Page 8 of Flesh and Fury

“We can do that in a few. Go ahead, tell me about your life.”

“Hmm…okay, let’s see. My life as an Army brat didn’t take me as many places as it took a lot of kids growing up, mainly because my dad was a drill sergeant, as you know.”

“Where in the U.S. did you live?” Eoghan asked. “You said you moved around a bit.”

“Not as much as some families. My mama inherited her parents’ big house in Lexington and that’s still their home, when they’re there, that is. Daddy’s retired and Mama’s happy with her church folk as I told you. Lou is only twenty-four so she just got through raising him, although if you tried to call him a kid, he’d probably deck you. Well, no, that’s not true. He’s a lot better mannered than that and besides, being a Ranger himself means that he’s not home a whole lot. They send him different places and keep him busy.”

“And you? How did you decide to join up?”

“I guess I inherited the family business, for lack of a better term. I joined up when I was young and got tapped to be a scout sniper once they saw how I could shoot. Afghanistan and Iraq were both underway at the time and apparently theRangers liked what they saw and offered me a job in the Special Forces.”

Eoghan nodded, watching the road. “But that’s all you can say about that.”

Ari chuckled. “Pretty much. Like I said, Rangers’ assignments are guarded about as closely as the president’s schedule. It was the same with Lou as it was with me. In any case, I haven’t talked to him in a while, actually since I started this job.”

Eoghan smiled. “But you talk to your mama every week.”

Ari laughed. “Yeah, that’s mandatory. The last thing I need is to have her show up on my doorstep unannounced because her little boy hasn’t been in touch in a while.”

“Does she do that often?” Eoghan asked.

“No. She hasn’t so far, but who knows? She hasn’t been to California since we lived out here when I was a teenager.”

“I didn’t know you ever lived in California,” Eoghan said, sounding somewhat surprised. “Where?”

“Fort Irwin in San Bernardino County, not that far from Barstow actually. My daddy got a four-year assignment out here, just before I was about to start high school. Let’s just say I was less than impressed with my father’s job. When you’re fourteen years old and all you ever wanted to do was hang out with your friends, the last thing you want to do is move literally across the country and try and make new ones. For it to happen right as I was about to start high school, made me contemplate running away for the first time in my life.”

“Wow, what made you stay?” Eoghan said.

“Discipline, and I guess some sort of loyalty to my parents. I was raised as the son of an officer in the U.S. Army, so I had to be a good kid. There was no other alternative. Lou was little, not even five years old and I couldn’t see myself hurting my mom like that. I thought she was vulnerable with alittle kid, although Lou bugged the shit out of me at the time. But, I admit, I was furious with my dad for a long time. I don’t think I even forgave him until I joined up myself. I was kind of an asshole.”

“What teenager isn’t an asshole at some point?” Eoghan asked with a chuckle. “You didn’t have the market cornered on that one.”

“I should say not.”

“So, you moved back to Lexington after that?”

“We had to do a two-year stint in Rhein-Main Air Base near Frankfurt after that and then came back to the States.”

“Wait, you lived in Germany?”

Ari nodded. “For two years, yeah. My brother is over there now…at least that’s what we’re told. He is technically a recruiter, so he works about three hours away in Grafenwoehr but that’s probably not where he actually works.”

“Where does he actually work?” Eoghan asked.

“That would be classified,” Ari said with a laugh.

“Of course it would,” Eoghan said, smiling at him. “So, when you told the grizzlies that you’d lived all over the place, you were exaggerating just a little tiny bit?”

Ari grinned back, holding up his finger and thumb showing little space in between. “Maybe a little tiny bit.”

Eoghan laughed. Ari loved it when he laughed. He had the most perfect dimples and every time he grinned, they punched into his cheeks, making him look unbelievably attractive. Beyond that, they gave him a boyish quality that charmed Ari beyond measure. He loved the easy camaraderie with Eoghan on the road. It felt effortless and simple and he truly liked him as well as being attracted to him. He pointed out a sign for Starbucks coming up at the next exit and then lifted his empty paper cup which he’d brought from the office. The fact that they both liked coffee was a huge bonus.

“What do you say we stop for a refill?” When he glanced over, Eoghan was grinning as he tapped his watch.

“We’ve been on the road for a sum total of an hour and you already need a refill.” He held up his own cup, shaking it to let Ari hear that it was also empty. “You’re a man after my own heart, Aristotle Brown…a man after my own heart.”

Yes, I am.