Page 6 of Remade (Hillcroft Group #3)

CHAPTER 5

October 4th, 2024

Bo Beckett

W hy couldn’t I move? I frowned and cracked my eyes open a little, and I immediately hated the bright lights. Why were they switched on? The perk of being back at Hillcroft, as opposed to the room I’d shared with some random civilian at the hospital yesterday, was that I could decide for myself when the lights went out. Goddammit.

I blinked and took in the pristine white surroundings.

Oh, I’d been in here before. The medic bay had two private rooms for recovery, and this one had the shitty TV up in the corner. On the other hand, this hospital bed was a little wider. Which reminded me—why couldn’t I move?

Oh.

I glanced down and immediately spotted a certain someone sprawled half on top of me, thankfully on my good side.

I exhaled and let my head drop onto the pillow again, and I carefully put my arm around him.

Was he wearing my Ranger hoodie? I couldn’t see his front, including his face, and that was a good thing.

What were the odds Leighton’s injuries were a figment of my imagination? Between the doctor’s exams, surgery, confirming that all enemies had been eliminated, and being hopped up on the good juice yesterday, I only remembered flickers of images. His face—all the cuts and scrapes. Bruises appearing.

Deep breaths.

I winced, hoping it was time for more painkillers soon. My leg was fucking killing me.

Despite the pain, I’d gotten my hopes up that shit looked worse than it was when the doctor had told me I’d gotten “lucky.” The shot had gone straight through my arm without leaving too much destruction behind. And the leg—a glorified flesh wound. I’d lost too much blood, but it hadn’t been very deep and no fragments left behind this time. I had enough as it was.

Best part of it all, I’d only had to suffer for five or six hours in an actual hospital before I’d been released into Doc’s care in our own medic bay.

I fucking hated hospitals. I’d spent weeks there before my old man’s liver had given up. Plus, every damn time my sister squeezed out a kid.

Field hospitals were more my jam. Let’s stitch you up, get you the happy pills, slap you on the ass, and send you off.

Maybe not exactly like that, but…

I did remember happy pills in Iraq.

I yawned and did my best not to move. I didn’t wanna wake up Leighton, knowing he’d barely slept any, and I didn’t wanna upset my dumbass injuries.

It’d be nice if Coach could stop by, though. I wanted an update.

Maybe he was in the other room.

Yesterday, I’d checked the fuck out the second Hyatt had confirmed we’d gotten everybody and that none of our men had sustained too many injuries. Coach had been shot in his arm like me, Hudson had been grazed a couple times, Wilson had taken a knife to his rib cage, and Green had been burned along her leg.

We’d recover.

I peered down at Leighton’s hand that rested on my chest, and I knew I was gonna have to accept all this. Him being near danger. The top of his hand was bruised and scraped, and he still had dried blood and dirt under his fingernails.

The door opened a while later, and Doc smiled when he saw I was awake.

“Let’s see if you’re an easier patient than my brother,” he said.

I snorted under my breath. I may let my bitchier tendencies roam free when I was out for the count, but nobody was as bad as Coach.

Doc came over and eyed Leighton a little. “He’s barely left your side.”

I took a breath and stared up at the ceiling.

Man, was I fucked when it came to him.

I’d been focused on solving this case for so fucking long, and finally making sure those dickless motherfuckers couldn’t breathe any longer, and then… Hell, my entire purpose had changed in the middle of combat. They’d all been faceless strangers to me anyway. I’d had no specific body to identify or…

A breath gusted out of me.

I was done with everything that’d dragged me down the past year. It was over.

It was over .

Leighton felt like a breath of fresh air, and he made me wanna see how I could fuck up another relationship. Except, everything about him was different. Starting with the level of my attachment.

“Can you give me happy pills?” I muttered, my voice rough from disuse.

He checked his watch. “I’d like to give it another couple of hours.”

Well, fuck you, then.

“You should eat,” he said. “I ordered a lunch tray up for you both.”

