“And the fact that we have yet to bring Kate’s kidnapper to justice holds no bearing?” Brantley inquired.
“None. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve accomplished your task, bringing the child home safely and identifying the person who took her. The FBI and local law enforcement will now take over, ensuring she’s held accountable for her actions.”
From the corner of his eye, Reese noticed Travis’s eyebrow quirked. Didn’t look as though the man agreed with the governor on that one.
Brantley looked back at Reese again. “He seems to have all the answers.”
“That he does,” Reese concurred.
“What do you say?” Brantley’s eyes narrowed as they locked onto his. “You wanna be my partner?”
He heard the double entendre, and when he answered with, “Yes,” Reese wasn’t sure if he was answering one or both.
Not that it mattered.
Looked as though he would have plenty of time to sort it all out.
Alongside the man who seemed to be single-handedly changing his entire world.
Chapter Twenty-One
After agreeing they would meet up in the coming week to discuss logistics of the new endeavor, Governor Greenwood made his exit and Brantley followed suit, saying his goodbyes to the family and waiting for Reese to do the same.
“Off the books, huh?” Reese muttered from the passenger seat of his truck as they pulled out of Curtis’s driveway.
“Pretty common in military practice.”
“Maybe, but in case you haven’t noticed, we’re not in the military anymore.”
No, they weren’t. And yes, Brantley was very aware of the fact. Perhaps that was part of the reason he’d been on board with the idea as soon as it had come out of Governor Greenwood’s mouth. He instantly thought about the progress the police department had made in Kate’s case and knew it would’ve taken a tremendous amount of time for them to bring Kate home. The officers who put in the work would be the first to admit their hands were often tied, undermining their ability to accomplish their task. Those legal hurdles didn’t usually work in the best interest of the victim. Sometimes not even when it came to getting justice for the crime.
“Did you know your cousin’s a billionaire?”
Reese’s shift in topic surprised him, but the question made him smile. “I long ago stopped making assumptions about Travis. The man’s resourceful and he plays by his own rules. I imagine he’s doubled his money through investments numerous times. God only knows what all he’s got his finger in.”
“And you think this is a good idea? Us being … partners?”
Now there was the uncertainty he’d sensed. “I can’t think of a better person I’d want to go into business with.”
“Look, Brantley … about what happened…”
Grinning, he cut his gaze to Reese’s. “I know you want me to interrupt here, to tell you that I’ll back off, give you space to wrap your head around it, let you close yourself off until you decide if what happened meant somethin’. I’m not gonna do that, Reese. Because it did. To both of us. You can stop questionin’ that.”
Like he expected, there was no response.
“But you need to remember one thing.”
“What’s that?”
Brantley pulled into the parking space in front of Reese’s apartment, put the truck in park, and looked over at him. “Even though I let you fuck me … I’m still the alpha in this relationship.”
It took a moment for those words to sink in, but Reese finally barked a laugh.
“Oh, you think I’m kiddin’?” he said, trying to keep a straight face. “I’m not.”
He unbuckled his seat belt, leaned over the console, and hooked his hand around Reese’s neck, tugging him closer.
“I want you. Probably more than I should. And you want me. Pretend otherwise if you’d like, but I’m gonna be here to remind you every single day. And I’ll keep on remindin’ you until you realize it’s the truth.”
“Doesn’t change the fact I’m confused,” Reese grumbled.
“No, probably not. But you told me you were all in, Reese. I’m gonna hold you to that. I’m not in any hurry, have no agenda. I want to spend time with you. Yes, a good majority of that time, I hope like hell we’re both naked. The rest of the time … well, we might as well give this task force thing a shot. We’ve already proven we’re good together.” He leaned in closer, let his breath fan Reese’s mouth. “Both in the bedroom and out.”
A soft moan was the response that had him closing the distance, pressing his lips to Reese’s. As though he’d been waiting for Brantley to make the move, Reese’s arms came around him, rough and urgent as the kiss went nuclear.
Daring to push for more, Brantley slid his hand down Reese’s stomach, his fingers quickly finding the button on Reese’s jeans, tugging it free from the mooring. He continued to plunder Reese’s mouth with his tongue while he slipped his hand in as far as it would go, but the positioning proved too difficult.
