Chapter 5 #2
It was a risk, but it was one Jamie was willing to take.
As much as he loved the time in bed he shared with Kyle, Jamie had come to the realization months ago that he wanted to do more.
He wanted to take the other man out to a dinner that was just for them and not hidden beneath the team’s weekly get-togethers.
He wanted to take leave with Kyle and fly him to cities the younger man had always wanted to visit but knew he never could, not as a poor kid growing up in an abusive household.
Jamie wanted to just be with Kyle, in private and in public, with no fear that word of their relationship would get back to their superiors if they were seen kissing each other outside the walls of their home.
If this was the only way Jamie could be with Kyle in public right now, then he would take it. It was a role both were willing to play, even if it meant they’d have to bury their wistful dreams of what if when the mission was over and they resumed their regular lives again.
Playing the part meant snagging Kyle by the hand when the other man was all set to grab his personal bag with his handgun from the storage compartment in the back. “Someone else will get it,” Jamie told him.
“I can carry my own stuff,” Kyle snapped.
“You can, but you won’t. Not while you’re with me. I pay other people to handle the logistics of my life so that I don’t have to lift a finger, remember?”
Jamie squeezed Kyle’s hand gently to make a point. Kyle’s sharp-eyed gaze dropped down to their linked hands as the rest of the team moved around them, pointedly ignoring them. Jamie pulled Kyle close, leaning down a little to whisper into his ear.
“Just be yourself and you’ll do fine,” Jamie said in a low voice.
“You say that like it’s supposed to be easy. Pretty sure someone of your status wouldn’t look twice at a guy like me,” Kyle muttered.
“You’d be surprised at what people of my status want.”
“So I’m what? Your dirty little secret you’re finally airing out?”
“To everyone else, yes. Not to me. Now, let’s get out of here.”
Annabelle had taxied the jet to Heathrow’s Terminal 6, a private terminal for well-heeled travelers who preferred discretion over a crowd.
The weather in England was partly sunny at 1010 on that Saturday morning when Jamie descended the jet’s stairway, Kyle trailing after him.
Jamie wasn’t surprised at all by the welcoming committee arrayed around their designated arrivals gate.
Three black luxury SUVs with tinted windows were parked on the tarmac nearby, their trunks open, the two drivers who doubled as UMG agents moving to help the ground crew unload the jet’s cargo hold.
A Customs officer stood off to the side, ready to sign off on their passports, the cold wind ruffling the collar of his uniform.
Jamie ignored them all in favor of the man standing at ease at the bottom of the stairs in a bespoke suit that rivaled Jamie’s in cost, a familiar smirk on his face.
“Bloody hell. It’s been too long since we last saw each other,” Liam said in greeting.
Liam’s dark blond hair was trimmed fashionably short and styled in a casual way that didn’t immediately scream military.
The scruff on his face helped with that.
He had his mother’s hazel eyes and his father’s height, while his faintly tanned skin was due more to genetics and a great-great-half-Spanish grandmother than from lounging around on a yacht in the sun somewhere.
He matched Jamie in age and breadth of body, if not in height, and his voice was pure upper-class London all the way, though Jamie knew Liam could sound like a drunk hooligan with a Cockney accent when the job called for it.
Jamie pulled Liam into a brief, back-pounding hug, the kind of hug you gave a fellow soldier and not a prince. “You didn’t have to meet me all the way out here. I know how much you hate London traffic.”
“Couldn’t let you get lost on the way in, yeah?”
“Donovan would take offense to that.”
“Always like taking the piss out of that one.”
“Of course you do,” Jamie replied as he turned to press his left hand against the Custom officer’s proffered security tablet.
“How long is your stay this time?”
“Depends. You know me. Work hard, play hard.”
Liam’s gaze moved from Jamie to Kyle, who stood next to Jamie with an uncanny stillness Jamie had long ago gotten used to. “Tastes haven’t changed much. Who’s the fellow?”
“Mine,” Jamie said with a lazy, possessive smile, because he could. Because it was expected of him out in the public like this, where anyone could see.
Liam raised an eyebrow, questions in his gaze he knew better than to ask in front of an audience. “Right, then. Let’s get you lot sorted and get going. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a drink in hand when we chat.”
Between Jamie’s people and the UMG agents, the SUVs were loaded up in record time, and the team split up between the three vehicles.
Katie and Sean made sure to join the SUV Jamie was riding in, taking the seats in the far back while Jamie and Kyle claimed the ones in the middle.
