Kreed’s internal instincts had him tense and reactive. For what, he didn’t know, but he’d armed himself as if he were going on a raid and stayed poised to do whatever it took to get to Aaron. The doorbell chimed. Kreed jerked his head in that direction, quickly tugging the earbud free to remove Connors’s nonstop voice from his ear. He stared at the wall separating him from the kitchen that led to the entry, like the walls would magically open to show him the answer of who rang the bell.
Seconds passed before he heard some noise in the general vicinity of the front door. He hated moving from the computer screen, but he did, staying along the walls, quietly walking through the house to carefully lift a front window blind, seeing a man carrying a box toward the front door. A moving van was parked at the curb. Kreed relaxed. That was most likely Aaron’s delivery.
Kreed swiftly went back to the monitor to see Aaron exiting the building. The relief of him leaving the church drained some of the tension from Kreed’s body. He moved back to the window, lifted the edge of a blind, and watched Aaron keep his head down and begin to jog his way across the street toward the house.
He’d managed to get his work done and stay in one piece. Good job! Kreed headed back to the entryway as he listened to metal clink against metal as the key unlocked the door. The cold wind swept through the house as he caught the sound of shuffling boxes. Kreed stayed right around the corner of the door, letting Aaron handle the boxes until he heard the door close. He eased around the wall, meeting Aaron, who had a bright smile plastered across his handsome face. The nervousness and anxiety of the last few hours immediately faded away. Aaron was excited and coming straight toward him.
“It was a piece of cake,” he said, beaming. He lifted a hand, and Kreed obliged, raising his for a celebratory high five. “What a serious rush.”
“You did really well. We got good visual and everything you gave us is working spot-on. Connors is astonished, which is kind of a little weird, but they’re already at work, digging in. He’s like a kid in a candy store.” Kreed trailed behind Aaron as he moved to the kitchen, reaching for a glass then filling it with water from the refrigerator.
“They just bought it. There wasn’t any question. That old man needed his shit done and he didn’t care how I did it. It probably helped I look like this, but, man, that’s cool as shit. I really thought they’d send me packing when I walked in there.” Kreed watched as Aaron took a long drink. He was so unguarded right now—animated and excited, clearly very proud of himself. Kreed finally caved and smiled at Aaron’s reactions. He propped a shoulder against the small wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. He’d process all that anxiety he’d experienced later. Aaron needed this moment. He’d done better than even he expected.
Aaron’s legs were moving before he even finished off the water. He tossed the plastic glass in the sink then turned to pace the room. His smile continued to grow as he came to stand right in front of Kreed. “It’s a serious rush.”
“I know.” Kreed nodded, not able to hide his own growing grin as he crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted so badly to pull Aaron into his arms and just hold him and share in his excitement. Aaron’s smile did something magical to his face and made Kreed’s knees weak. He couldn’t explain the feelings coursing through his body at the moment. They were new and foreign, and frankly, they scared the shit out of him, especially with how worried sick he’d been just a few minutes ago over the guy’s safety.
“I get why you do this job. Is it always like this?” Aaron asked, standing an arm’s length away, his knee bouncing with excitement.
“Not all the time, but enough,” Kreed answered. Aaron nodded.
“I was actually disappointed when they said for me to start on the second. I wanna get in there and get that place wired up. That old pastor’s a creep, man. He’s like the crypt keeper. Did you see that statue of him? Who does that?” Aaron asked, his eyes going to the weapon on Kreed’s hip. “Why are you wearing that?”
Kreed looked down at the holster. That wasn’t the only firearm he wore. This being out in the open, on the hip, attested to the serious bad vibes he’d picked up, even as early as seeing that statue in the lobby. Kreed looked back at Aaron and decided to wait to give his honest answer. He didn’t want to bust the bubble the kid was riding on.
“I told you I always wear a weapon,” he said casually.
“I’ve never seen it before,” Aaron replied and took a step backward, surveying Kreed. He watched as that handsome brow furrowed. Obviously Aaron had checked him out enough to know that he hadn’t been wearing his weapon all the time. That thought made Kreed’s heart do a little dip.
“That’s because we’ve never needed me to have easy access. If you’d have gotten into a bad spot, you wouldn’t want to wait for me to arm up, now would you?” He was still propped with his shoulder against the wall, his thick arms crossed over his chest. Aaron came forward and poked at his chest, then placed both hands on his pecs. A few days ago, he would have loved that move. Today, however, the concern of keeping Stuart safe outweighed everything.
“It’s a bulletproof vest.” Aaron’s confused gaze lifted to his.
“Part of the uniform. You have to know that,” Kreed said, mockingly. “If I’m going in, that means shit got bad.”
“I guess so.” Aaron studied him for a minute more before he turned, leaving the kitchen. “Is Connors still on?”