“I can eat happy pills.”

“I’m sure,” he replied wryly. “Where does it hurt the most?”

“My leg,” I grumbled.

He lifted the blankets and carefully checked the dressing. “We’ll get you up and moving around tomorrow. If you behave really well, you might even get to go to the bathroom on your own.”

Oh, I knew the fucking drill. I’d have a few days of ten-second walks, basically just rounding the bed and then getting back in. I’d get a crutch or some shit. I’d bitch at whoever wanted to help me.

Poor Leighton in advance.

Doc righted the blanket again before he felt my forehead. “I’ll have the nurse come by to take your temperature and get more blood samples. I want to keep a close eye on your inflammatory markers.”

“Thank you for dumbing it down for me.”

“Oh, no worries. I just had to spell it out in crayons for Coach. I’m used to it.”

I rumbled a low laugh, only to flinch. Fuck, that hurt in my arm somehow.

Doc smiled and nodded at Leighton. “I take it that’s serious.”

It sure couldn’t be anything else. I didn’t flip my lid over casual.

I cleared my throat and glanced up at Doc. “Is it normal to wanna hurt someone a little for givin’ you all this chest-gripping anxiety and worry? Because I kinda wanna put him on shit duties and knock him around for the other day.”

Doc smirked. “This is going to be fun for me.”

That wasn’t helpful at all.

“You do need to speak to Danny soon, though,” he said. “You can’t be his instructor anymore.”

I knew that. Coach would take over. I’d still be there; outwardly, not much would change. I just wouldn’t evaluate Leighton anymore.

“I want to put him on two weekly sessions as well,” he went on. “With training, your relationship evolving, and what happened—we have a lot to talk about.”

I hummed, not sure Leighton was asleep anymore. His breathing pattern had changed. “I suggest three sessions a week. It’ll be good for him.”

Take that, you little fucknut.

Doc chuckled. “We’ll see if I have any openings, considering you’ll be in my chair the rest of the time.”

Hilarious.

“I think you should leave now,” I said.

“Why, are you busy?” he drawled. “So help me, if you rush your recovery, I will have you sent right back to the hospital.” He pointed to me. “No fucking loopholes either. Before you return to the field, you’ll’ve passed a full physical, and I won’t let you begin to train for it until November.”

Whoa, Jesus fuck. I glared at him. “They’re basically flesh wounds, Doc. Either you’re off your rocker, or you’re high on power.”

“You’re playing fast and loose with the term flesh wound. You were shot in two places, and you lost a lot of blood,” he replied. “If you want to run this up the flagpole, be my guest.”

That fucking—oh, now he thought it was convenient to leave.

I clenched my jaw and scowled at his retreating form until the door closed behind him.

Asshole.

Leighton stretched out and yawned. “Now I’m glad I faked being asleep.”

“You didn’t do a great job,” I muttered.

“Good enough.” He reached up and kissed my jaw before he rolled out of the bed and stretched his arms above his head.

Definitely my hoodie, but what really caught my eye was the insane bruise that showed when the hoodie rode up. It was way worse than the faint ones across his cheek and jaw.

“What the fuck is that?” I pointed. It was nearly black. A purplish black. Blotchy and angry and taking up a big portion of his abdomen on the right side.

He dropped his arms again and winced. “Painful is what it is. They had to check me for internal bleeding.”

I felt how the corners of my eyes tightened. “And?” I pressed.

“And chill.” He smiled slyly and returned to me, and he leaned over and kissed me. “It’s just a nasty bruise. I took a punch at some point and didn’t even notice it.”

Adrenaline had that effect.

But I supposed I could relax. He was fine. And he was here, all sexy and adorable with his horrible taste in men.

I gripped his chin loosely and pecked him twice. “You should get some proper sleep.”

“I can do that right here in your arms,” he murmured. He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lower back, low enough that my fingers dipped under the waistband of his sweatpants.

