Page 17 of To Have and To Hold
“Not goin’ anywhere.” He couldn’t. He was trapped.
“B, we’re comin’.”
No, they weren’t. He could hear it in that tormented voice. Something was keeping his team from coming for him.
That was when he heard it. The familiar whistling sound alerted him to a big fucking problem. The only thing he had time to do was scramble in his brain for a prayer that might get to the big guy’s ears before—
The blast shook what was left of the house overhead as well as the ground beneath him. Another was right behind it, closer, bringing the building down on top of him.
Brantley came awake with a start, thunder rumbling somewhere in the distance. It took a moment for him to catch his breath, shaking off the nightmare. He’d been back in that building, separated from his team, trapped and injured while the world came down on top of him.
He hadn’t had that nightmare in quite some time, and he damn sure didn’t miss it.
Brushing a hand over his hair, he realized he was sweating, his chest heaving. The fear lingered deep inside him for a moment, although he knew the danger didn’t exist. Not anymore.
Thunder crashed outside once again.
That was what triggered it. The weather was never his friend. Certainly not thunderstorms.
But he was safe. He was home. And Reese was there, he realized as he reached for him, stopping before he touched him. Rather than wake Reese, Brantley got out of bed, padded to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and stared at himself in the mirror, trying to figure out if the storm alone had triggered the nightmare or if something else was wrong. He’d learned that stress played a huge part in those dreams.
Although he wanted to pretend he wasn’t stressed about the wedding, it was a lie he told himself to keep his anxiety at bay. He was stressed because he wanted it to be perfect for Reese, and he’d let go of control completely, allowing JJ to take care of everything. She wouldn’t fail them. She was as excited about the day as Brantley was. Yet, it was still difficult for him to let someone else tend to every detail while he sat back and watched from the sidelines.
But he was coping relatively well, so maybe that wasn’t it.
His thoughts drifted to his conversation with his sister last night. As soon as she mentioned Travis’s name, Brantley recalled the phone call he’d received from the man a couple of weeks ago.
“Where are you?”
“Leavin’ the courthouse.”
“Why are you at the courthouse?”
“Gettin’ our marriage license. Sixteen days and countin’.”
“Fuck,” Travis growled. “Goddammit.”
“Somethin’ wrong?”
“Shit. Never mind. I shouldn’t’ve called you. I forgot you were gettin’ married.”
“Not today, I’m not. Tell me what’s goin’ on?”
“It can wait.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. But if you need somethin’, just holler.”
Travis had hung up on him at that point. Thinking back on it, Brantley realized there’d been a definite edge to his cousin’s voice, but he hadn’t thought anything of it at the time. That was Travis. He tended to run hot, which meant anything could set him off.
Now, he had to wonder whether he should’ve pushed for answers.
Brantley returned to his side of the bed, intending to get his cell phone, which was charging on the wireless charger. It was then he noticed the time. 0458. In two minutes, his alarm would go off because it was time to get up and start the day.
He glanced at Reese.
