“You should’ve told me about this already,” Travis grumbled, glaring at Holt.
For a brief moment, Holt looked like a deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming semi.He stood there, teeth grinding, likely trying to come up with an excuse or ten.
Simon nudged Holt, who glanced over as though realizing where he was.
“Right.”Holt stepped toward the desk.“To be fair, I didn’t know about this when I talked to you.”He turned the computer screen so Travis could see it.“Trust me, if I had, I would’ve led with it.”
Everyone waited while Travis skimmed the document.When he was finished, he stood tall and gestured toward the computer screen.“This?”
“It looks legit, don’t you think?”Reese prompted.
Several heads nodded in response.
But not Travis’s.He shook his head, glancing back at the screen.“This is convoluted conspiracy bullshit.I don’t buy this for a second.”
Brantley had feared he would say that.
He’d also hoped that’d be the case, as it would make proving one way or the other that Kylie was alive a challenge his team could take on without Travis looking over their shoulder.Sure, he loved Travis—the guy was family, after all—but he would be the first to admit he wasn’t the easiest to deal with.
“Next time you come up with some asinine bullshit to feed me, at least make sure it’s got substance,” Travis growled softly as he made a beeline toward the door.
Brantley half expected Travis to summon him to follow.When he didn’t, he let out a relieved breath.As he continued to stare at the door, he felt Reese’s presence when his husband moved up beside him.They stared together, watching as Travis made his exit.
“Well, that went well,” Atticus quipped.
Brantley took another deep breath, let it out.“It changes nothing.”
He had every intention of seeing this through to the end.A thorough examination of this so-called conspiracy was warranted.If for no other reason than to take down some corrupt feds.
Figuring there was no time like the present to do this, he turned to look at Holt.“Now you can go into detail on what prompted you to come to this conclusion.”
“You didn’t think that would’ve been something you’d want to hearbeforeyou dragged him into it?”Simon asked, gesturing toward the door.
“When it comes to my cousin, I’ve found that transparency is the best option.If he found out I knew and kept it to myself…”
He let the sentence hang because they could fill in the blanks with pretty much anything that resulted in severe bodily harm.And while he wasn’t scared of Travis, loyalty was something he prided himself on.When it came to family, no one or nothing would interfere with that.
Not to mention, the man deserved to know that his wife could be alive.
At least that was what he told himself.In truth, Brantley wasn’t buying it any more than Travis was.But now he felt vindicated in his reaction.With that, he could proceed without bias.
“Speaking of your cousin,” Atticus drawled when there was a knock on the door.
“I’m not lookin’ forward to this,” Reese muttered, looking over Brantley’s shoulder at the monitor.
Brantley wasn’t either.
Archer got to the door first, opening it and stepping back out of the way.
Travis stormed in, his expression harder than Brantley’d ever seen it.
Brantley held his ground when his cousin marched up to him, all but getting right in his face.A lesser man might’ve taken a step back, perhaps gotten offended by the fury in his demeanor, but Brantley wasn’t the sort to back down from a fight.Not even when it was with family.
That and he had an inch on Travis and probably a good thirty pounds of muscle.No, Travis wasn’t a lightweight, nor did he look like a man who sat behind a desk all day, but Brantley was seven years younger and still in his prime.
“Do you honestly believe my wife is alive?”
He heard the threat, but in it was something else.Optimism?A twinge of hope, maybe?