I worked on autopilot and soon discovered my boy was going commando. Fucking hell, he had the sweetest little ass. The hell was he doing to me? Even though I’d always been an ass-man, this was absurd.

“I made the mistake of listening to Coach last night,” he said, nipping at my bottom lip. “He told me to take a couple hours to myself. Freshen up, eat, rest, whatever. And when I got back here, I found out some fucking nurse had helped you shower.”

Oh-ho! Leighton was feisty. This was bold coming from him.

I grinned into one more kiss, and then I gave his ass a solid squeeze and inched back to look him in the eye.

He was dead serious.

“Didn’t you see I was covered in caked blood and soot?” I chuckled, confused.

“Yeah, so? I could’ve helped you,” he mumbled stubbornly. “I can’t have you in porn-worthy situations with other women. Who knows what’ll send you back to the enemy.”

I cracked up but had to suppress most of it, ’cause fuck me sideways, the slightest tremble set my arm on fire.

I kept rubbing my hand all over his ass, partly because I couldn’t help myself, and partly because I wanted him to see the irony. I was damn near obsessed with him. Wasn’t that enough proof? Then again, we hadn’t discussed shit, and he only knew I had a string of failed relationships with women.

But seriously, how fucking soft could his ass be? All smooth. Perfect handfuls.

“First of all, you’re not my first journey into the world of bisexuality,” I told him. “I had a whole thing when I was a teenager. You’re just the one who fucked me up completely—to the point where I can’t stop gropin’ your tight little ass.”

His mouth twisted a little, as if he was fighting a smile. “I did notice it. That’s kinda gay.”

I chuckled and nudged him closer. Refamiliarizing myself with his ass would have to wait. “Second of all, your fake possessiveness is just cute. And a turn-on. I’m not gonna lie.”

“You think it’s fake?” He leaned in so our lips almost touched. “It’s not fake, Bo.”

Bo.

Must’ve been the first time I’d heard him use my first name.

I liked it a ridiculous amount. “Keep calling me that when we’re off the clock,” I murmured. “I wanna hear you moan it too.”

He raked his teeth across his bottom lip, eyes clouding with need. “Maybe when I help you in the shower next time.”

Oof. If I was strong enough to stay upright, maybe. Although, there was a comfy plastic chair in the medic bay’s shower.

“I don’t know. Nurse Tina is very talented,” I said.

He narrowed his eyes, and his jaw ticked. “You can joke about that when I’ve convinced you to give us a real chance—not a minute sooner.”

Whoa, that was…direct. I furrowed my brow and cupped his cheek, wanting to get a good look at him.

He was behaving in a very…non-Leighton way.

“Tell me what’s wrong, pup.” I brushed my thumb over his bottom lip. “This is unlike you.”

He dropped his gaze but stayed close. “I don’t know how to explain it,” he mumbled. “Something happened to me out there.”

In the clearing?

He swallowed. “For a second, I thought I lost you.”

Aw, fuck.

I cupped the back of his neck and rested our foreheads together. “I’m sorry I scared you. It terrified me too, to worry about you.”

He drew in a breath and closed his eyes. “I want us to be real, Bo. I can be patient, I swear—but I don’t wanna settle anymore. I wanna know there’s a chance. Because…I don’t know. At the hospital yesterday, I kept thinking, so much is at stake. I’ve never had that. And I don’t mind being scared, as long as I’m afraid for a good reason, not because I’m a chickenshit who doesn’t have the balls to go after anything.”

I pressed my lips to his cheek, then opened my mouth to respond, but he wasn’t done.

“I’m not the same guy anymore.” The admission left him in a whisper that radiated vulnerability. He was anxious. “I feel…impatient. I wanna lock this down because I’m so hooked on you, and I want you next to me when I meet my family.”

Jesus, this kid. He had my heart in a fucking vise.

“Sounds to me like your first encounter with close combat unglued you a bit.” I carefully rubbed my thumb over a bruise on his cheek.

“Maybe. I sure woke up feeling like the whole world was different.”

