Mick had ended his rotation five or six days after Chad, and if he was back now it meant that his leave had fallen considerably short of a full four weeks. Chad hoped Tank Security didn’t make a habit of shafting their operatives that way.
“That’s just the way it worked out with the schedule. I’m getting an extra week after my eight weeks are up to make up for it,”Mick explained. Then he punched Chad on the shoulder. “And upgraded to first class... what did you do? Blow the captain?”
Chad punched him back, making him laugh. “Fuck you, Mick,” he said, laughing right with him.
They climbed into the back of the SUV, the driver getting behind the wheel without a word. The engine was already running, and the interior of the SUV was blissfully cool. Chad climbed in first, and when Mick followed he got his first look of Chad’s neck.
“Motherfucker, look at that,” he said, dropping down next to Chad and leaning forward to study his neck. “You never told me mystery man was an alpha—and you let him bite you? What the fuck, man?”
Mick didn’t sound upset. He was smiling, but his humor was clearly at Chad’s expense.
The driver ignored them and pulled away from the curb.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I just… it feels right,” Chad said, shrugging. “If you’d asked me five weeks ago if I’d even consider dating another alpha, I would have said no. But I met him and… well, we matched pretty fucking good.”
Mick nodded, Chad’s sincerity softening the edge of his humor.
“So what’s he like? He must be pretty dominant if you don’t mind submitting to him.”
Chad barked out a laugh at how much of an understatementpretty dominantwas when describing Peter.
“He’s pretty much the most dominant guy I’ve ever met,” he said, grinning.
Mick scoffed. “Really, more than Peter Tank or Aiden Halsted? I doubt that.”
Chad made a face and Mick narrowed his eyes.
“It’snotone of them.” The words were disbelieving. Chad shrugged, giving him another look. Mick’s eyes were wide. “Motherfucker, which one?”
“Peter,” Chad said, just the idea of mating with Aiden making him shudder. He hadn’t seen the man since the encounter in the training facility, and he hoped he never had to lay eyes on him again, though he knew that was unrealistic.
Mick’s eyes bulged.
“You mated withPeter Tank? Are youinsane?”
“Probably,” Chad said, unable to help the smile on his face.
“How does that even work? He’s so….” Mick looked like he was struggling to find the word.
“Dominant?” Chad offered, but Mick shook his head.
“No, fucking terrifying!”
Chad watched Mick’s face, surprised to see that he wasn’t kidding. He looked almost concerned.
“We match up pretty well in terms of pheromones or whatever. I like the way he makes me feel.”
Mick looked disbelieving again, but he didn’t say anything. He leaned back and stared at the road ahead over the headrest of the seat in front of them. The road cut through a barren desert, with nothing to see for miles on either side of the car.
“Well, congratulations I guess,” he said after a while.
Chad thanked him, feeling awkward, after which they didn’t talk much. They made it to the security checkpoint—a Tank Security employee checking their ID—before they were driven to the separate residences occupied by Tank Security personnel and management.
The walled compound was like a whole other world from the cramped temporary structures where the regular workers lived.
“Welcome to the Tank Zone!” Mick said, jumping out of the SUV. He gestured at the two-story buildings lining the circular fence of the walled-off area and the squat one-story building they all faced. “Let’s head in and register our arrival.”
Chad grabbed his bag from the back of the SUV and thanked their driver before following Mick toward the building occupying the middle of the obnoxiously named Tank Zone. He was relieved that Mick was acting normal.
