Chapter 7
Cody and Carson were sitting on Colton’s bed while he stuffed the last few items in his suitcase.
Colton was trying hard to contain his excitement as he checked his room to make sure nothing was forgotten.
Crap, he hadn’t felt this way since before his parents and siblings died.
Even though he wasn’t going down there in a nursing capacity, he secretly hoped he’d get to take care of some patients.
What a fucking piece of luck! What…oh shit Cody was talking.
“Hey bro, are you listening to me?”
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I said, we’re going to miss you in Seattle. Are you sure about not postponing the trip, so you can come with us?”
Carson joined in, “Yeah man. You know, ‘The Cocky C’s’. We always work together setting up and finding our men for the night. Now it’s only going to be two of us and you know Cody ain’t any good at it. You always could spot the hot ones.”
Laughing, Colton said, “I hardly think that’s going to be a problem. Did you check out the places Steel lined up for you? If you can’t hook up with anyone there, you all deserve to have a fuckless night.”
“But, Colton …”
“No Carson, don’t make me feel guilty about choosing this over going with you. I was happy for you when Steel gave you the chance to start living your dream of going into business so please do the same for me.”
They heard Steel yelling, “Colton, your ride will be landing soon, so get the hell down here now so everyone can say good-bye.”
Cody stood, pulling Carson up with him and said to Colton, “So, flying in a helicopter, huh?”
“Yeah, Jackson told me it’s quite a blast. Slate and I are just flying to the local airport where Dire Enterprises’ private jet is waiting for us.
“Great,” Carson said, “I get to meet him finally. I’ve talked to him a few times while learning about Dire Enterprises.”
“Sorry, not this time, bro. Steel told me Slate is on a tight time crunch…he isn’t even getting out of the helicopter. You’ll meet him when we come back and he’ll be staying with us for a while.”
“Cool.” Cody reached out, pulling his two brothers into a hug. “Listen to me, bro. You take care of yourself down there and come back. I’ll miss you so call a lot, you hear?”
“That goes for me too,” Carson echoed.
The triplets stood in silence, aware this would be the first time they were separated. Murmurs of “love you bro” and “you too” were softly uttered as one last encompassing hug was given. Then, each triplet picked up a suitcase, heading downstairs.
As he reached the great room, Colton could see Jackson was upset.
Steel had his arm around his waist, holding him tight while kissing his head.
Thank goodness, Jackson had his mate to comfort him because this was the first time one of his brothers had flown the coop.
.and to another country, to boot. He could imagine what his brother was feeling after working so hard to keep them alive and safe.
Now for the first time, Jackson didn’t have the power to insure Colton’s safety and his pregnancy hormones were only making his anxiety worse.
Colton held out his arms for Jackson’s embrace, gathering his brother in for a tight hug but taking care to avoid his belly. “You take care of yourself and the pup, okay. That’s an order from your medical provider. When I get back, I want to see you healthy and with a big baby belly.”
Jackson giggled through his tears. “How much bigger do you think I’ll get? I already can’t see my feet.”
“Oh bro, you are in for a surprise…a good one…but a surprise nevertheless,” Colton said before moving close to Jackson’s ear to whisper, “Now I need a favor, bro, take care of Cody and Carson for me. They are going to be very blue about a missing note in our triad. Okay?”
Jackson nodded. “You bet.”
Then Colton gave Steel a hug. “Promise you’ll take care of Jackson for me? Keep the wild sex down to manageable levels, right?”
Steel’s cheeks turned rosy. “I owe you one for that,” he said, grinning.
Colton hugged Logan, Dakota and Zane wishing them a good time in Seattle before turning to Oracle and Maximus.
Taking Oracle in his arms, he whispered, “Please make sure my brothers are safe. They are my world.” He held on for a moment more, hearing her whisper back, “I promise I will. Now go and have a good time. You’ve worked hard to earn this opportunity. ”
“Are you ready to go, Colton?” asked Maximus, holding out his hand to shake Colton’s.
“Yes sir. I’m pretty sure I have everything I’ll need.”
