Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 147789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“Yep. Done. Ha ha! Oh, man,” Aaron exclaimed, his eyes glued to the screen, even though he’d lowered one earbud in order to hear what Kreed was saying. He’d felt, more than heard, Kreed walk up behind him and watch over his shoulder.
“What kind of masks are those?” Kreed asked, bending to better see the laptop’s screen.
“Clowns. I’m always Dallas,” Aaron said, never stopping the flow of his fingers.
“Huh? Hurry up and do whatever. We gotta go.”
“I need to ship my equipment,” Aaron repeated, not moving.
“We’ve already discussed that. Get your ass movin’,” Kreed ordered, walking back through the open door. After a minute more, Aaron closed the laptop and moved out from under the fresh scent of Kreed’s cologne. How the hell was he going to sit next to that the entire trip to Texas while trying to manage the impending hard-on? If karma were on his side, maybe the flight would be booked and they would be forced to have to sit apart. As Aaron packed his laptop into his bag, he decided he might prefer sitting next to a crying baby over Kreed Sinacola, and he could only pray that would be the case.
Chapter 8
Aaron followed along behind Kreed through the back entrance of the airport. What a seriously better way to enter and deal with an airport. Kreed had managed, through official channels, to book them on the earliest flight out, forcing the airline to bump two passengers to another flight in order to make room for both of them on the plane. Aaron stood ready with his credit card in hand to purchase his ticket, but when he placed the plastic on the counter, Kreed did little more than look down, laugh, and hand his marshal service credentials to the airline employee behind the desk. Apparently she remembered Kreed, because she waved his badge off with a smile as she worked at entering their information.
The attendant never weighed their luggage. Instead, she fastened the ticket around each handle and dropped both on the conveyor belt behind her. She printed and handed over their tickets, and they were moving toward security in a matter of minutes.
When Aaron headed for the standard TSA security line, Kreed grabbed him by the back of the collar, guided him around the long line, and pushed him toward a back entrance. “You’re with me,” he growled.
“Okay, so you have the traveling pass?” Aaron asked. His parents did the fast-boarding passes, but he didn’t realize that it had its own area.
“Nah, it’s different than that being a US marshal.” Kreed opened a door, waving Aaron through first. Once inside the restricted area, Kreed placed a hand on the middle of his back and guided him to the side. Aaron looked around in amazement; it was a completely different setup.
“I’m Deputy Marshal Kreed Sinacola,” Kreed said to a person sitting behind a podium. He pulled his wallet and badge, flipping them open.
“I remember you. You’re Deputy Knox’s partner,” she said, checking his boarding pass and credentials. “How’s he doing?”
“Good. Ornery as always, but good.”
She gave a cackle as she stuck out her hand for Aaron’s information. “He always is. We see so many of you guys coming through here, but he’s got such a big personality,” she said, doing her thing with Aaron’s driver’s license before handing it back.
“Don’t tell him. He’s already got the big head.” Kreed laughed.
“Yeah, he’s not lacking in ego, I would imagine,” she grinned. “Have a good flight.”
“Will do,” Kreed said. Aaron didn’t immediately follow—because, seriously, was that all he had to do to board a flight?
“They aren’t even gonna check my bag?”
“Are you gonna bring that to their attention?” Kreed whispered in his ear, lifting a hand to the agent by the back door. “Besides, that’s the power of Mitch. He makes friends everywhere he goes. He’s this larger-than-life personality. People make allowances for him. They trust him.”
“I can see that,” Aaron said, feeling the same about Mitch himself. He’d been an unexpected friend since the very beginning.
“The flight’s probably boarding now. Let’s go.” Kreed took off, seeming to automatically know which way to go. Aaron followed, double-timing his steps to keep up.
When Aaron heard the overhead announcement calling their first and last names for final boarding, Kreed took off in a jog, looking over his shoulder to make sure Aaron followed. The flight was loading early, which meant all the seats were taken, and he’d be stuck in the crap seats no one wanted. His earlier hope that he’d sit next to a crying baby over Kreed became more of a reality than he truly cared to consider.
Picking up the pace, Aaron bypassed Kreed, moving quickly toward the gate. As they arrived, he went against his manners, edging past a small crowd still in line as he again heard the last call announcement overhead. Against an angry protest, Aaron stuck his boarding pass in the attendant’s face, praying Kreed’s tickets might offer preferential treatment. He relaxed some when the woman said, “We were afraid you weren’t going to make it.”
“Flight full?” he asked as she scanned his ticket. Since Aaron was so tuned in to Kreed, he knew the man had caught up without looking over his shoulder. He could sense his presence anywhere.
“Yes, but they saved you two seats.” She winked at Aaron like he was someone important and handed him back his pass. Kreed stuck his out, caging Aaron in as she scanned it. “I think you’ll like them. Roddy’s flying you out today. When he got the call you were boarding, he worked his magic.”
“Good boy,” Kreed said, sounding happy by the news. He took off down the jet bridge, leaving Aaron trailing this time.
“Who’s Roddy?” Aaron asked, moving slower, still several steps behind Kreed.
“Jealous?” Kreed asked, throwing him that sexy grin over his shoulder. Damn, he hated the way that grin made his heartbeat skip like that.
“Definitely not,” Aaron declared, giving Kreed a clear ‘you’re crazy’ look. Except he kind of was a little jealous. First, Sergio went nuts over Kreed, now Roddy was working magic. “Is he some government employee? Why does he hold seats like that?”