Brantley had expected Reese to ask him that, so he’d stopped himself before calling JJ and asking her to stick with it. They had too many things going on right now to worry about Z’s motivations. Brantley was sure he had his reasons. As for whether they were altruistic or not wasn’t his business. The guy was technically their boss. He could send them wherever he wanted.
“No, I don’t,” he said honestly. “I wanted to. I even thought about it, but there’s too much goin’ on right now for her to go down that path. Hell, she’s still stuck on findin’ the woman she suspects to be Harrison Rivers’s first victim. Last thing I need is for her to get swept up in something else.”
“So you won’t be lookin’ into findin’ out who this Eddie person is?”
Brantley smirked. Reese knew him all too well. “I didn’t say that. But I intend to keep it from JJ for as long as possible.”
“Are you gonna ask Luca to help?”
Brantley cocked an eyebrow and looked at Reese. “Seriously? And risk JJ’s wrath when she finds out I went behind her back?”
Reese laughed. “Fair point.”
“No. I think I’ll keep this one between us for now.” He linked his fingers together and pressed his hands out in front of him. “I might surprise you, Tavoularis. Maybe I’ll become a hacker extraordinaire.”
Another laugh bellowed out of Reese. “Sure you will.”
Reese released Tesha from her leash while Brantley dug a tennis ball from one of his cargo pockets and handed it to Reese.
When Tesha took off after it, Brantley turned to Reese. “Do you know something I don’t? About Z or Decker and whatever this is?”
Reese met his gaze. “I wish I did. I don’t have a clue what Z’s up to, but I’m with you. I think somethin’s goin’ on.”
“Does it bother you that he sent us on a wild goose chase?”
Reese’s expression darkened. “It’s not the chase that bothered me so much.”
“It was the circumstance,” Brantley supplied.
“Yeah.” Reese exhaled heavily. “I can’t say I’ve minded the trip. But I don’t like spinnin’ my wheels any more than you do.”
Brantley was more worried that this particular case had stirred up bad memories for Reese. He knew Reese had been worried that Decker had been taken, and then the worst-case scenarios began to run through his head. Now that they’d seen that Decker was fine, he would be able to move past it. Or pretend he had, anyway.
Brantley figured Reese would never truly move forward until he dealt with what happened to him during his captivity. He didn’t know the details, but he knew enough to worry.
“When you’re ready to talk about it,” Brantley told him. “I’m here to listen.”
Reese’s gaze snapped to his face. Surprise registered.
“What? You didn’t think I’d put two and two together? Come on, Reese. I’m not as obtuse as you think I am.”
“I don’t think that,” Reese countered adamantly.
“No, but you think I don’t notice the small things.” Brantley met his stare. “When it comes to you, I noticeeverything.”
Reese’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat as he looked away. “I’ve dealt with it.”
It was a lie. They both knew it, but Brantley nodded. “Okay.”
And just like anytime the emotions started churning too deep, they both locked it up inside and pretended they were fine. It was how you made it through the day when you’d been through a traumatic ordeal. As long as you didn’t think about it or talk about it, you could pretend it never happened.
Until you couldn’t.
***
Slade was packing up the rest ofhis things when there was a knock on his hotel room door. He glanced at the clock, ensuring he hadn’t passed checkout time. He hadn’t, which meant the knock was likely his partner’s.
He opened the door to find Evan standing in the hallway, head hung down, bag slung over one shoulder.
