Still no answer.
He waited another minute, then tucked his card into the screen. If they were lucky, Mr. Sanchez’s curiosity would get the best of him, and he would give them a call to see what was what.
Reese looked down at Tesha. “I guess no one’s home, girl. Now you ready to meet up with Brantley?”
Her ears perked up, her tail slashing the air with excitement.
“All right. No more teasin’. Let’s go see how he’s doin’.”
He shot Brantley a text to let him know he was coming his way, then left the Sanchez residence and headed back to town. Fifteen minutes later, he met up with Brantley outside the lone convenience store/gas station.
“Any luck?” Brantley asked, coming to stand near Reese’s open window.
“Nothin’ so far. No one home at two of the houses, so I’ve noted them for follow-up. The others didn’t know anything.” Reese jerked his chin toward the store. “What about here?”
“Nothin’ unusual, unless Martha Danbury buyin’ three pints of Ben and Jerry’s counts.” Brantley’s eyes glittered with amusement. “Evidently, she’s lactose intolerant, but she recently broke up with her boyfriend, so she said fuck it.” His head nodded in the direction of the store. “Lee’s words, not mine.”
Reese chuckled. Gotta love small towns.
Tesha barked from the backseat, so Reese rolled down the window, allowing her to get closer to Brantley.
“What’s up, girl? Not enough excitement for ya?” Brantley rubbed her head then moved back to Reese’s window. “I’ve got a few more to talk to. You wanna head back to HQ, outline what we’ve got? I’ll have the team join us when they’re done.”
Reese nodded, his gaze lingering on Brantley’s mouth a little longer than was appropriate.
It earned him a grin.
Next thing he knew, Brantley was leaning in. Reese got the feeling it was a dare, figured Brantley thought he wouldn’t follow through. Reese proved him wrong by closing the distance and kissing his mouth. He lingered for a long second, not pushing but ensuring Brantley knew he was no longer concerned about what others might think. Reese was ready to live his life the way he’d always done: without shame.
“Do that again, you might find yourself bent over the tailgate,” Brantley growled, his warning seductive enough to have Reese’s cock standing at attention.
Reese laughed, and this time his ears warmed. He knew there was a blush on his face, but it definitely wasn’t from shame.
“Make it the kitchen island, and you’ve got a deal,” he countered, planting another kiss on Brantley’s mouth.
When Brantley pulled back, his eyes flamed with the same desire that coursed through Reese’s veins. “I’m gonna hold you to that, Tavoularis.”
“I hope you do.”
Brantley’s grin warmed Reese from the inside out.
*
“HOW’RE WE DOIN’?”BRANTLEY ASKED THE TEAMwhen he joined them in the barn several hours later.
JJ, Baz, Evan, Slade, and Reese were standing around, staring at the electronic screen where they’d compiled the information they had gathered over the past few days.
“We’ve covered a lot of ground,” JJ noted.
“Anyone hear from Charlie?” Brantley asked.
“She’s followin’ up at the two Reese listed as no one home,” JJ answered. “Once she’s done, she’s headin’ back this way. Darius and Jay are headin’ over to the senator’s house to relieve Luca and Deck.” She glanced up at the second floor. “Becs and Elana are double-checkin’ the map, makin’ sure we’ve covered everyone. Anything from Magnus or Trey?”
“They headed over to Dead Heat Ranch,” he told the team. “Jared called, said he got the recordings from a couple of the game cameras. They were gonna review them.”
“You hear anything from the sheriff?” Evan asked.
“They secured the scene where we found the rug. They’ve got a forensic team runnin’ blood samples to see if it matches Ava. No news yet.”
