Page 31 of In The Trenches (Owens Protective Services)

We pulledinto the airport just before dusk. The job should be fairly easy, though I had the feeling Scottie Dog was feeling anything but at ease. He looked like he was going to puke in the seat beside me.

“I fucking hate planes,” he grumbled beside me.

“You’re a fucking pilot,” I retorted.

“Was,” he corrected. “Just because I have my pilot’s license doesn’t mean it’s something I want to do on a daily basis.”

“This isn’t a daily basis. This is literally only for one day,” I corrected. “Not even a whole day. It’ll be an hour tops.”

He snorted. “Yeah, that’s what they all say right before they crash and burn.”

Lock leaned forward between the seats. “If you hate flying so much, why didn’t you say something when we were planning shit out?”

“Because I thought I could handle it,” he grumbled. “I really don’t think I should be the guy in the sky. I already feel a little queasy from lunch. I think I ate something bad.”

“Suddenly, you ate something bad?” Edu laughed.

“It’s not sudden,” Scottie argued. “I’ve been feeling it coming on all afternoon.”

Rock handed something up between the seats to Scottie. “Here, just in case.”

“A barf bag?”

“Actually,” Rock grinned. “I was thinking in case it came out the other end. People are used to seeing puke. Shit, on the other hand, isn’t something you can come back from.”

Scottie Dog glared at Rock. “Don’t you have a salon to go to or something?”

I looked in the mirror at Rock, who nervously ran his hand through his perfectly mussed hair. Brock Patton, or Rock as we called him, cared just a little too much about his appearance—and for that reason, we felt he needed a more manly name. Hence…Rock. For a former military man, he almost looked too pretty to be in the field. If I hired based on appearance, the man never would have made the cut. Luckily, his skills more than outweighed his handsome looks.

“I don’t hear you complaining about my appearance when I’m the close protection agent.”

“Can we focus on the job at hand?” I asked as I pulled to a stop near the hangar. We all got out, Scottie barely holding back the urge to spew the contents of his stomach on the pavement. I clasped him on the shoulder. “You got this. You’re Scottie Dog.”

Rock walked past him, slapping him hard on the back. Scottie braced himself against the truck, letting out a loud belch that could have easily turned into something else. We moved around to the back of the truck and loaded up with our gear. It shouldn’t be necessary for a job like this, but I never took chances.

“Here, Scottie Dog,” Rock grinned, shoving more barf bags at him. “You should take these up with you.”

Scottie snatched them out of his hands with a glare, then tucked them into his vest for safe keeping. “You’re all assholes,” he muttered.

I chuckled, pulling on my vest and strapping on my guns. Our clients were due to arrive in three hours. “Let’s do a sweep of the airport before Grady and Evers arrive. I want cameras in place. Make sure we’re live-streaming back at the office. I want Rae watching every minute of this. Rock, you’re with me. Let’s go check the tower.”

Lock, Edu, and Scottie split off to check out the airport. Rock and I headed over to the tower. Knocking on the door, I showed my credentials before they opened the door. I also had paperwork for them, proving we were working security today.

I glanced at the name tag on the man’s uniform. Mallick. He checked over the paperwork and nodded, handing it back. “Looks good. What can I do for you?”

“I’d like Rock in the tower with you. He’ll stay out of your way. It’s more of a precaution, but we need to be in contact with the aircraft at all times.”

“Do you have the flight plan?”

I frowned at that. “They haven’t filed with you?”

“It’s not unusual,” he said, looking over the paperwork. “Small aircraft flying under eighteen thousand feet don’t necessarily have to file. I’ll need to see the paperwork when they arrive.”

I hoped that didn’t mean there would be any delays in the flight. I finished up in the tower, leaving Rock to take over, then headed back down to check in with the team.

“Lock, how are we looking?”

“Everything’s secure, and our clients are pulling in now.”

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