Page 11 of In the Mouth of the Wolf (Of Wolves and Kings #1)

11

MIKE

I slammed my fist down on the counter, causing the gate agent to flinch. “What do you mean it’s full?” I yelled.

She cleared her throat, avoiding my gaze to look at the screen while her fingers flew across the keyboard.

“I’m sorry, sir, but with the holiday weekend and the storms, there’s simply no way to get you on the next flight.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration, releasing a throaty groan. I’d flown to Dallas, then to Denver, where I was supposed to get a flight to Minneapolis and then another to Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, but those had both now been cancelled.

“Get me to Chicago or Milwaukee, then” I replied. “I’ll drive from there.”

After another few minutes of rapid-fire keystrokes, she looked down in terrified defeat. “The earliest I can get you there is Tuesday,” she reported in a timid voice.

I bit down the urge to reach over the counter and wring her worthless neck, taking a deep breath instead and employing a more “compelling” approach.

“ Hannah ,” I purred, looking at her name tag. Her eyes fluttered warily towards mine, and I kept her locked in my stare. “ Hannah, sweetheart, you’d do anything to help me, wouldn’t you ?”

Her mouth opened slightly and she nodded.

“ Good, perfect. Now, I need you to get me as close to Eau Claire as you possibly can, as soon as you possibly can. You’ll even bump someone off a flight for me, won’t you ?”

“Yes,” she replied breathily. “I’ll do anything to help you.”

Her dilated eyes returned to her screen, and within a minute she was printing a boarding pass for a flight to Chicago that was departing in forty minutes.

“ Thank you, Hannah. You’re such a good girl. ”

She nodded, and now that my anger was subsiding, I noticed the nice shape under her uniform. That red scarf around her neck was quite convenient, too.

“ Hannah, you’re going to take your break, and meet me in the family restroom by the Newsstand in five minutes. Do you understand? ”

“Yes.”

I snatched my boarding pass and walked off, delighting in the groans of frustration that grew as Hannah set a placard on the desk informing the line she’d be back in fifteen minutes.

Just a quick snack, and then I’d be on my way to my Lunessa.