Chapter 4
Four
Nic swung into the same airport parking lot he’d left seven hours ago, barely getting his truck parked before Cam’s hand went for the door handle.
He put a hand on Cam’s knee, urging him to wait.
It was understandably the last thing Cam wanted.
Cam would have been on the first flight out to Boston this morning if there’d been any seats left.
Nic had been checking while Cam had talked to his brothers, and when all the flights had come up booked, he’d phoned a friend instead—Cam’s best one, who’d want to know what was going on and who’d recently married a man with access to his family’s company jet.
Seven-thirty was as soon as the Talley Enterprises jet could secure a takeoff, and it had been just enough time for them to shower and pack.
And to repack. When it had become clear that Cam was throwing any and everything into his bag, including Bird, Nic had shooed him out of the bedroom with the cat and rearranged things in an orderly fashion.
It was the least Nic could do with Cam wavering between locked down and a mess. He’d go from barely speaking, holding the words that scared him in check, to rapid-fire verbal vomit on the mundane and work-related. The security codes for the house, Bird’s feeding routine, his open Bureau cases.
The twenty-minute drive to SFO had been worse, Cam muttering under his breath repeatedly, “Should’ve never left.”
Cam reached for the door handle again, and Nic squeezed his knee.
“Just wait. Aidan and Jamie aren’t even here yet.
” He hoped it sounded more like an observation than the plea it was.
He didn’t want to make Cam feel guilty for leaving.
He might have only been six at the time, but Nic remembered the pain of losing his mother.
He could only imagine what the threat of losing one who’d been with Cam for thirty-six years was doing to him.
But Nic selfishly wanted another minute or two alone with him.
A seven-hour reunion, half that time lost to a fire, and now they were going to be separated again.
“Are you sure I can’t go with you? I’m not due back in the office until Monday, and I can—”
“Jamie’s going with me,” Cam said, gaze aimed out the passenger window.
That rankled, even though it rationally shouldn’t. Jamie was Cam’s best friend, he’d spent summers during college with Cam’s family, and it was another month before his basketball coaching duties kicked into high gear. And he had ready access to the aforementioned jet.
Still, Nic wanted to be the one who was there for Cam. “I can—”
“No, Dominic.” It was his pulling-rank voice. The one he trotted out whenever he sidelined Nic on an op for his protection. But that didn’t make sense, nor did Cam’s added, “I can’t do that to them right now.”
“Do what?” Expose them to Nic and the danger around him?
Cam was the one who wanted to run toward that fire, which hadn’t followed Nic to San Diego.
It seemed contained to the Bay Area where Curtis could witness the destruction firsthand.
Leverage worked better that way. Nic had no reason to think the danger would follow them to Boston.
Nic didn’t have a chance to follow up, the roar of an engine and the peel of tires cutting through the heavy silence. Aidan’s gleaming black Aston Martin tore into the parking lot faster than strictly necessary.
“They’re here,” Cam said, using the distraction to get the jump on Nic, finally thwarting his delay tactics and climbing out of the truck.
Nic banged the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, cursing himself for wasting the last few minutes arguing instead of kissing.
Hustling out, he called after Cam, who, bag slung over his shoulder, was halfway to Jamie already.
They met at the side of Aidan’s car, Cam dropping his bag and Jamie yanking him into a crushing hug.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Jamie said, and Nic cursed himself again for not offering the same reassurances. He hadn’t wanted to lie to Cam—he didn’t with his witnesses either—but while that had served him well in the courtroom, he didn’t like it one bit when it created more distance between him and Cam.
The slam of the trunk lid snapped Nic out of his thoughts and a rumpled Aidan appeared at his side, guiding Jamie’s rolling suitcase. His husband was walking ahead with Cam, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders. “Thanks for giving Cam a lift here,” Aidan said.
“Thanks for giving him a lift there.”
They passed through the terminal doors, and Aidan ran a hand through his disheveled auburn hair. “Jamie said you were there when Cam got the call.”
“Apartment above mine flooded. Was crashing at Cam’s.”
A partial lie, and judging by Aidan’s narrowed eyes, he wasn’t buying it.
Before he got the chance to investigate further, Jeremy met them inside the terminal.
If Nic didn’t know better, he wouldn’t have guessed the impeccably put-together steward had come off the same flight as him a mere seven hours ago.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted them. “I’d be happy to take your bags.” Cam handed off his, and Aidan rolled over Jamie’s.
