Tumult (TSS Series Book 1) by Lea Hart (13)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tuesday, October 17^th

Carrick looked over at Audrey as she arranged her things and hoped no one was going to come and take the seat next to the window. They had fifteen minutes before they were due for takeoff and if they got the row to themselves, then he had a chance of talking her into fooling around.

When she looked up and gave him a questioning glance, he wiped the dirty pictures from his mind and took her hand. “Comfortable?”

“Yes…what were you just picturing?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing means you were trying to figure out a way to fool around, but couldn’t.”

“Not necessarily.” Tilting his seat back, he closed his eyes. “You wore me out today and I plan on catching up on my rest so when we land in Munich in eight hours, I’ll be able to satisfy you.” Hearing her laugh made him open his eyes. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“Yes, it was because I’m the one who can barely walk.”

He leaned over and pulled her close. “You loved every minute of it.” Seeing her expression soften and her pupils dilate gave him a satisfaction he wasn’t prepared for; it hit him in a soft place in his chest that, up to that moment, hadn’t existed.

“I did, Carrick.” She laid her hand on his face and kissed him gently. “Maybe we’ll have a couple more chances before we part ways.”

Before he could respond, the announcements started and she pulled away and sat back. Why did the words “part ways” make his stomach clench? Didn’t make any sense, considering up until now he’d had no interest in a relationship. The fact that he got to spend some time with a smart, sexy woman and then walk away without any recriminations should be making his mood soar, and instead, it sent it to the crapper.

Watching Audrey stretch out her long legs reminded him of how they felt when she wrapped them around his hips and begged him for more. They’d been perfectly matched in their enthusiasm and he knew from experience that wasn’t an easy thing to find.

He had a raw appetite when it came to sex, and enjoyed a partner with whom he could share it. Audrey seemed to be that person, so perhaps that explained why the idea of them not having time to explore was making him upset.

Couldn’t be anything more because he wasn’t someone who was looking for a happy ever after.

Was he?

“So, Carrick…”

“Yes, Audrey.”

“Explain what happened when we checked in and all that paperwork you had to show the airline security agent.”

“I travel with firearms and the United States requires that I keep an updated CBP on file, which is a certificate of registration as well as an EEI which allows me to temporarily export personally owned firearms. I’ve got it in my duffle in a locked box and I had to show them that the keys were in my possession. I also had to show them my security clearance and proof that I’m an independent contractor with the CIA, which in turn allows me to fall under the Status of Forces Agreement.”

“And what is that?”

“It’s the agreement between a host country and foreign nation regarding military forces. Since I’m technically a Green Badger, I fall under that agreement and can take my weapon into foreign countries.”

“A Green Badger is what?”

“A CIA contractor.”

“Do you typically fly commercial when you’re working or do you all have a private fleet of planes that can whisk you into foreign countries in the dead of night to rescue people and right unimaginable wrongs?”

He let out a chuckle. “Leave it to a writer to make it sound a lot more glamorous than it is.” He took her hand and laced their fingers. “Titan does have planes as well as a private gunship, armed helicopters, and armored vehicles, but those are reserved for clients that need a private army. The bread and butter of the business is protecting people and places as well as offering training for team building events, self-defense, weekend warriors, and countries interested in developing their militia’s skills.

“The old days of billion-dollar government contracts are gone and unless we have another post-invasion Iraq scenario again, they’ll never return.”

“What is the difference between a mercenary and a private military contractor?”

He leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow. “Are we going to do PMC vs Mercenary 101?”

“Yes. We have many hours before we land, and I’d like to learn something new. I don’t know anything about it and want to understand what it is you do.”

“All right, get yourself ready…Mercs are soldiers for hire and PMCs are security guards for hire. The line that separates the two can sometimes be fuzzy and I bet if you asked most people they’d say there’s no difference at all. Maybe it’s a psychological one, more than anything else. I’m doing much the same work I did when I was on the Teams under a former commander and getting paid a hell of a lot more, so I don’t care what term people use when they talk about my job.”

“Beyond the events of Nissour Square, why do you think so many people think so poorly of Private Military Contractors?”

Shrugging carelessly, he looked down the center of the plane. “I’d like to believe it’s because they don’t know what we actually do. We’re somehow shrouded in mystery and intrigue, and I imagine people have no idea what it is we engage in. Soldiering isn’t a glamorous business and, truthfully, at the level I operate at, it can be a lot of hurry up and wait. There are a lot of days that combine mind-numbing boredom with a couple of hours of adrenaline-pumping action.”

“Sounds a little like be an attorney minus the whole saving the world thing.”

“I don’t know about that; there have to be at least a couple of lawyers who tried to save the world.”

“There are, but the small inconsequential cases are what most lawyers spend their time on.”

“Sometimes, that’s all we can do, no matter what our profession is.”

