“Oh, fuck, JJ,” Baz growled. “Fuck … you feel so good. I want you to come again. One more, baby. Come all over—”
JJ dug her nails into his skin as he triggered another orgasm from his words alone. When her body clamped down on his, Baz threw his head back and came with a dark, thundering rumble that had her already anticipating doing this all over again.
Chapter Nineteen
Thursday, May 5, 2022
“Have you been here before?” Brantley askedReese as they ventured up to the enormous house that felt more like a fortress than a residential dwelling.
It’d taken them a good ten minutes to get from the front gate, which was an impressive twelve feet tall and topped with wrought iron spears, following a concrete driveway that wound through thick trees, past a wide stream that bisected a portion of the property until finally, they’d come out the other side where the house was visible. Brantley couldn’t help but wonder how many enemies the man had made over the years to require such security.
“If you mean to Max’s house, then no,” Reese answered, his tone lacking any sort of emotion at all.
“He has more than one?”
“No idea, but I know they recently upgraded to this one.” Reese dropped his head as though ashamed to know that. “I heard Courtney talkin’ about it at the office one day. Evidently, when a Mob boss is interested in startin’ a turf war, security is key.”
Yep, it appeared to be.
Brantley stopped on the first step leading up to the house. He turned to face Reese. “We’re here on a job. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.”
“I just don’t want it to be weird for you.”
“It’s not.” And for whatever reason, that was true. He had no fears that Reese would go running into the arms of his ex anymore. Those had been diminished when Reese returned, but he knew Reese wouldn’t believe him even if he repeated that a million times over. The man’s guilt still hovered just beneath the surface. Brantley wished he could relieve him of that, but only time could diminish it, and even then, it would chip away bit by bit.
Brantley nodded toward the house. “Come on. Let’s get this over with so we can get back to our hunt for Toby.”
Reese nodded, his eyes shifting but never meeting Brantley’s.
With a sigh, Brantley started up to the next step, stopping when Reese grabbed his arm and urged him to wait.
He glanced back as Reese stepped up to join him. “I’m not gonna hide this from them.”
Pretending he didn’t know whatthiswas, Brantley cocked an eyebrow.
Reese clarified by leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips, which made Brantley smile.
“Everything’s gonna be fine,” Brantley told him, gripping Reese’s forearm and squeezing lightly. “I promise. He’s got information we need. Once we get that, we’ll leave and never look back.”
Reese responded with another nod, this one a bit less jerky than before.
They made their way up the stairs to the wide front porch. Any other time, Brantley might’ve been impressed by the sprawling modern structure that reminded him of a castle in Wales, complete with a fountain courtyard and garden terraces. The only thing it lacked was gargoyles to ward off evil spirits, but he figured there were armed men to handle that part for Max.
Just as they reached the front door, it opened slowly, and a big black man stepped out. He was enormous, probably clocking in at six and a half feet tall with shoulders the size of an NFL linebacker on steroids.
Brantley was about to introduce himself when the man glanced at Reese, and what could’ve passed as a smile tilted the corners of his mouth.
“Tavoularis,” the man said with a voice so deep Brantley expected the earth to rumble beneath his feet.
“Rock,” Reese greeted in return. “This is my partner, Brantley Walker. Brantley, meet Max’s head enforcer, Rock.”
The man Reese referred to as Rock looked him over from head to toe, his eyes pausing briefly on Brantley’s sidearm before lifting to his face.
“That your real name?” Brantley asked, wondering if they would ever make it past the entryway.
Rock smiled, flashing pearly white teeth. “Might as well be. Only my mama calls me Taye anymore.”
When Rock turned away, venturing into the house, Brantley took that as a good sign. He didn’t figure Rock was the sort to turn his back on a threat, which meant he deemed them safe to enter the house. The guy probably didn’t know Brantley knew a dozen ways to end his life using only his bare hands. Not that he would. Probably.
