“I don’t know, but I was going to ask for more than one weekend.” Mark’s voice was firm, and it reassured Walker, but he kept his upstairs head in the game.
“First I have to keep you alive.”
“No roadhead.”
“No.”
Walker couldn’t hide the edge of disappointment in his voice because the thought of Mark’s mouth around his cock while he drove was damned hot.
“Shame.” Mark sounded as disappointed as he felt.
Walker gave him a quick smile. “There’s no way I’d be able to concentrate with your mouth around my cock. You’d be far too distracting. And I don’t think I’d get probation if I got caught. Last strike, remember?”
“All good reasons to be sensible,” Mark said lightly.
Walker concentrated on breathing in and out and willing his very obvious erection to go down. There was no way he could hide it. He glanced over to Mark’s lap. Oh yes, there was definitely a tent.
“This is gonna be torture,” Mark groaned.
“It’s nice. You have it as bad as me. I never thought I’d feel like this about anyone.”
“I wish we’d talked when you saw me first,” Mark said. “I feel as if I missed something important.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. Everyone hated us. Mitch was ready to kill us all. Raines was the same.”
“I heard about it afterward. You’re not like I expected.”
“What did you hear? I was the meathead? The useless lug,” Walker asked, not bothering to hide the bitterness.
“I heard you followed orders, you took care of Jake, and you didn’t deserve to be stuck with Collins.”
“That was my bad decision. I didn’t realize what he was like when we first teamed up. By the time I understood what a disaster he was, it was too late. I didn’t see a lot of what he did to Jake, and that was my fault, I should have been more observant.”
“Maybe.” Mark squeezed his thigh to take the sting away. “Someone needed to rein him in, but it wasn’t necessarily your job.”
“No, it was Jake’s and Mitch’s, plus Doyle, Costa and me. We all got it wrong.”
It was the first time he’d admitted it, and saying the words out loud eased some of the guilt he’d been feeling for the past six months. It wasn’t just his fault. There were a lot more of them who should have dealt with Collins, including the management team.
“It’s not easy when you’ve got a hot head like him. If Jake had been more experienced, same for Mitch, they’d have thrown him out on his ear. Why did they keep him?”
“Jake pleaded for him.”
Mark grunted.
Walker flashed a glance. “What?”
“He’s gonna have to grow a tougher skin if he’s going to be a trainer.”
“I don’t think he’ll stay in the agency. He hates being a trainer. It’s a shame because he’s damn good at it. Even Collins thinks he’s good.”
“I’d have put Collins over my knee and spanked his ass.”
Walker burst out laughing. “I don’t see Jake being the spanking type.”
“You’re right. He’d probably like to be spanked though.”
The image of Jake splayed over Mitch’s knee sent a flush of heat through Walker, and he fidgeted.
“You like that idea, tough guy?” Mark asked softly.
Walker cleared his throat. “With the right person.”
“One for the future.”
Definitely one for the future. With the right person. Another look at Mark found him staring out of the window, a smile curving his lips.
The journey was long and tedious, but they had a full tank of gas and Pete had handed them a bag of supplies.
Mark snorted out a laugh when he pulled out trail mix and beef jerky.
Walker grinned. “Pete’s a basic guy.”
“I see that. And we left Greg’s food back at the yard. I hope your uncle finds it before Ruby. Well, I’ve had worse. Do you want anything?”
“Not yet. Is there a bottle of water?”
Mark rummaged in the bag. “Water and Gatorade.”
“I’ll stick with water.”
He accepted the bottle from Mark and took several gulps, appreciating the cool liquid.
“Have we got much further?”
“Yeah.”
“On a need to know basis?” Mark gave a wry smile.
Walker bit his lip. He could tell Mark, but if anyone got the information from him and people he loved were hurt, he’d never forgive himself.
“I’m only joking, Walker.”
Mark nudged his elbow, jogging his arm and they swerved in front of a truck coming the other way. Walker corrected swiftly and got them out of the way as the truck flew past, the driver gesticulating at them.
“Christ,” Walker barked. “Don’t do that again.”
“That got the blood pumping,” Mark said, looking over his shoulder at the truck.
“I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I don’t need any more.”
“Shame,” Mark said as he had before, so quietly Walker barely heard him.
Walker fixed his gaze ahead, because if he looked Mark in the eyes his good intentions would come to nothing.
They drove in silence for a while.
Walker kept an eye in the rearview mirror. Now he didn’t have back-up he wouldn’t see the danger until it was close to him. He only hoped Mitch had passed the code onto Doyle.
“Ghost, north 3, Jaws, night.”
Mark was smart, equating Ghost with Caspar.
They each had personal codes. His was James Bond themed. Walker had never thought he’d use one, let alone on his first mission. The last thing he wanted was to tell them ‘night’.
Trust no one. Especially the agency. If he’d said ‘day’ at least they would have known who to trust.
If Mitch hadn’t passed on the code…Walker didn’t want to think of that implication. Of all the people in the agency, Mitch couldn’t be dirty. Walker refused to believe that, but he couldn’t know for sure, so ‘night’ it was.
“All clear?” Mark asked.
“So far.”
“Good. How are you?”
Walker wasn’t surprised Mark was concerned for his welfare. He was that kind of man.
“I’m okay. We’re gonna need to find somewhere to stay overnight. I need a break.”
“We could share the driving,” Mark suggested.
Walker thought about it for a long moment. “We’ve had a long day. We could both do with a rest. Let’s drive a while longer, then find somewhere to eat and nap. We’ll start again fresh.”
“What about your team?”
“What about them?”
“Aren’t we meeting them?”
Walker didn’t answer.
“Huh.”
He turned to look at Mark’s grunt. “What?”
“You’ve got something else in play.”
“Agency business,” Walker said.
“In other words, mind my own business.”
Walker grinned. “Ya got it.”
“Agency men. You’re all the same.”