Something didn’t add up.
A date? With a woman? An ex-girlfriendwoman?
“Is that the woman everyone was looking for?” JJ asked, recalling the conversation she’d overheard between RT and Z.
“Yeah. But she’s fine. Not a scratch on her.” Brantley stretched as he sat up straight. “One of Max’s enforcers was there to save the day. Got her to safety and left Reese there to die.”
There was pure venom in Brantley’s tone. Enough that JJ leaned away slightly as she twisted to look at him. “He’s not gonna die, B.”
“I know that,” he snapped, shoved to his feet. “Doesn’t change what they did.”
No, clearly it didn’t.
JJ watched Brantley walk away. She could practically feel his frustration and his anger. Whether it was because Reese had been shot or because Reese had gone on a date, she didn’t know.
But whatever it was, she didn’t see it resolving itself anytime soon.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Brantley knew it was time to makehis exit. He’d spent the better part of the day with everyone else, waiting to get confirmation from the doctor that Reese was on the mend. They’d finally gotten that when they were told Reese would be moved to another floor where he could be monitored now that his condition had been upgraded to stable.
Now the question was whether or not he told RT and Z that he was bailing or if he simply walked out and waited until someone realized he was gone. The latter would’ve been the easy route, and he was damned tempted to take it.
Unfortunately, easy wasn’t something Brantley experienced all that often, proven when Baz and Trey intercepted him as he was heading for the elevators.
“You goin’ to grab somethin’ to eat?” Baz asked, carrying two Styrofoam containers and a bottle of water.
Brantley stopped, took a deep breath, and decided to be truthful. “I’m headin’ back to Coyote Ridge.”
Trey frowned, glanced at Baz then back to Brantley. “Are they releasing Reese?”
“No. He’ll be here for a while longer. But he’s got his brother and his mom. They’ll take care of him.”
Brantley could see the concern on their faces, but he wasn’t in the mood to break it all down for them. He didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that the man he loved had been on a date with his ex when he’d been shot for putting himself between her and a bullet. And he damn sure didn’t want to try and explain it to anyone else.
“Why don’t I go with you,” Trey suggested, looking at Baz again. “Y’all can take my truck back. Leave Reese’s here. He might need it.”
“I’m good, Trey,” Brantley insisted.
“The hell you are.” Trey grabbed Brantley’s arm when he attempted to move past. “Take my keys,” he told Baz.
“I don’t suppose you’d mind takin’ Tesha,” Baz said quickly. “Right now she’s outside with Hugh because they won’t let us bring her up here.”
“We’ll take her,” Brantley grumbled, jerking away from Trey and resuming his trek to the elevator.
“You wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?” Trey insisted when he stepped into the elevator seconds before the doors closed.
Brantley kept his attention on the number pad. “No.”
“Why the fuck are you leavin’ Reese in the hospital?”
Brantley didn’t respond because he’d been serious with his answer. He did not want to talk about it.
“He just had life-saving surgery,” Trey hissed.
Grinding his teeth, he stared straight ahead, ignoring his brother.
“Goddammit, Brantley.”
