“He did?” Aaron grinned broadly and ran across the space, not caring who was watching. “Did he tell you what he did?”
I shook my head. “No, we didn’t have long. What happened?”
Aaron chuckled. “That crazy bastard.”
“What?” Rachel said, cutting a glance at me.
“Come on, I’ll tell ya the whole story,” he said, gathering us out of the main warehouse where customers were still wandering around, looking at the variety of planes on display. Aaron’s other staff members would see to them. He took us down the same hallway we’d gone down the first day we arrived, but we passed the break room and went into the next room, which was his personal office.
Once inside, he shut the door and turned toward us. “It’s not on the news yet, but my buddy who’s been giving me updates called and told me Boomer was safe in Turkey, and that he took out an entire underground base in the process.”
“He what?” I went slack jawed. Even without knowing the details, the amount of danger he’d put himself in hit me straight in the gut.
Aaron was still smiling and shook his head in disbelief. As I watched him, I could almost see the movie he must have had constructed inside his own head. “Story is…after he landed, he took his ass up the mountain to get a better vantage point and keep out of sight. One day, he was hiking through the mountain and saw an airstrip at some rebel base. So, the next day, he snuck down, knocked out the guard outside the base, took off in the plane, and dropped a bomb right on top of their head. The whole thing piled up in rocks and debris. Whoever was holed up in that mofo isn’t getting out anytime soon.”
Somewhere in the middle of the re-telling, my hand had flown up to cover my mouth. When Aaron finished, I pried it away long enough to ask, “Is he insane?”
Aaron dropped his head back and howled with laughter. “Hey, I told you that if anyone was getting out of that fuckin’ desert, it’d be Boomer!”
Rachel’s expression was a mix of horror and confusion. “That’s like something from a movie.”
“Better than a movie,” Aaron corrected. “Hey! Maybe when he gets back he can write a book about it and get a movie deal!”
I rolled my eyes. The shock of the tale had worn off, and all that was left was the urge to punch him in the face for doing something so risky. But I knew the anger wouldn’t hold. As soon as I saw him again, I’d turn into a ball of mush and wouldn’t be able to stop kissing him long enough to act on my urge to teach him a lesson.
“So, he called you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we were at Carly’s and Rachel was inside when my phone rang. I didn’t know who it was, but it was him. He said they were putting him on a plane back to California.”
Aaron shook his head. “God, I can’t believe it. My best friend is a war hero.”
“Well, I’m just glad he’s safe.” I didn’t have the same taste for fame and spotlight as Aaron apparently did. And I had a feeling Jack wouldn’t either.
“The real question is, how on earth am I going to get any sleep tonight?”
Aaron winked in my direction. “Well ya better, cause as soon as he gets home, I doubt you’ll be getting much of it.”
I blushed at Aaron’s blunt statement and Rachel laughed.
Despite Aaron’s advice, it was impossible to sleep, and I finally gave up and rolled out of bed around four in the morning. Rachel was snoring softly beside me on the pull out bed, and I tiptoed from the living room and into the kitchen. It was still dark outside and I paced around the kitchen, unsure if I was hungry or just bored and antsy. The siren call of the leftover pastries got the best of me, and I settled in at the kitchen table with a cinnamon roll and a tall glass of milk.
Hopefully Jack wouldn’t mind the extra layer of padding around my middle from all the gourmet treats. Then again, since our last call, I hadn’t been able to eat much of anything. So it was nice to have a normal appetite again.
I’d carried my phone with me into the kitchen, and as I was polishing off the last bite of the cinnamon roll, a text message came in.
It was from Jack.
Good morning, baby. I hope you’re ready to see me. I’m officially on US soil. Granted, I’m still entirely too far away from you. Just landed in New York.
My stomach dropped and I fell to my knees. “Jack.”
I smiled and typed out a quick reply:
I must have known you were getting close. I haven’t been able to sleep. Just got out of bed.