“Why’d you leave?” Aaron asked.
“Things change,” Kreed answered absently, breaking open an egg in the full pan of bacon grease. His mom would have a heart attack watching him cook these eggs in all that fat. “How many do you want?”
“Four, if that’s okay?” Aaron asked.
Kreed stifled a smirk; as he’d suspected, food had done the trick and changed the course of smart boy’s thoughts. That was a handy bit of knowledge about his new partner.
“Sure. Did you get enough sleep?” Kreed asked, adding another egg.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Kreed glanced back as Aaron tilted his mug to drain the rest of the coffee then walked over to pour himself another cup. The kid was dressed in his new clothes—a pair of khakis and a striped button-down. He wore a pair of nice dress shoes on his feet. His handsome face was clean shaven, but his hair was still wet from the shower he’d taken.
Kreed looked down at his bare chest and pajama pants hanging low. Well shit, too low. A plumber wouldn’t have much on him right now. He reached down and pulled up his pants, tying them at the waistband. Okay, Aaron wasn’t Mitch. He and Mitch were comfortable together. He and Aaron? Not so much. A hint of professionalism was probably in order for now. He turned the eggs, removing the ones that were done. He needed to go grab a T-shirt. “I won’t be so casual after this morning. I figured it was my last downtime for a while. I’m sorry about this.”
“Are you carrying your weapon now?” Aaron asked with a hint of sarcasm. Kreed looked over his shoulder to see Aaron buttering the toast, a teasing smirk on his face as he lifted his head and they made eye contact.
“It’s close by,” Kreed said, lifting the hand towel on the counter beside him, his pistol sitting underneath.
“I never doubted it.” They worked the rest of the meal together in silence. Kreed dished up the bacon and eggs while Aaron added the toast. Before he took his seat, he ran back to his room, grabbed the wife-beater he’d worn last night then decided to toss that one aside in favor of a blank T-shirt instead. “I Like Dick” wasn’t professional, no matter how much Mitch had insisted it was.
“OJ, too?” Aaron called out.
“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.
As he worked at the table, Kreed gave a couple of silent prayers. The first one was that he’d get a hold of himself where those nipple rings were concerned. The second? Well, that belonged to the problem of his rock har
d cock. He needed the evidence growing inside his jeans to lay the fuck down. This was bad. He had a civilian under his care and protection who was going undercover in dangerous territory. What the fuck was wrong with him?
On a low, disgusted growl, Kreed began an inner reprimand. The mission came first. Whatever he wanted to do with Aaron Stuart should have already happened and, since it hadn’t, should be put on the farthest backburner until they were safely on the other side of this particular mission. Kreed had led this whole investigation to this moment. He fucking had to focus.
With a deep breath, Kreed slowly exhaled and channeled his inner secret agent, forcing that man to take over as he began to explain the devices on the table. The blade and ankle holster would come last. He anticipated their biggest fight to be right there. Kreed turned toward Aaron and started from the beginning, as much for himself as for his temporary partner.
“The name of the game’s building a case. Our sole purpose is to find the information we’re looking for. Get in, get out. Minimal to no collateral damage. If what we’re looking for is there like we think, then we build a case that holds up for prosecution. Got it?” Kreed asked, looking at Aaron, who stood there silently staring at him with his shirt now hanging completely open. Kreed swallowed the lump forming in his throat at the sight of a wide-eyed, sexy hot, smart boy looking so unsure and inviting all at the same time.
“I don’t know the law on this…” Aaron started, but Kreed cut him off.
“That’s not for you to worry about. Undercover work finds the physical evidence that justifies the arrest warrant. Think of this as an accumulation of the last year’s work coming down to the next few days. We find the proof we need or move on. It’s that simple. Got it?”
Aaron gave a very small nod and said nothing, so Kreed continued.
“Here’s what we got.” Kreed moved his hand over each section of the equipment on the table as he explained their purposes.
“This is visual. These are the cameras we’ll use.” Kreed waited until Aaron nodded before he began explaining each device. “These are fixed visuals—the cameras you’ll place to monitor everything in a room. Small, easy to hide, but pick up a large range.” Kreed picked one up and showed Aaron until he got another nod then put that one down. He grabbed another couple of devices, palming both, and pointed to each one as he spoke. “These are the moving visuals—the ones we place on you and the ones you can apply to moving objects. Got it so far?” Kreed waited a heartbeat for that nod.
“Next is audio. Electronic eavesdropping for the phones. They tap and trace both ingoing and outgoing information.” Kreed carefully picked up that device, holding it in his palm. This was the one he planned to have Aaron wear. “For today, it’s important you stay contained to one area of the church until we know better what we’re working with. Got it? The visuals you capture and create today, helps us map the place out, make sure nothing’s changed from the blueprints we’ve pulled. It’s a form of reconnaissance work. It’s a critical step in the process. It keeps you safe and gives us a clue how to get in there if everything comes to a head like we think it will. Let me say it again. Your job’s twofold today—gettin’ your foot in the door and the passive reconnaissance through this device. Got it?”
“Yeah, what’s that?” Aaron asked, finally beginning to participate in the conversation as he stared at the pin in Kreed’s hand. Kreed extended his palm for a better look.
“We’ve evolved massively over the last ten years. I don’t have to tape anything to your chest today. As nice as all that is to look at,” Kreed said, giving a nod toward Aaron’s chest. “You can button your shirt back up, though I enjoyed watching you undress. Nice piercing,” Kreed added with a grin, feeling a little more on solid ground than when Aaron had first started undressing.
“Dude, are you kidding me?” Aaron asked, automatically buttoning his shirt. The irritation was back, real this time, and Kreed’s smile grew.