I took a deep breath as something settled within me, something comfortable and reassuring. This was a huge leap forward for him, and for whatever reason, he wanted to take a chance on me.

“Not the whole world,” I murmured. “Just you.”

He opened his eyes and swallowed again.

It was my turn to be nervous, because even if he was different from anybody else I’d ever been with, I was still the same.

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Leighton. I’m absolute shit at dating. I went for all the clichéd bullshit with my exes because I couldn’t be assed to get to know them properly. So…” I cleared my throat and hoped for the best. “While I figure out how to actually make someone happy—make you happy—can I take you out on my kind of date?”

He eased back with a confused expression.

Was I already screwing it up? It might be a record.

“Listen,” I said. Holy shit, I was uncomfortable. Had two hours passed? I needed my happy pills. “For the first time in my life, it feels like I’ve met someone who can make or break me—and it’s a fucking pain. I don’t like being nervous and worried. But since I can’t get you outta my head, yeah, we gotta give this a real shot. I want that too. As long as you’re patient while I work past my complete inability to be a decent partner. I might as well put a reminder on my phone right now so I don’t forget your birthday, and you better give me a list of your favorite meals and whatnot so I can find restaurants.”

At least the confusion seemed to be clearing. That was good, right?

“Um.” He scratched the side of his head and grinned faintly. “Before we get into the fact that you seem to believe I know what I’m doing, can I ask what your kind of date entails?”

“A good burger,” I said right away. Because it was a thing for me. I hated dressing up to go to a fancy-ass restaurant and listening to specials where half the words were in another language, followed by stilted conversation and mediocre sex. “I want a good burger at Big Buns. A few beers. Then a movie in my bed. Possibly popcorn or chips. Chips and salsa—I like that a lot. I’m a sucker for a good steakhouse too—and Mexican and Brazilian food. Actually, most foods from South America. And really good chicken.”

He flashed a quick grin, and for the first time today, I caught a glimpse of the shyer Leighton I’d gotten so ridiculously attached to. I was glad he was still in there in this new version of him.

“I mean…all that sounds perfect to me,” he said. “Especially if the steakhouse has burnt ends and pork belly.”

Mother of God, he spoke my language.

“All the pork,” I promised.

The happiness in his eyes brought me an immense amount of relief, and I hoped this meant I had a fighting chance.

“The real question is what I’ll do when you get sick of me,” I said.

He chuckled through his nose and lifted his eyebrows. “We’ll cross that bridge when we never get there.”

Funny. Before I could answer, the door opened again, and it wasn’t lunch. Which sucked. All this talk about food was making me hungry.

Instead, it was Nurse Tina.

Actually, this was better. I was glad Leighton was here. He was already staring at her, maybe a little dumbfounded.

“Hey, beautiful,” I said. “Did Doc by any chance give you my next dose of happy pills?”

She walked in and looked at my clipboard. “In your dreams, boy. Be nice, or I’ll take your temperature from the other end.”

I clenched—and that fucking hurt in my thigh.

Leighton spluttered a laugh.

“Do you kiss your grandchildren with that mouth?” I countered.

“Oh, just be quiet, Bo. I need the energy to deal with Coach after this.” She stuck the thermometer in my ear, and it beeped a few seconds later. “Is this what you’re whining about? It barely counts as a low fever.”

“You have the best bedside manner,” I said.

She huffed and headed for the door again. “I’ll be back to take your blood after you’ve eaten. Food’s on its way up.”

I shifted my gaze to Leighton.

He pinched his lips together for a beat. “Okay, she can give you a sponge bath whenever you want.”

I laughed.

And that hurt.

Leighton stepped up the game that very night when he ordered food for us and brought his laptop to my hospital room.

Even when I raised the bed, my arm was his new pillow, and I didn’t mind one bit.

The laptop was perched on his lap, and he legit fed me steakhouse food. Burnt ends, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, brisket, and grilled chicken made the room smell fucking divine.

