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“Yeah,” Hud said, speaking for all of us. “We’re in.”
25
PYKE
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty, we’ve got this. Your team does their part, and we’ll do ours.”
I couldn’t believe that Ajax had managed to talk the king down. It was two days later, we were on the plane, andthat’swhen Ajax had chosen to let the king know that we were headed to the states.
I sat and waited for whatever was next. The conversation hadn’t started so nicely. Ajax had pulled up the king on his personal line and wasted no time dropping the bomb that we were in France and about to fly Vic to the states.
His reaction had been something else. Apparently, kings don’t like it when you tell them you’re about to cart their daughters halfway across the world without their permission. Ajax was good at shit like this, however, managing to explain to him that Blanc Mont was no longer secure and that if we stayed in Europe, it was only a matter of time before Jurgen found us.
“No, I understand completely, Your Majesty.” It was a total trip to hear Ajax use all of the royal niceties on the phone. It was a total buttering-up operation. “You’ll absolutely be in the loop from here on out. Yeah…let me get her.”
Ajax rose from his seat, stepping over and offering the phone to Vic. The princess’s eyes flashed when she saw him.
“Pops wants to talk to you, kiddo.”
She pursed her lips, then took it as she rose from her seat and stepped away from the guys. As she moved, I couldn’t help but notice a strange look on Hud’s face. I watched his eyes follow her toward the back of the plane as if he wanted to keep tabs on whatever her father was talking to her about.
In fact, Hud had been throwing all kinds of weird looks in Vic’s direction—affectionate, longing looks as if he were sweet on her. I’d gotten the impression that something odd had happened back at the brothel and, being the imaginative guy that I was, I’d come up with a few theories about what it could be. Namely, that Hud had done more than just check in with Vic that day.
“What’s the story with little Lord Fauntleroy?” I asked, leaning over toward Ajax’s row.
After I spoke, one of the other mercs hitching a ride on the cargo plane came down the aisle with a cooler in his hands, the thing packed with ice-cold beers. My mouth watered at the sight. Usually, I didn’t like to drink on ops. However, considering the flight was ten hours long, I didn’t see the harm in popping a cold one.
“Didn’t stewardesses used to be hot?” I asked with a shit-eating smirk as I fished out a tall boy of Bud.
The merc let out a laugh, followed by flipping me off with his free hand. Ajax grabbed a beer too, holding it to his head before cracking it open and taking a swig.
“You heard the long and short of it—not happy at first, but he saw reason. His guys are working around the clock to track down Jurgen and, most importantly, to tie him to the attack. Once that happens, it’s a matter of getting his ass locked up. With any luck, we can head to the states and pass the rest of the time watching baseball and having a few more of these.” He held his can up. “In the meantime, I’m gonna finish this and take a nap.”
“Sleep tight, sweetheart,” I said.
That got a middle finger from him too. Then he took a couple of long swigs of his beer and pulled his baseball cap down over his eyes, tucking the beer can into the mesh pocket on the back of the seat in front of him.
I drank my beer slowly as we took off, the green of France below disappearing under a white sheet of clouds. Truth be told, I was eager as all hell to get back to the states. Kid had mentioned pizza, putting the idea into my head and I knew it wasn’t going to leave until I’d sunk my teeth into a big, cheesy slice of New York style.
Between the beer and the daydreaming, the first hour of the flight zipped by. Eventually, I got to the point where I needed to stretch my legs. Polishing off the rest of my beer, I undid my belt and then slid out of my seat and into the aisle.
The cargo plane was huge, and the few rows of seats for passengers held more than a few other mercs all hitching a ride back stateside. Victoria was all the way in the back, a whole row to herself so she could lie down and get some rest. It was fine with me. No doubt she was still processing what had happened back at Blanc Mont. It was one thing to be told your life was in danger, but a hell of a whole other thing to actually get shot at.
I got up and went to the bathroom, passing by Victoria to make sure she was OK. It was impossible to look at her sleeping, however, and not be keenly aware of just how damn beautiful she was. Her blonde hair was draped around her face, her full lips parted a bit, her chest slowly rising up and down. I could only guess what the rest of the mission might hold, but for now, she was safe.
On the way back from the bathroom, I caught sight of Hud’s fire-red hair. Kid was sitting next to him, and I moved in slowly, sliding a row behind them. I wasn’t normally the type to listen in on conversations. All the same, I wanted some confirmation that there was some weird vibe going on in the group.
“I’m telling you,” I heard Hud say. “You need to just go for it. That’s what I did.”
Kid sat silently at first, and it was clear that he was having an internal debate about what Hud had said.
“You say it like it’s so damn simple.”
“That’s because itisso damn simple. Look, you’re feeling the same way I was, and here I am telling you that it’s no big deal at all. What’s there to worry about?”
“What if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if I make a move and she gets weirded out then runs to her father and tells him what’s going on?”
“That’s what I was worried about too, Kid. But here’s the thing—you want anything in this life, you’re going to have to put in some risk. Hell, we’remercs—risk is part and parcel of what we do. Come on now, you can’t tell me that you’re not scared to run into combat, but you are scared of going for what your heart wants.”
