“For the record, that does not qualify us into the Mile-High Club,” Brantley said, his voice teasing. “So, we’ll have to add that to our to-do list for the future.”
Lifting his head, he stared down at Brantley, saw that the guy was smiling as though it didn’t matter that his dick was iron hard in his jeans and there was no relief in sight for him.
“The future?”
The teasing glint disappeared, Brantley’s face sobering. Uncertainty swamped the heat, strangling it, sending it away, and Reese suddenly wanted to reassure him, to let Brantley know where they stood, because it mattered.
“I’ll commit to the future,” Reese told him. “If that’s what you want. I want to see where this goes, Brantley. I want … to see where it goes.”
A slight nod was all he got in return, but he could see the relief in Brantley’s stormy blue eyes. Whatever this was … Brantley didn’t have to worry because it wasn’t an experiment on Reese’s part. Well, mostly. There were some things that would require experimentation. Namely when it came to their sexual encounters, because Reese had never been touched by a man, much less done any touching of his own.
However, outside of getting to know him on an intimate level … no experimentation necessary. He knew exactly who he wanted.
Two hours later, Reese was riding shotgun while Brantley drove the black Chevy Tahoe toward the beach.
Before they’d touched down, he’d managed to grab a quick shower and change his clothes in what turned out to be a full bath on the luxury jet. After they had landed, the first place they had gone was Nicholas Prince’s main residence. They’d gotten the same runaround as they had at the Austin house, although the majordomo in charge of that domain had been somewhat pleasant, informing them that Mr. and Mrs. Prince were currently on an Alaskan cruise and wouldn’t be back for ten more days.
They’d already known this but checking out the house had given them the chance to get a feel for who Nicholas Prince was and what his ex-wife had given up to the younger version of herself. And after seeing a picture of the happy couple in the entryway of the Prince home, Reese decided that was exactly what Meghan Prince was. She had the same blond hair, the same blue eyes, even the pouty lips were the same. So either these two women went to the same plastic surgeon or Nicholas had a type.
When the answers to their questions had dried up, they’d decided to optimize what was left of the daylight hours by flashing pictures of Juliet Prince as well as Kate to people at the local beach, see if anyone had seen them. While every answer they received was in the negative, Reese held out hope.
And while they were pounding pavement—or sand as was the case here—JJ was back at the tech barn doing her thing. The woman truly was gifted with a computer. From what she’d told them, she’d managed to dump Nicholas Prince’s phone and she was currently chasing down phone numbers to see if they could find one that might lead them directly to Juliet rather than the scenic route they were currently on.
To top it off, Z had offered to send one of the Sniper 1 Security agents to Juliet Prince’s parents’ house in Louisiana just to check in, see if they’d seen or heard from their daughter. While Gage had successfully called them and filled them in on their suspicions—something Juliet’s parents adamantly denied was even a possibility—everyone was looking for more concrete answers. Since a little girl’s life hung in the balance, it only made sense.
And to ensure the Arondas didn’t tip their daughter off to the investigation, JJ had managed to tap into their phones, keeping an eye on them that way. Sure, it was illegal, but in the grand scheme of things, who really gave a shit? Until Kate was brought safely back home to her parents, anything and everything was fair game.
“What do you say we swing by the police department, fill them in on what we know, then grab a bite to eat?” Brantley said when they’d once again returned to the Tahoe.
“Provided I pick the restaurant,” he said simply because he wanted to harass the man.
“Fine. Where do you wanna go?”
“Haven’t decided yet. But I’ll let you know soon enough.”
Just as soon as he figured it out himself.
***
The restaurant Reese selected was a seafood joint near the hotel that boasted they had the best steak and lobster in town. As far as whether they were, Brantley didn’t know, but he would take their word for it. Dinner had been good, the company more so.
“Why’d you enlist?” he asked Reese as he stared at the man across the table.
