I share a look with Bram and stifle a groan. That is the way,waywrong thing to do to Ant at this moment, and the crestfallen look on his face pretty much squares it. They leave the room with Ant looking defeated.
Yeah…that’s a problem for a different day.
Once he’s convinced Ant is well out of earshot, Charlie turns to Bram and shares with him what we’re going to do next.
“I had Nacho and Ant act like they’d run out of supplies and would be back this evening to complete the job. I’ll go in with Nacho and Justin. Bram and Levy, I’d like to have you two here, monitoring the situation as backup.”
“No,” Bram says, his face resolute.
“No, you don’t want to listen in on comms?” Charlie asks, confused.
“No, you’re not taking Nacho in on a mission unarmed, untrained, not knowing what might happen.”
“Bram, all I’ll be doing is my job,” I say, standing in front of him, smoothing my hands over his upper arms. “That’s it. Easy. It won’t take Justin and me that long to complete, and if something goes down, I’m sure Charlie will have it covered.”
Charlie nods, but Bram’s scowl tells me he’s not satisfied.
“What about visuals?” he asks.
“Other than our eyes?” Charlie asks, frustration finally creeping into his voice.
“You’re telling me you don’t have body cams or something?”
Charlie takes a centering breath. “If it will make you feel better, we have a few body cameras we can set up.”
“It would,” Bram says, his eyes drifting to mine as his body loses some of its tension.
“Goddammit,” Justin curses, startling me.
“What?” I ask, lifting my chin at him.
“I owe Charlie five dollars,” he says, reaching for his wallet.
“Why?” I ask, looking over at Charlie, who has a suspiciously wide grin.
“You two are fucking, right?” Justin doesn’t wait for our response before thumbing a gesture at his husband. “Charlie thought he saw something, and I told him Bram’d be crazy to put his career on the line. But that look he just gave you?Damn.”
I try to stifle my laughter, which makes it come out as a snort-hiccup. Bram lets out a deep put-upon sigh while dragging me to his side and snaking his hand around my waist.
“Yes, Nacho and I are in a relationship,” he says as if begrudgingly announcing a change in the weather.
I wipe my mouth to hide my smile, and Charlie notices the gesture.
“So…you two aren’tjustfucking.”
“Correct,” Bram says, nuzzling the side of my head.
He has to know I love the authority in his voice and this possessive little display of affection. We exchange a glance, and the lift of his eyebrow means I’ll be seeing a little more of Dr. Barlowe as soon as this is all done.
Charlie looks between the two of us.“Seriously?”
I crack up, planting a wet kiss on Bram’s cheek. “What can I say? I broke down my prison therapist.”
I emphasize this by buffing my nails on my shoulder and blowing the imaginary dust off them.
Levy barely holds back a laugh.
“You’re okay with this?” Charlie asks him, incredulous.