Unlacing their fingers, she turned and looked out the plane window. “I expect that’s just about right.”

He noticed the melancholy in her voice and wondered why she was feeling it at the beginning of the trip and not the end. By all accounts, what they were about to undertake was no small adventure and, if they were lucky, Audrey was going to have a hell of a book to write. And as far as he was concerned, nothing was going to get in her way.

Not if he could do anything about it.

***

Audrey looked up at the flight status and willed it to change from canceled to delayed. Closing her eyes, she waited ten seconds and then opened them quickly, only to discover her will was once again no match for the universe. She let out a sigh and slid her hand over the handle of her small suitcase. “Any ideas on how you want to spend the next seven or eight hours in the Munich Airport?”

“Yeah, I’ve got one or two, but we’re going to have to grab a room for any of them to be feasible.”

Looking up, she noticed he was like the lions in the zoo: feeding them once didn’t do a thing to diminish their appetite. “Barring sex, do you have any other ideas?” When she heard him snort, she knew he hadn’t moved beyond naked thoughts and decided it wasn’t the worst thing to ever happen. In fact, it was damn satisfying, considering she’d only managed pleasant sex up until her entanglement with Carrick. And Lord knows, “pleasant sex” was hardly worth the effort. “Let’s go see about rebooking our flights and then we can decide exactly how many hours of debauchery we can manage in Germany.”

“You have a dirty mind; for all you know, the only thing I was interested in was sleep.”

“I hate to keep reminding you, but I feel it’s necessary…I’m smart enough to read between the lines and your lines seem to be in the naked lane.” When his eyebrows scrunched together, she patted his arm. “I’m not complaining; I figure I have at least a couple more days to take advantage of it before we return to our lives.”

“I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not.”

Taking his hand, she pulled him toward the customer service desk. “When you decide, let me know.” When he grumbled, she wondered what exactly he might be objecting to. It couldn’t be the sex because it had been spectacular, and it certainly couldn’t be brevity of their affair. Maybe he was just hungry and needed to be fed. They hadn’t eaten much on the plane and their last meal was over twelve hours ago, so he was probably just hangry. “As soon as we re-book our flights, we’ll get some breakfast.”

“We might end up here until tomorrow and, if that’s the case, let’s grab a room at the Hilton that’s in the center of the airport.”

Audrey navigated through a throng of people and then stood in the long line snaking up to the customer service desk. “Before I saw this line, I was going to say we had nothing to worry about, but that was just wishful thinking.”

“I think Lufthansa just has one flight a day to Ankara. Our only other option would be Turkish Airlines and they are not very good about accepting passengers with my credentials.”

Leaning against him, she felt his arm go around her waist and pull her closer. “We’ll just do the best we can and go with the flow.”

“That is the right attitude, babe.”

Looking around the busy airport, she knew that this was probably the simplest thing they were going to face during the trip. By tomorrow, they could be crossing the border into Syria, and that’s when things were going to get really interesting. “Do you think the fall of Raqqa will make things easier for us to travel through the country or more difficult?”

“Not sure. It depends on how Bashir reacts to the victory and I, for one, am not willing to make any guesses. He’s never done anything that hasn’t been in his family’s best interest and the Kurds having a win like this might not be viewed as a positive.”

“Not to mention how the Turks are going to react. They see a stronger Kurdish population as a dangerous one, so what President Erdoğan is going to do is anyone’s guess.”

“I hope your contacts have a chance to update us before we cross the border.”

“We’re not crossing the border until we know what we’re getting into. We’ll probably be in Turkey for at least two days while I put together transportation and secure backup. We can’t arrive in Allepo and pray they give us the permits to enter the country without a little grease, and I have to get that lubricant flying days ahead of our arrival.”

“That sounds kinda dirty.” When he leaned down and pressed his mouth close to her ear, she felt his warm breath and felt a shower of shivers across her skin.

“We’re getting a room as soon as we’re done here and I’m going to give you a full demonstration on just how dirty I can be.”

She turned her head so their mouths were touching. Speaking against his lips, she said, “Maybe I’ve got one or two things to show you.”

“A man can only pray,” he responded as he sealed their mouths together.

Before she was entirely lost in the pleasure of Carrick’s kiss, she heard someone clear their throat loudly and lifted her head. The line had moved forward, and she realized that kissing Carrick in the middle of a crowd was going to get them in trouble. Straightening up, she watched him lift his duffle higher on his shoulder as he took the handle of her suitcase and moved it forward. “I’ll behave from now on.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he replied with a laugh.

Shoving her elbow into his side, she then shook her head. “If you keep that up, I may not show you anything.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Not wanting to get into a public tit for tat, she closed her mouth and stared straight ahead. Yes, we will, she thought to herself. When his arm went around her shoulder and he kissed the top of her head, she decided whatever they had in front of them could be handled. And that included the swirling desire that now was surrounding them like a blanket.