“You know, you gotta get it where you can. So listen. This’s important. We got the newest state of the art…”
“Yeah, whatever, I’m certain the technology’s already improved,” Aaron said, still disgruntled as hell as he began tucking his shirt back inside his pants.
“As I was saying, this right here is the newest covert recording device, aka a wire, from the bureau.” Kreed held his hand out to show the item. Aaron fastened himself back together as he looked down at the device in his palm.
“It looks like a flash drive,” Aaron said, sliding his buckle into place.
“Yep. We’ll stick this in your front shirt pocket. You don’t have to worry about placement. Either way, we’ll get whatever’s being said around you.” Kreed slid the device in Aaron’s pocket and reached for a writing pen. “This is the backup. They do the same thing.” He put that in the same pocket as the flash drive.
“I thought it’d be bigger than this,” Aaron said, pulling out the pen to get a better look. Kreed knew no one would see anything other than a writing pen, even if it was taken apart. “I remember watching movies as a kid where they had to wear all these wires and microphones.”
“Yeah, and the recorders taped around their belly, like that would ever work. At this point, I’ve started both devices, so everything we say’s now being recorded.” Kreed nodded, staring Aaron straight in the eyes so he would pick up his meaning.
“Next, we have this. It’s a cross pin, see? The jewels at each point do something. Video, audio.” He lifted the device and showed Aaron. “It’s active as well.”
Kreed placed the cross on the empty front pocket of Aaron’s dress shirt, letting his finger brush lightly across a nipple ring before reaching low to unbuckle his belt. Aaron’s breath hitched, his stomach muscles tensing slightly, before he batted Kreed’s hands away.
“Hey, what’re you doing?” Aaron’s eyes met his.
“As if we don’t have enough already, consider this backup. If something happens and everything else fails, we’ll still be able to get you out.” Kreed lifted his palm to show an encasing for his buckle. It didn’t replace it, but fit perfectly over the top. Kreed had insisted on this particular belt over all the cooler ones on display for this very reason. Kreed unbuckled the belt, clipped the piece in place, and when he started to re-buckle the belt, Aaron again swatted at his hands.
“I got it.” Aaron moved a step away, and Kreed watched as the kid straightened his clothing.
“From this moment forward, we’re a team. You blink and I know about it. Teamwork’s the only way to properly pull this off. You have your job. I have mine. Connors and Brown have theirs, and they’re both listening right now. We’re fluid and responsible for one another.” Kreed reached over for the ankle holster containing the Glock he’d been saving for last.
“No man left behind?” Aaron asked in a slightly mocking tone, until about halfway through that statement, when it must have occurred to him that he’d be the man left behind in this situation. If this weren’t so serious, he might have laughed at Aaron’s reaction.
“Something like that.”
“You ever left a man behind?” Aaron asked, uncertainty back in his voice.
“Never.” Kreed didn’t qualify the live or dead factor of that question as he dropped to one knee. The answer was true enough.
“What’re you doing?” Aaron started to take another step backward. Kreed stopped him, gripping his trousers.
“Stand still. I’m adding this. It’ll make me feel better and give you protection. It’s small, lightweight, and can be hidden at the top of your socks. No one’s gonna see it,” Kreed said, lifting Aaron’s pants, relieved when the kid didn’t fight him.
“You don’t anticipate I’ll need that, right?” Aaron asked as Kreed finished, then pulled the leg of his slacks back in place.
“No, not really. It’s just to make me feel better.” That lie seemed to pacify Aaron for the moment.
“And we can handle this with just us?” Aaron asked. The kid needed reass
urance; he’d figured that might be the reason why Aaron had little to no attitude with him today. Kreed patted Aaron on the shoulder before he turned away.
“For now. I’m trusting the process, and honestly, we’ll know a lot more once you’ve gotten on the inside. Until then, Skinner knows we can’t bring this down by ourselves. We won’t be asked to. But that’s his job in the chain. He’ll be ready when we need him,” Kreed said, checking the equipment left on the table. There was more he needed to explain, but this was enough to get Aaron started. He had to get hired before any of the rest really mattered anyway.
“What if that time’s tomorrow?” Aaron finally asked. The guy was smart; he didn’t leave too many stones unturned.
“It won’t be,” Kreed said, trying for reassurance. He reached for an earpiece then connected it to his ear.
“You don’t know that,” Aaron immediately replied. All startup jobs were nerve-racking to say the least. He got it; Aaron’s anxiety was rising, and he got that, too, but he’d need to calm himself in order to make this work. He had to try to talk the kid down, but supportive reassurance wasn’t really his strong suit.
“Maybe not. But I do know it won’t be tomorrow. If it were, though, Skinner’s a miracle worker. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m not letting you get hurt. Connors, are you getting this?” Kreed lifted a hand to his ear to push the small earbud farther in.
Connors came back with, “Affirmative.”
“All right, kid, we’re good. You’re good and I’m watching you close. Connors just told me in my ear that he’s got everything registered. The name of the game for you today’s to blend in and be helpful when you can. When you walk in that door, study every single person you see. Become them. Turn and angle yourself so we can see the place, but be natural about it. And for some reason, if they do have a young female staff, you need to stay away from ’em. You’re already too good-looking. You’ll attract attention, which negates from blending in and being unseen. Stay as quiet and inconspicuous as you can.” Kreed stared at Aaron, hoping he’d conveyed everything he could until he had a lightbulb moment. Kreed snapped his fingers, trying to remember that family’s name. “Take on the Duggar family persona. Not like that oldest one, but the others. Be like them—naïve to the point of almost dumb, not worldly. And remember, it’s against your moral code to be alone with a woman. Right? Isn’t that how they are?”
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