.

The clutter would be perfect for his purposes. He ran over to the house and crouched below the porch, hoping to hear a conversation, but it was a cold day, and Daily was likely inside with Velker.

He got onto the porch and flanked the wall to move easily to one of the windows. Peeking inside, he saw Velker and Daily sitting across from each other at a cluttered dining room table.

The wind was nonexistent and the animals seemed to be far from them, so the noise outside was a minimum. He pressed himself as hard as he could to the wall and leaned to the window, hearing some words like ranch, cattle, and fences, which wasn't what he thought he'd hear.

Then he heard the word that piqued his interest. "Carrillo…"

Marius had to know what they were talking about, but he couldn't get enough of the conversation, so he crouched below the window and moved around the porch until he was at the front door. It luckily had three small windows in a diagonal, and he looked into one to see the coast was clear.

He checked the door to find it unlocked and he opened it, praying to the Virgin Mother the door's hinges were properly lubricated.

They were.

He got into the house, which smelled like old man and chili, and crept to the stairs, hoping to be able to head to the second floor in case they started his way. On the stairs, he could hear the conversation well.

"I'm telling you, Nic, sell me the place and get gone before you are the next target. These mafiosos, they're out to take over the entire area."

"Not what I hear. I hear they're plenty content with Harrison's place."

"They killed him, and…you know they're suspects in your boy's death."

Marius was fuming. As soon as Neil said the son had died, alarm bells had gone off in his head.

"You prove it to me, I'll believe it, but that ain't the way I'm hearing it, Daily. No how, no way. I hear it's you buying up all the land around here. I hear you and that boy, you're gonna take over the whole valley when you're done."

He was about to sneak back out of the house, having heard all he needed when Dominic Velker's voice raised. "Get on outa here, Ronnie. I'm done with all this. I got grandkids that can take up this place when they're ready to, and if not, I'll find someone else to buy. Maybe I will just let those Italians buy it."

"You don't want to do that, Nic. I'm telling you right now, you're bringing in a lot of crime to your neighbors."

Marius got out of there fast, and headed back to the SUV, getting inside before calling Dante. "Yeah, boss, we need to talk. Now. I'm heading back to the trailer. Let Blaine take the dogs on a walk or something."

"I will. Call when you're close."

He sped down the winding road too fast, skidding around almost every curve. Miraculously, he made it to the highway and started down it, but got a not-so-nice surprise. As he passed the dirt road he'd seen Daily take, there the sheriff was, waiting to get back onto the highway.

The man's eyes narrowed at him as Marius passed, and he checked his speed, unwilling to give Daily any excuse.

Daily didn't pull him over, which shocked him, and he managed to get back to Carrillo Ranch and to Dante's quickly. Blaine waved to him from the far end of the yard as he knocked on the trailer door. Dante answered in blue jeans and a heavy flannel shirt, and Marius nearly forgot everything he was about to say. "Dante? You in…in jeans?"

"I've worn them before! I'm trying to assimilate. Come in and stop gawking at me."

Marius laughed as he took a seat across from Dante. "The only man I know that can make jeans and flannel look like silk, Dante. You look good."

"I look good in everything," he boasted.

"Yes, you do. Okay, now, enough of the fashion, we are seriously in trouble if Daily gets his way."

Dante casually crossed his legs and picked at a piece of lint. "I knew that. I've known he was involved, but couldn't prove it. Tell me we have proof."

"Not concrete or anything we can take to the cops. Besides, even the state cops might be on his side, as he's supposedly a sheriff."

He told Dante everything he heard and Dante rose to walk to the window to watch over Blaine and the dogs. Marius joined him at the window.

"Marius, my dear friend, that man out there is all in this world that I treasure. I'd take everything and burn it, as long as I still have him. He loves this property. He wants the resort, he wants children, and I will tear anyone apart that tries to stop me from giving my prince everything he desires."

That was Dante's way of giving him carte blanche to do whatever was needed. "Copy, boss."

"Good. Take care of this, all of this, and when the time comes, Marius, you'll be richer than you could possibly dream."

"I am already rich, Dante. I have two of them that I feel for like you feel for Blaine."

Dante's head turned and the sun lit his beauty. "Very nice, Marius. I'm thrilled for you. In fact, if needed, don't put yourself in danger."

"I wouldn't trust anyone else with this."

Setting his hand on Dante's shoulder, he squeezed and said, "No worries. Blaine's dreams will come true for all of us."