Gage chuckled. “You did pursue me ruthlessly.”
“And you eventually caved.” Travis set his drink on the desk. “Are you glad you did? Knowin’ what you know now?”
Gage’s eyes softened. “More so every single day.”
“Even after the past few days?”
Gage’s eyebrows lowered.
Travis sighed, figuring he had to get this off his chest sooner or later. “I can’t help but think if I’d gone after Kate, we could’ve gotten her back sooner.”
A soft sigh escaped the man standing before him. “You wanna know the truth?”
“Always.”
Gage’s eyes locked with his. “You did exactly what we needed you to do, Travis. Yes, you could’ve hit the streets, bullied your way through to finding where Kate was. You’re more capable than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Travis continued to stare up at him.
“But that wasn’t what we needed from you. Although the bull in the china shop routine is sexy on you, it wouldn’t have worked the way we needed it to. And it’s easy to speculate about what might’ve happened if, but that doesn’t matter anymore. You trusted Brantley and Reese because you knew what they were capable of even when the rest of us didn’t. Just because you can go off the reservation, take matters into your own hands, doesn’t mean you should.”
Travis had needed to hear that. He hadn’t realized how much until right then. “Thank you. For sayin’ that.”
“It’s the truth.” Gage stepped around the desk, propped himself on the top. “And based on all that emotion I can see brewin’ in your eyes, you could use a distraction right about now.”
He smirked, pushing his chair back. “You know me too well. What did you have in mind?”
Gage set down his beer bottle, moving to stand directly in front of Travis. “I figured I’d let you decide. After all, it is one of the things you do best.”
Travis grinned. “In that case, how about you use that sweet fucking mouth on me, baby. Show me one of the things you do best.”
For the next few minutes, Gage proved how exquisite his mouth was, then they both went upstairs together so they could show Kylie what they could do when they put their heads together.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Five days later
“All right, Brantley, out with it. Why am I here?” JJ asked the instant he stepped into the barn.
Hell, she hadn’t even given him time to close the door behind him.
With a slow exhale, Brantley allowed the door to shut, lock, before he turned his attention to the woman who looked as though he’d dragged her right out of her bed. Her dark hair was piled haphazardly on her head, held in place with a clip. She was sans makeup and the T-shirt she wore looked as though it had seen better days.
“Take a seat,” he suggested, motioning toward the black leather couch she had purchased last week with the intention of slipping it into his house. Luckily, he’d caught the movers before they could deliver it, had them reroute it out here. He didn’t want a couch. On principle, dammit.
“First of all, I wanted to thank you for all you did in helpin’ bring Kate home. I can honestly say, without you, we wouldn’t’ve accomplished the task as quickly as we did. Maybe not at all.”
“No thanks necessary,” she said, staring back at him with that skepticism he was used to seeing on her face. “But you didn’t need to bring me here. A text message would’ve sufficed.”
“Agree. But that’s not why we’ve asked you here.”
She glanced over at Reese, narrowed her eyes. “You were holdin’ out on me, Tavoularis.”
“I figured Brantley could do the honors,” he countered with a shrug.
Brantley planted his hands on his hips, glanced at the impatient woman now staring back at him.
“I’ve got a proposition for you, Miss James. And if you don’t want in, feel free to say no. But Reese and I talked, and before we did anything else, we wanted to approach you first.”
“Cryptic much?” JJ’s green eyes shot back and forth between them. “Get on with it.”
“Fine.” He smiled. “Reese and I were approached by Governor Greenwood with the request to start an off-the-books task force responsible for handling missing persons cases. It’s a full-time gig. And yes, before you ask, there’s a salary.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket, held it up.
“A task force?” JJ’s eyes widened. “Did you sell out, Brantley?”
He should’ve known she’d jump to that conclusion. “I didn’t sell out. Like I said, this is off the books. I am the team leader. If you decide to join us, you’ll report directly to me. There’s no red tape, no political bullshit. We accomplish our goal how we see fit.”
Her gaze dropped to the computer monitors sitting in front of her. “Within the law, I presume?”
“The plan is to work within the law, yes. Whenever possible. But the governor has granted us immunity in regard to how we go about doing it. That’s not to say we’re gonna go rogue, but we will use whatever means we have to get the job done.”
