“Nah, coffee’s fine,” Kreed said loudly, tugging the T-shirt over his head as he came back in the kitchen, grabbed his coffee mug, and placed it on the table. Aaron brought the pot over and topped both cups off, giving a quick warmup. Kreed reached for the silverware he’d laid on the counter, but he kept an eye on Aaron the whole time. The kid was different this morning. He’d participated in making breakfast, worked together with Kreed, and that was just plain odd, almost as if the guy forgot to put up the walls he normally placed between them and… That thought caused Kreed to speculate. Whatever had changed, they were oddly comfortable with one another right now—more comfortable than they’d been since he’d picked the kid up at the airport. Kreed liked this easiness they shared.
“It looks good,” Aaron commented as Kreed placed the silverware by each place setting before going for the refrigerator and pulling out some fresh fruit he’d found and cut up earlier.
“Do you have enough?” he asked before sitting. Aaron had already taken his seat and was in the process of digging in.
Aaron looked up, confused, his entire focus rested on the food in front of him.
“Not being snarky, just asking. I can make some more. No problem. We can’t have you going over there hungry.”
“No, I’m good. I like to eat, but I can go without.” Aaron gestured with the piece of toast as though it were no big deal, then bit off a big chunk and went back to focusing on his plate. Kreed shook his head and put the bowl of fruit in front of Aaron then sat down.
“You don’t miss too many meals. I’ve seen you get all snippy when you do. Remember I was in the room when you threw a fit over the pizza,” Kreed teased as he took a bite of the bacon. Colt’s little bacon-wrapped meat show came to mind, and Kreed could physically feel his arteries hardening, but, man, it had tasted good.
“That was more Connors’s fault than the lack of pizza. The pizza just got the brunt of it all. But honestly, I think I was figuring out that you had a strategic plan the whole time and there was no way I was escaping.”
“All right, I’ll give you that one. Are you ready for today?” Kreed asked, trying to keep at a distance the unexpected worry that had him all funky last night.
“I gotta test some things and go over the file, but yeah, I think so,” Aaron said between bites.
“And in layman’s terms, what’s your plan?” Kreed asked. All that techie talk was its own kind of foreign language.
“Layman terms… Okay, well. I’m walking in to apply for a job. I have the takedown ready to activate remotely. Their system’s scheduled to stop while I’m there, and I graciously offer to take a look, then fix it. Hopefully, that should secure me a job,” Aaron explained. When he stopped talking, he shoved the bite he’d prepared into his mouth. Aaron lifted a finger, holding off any questions.
Kreed waited for him to continue, smiling when he added another bite.
Aaron swallowed and lifted the napkin to wipe his mouth before he continued talking. “While I’m in their system correcting the attack, I’ll set the series of spy software for the bureau. It won’t take long to infiltrate. The rest happens automatically when they log back in after I shut them down. Pretty standard stuff. I’ll just hide what I’ve done really well, lead anyone looking on a wild goose chase.”
“And I’ll be here listening and watching,” Kreed added. The kid seemed steady and secure, not too nervous, and he wanted to keep him that way. “I feel kind of lame now. You’re gettin’ to be the Ethan Hunt in this deal. Knox and I always fight for that spot. I just have to sit back and watch you have all the fun.”
Aaron chuckled, chewing quickly. “From where I’m standing, it feels like you have the most important part. Goal number one’s to get hired. Goal number two is to get them to start me tomorrow so I can do more. If not, it’ll probably be after the New Year’s holiday.”
“Damn, I keep forgetting about that. We have an automatic down day right there,” Kreed said, pushing his plate out of the way.
“Yeah, I know,” Aaron added, cleaning his plate before he moved it aside. A weird comfortable silence fell between them, which was another first. Kreed wasn’t in a mindset to let that go easily. He drained his coffee, thinking about everything Aaron had said. Honestly, it was probably better to get the smart boy in there today, then give their team a day or two to reassess and reevaluate. Let the bureau watch any private activity that might be going on inside the church when no one’s around. After a minute more, Kreed pushed back from the table, taking his and Aaron’s dishes to the sink.
“Let me take a shower, then I’ll wire you up. Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll get ’em later.” He flipped on the faucet, plugged the drain, and quickly settled several of the dirty dishes inside the sink then left the kitchen to start his day.
~~~
All business, Kreed inspected the equipment spread across the kitchen table while glancing at Aaron as he prepared for being wired. Aaron stood close by where he’d been instructed to stand, his khakis unbuttoned and slightly unzipped; the waistband of his underwear showing while he began working the buttons free of his crisp, highly pressed dress shirt. As the shirt opened, Kreed got a flash of Aaron’s nipple rings.
As attractive as that sight might be, and no matter how badly he wanted to tease the silver hoop with his tongue and take the metal between his teeth until Aaron moaned, Kreed conceded there were more pressing obligations to tend to at the moment. But, damn it if Aaron undressing right in front of him wasn’t the biggest distraction on this planet. And his dick was straight-up against the notion of anything else taking precedence.