Page 6 of Out of Reach

Staring ahead while the flight attendant went through instructions of what to do in case of a plane crash, Hawk thought about how, after that first time when he had lost control and fucked Jude into the mattress, it was as though they couldn’t stop. Every time Hawk came home from deployment, there Jude would be, sexy and sassy and annoying as fuck, and Hawk would throw him on the bed and screw him. And Jude loved it. He fucking ate it up. Hawk had never known a guy before or since who enjoyed being manhandled the way Jude did.

And Hawk had taken for granted that Jude would always be there. And, somehow, he hadn’t noticed that the kid had grown up.

They went on like that, living together, laughing and fucking and fighting, for three years.

And then Jude called it quits.

Looking at Jude’s sleeping face on the airplane, Hawk marveled at his beauty. He’d always known the kid would be a killer when he came into his own. He’d been hot enough back then. What had Jude been doing dating someone like Sam Prescott? A man in his fifties, like Geoff had been, but also a dangerous miscreant. Slade was certain Prescott was trafficking young men and women through his escort service, and for all Hawk knew, he’d planned to do the same with Jude. His blood boiled thinking about it.

Taking a deep breath, Hawk reclined his seat the inch or so it would allow and closed his eyes. When he got Jude safely to Falcon Security, he’d discuss his next steps with Jase, West, and Logan. They’d figure out the best way to keep Jude safe, and everything would be all right. Opening his eyes, he stared at the beautiful face a moment longer, until his heart was good and convinced that Jude was okay. Then he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

CHAPTER FIVE

Jude

The plane was rolling to a stop when Jude woke up. Hawk was softly snoring beside him.

“Hawk. We’ve landed,” Jude said, shaking Hawk’s shoulder.

Hawk opened his eyes, and the light from the window struck them, fragmenting them into a dozen shades of blue. Then he smiled widely.

“Hey,” he said, obviously not fully awake.

The moment struck Jude in the heart, and for a moment he couldn’t speak—could only stare at Hawk dumbly.

The seatbelt sign blinked off, and the pilot came on the intercom, thanking them for flying with them. Blinking, Hawk sat up and they got ready to disembark. Since Jude hadn’t checked his bag, and Hawk didn’t have luggage, they were able to bypass baggage claim and head for the exit.

“There’s Mal,” Hawk said, and Jude glanced in the direction Hawk was looking and saw a bearded man around Hawk’s age wearing faded blue jeans with holes torn in the knees, a black tank top, and a scuffed pair of Adidas. His sable-brown hair was casually finger combed and his beard just this side of scraggly. He looked like a model for backpacking across Europe.

“West sent me to pick you up,” Mal said when they reached him. Walking outside into the sunlight, Mal led them to a black SUV parked in short term parking and opened the back so Hawk could slide Jude’s suitcase inside.

“I’m Mal,” he said to Jude, smiling.

“Jude,” Jude responded, smiling back.

“Hungry?” Hawk asked as they climbed into the car.

“I could eat,” Jude said. His determination to ignore Hawk had dwindled after being treated to that megawatt smile when Hawk woke up. Plus, he was starving.

“Know of somewhere around here?” Hawk asked Mal, who’d slid into the driver’s seat.

“There’s a great Italian place before we hit the interstate.”

“Sounds good. Jude? You like Italian still, right?”

“Yeah. Love it.”

When Mal had driven them out of the maze of converging lanes around the airport, he propped one hand on the steering wheel, a couple of leather bracelets dangling off his wrist. “You know, I wanted to take this case,” he said conversationally. “New York City’s my old stomping grounds. But Hawk here wouldn’t fucking give it up.”

“Yeah, well…” Jude started, but Hawk cut him off.

“I barely landed before I hopped on a plane again. You wouldn’t have gotten to do anything anyway.”

Did Hawk not want Mal to know about their previous relationship? For business reasons, or for some other reason? Like being ashamed of having dated someone as young as Jude.

Jude sat in sullen silence.

When they pulled into the parking lot of a small, privately owned restaurant ten minutes later, Jude’s cell phone rang. He’d kept it off for months. It was his phone—Sam hadn’t bought it for him—but something had just told him it would be better not to use it for now. He kept it off but charged in his pocket for emergencies. But in the car after the flight, Jude had turned it on. He didn’t know why he had, but it had seemed right. Reaching into his pocket, he pushed the button to end the call.

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