“Got it.”
Together, we went up the wooden, carpet-lined stairs to the third floor. The top floor of the house was a small hallway with two bedrooms on both sides. Kid picked out the bigger of the two and led me inside of it. The room was adorable, big enough for a bed, a dresser, and a desk, with an en suite bathroom and a round window over the bed that looked out over the neighborhood.
He set down my bag and turned to me.
“Thanks,” I said. “But I think I can take it fr—”
I didn’t get a chance to finish. Kid placed his hand on the small of my back again, but this time pulled me in close, planting a kiss on my lips that turned me into gelatin. My eyes went wide, but I quickly fell into the kiss, his tongue meeting mine and his musk surrounding me.
In that moment, I was sure that I’d do anything he wanted. Instead of taking things further, however, he pulled back, a sexy smile on his face, his dark eyes gazing down at me.
“I’m not afraid to share. You want to take me for a test drive, well, you know where I am.”
Without another word, he left the bedroom and softly shut the door behind him.
I dropped down on the edge of the bed, my eyes wide.
An excitement unlike any I’d ever known in my life flowed through me. I couldn’t wait to see what was next.
27
AJAX
Being at home made everything seem a bit more doable. I was seated on the back porch, a beer close at hand as I looked out over the small, but well-maintained backyard. The breeze was perfect, and for a moment I could even pretend that we weren’t on the run for our lives.
The window was open, and inside in the kitchen I could hear Pyke on the phone with King Finn. Judging by the way of his calm, even tone, I guessed that the king had settled down a bit from the news that we’d taken his daughter out of the country.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, a text from my brother. He was just now starting the drive back from base, which meant he’d be in around dinner time. His wife was staying near the base, and I supposed they figured that a house full of roughneck mercs wasn’t the best place for a pregnant lady trying to take it easy.
I answered the text, putting in a request for some pizzas from DiAngelo’s, one of our local favorites. He agreed, telling me that I better not clear the beer from the fridge by the time he got back.
The door opened as I tucked my phone back into my pocket. Pyke stepped out, putting his hands on the small of his back and leaning backward, a series of cracks sounding as he popped his joints.
“God, this is the closest thing to a vacation we’ve had in a while,” he said. “Feels damn good to be back home.”
“No kidding. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that when this mission’s over and done with, we take the rest of the summer off.”
He let out a snort of a laugh. “Good call.”
I had a spare beer ready for him, handing it over as Pyke took a seat on the bench next to me.
“What’s the story with King Finn?”
“He’s fine. Well, as fine as a dad can be at the idea of his daughter fleeing to America to not get killed. He said he’s got his guys working round the clock trying to track down Jurgen. We’ll see how it pans out.”
I nodded. Pyke sipped his beer and leaned forward, looking off into the distance. I could tell what he had on his mind.
“Shannon know you’re here?” I asked. It was a dumb question, but the point was to let him know that the subject of his wife and kid were on the table if he wanted to talk about them.
He shook his head. “Nope. And I’ve got no plans to tell her.”
“Understandable.”
“Might go see Connor, though. If we’ve got time.”
I didn’t like the idea of the group splitting up. But Pyke going to see his son was something I’d be more than happy to make an exception for. He didn’t say anything else, which was his way of letting me know he didn’t want to talk about it. Fair enough—it was a rough subject.
He clapped his hand down on my shoulder as he got up.