“So why didn’t he just go to court yesterday?”
“Probably has somethin’ to do with the fact the loan shark/drug dealer’s got a bounty on his head.”
“And now he has two.”
That he did.
“You know where he might be?”
Reese shook his head. “Haven’t got a fuckin’ clue. Toby’s a nice guy. He’s got good intentions. At least I think he does. But he’s what you’d call flaky.”
Brantley chuckled. “Sounds like it.” His expression turned serious. “You think he’s in trouble?”
“I do. Yeah. And I think my do-gooder brother wants to help the guy out.”
“By takin’ him in?”
Oh, if it could only be that easy. “More like findin’ him before the bad guys do. I’m sure this’ll turn into babysittin’ duty before it’s all over.”
“Does your mom know what’s goin’ on?” Brantley smirked again. “I mean, are they still—”
“Don’t say it,” Reese choked. “Don’t go there. Don’t put that image in my head.”
Brantley laughed, the sound both sexy and annoying. “I think it’s too late for that, don’t you?”
Reese closed his eyes and grimaced as he fought the images that tried to imprint on his brain.
Chapter Three
Brantley figured he shouldn’t find the entiresituation amusing, but he couldn’t help it. It sounded like something right out of a Ryan Reynolds movie. Seriously. Who steals a car to run from a loan shark and decides it’s a good idea to ram a police car as a cry for help only to learn that you’ve got drugs in the trunk?
Well, that would be a guy who used to share Reese’s mom with Reese’s dad. That in itself was amusing because Brantley knew Reese’s mother, and the absolute last thing he would’ve ever guessed was that Cindy Tavoularis was into stuff like that. Not that he was knocking it. To each his (or her) own. But Cindy? He just couldn’t see it.
He chuckled, finishing off his extra-crispy bacon. Not that he was going to mention that Reese had overcooked it. He figured that was the least of their worries at the moment. Plus, Brantley wasn’t picky when it came to bacon. As long as it wasn’t plants disguised as bacon, he was golden.
Clearing his throat, he looked at Reese. “If it’s all the same to you, I say we find Uncle Toby—”
“Pleasedon’t call him that.”
Brantley tried to hide his smile, but he failed. “Fine. We’ll find Toby, and when we do, we can deliver him safely to police custody so they can get him to the courthouse where he belongs.”
Reese’s brown eyes narrowed. “You make it sound like this’ll be simple.”
Clearly, Reese knew something Brantley didn’t, but that didn’t change anything. He was actually looking forward to taking a case that didn’t come with ridiculous amounts of stress. When he’d originally agreed to create a task force dedicated to finding missing people, he hadn’t exactly thought it through. In fact, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, when Trey opted to go a different route, that he realized just how stressful a job they had. From the moment they took a case, they were working against the clock. Because someone’s life hung in the balance, it meant eating and sleeping took a back seat to finding that person.
Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t much different than when he’d been in the Teams. Most of their missions were at a critical level, but life had been different back then. Brantley’s entire existence had orbited around his job, his career in the Navy. He’d welcomed the danger and the adrenaline rush that’d come with it. But that was then. His path had changed. No longer was he on the hunt for terrorists or searching for weapons of mass destruction. He had a life now. Family, friends. And most importantly, a man he wanted to dedicate his time to rather than be out there trying to save the world every minute of every day.
So, yeah, Brantley couldn’t say he didn’t welcome a change of pace.
He got to his feet and grabbed his plate, carrying it around to the sink and setting it aside before stepping up to Reese, who was still leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest. He gently took Reese’s wrists and urged his arms down to his sides before moving closer.
“If you give me one solid reason why we shouldn’t do this, I’ll call Z and tell him it’s not an option.”
Reese’s eyes locked with his. “I have a dozen excuses but no valid reasons.”
He loved this man’s honesty.
Smiling, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Then we’re doin’ this.”
