Free Aegis Incursion by S S Segran Page B

felt her cheeks flush; her friends were thinking she’d lost it. “I know I saw him. He was just there, watching us and—” She halted midsentence when she saw Jag grab Kody in a headlock and drag him over to the shark tank. Kody was trying to resist the entire time but gave up when Jag pressed his face against the glass.
    “Jag, you’re—” Kody’s complaint ended in a startled yelp as a shark swam by. “I’m done! I’m so done!”
    Mariah watched as Jag let the other boy go. Kody, in his attempt to distance himself from the Tank, tripped over his own feet and fell backward, splashing everyone around him. The others stepped back, protesting, but Mariah remained where she was, too preoccupied to be bothered.
    Jag noticed. “Hey, space cadet, where you at?”
    “She’s convinced she saw that guy from yesterday,” Aari explained, doused
    “What? Here?”
    “Yeah. She said she saw his reflection in the tank but we can’t find him.”
    Jag inspected the mass of holiday-makers for himself for a minute, then went over to put an arm around Mariah. “Are you absolutely certain, ’Riah?”
    Mariah gave him a furtive nod, though now she was beginning to doubt herself.
    Jag gave her a gentle squeeze. “I know you’re still spooked about what happened, but it looks like he’s not here, alright?”
    She looked away, feeling only somewhat reassured.
    “I think it’s about time we had dinner,” Jag said, giving her another squeeze before letting her go.
    Mariah reluctantly kept her mouth shut as the five got out of the pool and grabbed their towels before heading up to their rooms to change. Rather than driving, the friends walked down the street to a Mexican restaurant. As they were guided to a table outside, Tegan burst out laughing. “I don’t believe this!”
    Mariah gazed around to see what Tegan was talking about. Her eyes landed upon a familiar face. Despite being preoccupied with what happened at the shark tank, she broke into a delighted grin. “Tony!”
    Tony, who was sipping on a cold beverage, looked up from a few tables away. When he saw the five, his eyes grew wide and he nearly choked on his drink. He stood up and called them over, and as they joined him, pumped the boys’ hands and hugged the girls.
    “This is crazy!” he exclaimed as they sat down at his table. “When I said maybe I’ll see you guys here, I didn’t think I actually would! Wow!”
    “Maybe we should travel together,” Kody joked as the five picked up their menus and looked through the dishes that the restaurant offered.
    Tony waved a waiter over. “I just arrived a couple of minutes before you. You guys know what you want?”
    They nodded and placed their orders. Once the waiter left, Tony leaned back and stretched. “This place is so alive,” he noted. “Kinda wish I could spend a night or two here.”
    Aari removed his sunglasses and tucked it into the collar of his t-shirt. “Why don’t you?”
    “I haven’t seen my girlfriend in four months and I really don’t want to spend more time than necessary away from her.”
    “That’s really sweet,” Tegan said as she and Mariah beamed at him.
    Tony turned a little red but smiled and changed topics as he looked at their hair. “Been swimming?”
    “Yeah. The shark tank at the Golden Nugget.”
    Mariah looked down at the table, rubbing her shoulder. Even in a tank top, the evening desert heat was almost too much for her.
    Tony lightly rested a hand on her arm. “You okay?”
    She glanced at him, debating whether or not she should tell him about what she’d seen at the Tank, but Jag beat her to it. Tony listened, wary, with a slight frown on his face. He looked back at Mariah.
    “You saw his reflection?” he asked carefully.
    She nodded. Tony turned to question the others and when they said they never saw the bearded man, he took Mariah’s hand and gave it a soothing pat. “It’s probably the lack of sleep getting to you. It can do things to your mind.”