“Excellent. I’m here for pleasure this weekend with some friends. If you could let everyone know.”
“Absolutely, sir. I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.”
Okay, this is getting strange.
“Walker would have my ass if I didn’t check in, so I’ll come down to chat during each change.”
“Sir, you do not need to take time away unless you feel it’s necessary.”
“You’re the boss, Marcos. If you feel things are going well and there are no issues…”
“There are a few new people on staff who haven’t met with Walker, Foster, or Matthew yet.”
“Are they on the same shift?”
“No, sir. Certainly not.”
“Good man,” Declan clapped the guy on the arm. “Gather them together at lunch tomorrow, and I’ll stop by to say hello.”
“Yes, sir. And if you need anything…”
“Thanks, Marcos. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“Yes, sir. Have a good weekend.”
I’ve not said sir that many times in a conversation since boot camp.
Looking around at the guys, their eyes were just as wide as mine felt.
Marcos moved off, and Declan turned back to us. “Sorry about that. He gets nervous when any of us from the main office show up.”
“Damn dude, I thought he was gonna drop to his knees and suck your dick right here in the lobby,” Priest said.
I swallowed the growl that grew in my throat without permission.
“Priest, dammit. Have some class,” Cameron said.
He was usually pretty quiet, preferring to fade into the background, but he knew everything that happened in whatever area he was currently in. He was also from a pretty affluent background. Why he hadn’t gone the officer route, I didn’t know. I knew he lost a couple of family members on 9/11, but he’d been a kid then, so I didn’t get it, but he was a damn fine Marine, and I loved working with him. It didn’t hurt that he helped keep Priest in line.
Knowing the others would rein Priest in, I fell into step next to Declan. I itched to take his hand in mine but refrained because while I wanted and needed him to submit to me in the sack, I didn’t need it. At least, that’s what I told myself.
At the elevators, he nodded to the guy standing guard, yet another fed-looking dude in a suit and mic’d up. He never said a word. He just nodded, pressed the call button for the elevator, stepped out of the way when the car arrived, and the doors slid open.
We stepped inside, where yet another guy stood inside, dressed the same as the one outside the elevator. He nodded at Declan, who nodded back, and soon we zipped into the air. Moments later, the doors swooshed open, and we found ourselves in a hotel corridor, only it wasn’t like any hotel hallway I’d ever seen before. There were only a handful of doors, and the hallway wasn’t even a hallway, more like a mini-lobby.
Declan moved to one door, pulled up something on his phone, and held it near the door until it clicked. He opened the door, and my fucking mouth fell open this time. We entered the poshest fucking hotel room.
12
DECLAN
This was an insanely bad idea—of epic proportions bad. I couldn’t even really explain why I offered it up. My only excuse was I felt like Hayden inviting me had caused a rift of some sort with the people who were supposed to come along yet didn’t.
Trying to pull the gawking grunts from the window, I asked, “So, what do y’all normally do when you’re here?”
“Dude, I don’t think I even know where here is!” Priest said, his eyes still glued to the view.
I couldn’t help but laugh at him, but I knew what he meant. I could look at that view for hours. All I needed was a couple fingers of whiskey, some good music playing softly in the background, and that view. My eyes drifted to Hayden’s tall, broad body, and I sighed.