Liam got behind the wheel, which didn’t surprise Jamie.
For all his teasing about not liking to drive, he knew Liam preferred being in the driver’s seat over letting someone with far less tactical driving experience put their hands on the wheel.
Soon as they were in and buckled up, and Liam had disabled the self-driving mode, he led the convoy through the restricted route to the exit tunnel that would take them off the airfield and back out into the public zone.
Heathrow’s Terminal 6 had been built with privacy in mind and was the only area of the busy airport that allowed on-tarmac pickups after security clearance was achieved.
“Vehicle is secured for privacy,” Liam said once they’d scanned out of the airport and merged into the traffic congestion on the M4. “Real good to see you, Jamie. Wish it was under better circumstances.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” Jamie replied.
“My team’s been read in on your mission for support purposes and will be available if we need them. The UMG can confirm the target is still in London.”
“Our people weren’t able to discern if Jansen is a metahuman. Has your side had any luck since he hit your radar?”
“Can’t confirm, can’t deny. He’s a slippery bastard and hard to pin down.”
“Wonderful.”
“When are you orchestrating the meet?”
“Tonight. No sense in waiting.”
Liam’s hazel eyes flickered back to him in the rearview mirror. “That puts us on a tight schedule. Best place to start would be Vesuvius. He owns the nightclub, and it’s invite only. Posh place, been inside myself once or twice. Didn’t care for the vibe though.”
“I can get us on the list,” Katie replied.
“No,” Jamie said, shaking his head. “We need to get Jansen’s attention, which means we need to make a scene.”
“You mean you need to make a scene. The rest of us get to sit back and watch you be an asshole. I’m kind of looking forward to it,” Kyle said.
Liam cracked a smile as he merged over to the fast lane, the other SUVs falling into line behind him, forcing traffic to accommodate them. “Jamie is quite the arsehole when he wants to be. Must be why we’re mates.”
“Must be why you’re both terrors and prone to giving me a migraine any time the two of you are within shouting distance,” Katie replied.
“You sound like you’ve missed me.”
“Like I’ve missed a twenty-klick hump, then sure. I’ve missed you.”
Liam laughed. “Ouch.”
“Be nice, Katie,” Jamie said, swallowing back his laughter.
“What are you on about? This is her being nice! Sod all you mouthy NCOs; you never change.” The smile on Liam’s face faded, expression turning troubled. “To be honest, I am glad you’re here, Katie. Having a telepath about will make this mission loads easier.”
“So long as you clear me,” Katie warned.
“Paperwork’s being pushed through today, and the queen was informed of the decision to allow an easement of the telepathy restrictions for a foreign agent.
She’s not particularly pleased about it, but I swore to her over breakfast this morning you’re one of the most honorable people I’ve ever met and you won’t abuse your power. ”
“You had breakfast with the Queen of England?” Kyle asked, side-eyeing Jamie as he spoke.
Before Jamie could answer, Sean beat him to it, speaking up for the first time in hours. “Liam is thirteenth in line to the British throne. It’s why the UMG isn’t taking lead on this mission.”
“Twelfth, actually,” Liam corrected, eyes narrowing a bit in the rearview mirror.
“Thirteenth. Your cousin Alice is pregnant, though she hasn’t announced it yet.”
The friendliness in Liam’s voice disappeared. “That’s information you shouldn’t be privy to.”
“Sean is ex-CIA and the one who orchestrated this mission,” Jamie said with an apologetic sigh. “I’d be more surprised if he didn’t know that information.”
Liam scowled. “Ah, he’s a spook, then. Never quite cared for those types.”
“No one does,” Kyle muttered under his breath.
Jamie put his hand on Kyle’s knee, squeezing gently, the action hidden from everyone in the car except Liam. “You said you’ve been to Vesuvius before, Liam. Ever run into Jansen while there?”
“Can’t say that I have, and I’m quite the catch, you know.
Never got approached, though I’ve seen others get singled out and plied with his attention.
I don’t think you’ll have any trouble catching his eye, Jamie.
Me? I got a title and a trust fund. Maybe the title’s worth fuck all to the likes of them and I just don’t have enough zeroes in my account, but he’ll come crawling to you without question,” Liam said.
Jamie grimaced, looking out the window at the cramped outer districts of the London megacity pressing up against the M4. The walls separating the highway from the buildings glowed from the countless advertisements flowing across them, the holographs chasing them into the city center.
“We can only hope.”
* * *