Brantley chuckled.“What do you say we get up, figure out what the team’s up to, then grab some food.Maybe run by the hospital?We can check on JJ, and when we’re done, we’ll meet up with Simon and Holt.”
“Need a shower first,” Reese said, his breath still labored.
“Me, too.We’ll do that first, then take care of the rest.”
And maybe, if he were lucky, they’d linger in the shower for a little while.Just because they could.
The lingering didn’t last nearly as long as Brantley would’ve liked.Two minutes.Maybe five.
That was the point when Reese turned to face him, sliding his hand over his head to push the water back.“You need to talk to Atticus about the missing statue.And you need to do it before he leaves for the day.”
Brantley traded places, stepping beneath the water.“I thought you would’ve done that already.”
“And when would I’ve had time?”
He shrugged.“You did brush your teeth without wakin’ me up.You’re a multi-tasker.”
“Not this time.This is all you.”Reese reached for a towel.“You told Rose we’d look into it.Youget to deal with Atticus when he freaks the fuck out.”
“If I recall correctly, it wasyouridea to assign him to it.”
“Only becauseyoutook the case.”
Brantley smiled.It was hard not to when he thought about how Atticus might react when he learned he was going to have to look into a missing statue.The kid hadn’t been on the team long, and he was already going stir-crazy without any cases to work.Brantley figured they should pass some along, but he didn’t want Atticus to get used to working alone.He’d done enough of that during his time as a bounty hunter.Luckily for him, they’d found him a partner—assuming Archer intended to accept the job.As soon as they could get Archer onboarded and acclimated, they’d start shoving bigger things their way.
Until then…
“Fine,” he told Reese.“We’ll tell him.”
“You’lltell him.”
Laughing, Brantley acquiesced.“I’lltell him.”
“By yourself.”
Brantley’s eyebrows hopped toward his hairline.“Yeah?And what’re you gonna do?”
With the towel wrapped around his hips, Reese crossed the bathroom toward the door.“First, I’ll start by checking my email and ensuring we haven’t missed anything.”
“That’ll take five minutes, tops,” Brantley called after him.
“It’ll take as long as it takes you to tell Atticus,” Reese shouted back.“Good luck.”
Ten minutes later, dressed and ready for the rest of the day, Brantley stepped out onto the back patio, a cup of coffee in his hands.Thankfully, his husband had been gracious enough to start a pot before he went upstairs to hide in his office.It was needed if he was expected to deal with Atticus first thing.
Because it was roughly lunchtime for most of the team, he took the time to check the parking area to see if Atticus’s truck was there.He located the big gray Chevy, and his grin amped up a few watts at the thought of witnessing Atticus’s reaction when he learned he was going to be the lead investigator for the first time since he started working for the task force.
Since he wasn’t going to get out of it, he sucked it up and made his way to the barn.He was keying in his passcode when Tesha came racing out of the dog door, hauling ass across the yard to join him.
“Don’t even act like you haven’t been over here all day,” he told her as he opened the door and she rushed inside.
“Afternoon, boss,” Slade called from his desk.“Didn’t think we were gonna see you today.”
“Can’t take a day off.Someone’s gotta keep an eye on you and Atticus.”
Atticus spoke as he hen-pecked the keyboard with his fingertips.“What did I do?”
“Nothin’.And that’s the problem.”
