She looked between them. “I appreciate the testosterone tango, I really do. But we’ve got bigger problems than the fact I used to sleep with my brother’s best friend.”
McGuire snorted. Patch almost smiled.
Savvy took a long, measured breath. “Can we just figure out what the hell is next? Because right now, I’m tired, I’m hunted, and I’d kill for a quiet hour without sniper fire or sibling judgment.”
McGuire relented first, nodding. “Yeah. We’ll talk strategy in the morning.” He looked at Patch. “Because I am her brother, I’m gonna ask. What are the sleeping arrangements?”
Patch nodded toward the back hallway. “Bedroom’s clean. Sheets are fresh. I’ll take the couch.”
McGuire studied him for a moment. “Yeah. Okay. Cross and Stone are returning from a short assignment with the Brotherhood Protectors. They should be here by morning. We’ll regroup then.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Patch held his friend’s gaze. “I need a word with you. But give me a minute with your sister.”
Mcquire nodded before disappearing out of the small cabin.
Savvy stepped past Patch, resting a hand briefly on his arm. “Why do you and my brother always do that?” she asked quietly. “McGuire never cared about us, so I don’t get the angry banter.”
“Funny, coming from you, considering you enjoyed it.” He looked at her, and for just a second, something warm flickered in his eyes. “Bro code,” he said. “I had no idea it was you who guided me home, but once we met, I should’ve had a conversation with McGuire before taking you to bed.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” She sighed. “I’m a grown woman.”
“That’s true. You don’t need your brother’s permission.” He traced a finger across her jawline. “You’re certainly capable of making your own decisions. But none of that’s the point. Honor among brothers. And I should have told him before he found us together. He felt betrayed and wondered if I was ashamed.”
“You didn’t tell him because I asked you not to.”
“I know, and because I cared about you, I did as you asked. But I should’ve told you how he would feel and how I was stuck in the middle of all that. Not that I cared, but he’s my best friend, and at the time, you were the girl I wanted to be with.”
“Do you regret that?” she asked.
He leaned in, brushing his lips against her mouth in a slow, tender kiss. It wasn’t a passionate one. It didn’t last long. But it felt like home. “That’s not an easy answer because I absolutely don’t regret respecting you or us. But you know I didn’t want to keep it from McGuire and I knew he’d be pissed.” Patch shrugged. “But it no longer matters. That was a long time ago.”
“And you don’t keep secrets from my brother anymore.” She pursed her lips. “Since you called him and told him I was staying here.”
Patch chuckled. “You didn’t tell me not to.”
“And if I had?”
“I would have been between a rock and a hard place.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I need to go have a chat with McGuire. Make yourself at home.” He turned.
She hesitated. “Patch?”
He looked at her.
“Thanks for coming.”
He didn’t blink. “You don’t ever have to thank me for that.” He stepped through the door, leaving her alone in his living room… alone with her thoughts, which weren’t too many, nor were they too complicated. At least not right now. She knew after she’d had a few hours to clear out the cobwebs, she’d have to sit down and go over every detail of that mission, starting back when the whispers began that an agent might have gone rogue.
Patch stood on the porch a beat longer than necessary, staring out at the river as the water lazily drifted south with the current. McGuire had moved to one of the chairs at the end of the old wooden dock and tossed a fishing line out. Patch and McGuire had been through some shit over the years, but the one thing that had tested their friendship the most had been Savvy.
Not so much that Patch had dated her, but that Patch had not only kept it secret but walked away when his best friend thought he should have popped the question. McGuire had never really been too angry over Patch and Savvy keeping their relationship private at first. There were a million reasons why they should’ve continued to do so, namely Savvy’s high-ranking position. However, the biggest reason Savvy had strained their friendship was simply Patch’s inability to stay.
That wasn’t entirely on him, but he’d take responsibility.
Patch rubbed the back of his neck and let the last thirty or so hours roll off his body like a snake shedding its skin. He fixated his gaze on the swamp as if it could answer the question she hadn’t asked. He wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion on her face, the tremor in her fingers when she touched his arm, or the factthat after all this time, she still looked at him like she expected him to catch her if she fell.
Every time.
He hadn’t even hesitated.