As the chopper came into sight and landed, Colton looked at his brothers and said, “Well, okay guys, I guess it’s time to go. Cody, Carson, can you help me with my suitcases?”
“Sure,” they said in unison.
Everyone gathered on the porch as the triplets walked towards the helicopter. The enormity of what was about to happen hit Colton hard and he faltered for a minute.
“You okay?” Cody said.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
The pilot was waiting to greet Colton. “Hi, Colton, I’m Robert. You ever flown in one of these?” he asked, shouting to be heard over the engine.
Shaking his head, Colton yelled, “Anything I need to know?”
“Nope. Slate is waiting for you inside. So, if you’re ready, I can take a couple of your bags.”
Cody and Carson handed them over, giving Colton one more hug before heading back to the porch.
Colton turned, waving to everyone before climbing into the cabin.
Once inside, he saw a man, resembling Steel, point to a seat next to him.
He sat down and buckled up his harness. The man gave him a headset to put on before speaking.
“Hi Colton. I’m Slate. Pleased to meet you and thank you for helping me. You have a microphone connected to the headset. It will allow you to communicate with me and the pilot during the flight.”
“Oh wow, I can hardly hear the engine with this headset. How come?”
“These are noise cancelling headsets. It makes it easier to talk and there’s no noise fatigue.”
“Fantastic. I can hear you as clearly as if we were sitting in a quiet room.”
“Yup. Great technology. Dire Enterprises invested in it and we have a plant making them. We look for cutting edge ideas to fund and when a product is ready to come to market, we build plants near shifters so they have jobs and steady incomes.”
“Wow. Oracle told us about the purpose of the Dire Treasure that Maximus is guardian of, but I never really knew much about it.”
“There’re a lot of poor packs out there that need our help. Our goal is to achieve three things for every pack…good paying jobs, healthcare, and education.”
Colton nodded, looking out the window as the helicopter lifted off.
He saw his family waving and he waved back, a lump forming in his throat at the thought of not seeing them for at least a month—by which time Jackson would be near the end of his pregnancy.
And Dr. Wallace would be here. Shit, he squirmed in his seat at the thought of meeting the man who filled his dreams every night.
Hopefully, time away from that voice would help the situation.
Slate spoke again. “We’ll be at the plane in about twenty minutes. Once we’re airborne, it’ll take us about three and a half hours to our destination.”
Colton nodded again, looking at the ground.
Shit, how cool is this. This must be how Jackson felt when Steel took him by helicopter to San Francisco for his babymoon.
Cody and Carson would want a full report from him tonight about his experiences today.
He pulled out his phone, taking pictures he’d send them.
Before he knew it, they were descending and Colton watched the ground come up to meet them as they landed with a gentle bump.
After the luggage had been transferred, Slate directed Colton to the stairs leading up to his private jet.
Colton’s jaw dropped when he stepped inside and saw the interior—soft buff leather swivel chairs and a loveseat set on dark, rich, brown carpet.
The sides of the cabin were padded and covered with cream leather, and high gloss, mahogany wood tables were scattered throughout for working or eating.
The overall feeling was warm, inviting and luxurious.
Logan needed to see this, so he started taking pictures to send to his brother.
Chuckling, Slate said, “Hey Colton, do you mind if I get past you. I want to speak with the pilot to make sure everything’s in order for our flight.”
“Oh… yeah…sorry. I just want to send my brother some photos of the interior design of the jet.” Colton realized he was acting like a gawking tourist. Dammit, I have to dial down my excitement. He walked further in but waited, unsure of which seat to take.
“Sit anywhere. Gimme a minute. I’ll be right back.”
Looking around, Colton decided to sit next to a window.
He’d never flown before, so he wanted to see everything.
He set his carry-on next to him on the floor before fastening his seat belt.
Suddenly, a man in a uniform appeared in front of him.
“May I get you something to drink, sir?” Colton wasn’t sure how to answer.
Luckily, at that moment, Slate returned. “Hi Paul, I’ll take a beer. And this is Colton. He’ll be working with me down in Mexico on the medical project. Colton, this is Paul, my steward. Anything you need, he’ll get it for you. What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll take a beer also. Thanks, Paul.”