“We’ll be ready when you are,” Jeremy said, efficient and polite, and correctly gauging the subdued mood. This was not an impromptu guys’ weekend away.
“We’re square on cases?” Cam said to Aidan.
“We had our status meeting yesterday. We’re square. Go to your family.”
“Thank you,” Cam said, then exited out to the tarmac, seemingly in a fog.
As the newlyweds exchanged their almost-indecent goodbyes, Nic slid past them, following Cam outside. He spotted the Talley jet on the tarmac, Jeremy waiting by the steps. “Mr. Price, good to see you again.”
“Likewise, Jeremy.” He gestured up the stairs at the open cabin door. “I think I might have left something on the plane last night.”
Jeremy held out his hand. “Go right ahead, sir.”
He took the steps two at a time but ground to a halt inside the door.
Across the cabin, Cam stood by the mini-bar, arms braced on the polished wood, torso heaving with deep, labored breaths.
Nic glanced over his shoulder; Aidan and Jamie hadn’t emerged from the terminal.
Stealing a moment while he still had a chance, he crossed the cabin and wrapped his arms around Cam from behind.
Cam stiffened at first, but after another hitched breath, he relaxed into the hold, and Nic hugged him tighter, same as he’d done earlier. He nuzzled the nape of his neck, inhaling deep. “I wish you’d let me go with you,” he whispered.
So I can make sure you come back.
Cam’s “I do, too” was so quiet Nic barely heard it. But it landed like a kick to his chest.
“Then why—”
Cam rotated in his arms, silencing him with a quick, hard kiss. “Please wait until I get back to move on Vaughn.”
Maybe he was worried about the mess Nic’s family was in somehow reaching his in Boston. “Is that—”
“Your turn to be quiet and careful. I can’t be there dealing with my family and worrying about you back here. Just wait to make any moves, please.”
Nic nodded because at least Cam was talking about returning. “Okay, we won’t move on Vaughn until you’re back.”
Cam lifted his hands, framing his face. “And think about telling Aidan, at least about the mole inside the Bureau. And go to Moore. I trust him.”
“Shh, Boston.” Nic laid his hands over Cam’s.
He was rambling again, worrying about him and Vaughn instead of what was truly terrifying him.
“Don’t worry about me,” Nic reassured him, making up for the earlier lost opportunity as best he could.
“I’ll fly under the radar. I’ll be safe. You worry about your family.”
“You are—”
Using Cam’s own moves against him, Nic kissed him quiet, silencing the demanding flutter of his own damn heart as well.
“Call me if you need me,” Nic said. “I’ll be on the first plane out. Or I’ll phone a friend again if need be.”
“Thank you for doing that.” One corner of Cam’s mouth hitched up, and it was the best thing Nic had seen since the call from Bobby. “Kind of nice having rich friends sometimes.”
“They do come in handy.”
Except for when they were traipsing up the stairs. Loudly.
As if in warning.
Nic stepped out of Cam’s arms just as Jeremy came through the door, Aidan and Jamie on his heels. “Did you find what you left, Mr. Price?”
Behind Nic’s back, Cam slipped his keys into his hand. Nic held them aloft, pretending they were his. “Got ’em.”
The pilot poked his head into the cabin. “Report from the flight deck. We can be up in five if we taxi now.”
“Go,” Aidan said, giving Jamie a last kiss. “Love you, Whiskey.”
Jamie slapped his ass as he turned toward the door. “Love you too, Irish.”
“Anything,” Nic said to Cam, “you call me.”
“Be nice to Bird.”
“I can’t promise he won’t answer to ‘Joe’ when you get back.”
Cam’s answering smile was worth every second he’d spend taking care of the furry beast.
“Later, Boston.”
“Sooner, Price.”
They’d been in flight an hour, and despite the plush leather seats, Cam hadn’t been able to get comfortable for a single minute of it. Thoughts raced through his mind, and while he could normally harness that energy for good, today his thoughts kept slipping out of his grasp, spiraling.
He scrubbed at his face, the beard he hadn’t had time to shave itchy.
Maybe a couple hours of sleep would help shut down his jumping thoughts. Jamie wouldn’t mind, engrossed in whatever he was watching on his screen. He reached down to retrieve the pillow he’d tossed aside earlier and found a monochrome blue tie underneath it.
His favorite of Nic’s, the one that perfectly matched his eyes.