“I do,” Holt said, his tone reflecting his conviction.
“That’s fictional bullshit,” Brantley accused, moving closer, facing off with Holt directly.
“But it’s not.”Holt took a deep breath.“I honestly believe there’s a good possibility—”
Simon slapped a palm on Holt’s chest, effectively shutting him up.He shook his head once, holding Holt’s gaze.
“What?”Brantley asked.
Neither man spoke.
“Goddammit.Either you tell me what the fuck you were—”
“I’m not comfortable going there,” Simon stated firmly, his gaze narrowed on Holt.“Yet.”
“There?”Brantley stared between them.“Where’sthere?”He pointed toward Archer’s computer screen.“Is that shit real?”
Holt blurted, “There’s a possibility, yeah.”
“Goddammit, Holt,” Simon bellowed.
Brantley’s breath caught in his throat.
What.
The.
Fuck.
Before he knew what he was doing, he lunged at Holt, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him against the wall.
Holt grunted, and Brantley’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.
“I swear to God, if you start talkin’ bullshit like that, my cousin’s gonna bury you in the dirt himself.”
Holt didn’t attempt to shake him off, didn’t even appear surprised.
“I know how it sounds.”Holt’s tone was quiet, even.“Trust me, I’m not grasping at straws.”
Brantley shook him, then shoved back.“There’s no fuckin’ way.”
“I didn’t want to go this direction,” Simon interjected.“Not yet, anyway.But when you look at it from a different perspective, I think you’ll see what Holt’s referring to.”He held up a hand to stop Brantley from launching a tirade at him.“Doesn’t mean he’s right.But it wasn’t until he shared this information with me that I realized just how big this story is.”
Releasing Holt, Brantley took a step back.Then another and another until he had room to pace.He grabbed his head and walked, moving in the open area between desks.
It took a minute, but he managed to pull himself together.“There’s a big fucking difference between a story and a life-changing revelation, Simon.”
“I get it.”Simon was placating him.“I honestly do.But trust me, I don’t think it’s something Holt pulled out of his ass.”
“Thanks for that,” Holt muttered.
“You’re welcome.”
“You said Holt told you.When?”Reese asked Simon.“When did he tell you this?”
Brantley spun around.“Tell me you didn’t mention this to Travis.Fuck.”
“I didn’t,” Simon stated.“Even if I’d known at the time, I wouldn’t’ve said anything.Not without real evidence.”
