Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 147789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 739(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“What else should I know?” Kreed asked, instead of stating the obvious. What would a guy like Aaron ever see in a lower-middle-class public servant like him? “Let’s get it all out on the table now and be done with it.”
Aaron took a deep breath, blew it out through his mouth, and said, “I graduated from MIT when I was seventeen. My family drives me bat-shit crazy. I don’t live around them, only spend time with them about every other Christmas when I forget how bad they suck. I opted out of the family business, but my grandfather left the bulk of his rather large estate to me, which pissed my family off, something I still get reminded of when I’m around them. So yeah, that makes me obscenely loaded.” Aaron bit his lip, worrying the plump flesh with his teeth.
“Okay—” Kreed started, but Aaron cut him off.
“And I don’t live in Florida. I live in Austin. That’s why this new plan would work so easy for us, if you can get past everything. You wondered how I accessed the Austin street cameras so easily when Cody got hurt. The reason I did it so quickly is I do it all the time for fun,” Aaron admitted in one breath, the words coming out of his mouth so fast Kreed had to play them over in his head in order to make sure he understood.
“Fun?” He lifted his brow and the cocky smirk Aaron had added at that last sentence faded.
“Well, yeah. But I guess you have to be there to understand.”
“Okay.”
Aaron had stunned him speechless. Several minutes passed as he sat there and watched Aaron. Of course, it all made sense. Aaron carried himself in a privileged way. Not arrogantly—he definitely didn’t flaunt it, but money was still there. Even in the way Aaron placed his napkin in his lap. Kreed had loved that move, but now those perfect manners made even more sense.
“Say something,” Aaron said, back to worrying his lip, gaze searching his.
“I don’t know what to say.” The silence continued as Kreed tried to digest everything that his church boy just threw at him. Yeah, he should say something, but what the hell did you say when you just found out your boyfriend was wealthy beyond your wildest imagination?
Fuck! Would Aaron start to think he was only with him for the money now that he knew? Slowly Aaron’s masks started to descend, making him unreadable. Kreed could sense him pulling away, and he didn’t want that. Somehow it had been easier to absorb that the guy he loved was a most-wanted fugitive and a genius prodigy than from one of the wealthiest families in the world.
Sucking in a steadying deep breath, Kreed pulled his thoughts together. For the first time in a long time, he was slightly intimidated. With tremendous effort, he pushed his nerves aside and reached out, taking Aaron’s hand.
“Anything else I should know?” He smiled at Aaron, hoping to ease both of their nerves.
“I don’t think so,” Aaron said cautiously.
“And if there is, you’ll tell me right away?”
“Absolutely.” Aaron smiled back at him. It was a genuine smile, the kind that made his eyes light up. The one he loved so much. His heart warmed.
“And just to make sure… Being with me isn’t some kind of ploy to get your family pissed off?”
“What? Absolutely not. No, I’m already the black sheep of my dysfunctional family and I’m completely good with that.”
Kreed nodded and just decided to get all the insecurity out now. “I live off what I make. It’s a good life, but probably not what you’re used to.”
“I think those are relationship issues we can work out as we go. Besides, you’re changing your job description, so don’t be freaked out over something that can offer the people that matter most in your life a chance to build a better future.”
“You’ve tossed a lot my way.” Kreed couldn’t think of anything else to say. Aaron had a point.
“I know, and I’d planned to tell you differently, but I want in on this business. I’ve been thinking about this too. Together we can offer up the whole package. I’ve worked with Knox pretty well over the last year, and the two of us did okay together on this last assignment, I think,” Aaron said.
“We did great,” Kreed agreed, and Aaron’s fingers tightened around his.
“I’ve got a paid team of financial advisors taking care of my assets. They could easily put us on the right track to get us started. So let’s do this. And you moving to Austin would be ideal for us. That takes away the long-distance issue.”
“It would.” Kreed nodded
“Yes, it would! I’m not rushing us, but I have a place downtown you can stay at to see how things work out,” Aaron added, excitement in his voice and the look of hope in his eyes.
“I’d like that a lot.”
“Good. Can you kiss me, Sin? You’re making me nervous.”
He laughed at Aaron. A kiss was exactly what he had in mind. He leaned in, slid a free hand around the nape of Aaron’s neck and drew him closer, but not quite to his lips. He looked Aaron in the eyes. God, those gunmetal blue eyes undid him every time. Aaron had stopped wearing the colored contacts all the time just for him. “If there’s anything even questionable that I should know, tell me. No more secrets. Promise?”
“Promise.” Aaron’s forehead pressed against his. He loved that tender move. Kreed couldn’t imagine his life without Aaron. His intuition had been completely spot-on. Aaron was it for him. He had no doubt the kid would be a handful, but he was up for the challenge. On firmer emotional ground, Kreed decided then that they would make it through, no matter what.
“I love you,” he whispered seconds before he took Aaron’s lips. Aaron’s reply got lost somewhere in the kiss.
Epilogue
Six Months Later—June
The steady rock of Kreed’s oversized leather chair never faltered as he listened intently to Mitch and Skinner rehash the final changes to the investigative contract they’d managed to secure with the US Marshals Service. Mitch sat quietly, making notes, reading over each bullet-point change that would be needed to make Skinner and his higher-ups happy. They were minuscule changes. The kind of changes that just beat a man down, but all part of the tedious bureaucracy called the US government.