“You’re funny when you’re high,” he snickered.

“I’m not high,” I chuckled.

I was just on happy pills.

My second and last day. Hillcroft had the strictest regulations for stronger pain meds. If you needed more than two days of it, you belonged in the hospital, not here.

I was all right with that. Come tomorrow, I’d hop on board the ibuprofen train because, as Quinlan liked to say, “We do not create addicts at this agency.”

It was a sensitive topic for him. Hell, we’d all seen it. We all had friends who’d fallen into an addiction because something always hurt when you worked in and out of combat zones.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen The Blues Brothers before,” I said.

“It’s so old,” he groaned through a laugh. “It’s even older than you.”

I dipped down and nipped at his earlobe sharply.

Fucking asshole.

Why did he feel the need to add the “even”?

He grinned and snuggled closer. “Want more cornbread?”

“No, I’m stuffed. But you can hand me one of those wipes.”

“Yessir.” He handed me one and placed all the food containers on the chair next to the bed. “How do you think our first official date is going?”

Fan-fucking-tastic. Although, I’d show him something better when I got out of this room. “Under the circumstances, couldn’t have been any better. I was thinking, when Alex comes home, we could go to my favorite steakhouse.”

“I’d like that.” He smiled and plopped down on my shoulder again, and I kissed the top of his head. “Isn’t it safe for her to come home now?”

I hummed. “It is, but I thought I’d give her another week with my sister’s family. Mostly because my ma would freak out if she found out I was staying in the med bay.”

It was time for Alex to return to school too.

Other than Intel working on tying up loose ends—aka, keeping tabs on the Hahns and checking if they had any reactions to what was going on in this corner of the world—the case was finally over. And it would take a while to process that. Mainly, it would take a while to convince the cynic in me that it actually was over. With large syndicates like this one, it was almost impossible to be sure.

“Does it feel weird for you?” I asked curiously. “With the assignment, I mean. That it’s over.”

“Hmm. A little.” He pushed pause on the movie and turned on his side to face me better. “It’s mostly weird because part of me expected this big moment of closure when you hunted down the guy guilty of…you know.”

I nodded once. “I’m afraid that’s something you’re gonna have to get used to. For smaller ops, you hardly know anything about the person you’re either hunting or protecting. And for bigger ops—like this one—there’s still an in-and-out factor. You go in, do your job, and walk out—and someone else takes over.”

In this case, the Feds. Their big crackdown on a “notorious drug trafficking ring” was all over the news.

“If you ask anyone from Intel, they can’t wait to move on,” I added. “They’ve been working this assignment for almost two years.”

Leighton pursed his lips and drew an aimless circle over the bandage on my arm, his touch so light I didn’t feel it.

“It’s still better than what Ryan told me—the assignments that carry the agency, to use his words.”

That made me curious. “And what would those be?”

“Security gigs…? He mentioned oil rigs, mining operations, and freighters.”

Ah. Yeah. “That’s legit. Many of our junior operators start there to get their feet wet.”

He made a face. “I hope I can skip that part.”

I grinned. He loved skipping ahead, this one.

“I reckon you’ve skipped enough steps,” I said. “But speaking of Ryan—what’s the plan? I heard he’s flying home tomorrow.”

“Ummm, yeah…” Leighton turned sheepish and, what was that, nervousness? “So, he was actually supposed to fly home last night, but then he spoke to his parents and told them about me.”

I felt my eyebrows hitch. “Damn. Are they coming here, then?”

“Yeah. Some of them. His mom and dad, and uh…Ethan and Willow.”

Willow.

“That’s great.” I leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. “Did Ryan by any chance tell you about Willow?”

He huffed. “You mean that she actually works for Hillcroft? Yeah. But she’s a free agent or something, he said. She works from home in Washington. She’s like…a hacker.” He traced a finger along my sternum, his gaze following every movement. “She has autism. Ryan told me she won’t be verbal. Being around new people gives her too much anxiety or something, so she clams up.”

