Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
I sensed the kid staring at me while I got my second pint—and Paul better get back soon. Did he have anything left to shit out? I just wanted to get some food and then go back to my hotel room. Because I was setting the alarm for five. We had a rental ready to be picked up.
“I don’t think you’re a civilian,” Elliott decided.
“Who said I was?” I asked.
“You said you’re not military.”
He could think on that for a moment, because I saw Paul returning through the crowd. He eyeballed someone who almost spilled his beer over him, then made his way over and sat down on my other side.
“Goddamn day care,” he grumbled. “Let’s eat so we can fuck off. I have a physical to bullshit my way through tomorrow at noon.”
I smirked while he scanned the little menu on the bartop. “You could also rest up before the next contract. At least till you’re shitting solid again.”
He winced and shifted on the stool. “My ass is on fuckin’ fire.”
I laughed, even though I commiserated. I mean, we’d all been there—and were likely to revisit. It was more a rule than an exception when you went to regions where clean water was scarce.
When the bartender came by again, we ordered two baskets of wings and fries, and Paul, the dumb fuck, wanted his extra hot. Had he been Danny, I would’ve made him order the grilled cheese. It was the mildest item on the limited menu.
Danny, Danny, Danny.
I miss you, baby boy.
“Jones! We gotta get back to the ship!”
I threw a sideways glance as some punk came up next to Elliott, drunk off his ass, and dragged the guy with him. Elliott laughed and drained the last of his beer before he shoved the other one off him.
“I’m not the one who needs help walking, fucker.”
I shook my head and returned my attention to Paul’s whining.
With Paul passed out in the back seat, I broke every speed limit on the way to DC the following morning.
I’d reported back to Terrance, and then I’d called TJ to dig for clues about where I might find Danny today. He had his first counterterrorism class at ten, and then he had infiltration tactics right after. So, depending on traffic…
Once we got past Richmond, I could almost taste our reunion. I was gonna hug him so hard he couldn’t breathe, even if I had to lock us in a bathroom for privacy.
“I might need to stop again,” Paul groaned.
I eyed him in the rearview. “Mate, are you sure it’s nothing worse than the runs?”
“Pretty sure,” he replied. “No fever, no nausea, no headache.”
Fair enough. “I gotta get gas anyway. You should drink something.”
“I’m just gonna tough it out till I get the sweet relief of my banana bag.”
I snorted. “Okay, tough guy.”
We did have to stop ten or so minutes later, but after that, I was done. If he needed to go to the bathroom again, he’d have to stick his ass out the window. Because the closer we got to DC, the more nervous I got. And it was fucked, right? It was just nerves and irrational fears. Like…if he’d suddenly met someone new. Or he’d changed his mind and hightailed it back to Kentucky. Which no one had done ever. He’d be the first in history to do so.
Arden would laugh if he saw me now.
He’d laugh when I told him Danny and I were together too.
No, scratch that. He wouldn’t laugh. He’d smile smugly and say something like, “As predicted. Good.”
In my defense, I was incredibly jet-lagged. Jet lag was, on its own, a mindfuck.
Another reason not to tell Danny I was in love with him yet.
I was gonna wait until I was fairly sure he felt the same.
He’d feel the same eventually.
Yeah?
“Fuck. Payne, I—”
“Clench the fuck down, mate,” I said abruptly. “We’re twenty minutes out.”
“You’re mean.”
Paul ran for the restrooms past the elevators in the lobby.
I walked briskly for Danny, stuffie safely secured in my leather jacket, despite it being the middle of summer.
Rather than stowing away my duffel in my locker on the second floor first, I took the elevator up one flight. Danny should be halfway through his infiltration tactics class, and I was going to be the bastard who knocked and asked to sit in.
Leg and I went way back, so I knew he wouldn’t mind.
When I reached the classroom, I knocked twice and leaned closer.
“…and that’s why… That’s why you can’t stop studying.” The voice came closer. “How else will you infiltrate anything? To infiltrate is to blend in and become one with a community, no matter how small. You must know the local culture, the language, the accent, the terrain—et cetera. If you don’t…? You will doubt yourself. You might lose a second when you hesitate, and that’s all it takes sometimes.” With that said, Leg opened the door and smiled in surprise. “Payne. Welcome back.”