Kristen let out a heavy sigh from where he was leaning against the wall, dragging Aiden out of his heavy thoughts.
“Shit, Bea. You managed to get us away…” Nyle breathed out and threw himself into Bea’s arms, wrapping his delicate frame around her as they shared an indulgent kiss.
Just as Kristen was about to join in, Darren shot up from the gun controls, snatched the first aid kit from under the co-pilot’s seat in a blur of movement, and next thing Aiden knew, he was shoved inside the cockpit elevator, holding the wooden box with both hands. Darren crowded him against the wall, lookingwild and agitated as he pressed one of those universal medical bandages against Aiden’s gunshot wound.
Aiden hissed at the sting. “Dar—”
He didn’t get to finish, his words turning into a gasp of pain as Darren’s fingers pressed on the cut to secure the bandage. Using Aiden’s groan as an opening, Darren took his mouth, kissing him deep and desperate, as if doing so was the only way to prove they were both alive and here.
“Darren…” Aiden moaned, pulling away so he could catch his breath.
Darren let him, though didn’t let go, his handsome face flushed and his lip piercing glistening.
A throat cleared itself over the elevator’s speakers.“As much as you two getting hot together in the elevator does turn me on,”Bea stated, her tone a notch lighter than it had been moments ago,“Darren, where the fuck are we going?”
Giving the side of Aiden’s neck a bruising kiss, Darren stepped away and ran a hand through his raven-black hair. It refused to comply, making him frown, so he tried again and when that didn’t work and more of the longer locks flopped over his forehead, he gave up.
“I… am not sure,” he said to Bea, hitting the elevator’s screen to open the door.
“Well, I need a general direction, at least.”
“Take us toward the belt for now. We can probably find somewhere to hide there. And keep off the usual routes.”
“Duh.”
Darren picked up the box and headed toward his room. Aiden stepped off the elevator, though stayed by the conference room.
“Do we have external comms up?” Darren asked.
“Not yet,”Bea replied, her voice now coming through Aiden’s earpiece.“Nyle’s double and triple-checking everything.”
Darren entered his room, not closing the door. Aiden watched him cross to the bed with a couple big strides. He left the box on top of it, then ran his hand through his hair again, pulling on his piercing as he rejoined Aiden and herded him back into the elevator.
“ETA?” Darren said, giving Aiden a peck on the mouth as if he just couldn’t help himself but do it.As if it was so natural, he didn’t even realize he was doing it.
“An hour or so,”Nyle supplied in that distracted tone which surfaced whenever he was focused on something.
When they reached the cockpit, Bea was the only one there. She nodded at them. “Do you want to talk about…” She waved her hands around. “This. Both of you.”
“What’s there to talk about? We trusted the wrong person,” Aiden clipped, his voice coming out snappier than he’d meant it. But he didn’t want to get angry or sad, there was no point. They had bigger problems to deal with.
“Kristen and Nyle are in the mess hall,” she said, nodding as an understanding smile curved her lips. “I’ve got the autopilot on, but I’ll join in from here. In case…”
In case they’d not quite managed to lose the tail.
Darren frowned—likely arriving at the same conclusion—but said nothing. He led Aiden to the mess hall and each of them grabbed a mug of coffee before claiming the free couch. They sat close to each other and Aiden welcomed it, grounding himself to the warmth of Darren’s body seeping into him where their thighs and arms touched.
“He was playing the long con. He must’ve gotten the transmitter while you were at the vault. Fuck,” Nyle grumbled,punching the table. “I should’ve looked at those stupid diagnostics!”
“Nyle, calm down,” Darren said. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s. He had us all fooled.”
Aiden most of all and who knew since when. He didn’t think Rick had known about the Valrais prior to joining the Maine’s crew, but if that and his friendship with Aiden hadn’t deterred him, then whatever Marcus offered in exchange was probably life-changing.
“Darren, do you have a specific sector of the belt in mind?”Bea asked.
“Not really. Just as far away as we can get from here.”
Aiden was one hundred percent behind that. The further away they were from Marcus, the safer they would be. Although, now that he thought about it, it was probably what Marcus would expect them to do… Which meant he’d likely be looking for them beyond the belt where his reach was less encroaching.