I hummed, more focused on Leighton’s anxiety. Hopefully, meeting Ryan had made it more manageable.

He swallowed and hesitated for a beat. “Can you be there tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He flicked me a glance and seemed half surprised. “Really?”

I chuckled under my breath. “Why does that surprise you? I practically forced you to face Ryan.”

“Yeah, but—” He let out a breath. “Never mind. I’m not gonna assume I’m a bother. Thank you.”

That made me weirdly happy. We were gonna communicate a lot easier without his insecurities holding him back. And that spoke volumes, ’cause he was already way easier to talk to than anyone else.

“You will never be a bother,” I murmured. “When are they flying in tomorrow?”

He shifted closer and buried his face against my neck. “They’re on a red-eye, so they’ll be here early. Ryan said he’s gonna see if we can find a secluded area somewhere so we can have breakfast.”

That could be arranged. With so many of our operators in the field, our rec room stood empty most days.

I’d mention it, but Leighton seemed more interested in seducing me. He kissed my neck and rubbed a hand up my chest.

“You might wanna move your laptop if you’re gonna squirm around like that, pup.”

“Oh, right.” He closed the lid and moved the laptop to the table. “Can we do stuff? I’m super horny.”

I coughed and fell right down a hole of filthy fantasies, but my options were severely limited.

“Am I gonna struggle to keep up with you?”

“Let’s find out.” He hauled his tee over his head, then promptly shimmied out of his sweats, and I lifted my eyebrows. Who was this guy? How could everything he did turn me on? How could his body be so utterly fucking addictive? “I wanna make you feel good.” He scooted farther down and pushed away the blankets enough so he could see what he was doing.

I drew a breath and carefully shifted closer to the edge, giving him more space.

If he wanted to make me feel good, I wasn’t gonna stop him.

“In my defense, this is all your fault,” he said, brushing his hand over my boxer briefs. “You’re too sexy.”

I laughed under my breath. “Flattery will get you everywhere with me.”

He grinned cheekily and pulled at my underwear, and he dipped down and licked the length of my cock.

Fuck yeah.

My heart thrummed a little faster as heat rolled through me, and he didn’t string me along. Not that I’d let him anyway. But he sucked me into his hot little mouth and got me hard in seconds.

“Fuck,” I exhaled. “That’s a good boy.” I found his ass in the pool of blankets. “Let’s do one better. I want this ass in my face.”

He withdrew from me in an instant and peered back at me, and his expression was comical. He acted like he’d never been eaten out before.

Wait, hadn’t he?

“What’re you gonna do?” he asked.

“Stick my tongue in your ass, what else?”

His eyebrows flew up. “You, uh…you like doing that?”

“You don’t ?” It wasn’t something that went over well with most women, so I hoped to take advantage frequently with my boy. Providing he was into that.

“I, um—I’ve never done it,” he admitted. “Or had it done to me.”

I inhaled deeply as a wave of possessiveness crashed down on me. This evening just kept getting better.

“Good.” I squeezed his ass and slipped two fingers over his opening. “Something just for me, then.”

He couldn’t hide the lust in his gaze, and he seemed to enjoy it when I got possessive, which boded well for our future. But he was hesitant too, and he?—

“Actually—another time,” he said. “You’re injured, and I want this to be about you.”

I squeezed his ass. “You think this wouldn’t be for me?”

His cute grin was back. “Okay, but still. You’re supposed to rest.”

Oh, fine. We could have it his way this time. At least I had access with my hand. I could still touch him.

“All right, you’re the boss tonight,” I conceded.

He smirked and then returned to his task. My cock was buried in wet, tight warmth, and I settled for brushing my hand over his ass and playing with his little hole.

He didn’t tease me for a second.

I exhaled as pleasure washed over me, and I just lay there and watched his perfect mouth go up and down my cock.

“Fuck, that’s good, baby,” I sighed.

He hummed and closed his eyes.

It wasn’t going to be long before I flooded his throat with my come.