Noble Beginnings by L.T. Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

silver hair back and returned to reading.
    “What are the
chances we can get some coffee?” I said.
    Otto laughed.
“Stewardess.” He tapped his fingers on his blue rubber armrest and waited a
beat. “Guess you’re out of luck. They’ll board the plane in half an hour or so.
Try then.”
    We barely
talked the rest of the night. I fell asleep before we reached the Atlantic
Ocean and woke up over Georgia. Bear started his relaxation exercises when the
pilot announced we were making our final descent to Atlanta’s
Hartsfield-Jackson airport. A few minutes later we were on the ground.
    The stewardess
announced first class could depart first. Bear and I stood. Otto remained
seated. McMurray stood.
    “You guys get
off here,” McMurray said.
    “You’re not
escorting us any further?”
    “I was told to
get you to the U.S. You’re someone else’s problem now.”
    I shrugged.
Followed Bear off the plane. We walked down the jetway. I expected to find an
armed escort when we stepped into the gate. It was empty. We made our way past
the mostly empty seating area and headed toward the center of the terminal,
where the escalators to the tram were located. Aside from a few early
passengers, the terminal was barren. I checked my watch. Not even four a.m.
yet. Another hour and the place would be packed with early morning travelers.
    “Coffee.” Bear
pointed toward one of the only open stores in a section between gates.
    I followed him
over, ordered a black coffee and a cream cheese Danish, and then paid for both
of our orders. After the girl handed me my change, I stepped further down the
counter where I found a lid and grabbed a handful of napkins. I snapped the lid
on the cup and lifted it to my face. The hot steam escaping from the lid burned
my upper lip and outer edges of my nose. I inhaled anyway. The heat faded,
giving way to the full, dark aroma of the coffee and its promise of caffeinated
energy.
    Hard and loud
footsteps echoed behind me. Click-clack. They stopped a few feet away.
    “Jack Noble.
Riley Logan. Don’t move a damn muscle.”

Chapter 5
    “Christ,” Bear
said under his breath.
    I turned my
head toward him. My eyes followed the speckled countertop then lifted to meet
his. He shook his head, straightened his back and lifted his hands over his
head.
    I looked over
my shoulder. Two men dressed in jeans and button up shirts stood ten feet back
and aimed their handguns at us.
    “I said don’t
move a damn muscle,” one said. “Eyes forward. Arms up.”
    I reluctantly
placed my coffee, of which I still hadn’t had a sip, on the counter, and then I
raised my hands.
    The lady behind
the counter stood motionless, mouth open, arms held out to her side. Our eyes
met. A tear rolled down her ebony cheek. I gave her a halfhearted smile. She
looked away.
    Two men closed
in from the side. They were dressed the same as their partners. They approached
us slowly and cautiously, guns drawn.
    “Nice and
easy,” one said as he approached me from behind. “One arm behind your back.”
    I lowered my
arm. He grabbed it.
    “Now the
other,” he said.
    I did as he
said.
    Cold steel
gripped my wrist and pinched my skin as the handcuffs tightened and locked.
    “Do we really
have to go through this?” I said.
    “Shut up,
Noble,” one of them said.
    I dropped my
head and considered the odds. It was two versus four. Not so fair after all,
for them at least. A hand at my back guided me to the side. I turned my head
and watched three of the men converge on Bear while the fourth kept a gun aimed
at me.
    Bear cooperated
by bringing one arm down, then the other. They cuffed him, turned him and led
him toward me, one man on either side of him, their hands gripping his elbows.
    One of them
stepped forward. He had brown hair and a square jaw. He holstered his weapon.
“This is going to go nice and easy, guys.” He pointed down the terminal. “To
the escalator, board the train, get off. Don’t make eye contact with