AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ed chuckled, grabbed one last kiss, then released Max. “Got it. We’re on a junk food run.”
He and Charlie were out the door before more orders could be shouted at them. Not that it mattered. Kairo would be texting them on the way with additional requests. Keys in hand, Ed dropped behind the wheel of the rental car and headed west toward the Nile. From there, they would turn south, go past the temple complex and locate the hotel.
Luxor wasn’t too difficult to navigate as long as he could use the Nile as a point of reference and remember which bank he was on. Since arriving in the city, they’d not explored the West Bank yet, but that was likely going to start tomorrow. Max was expecting to hear from his geology and survey specialist very soon.
His route planned in his head, he turned his attention to his silent companion madly texting on his smartphone. He’d known Charlie for a decade now, and there was no one in his world he trusted more. The guy was that smart older brother a person needed in his life. It didn’t hurt that he was as fallible as the rest of them. God knew they’d all tried to talk some sense into him when it came to Will. Ed was just glad it all worked out in the end.
“Hey? Will okay?” Ed inquired over the soft shush of the tires on the road and the ripple of wind through the crack in the window. Common sense said that it got cold in the desert at night, but his brain still struggled to wrap itself around this much cold considering how damn hot it was during the day.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. Will’s okay.” Charlie put his phone facedown on his leg and slumped in his chair, placing his elbow on the car door. “He’s overthinking things.”
“Doc Will? Never,” Ed teased, his voice filled to the brim with sarcasm.
Charlie huffed a laugh and rested his head on his fist. “Will has worked in some dangerous areas in hard conditions, but I think when he was doing that work, he was warned ahead of time. He knew what he was in for.”
Ed hummed softly. He got it. “We’re hitting him with the unknown from all sides.”
“I think he would have been fine if we’d been able to steal a break in Greece after the Kairo-Izzie thing was settled, but…”
He winced, hand tightening on the steering wheel as he pulled them to a smooth stop at a red light. “Sorry about that.”
“Not your fault,” Charlie quickly countered. “Shit happens. Max was meant to land in our laps. It’s just a shame we didn’t have more breathing space between the missions.” Charlie sighed. “I think this craving thing is just Will’s brain demanding something familiar to give him a sense of normalcy and control.”
“Could be worse. Could be heroin.”
Charlie snort-laughed and punched Ed in the arm. “Asshole.”
The light turned green again and they moved slowly down the street. Most of the traffic had disappeared with the setting of the sun as the locals returned home and the tourists settled in their hotels. Well, all except those taking in the Light and Sound show at Karnac.
He’d been tempted to see if that was something Max wanted to check out since Karnac was one of his favorite places. The only problem was that Max would be far more vulnerable at night thanks to the bastards hunting him. They’d have to bring out the entire team to keep him safe, and that wasn’t fair to everyone else. But maybe after…
Ed shook his head at himself. Already planning for after the job was done, and he didn’t even know if there could be an after for them. Or if Max was interested in an after.
He seemed interested, but how would that even work with his job and Max’s job? Their lives had intersected in this one moment but were ultimately headed in different directions.
“Can I ask you…when you found Will in Buenos Aires, how serious were you about leaving the team?”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Charlie stare at him with one eyebrow raised and a lift to the corner of his mouth. “Things that serious between you and Max?”
“Nah. Not really. I was just thinking…” Ed quickly brushed off his question.
“With Will? As serious as a heart attack. I love you guys. You know that. I love what I do when I’m with you guys. But Will…”
“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime boyfriend,” Ed finished.
“Will is the other half of my soul. He’s the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. So yeah, when I first got him back in my clutches, I thought the only way I could lock Will down and keep him was to settle into domestic bliss. The house, dog, and little doctor’s practice.”
