Not wanting Brantley to know he was eavesdropping, Reese hurried back outside, passed the leash off to Magnus, said goodbye to Tesha.
When he came back inside, Brantley was in the kitchen, his eyes glued to his phone.
“Who were you talkin’ to?” Reese asked, closing the sliding door behind him.
Brantley looked up. “What?” He shook his head. “No one. Just waitin’ on Trey. They said they were on the way back.” Brantley tucked his phone in one of the pockets of his cargo pants. “How’s it goin’? Any luck on the case?”
Reese explained the theory they were working on while he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Where would Nancy Wright go?” Brantley asked, pondering the same question Reese had.
Reese didn’t answer because that was the million-dollar question. Unlike the other two men, the Wright’s didn’t have any other property. No vacation homes or apartments. But Brantley already knew that, and clearly, the man was distracted. Enough he was not making eye contact as Reese eyed him carefully.
Something was going on, but he didn’t know what it was. Sure, he had a few ideas, but Reese refused to believe that a chasm was developing between them because of someone from his past.
Then again, Madison wasn’t exactly in his past, now was she? Just a little while ago he’d gotten a friendly text from her, telling him she hoped to see him when he was in Dallas this coming weekend for training with Sniper 1 Security. What was worse was the fact that, rather than brush her off the way he had for months, he’d told her he would see what his schedule was like.
Yeah, he blamed it on the fact that Brantley had pushed him away this afternoon, sending him off to work with Evan rather than maintaining their partnership as they had thus far. He’d been hurt and angry, and, yes, texting Madison back had been a form of punishment. One Brantley wasn’t even aware of.
When he glanced over, he saw Brantley was watching him. There was so much skepticism in his gaze it made Reese feel guiltier than he already did.
“Tesha went with Magnus,” Reese informed Brantley. “I’ll … uh … just go back and help the team.”
Brantley stared and nodded, neither broaching the subject that was quickly growing between them.
*
Magnus led Tesha around the side ofthe house, intending to get in his SUV and head back to Camp K-9.
As he neared the parking area, he saw a car coming up the drive. He didn’t recognize it, but he waited anyway, curious as to who else was part of this elite task force. As it approached, he noticed the small Uber sign in the front window, and a smile pulled at his mouth when he realized it was Trey getting out of the backseat.
“You think we should sneak out or say hello?” he asked Tesha, patting her head when she nudged his hand. “Yeah, I agree. Never pass up an opportunity to say hello.”
Magnus opened the rear door of his SUV, pretended to be rummaging around for something while he gave Trey time to move closer. It wouldn’t surprise him if the man chased down his ride and disappeared the same way he came. They hadn’t had much interaction this past week, aside from Magnus stopping by in the middle of the night for their usual booty call.
He turned when he heard the crunch of gravel beneath Trey’s boots, wondering if the man would even bother to say hello if Magnus didn’t get his attention first.
He got his answer in the form of Trey’s back as Trey headed toward the backyard, passing right on by without a word.
“Trey!”
The man pulled up short but didn’t turn around.
“The least you owe me is a conversation,” he said, ensuring Trey heard his disappointment.
No, maybe they didn’t have a relationship in the traditional sense, but they did have something. Magnus refused to be brushed aside and ignored as though he never existed.
Trey slowly turned, his eyes hidden behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses. “Last I checked, I owed you nothing.”
Magnus lifted his chin, stared the man down, waited.
He didn’t have to wait long before Trey was stalking toward him, his anger apparent in the square of his shoulders and the tense line of his neck.
Because Magnus knew there was a camera monitoring the driveway, he waited until Trey stepped behind the SUV, giving them a modicum of privacy, before he stepped up to the bigger man.
“Actually,” Magnus lowered his voice, “you owe me an orgasm.”
He felt Trey’s body harden, knew if he dropped his hand between Trey’s legs, he’d find a rock-hard ridge hidden behind the zipper of those jeans.