Slate settled into a seat opposite Colton’s. “I might as well get Steel’s instructions out of the way, so we can enjoy the flight.”
“Don’t you mean Jackson’s instructions?”
“Yeah, probably, but I got them from Steel so I’ll have to answer to him if I fuck up.”
“Right. Okay, lay ‘em on me.”
“The most important rule is I must accompany you at all times. I’ve arranged for us to share an apartment with two bedrooms. I’ll work with you, helping to unbox and install all the equipment.
Anytime you need a break, I’ll be with you.
The only time you’ll be alone is when you’re sleeping; however, the apartment has a military grade security system so you’ll be protected even then.
All meals will be prepared by my chef…except the ones I’ll make…
and all supplies will be shipped to us using my pilot. ”
“Holy shit. I knew Jackson would worry but I never expected this level of protection.”
“Colton, I swore to my brother and Jackson I would protect you with my life. If something happened to you, it might cause Jackson to miscarry. I’m asking you to please respect the rules regarding your safety.
I know it’s a pain in the ass, for both of us but I’m willing to do it just to get your help with this project. ”
“No problem. I understand. Why all the levels of protection when my brothers are going to Seattle for three days without any.”
“You’ve been misinformed. Your brothers will have an elite guard of enforcers that belong to Dire Enterprises accompanying them. They will be under surveillance night and day except, of course, when they are enjoying the pleasures of the body, shall we say.”
Colton started to chuckle. He wondered if his brothers were going to enjoy the babysitting.
Boy that sure would put a crimp in his style—having someone watching him trying to pick up guys.
Shit, why did he get a sudden pain in his chest at that thought?
He was absentmindedly rubbing it when Paul arrived with their beers.
He waited until they took off before resuming his conversation with Slate.
“I’m embarrassed to say, I know very little about Dire Enterprises. How did you get involved in the medical needs of Mexican Wolf shifters?”
“One of our companies is Dire Medical. Remember about the goal of steady jobs, healthcare, and education?” Colton nodded and Slate continued.
“Well, Dire Medical deals with health and medical needs of shifters. When the attacks started in Mexico, Dr. Luna who belongs to our organization, Frontline Doctors, was sent to determine what help was needed.”
“Wait! Frontline Doctors is your organization?”
“Yes, why?”
“Because my goal was always to become a nurse so I could join them. Why are you grinning like that?”
“Because Dr. Luna was so impressed with your work, he asked me to…no, more like demanded…I hire you for Frontline Doctors.”
“He did? Wow! How come Steel didn’t tell me?”
“Because I never discussed it with him. I was too busy trying to make sure everything was in place for this project to be brought in on time. I put the request on a back burner until the hospital and clinic were operational.”
“Wow! But I don’t have my nursing degree yet. Bummer. Without the certificate I can’t take care of patients.” He thought about that before saying, “But when I become a nurse, I’ll be knocking on your door for a job!”
“You bet. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but Dr. Luna mentioned he might have a way for you to complete your nursing requirements.”
“He did? How?”
“He didn’t give me the details but we can talk to him about it when we get there.”
“Holy Fuck! That is fantastic news. Thanks!”
“Hey, don’t thank me. It’s Dr. Luna you can thank. Tell me about your brothers. I wanted to meet Jackson today, but we’re on a tight schedule. How is my brother doing as a father-to-be?”
“Steel is a perfect mate for Jackson. He’s always there, protecting and doing everything for him.”
Slate snorted. “That sounds like my brother. He was always looking out for me as a child. It used to piss me off something fierce. But I’m sure Jackson doesn’t look at it that way.”
“I don’t think so. I know there’re times my brother puts Steel in his place. Hey, did you ever hear about our first Full Moon Run with your parents and Steel?”
“No, tell me. In fact, tell me as many stories about my brother as you can. I need an arsenal to use when he gets on my ass.”
“Well, that night was the first time any of us had seen a huge Dire Wolf and boy were my brothers uncomfortable…” By the time the plane landed, Colton had given Slate enough stories he could use to tease Steel for years to come.