Chapter Two
It wasn’t a long drive from Atlanta to Tampa, Aeslyn made it with minimal stops. She realized how much faster she could get somewhere when Ash and his inability to sit still for long periods wasn’t along for the ride.
Aeslyn stopped off at a hotel near her client’s address, took a few minutes to freshen up then left again to scout her target. She parked a few houses away and sat back to wait. The house was a cute one story with a large front porch. Looking left or right the houses all around were almost identical. She never was a fan of the cookie cutter neighborhoods. He probably had one of those homeowner’s associations that sent you a warning letter because your grass was one inch long instead of the required three-quarters of an inch.
Pack life was so much better, they had a lot of land to run free on and no two houses in the area were alike. She had lived in the same house till the day she turned eighteen then she got an apartment with Ash and they started their business. She had known him her entire life, he was six months older than her and had lived next door.
Thoughts about home were interrupted when a small SUV pulled into the driveway she was watching.
“Fuck me.” Aeslyn’s mouth went dry, a tall man in a military uniform got out. Her mind and her vagina got excited at the same time, she really hoped this was the man she was being paid to watch. She admired his ass as he leaned in the backseat.
For the second time in five minutes, Aeslyn’s jaw dropped open. The sex god pulled a small boy out of the car and set him next to his leg, he then went in and pulled an identical boy out and set him down next to his twin. She started to sweat when he went in the third time, she let out a huge breath of relief when he pulled out a duffel bag instead of a third child. She was starting to wonder if his car was like Mary Poppins bag and kids were going to keep getting pulled out.
She couldn’t help but smile watching the man chase the boys into the house, she could see the laughter on their faces as they ran from him. She really hoped this was not the man she was guarding, it was bad enough trying to protect one person who may have a killer after them but adding kids to the mix made the situation a lot more dangerous.
Once the family was inside Aeslyn grabbed her cell phone and dialed, Gerri picked up on the first ring. “Hi Gerri, I am in Tampa and I may have eyes on your friend's grandson. Would you happen to know if he is military?”
“Wow, you made excellent time, thank you for getting there so quickly. I believe I did hear he was in the Air Force. Does that complicate things? Is he living on base?”
“If he was living on base this would be impossible but I’m lucky and he lives a couple of miles away. Do you know if he’s married or has children? If there are others to think about I am going to tell Ash to rush down here faster than originally planned.” Aeslyn bit her lip contemplating the heartthrob she could see standing in front of the living room window.
“I’m sorry but I don’t know, I didn’t ask my friend for specifics. She seemed so distraught I called you immediately.”
“That’s okay, I’m sure this is the guy. I’ll have Ash run his plates and verify just to be safe. I’ll keep you posted.” Aeslyn hung up the phone and found Ash’s name in her phone.
Run this plate for me, EKG 473. Kids may be involved, might need you ASAP. She hit send on the text and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat.
She rested her head against the seat and watched the house, every once in a while, she would see the man walk by one of the windows. Thirty minutes later her senses went on full alert, a car pulled down the road and slowed down. She watched as it rolled to a slow stop in front of the house. She grabbed the gun from under her seat and had the door cracked open when a guy got out carrying a bag of to go food. She relaxed a little but stayed on alert in case it was a trap.
Her mouth went dry again when Sebastian answered the door, he had one boy sitting on his foot with his body wrapped around his leg and the other boy was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Her stomach tightened as she watched him throw his head back and laugh at something the delivery guy had said. She had never been turned on by one of her target’s before, she was suddenly very worried about her ability to stay focused.
As she watched the car drive away her phone buzzed. Ash’s reply confirmed the car belonged to Sebastian, she cursed, a part of her hoped it wasn’t him.
Is there a wife? I see two small kids
She saw the little bubble pop up showing Ash was typing, she waited, worrying how she was going to manage to keep all three of them safe.
Her phone buzzed again,
Court docs show he has full custody, not sure if mom is in the picture at all.
Aeslyn felt guilty at the relief she felt, she shook her head chiding herself for being happy the guy was single.
Thanks for the info, I’ll let you know if I think there is any danger or if grandma is worrying about nothing. No wild parties while I’m gone and for god sakes use the coasters!
Aeslyn chuckled at the emoji of a happy face sticking its tongue out at her and a hand flicking her off. He is such a terrible roommate.
She grabbed the bag of chips out of the grocery bag on the seat and sat back to snack while she watched over the family inside who were blissfully unaware of the danger they may be in.