“I’ve got wine,” Brax announced, making a beeline for the kitchen.
Cav glanced over at me.“Somethin’ happen in the basement that I should know about?”
“It’s his torture dungeon,” Jamie said simply, leading the way to the kitchen.“He doesn’t think I know that, but I’ve been on to him for years.”
Brax’s gaze swung over to her.“Really?”
She waved him off.“Of course.Don’t worry.I won’t go traipsing down there to greet them.I can wait.”
A sigh of relief came from the man.“Thank God for that.”
Jamie laughed.“Is that why you’ve got your panties in a twist?”she teased.
Brax laughed, a strangled sound that had me smiling.
“Somethin’ like that.”
“So, are you excited?”Jamie asked as she took a seat at the bar when Brax passed over a glass of wine.“T minus seven, right?”
For the first time since we walked in the door, a genuine smile landed on the man’s face, reaching all the way to his eyes.“Yeah.Can’t wait.”
“I bet.This is a big deal.”
“Huge,” Brax agreed, looking over at me.“Wine or scotch?”
“Scotch,” I said, relieved that he’d offered something stronger.
While Zeke and I were still friends and there was no animosity between us, I was still uncomfortable being in the man’s presence.Jamie had breakfast with her brother every Friday like clockwork, so I knew the Sadist was in the know as to how her life was going, but I still got antsy when I was around him.
“A torture dungeon?”Cav asked, clearly still stuck a few minutes in the past.
I laughed, relaxing somewhat.
“Not for the faint of heart,” Brax stated, passing over one glass to me, another to Cav.
“Can I get a tour?”he asked eagerly, his attention swinging to the basement stairs.“When they’re done, of course.”
“I’m sure it can be arranged,” Jamie promised.
A thundering cry sounded from down below, and Brax’s eyes swung between the three of us.
“Relax, man,” I told him.“Nothing we haven’t heard before.”
“He had a client over for dinner a couple of months ago,” Brax explained.“Left me up here to entertain while he took Case down there for a discussion.”He used air quotes on the last word.“Not easy to explain away that sort of noise.”
“You know he does it on purpose, right?”I asked, taking the barstool to Jamie’s left.“Probably more of a mind fuck for you than anything else.”
As though he hadn’t considered that, Brax’s eyes widened.
I grinned.“That’s Zeke for you.”
“Don’t worry,” Jamie added, “he tends to tone it down when I’m here.”
“Way down,” Brax agreed, turning toward the oven.
Cav leaned in, lowered his voice.“He really has a torture dungeon?”
“He really does.”
