Basil (The Brinnswick Chronicles #3) - Michele Notaro Page 0,50
chest tightened and warmed in a pleasant way that I was beginning to desire more and more.
When I finally released him and broke the kiss, his kiss-swollen lips quirked up in the corners, and he said, “Well, hello to you, too.”
I snorted, pecked his lips, then sat back in my seat, putting the car in drive. “You didn’t sleep in very late.”
“I was too anxious to see you.”
My heart skipped a beat. He said things like this all the time, and I wasn’t sure if he knew it or not, but every time he did, it seemed to chip away at my walls a little more. “I didn’t sleep much last night, either.”
He hummed, a happy sound that made me grin. When this man got under my skin enough to make me smile so much, I’d never know, but… I couldn’t deny that it was nice to have a little bit of happiness for myself. Having Rasha was the best thing to ever happen to me, and the time I spent with her was precious and made me the happiest father in the world. But… I’d been goin’ at this dad thing by myself for the past eight years. Without anyone to share the pressure with, it’d been weighing me down, and I could admit to myself that I’d been lonely. Really fuckin’ lonely when I was lying in bed at night by myself.
So as much as I was unsure about this thing between Basil and me, I decided to let myself enjoy it. Maybe it would last, maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe I’d trust him enough to share my daughter with him, maybe I wouldn’t. But I wanted to see where this thing went.
“You okay?”
Basil’s voice brought my attention back to him. “Hm? Yeah, fine.”
I could feel his eyes on me as I drove, but all he said was, “Okay.”
Stifling a sigh, I asked, “What’s your schedule like for the rest of the week?”
“Uh, working a million hours every day.” He leaned back in his seat and sighed. “There’s a serial killer on the loose, so it’s an all hands on deck situation. Alec won’t let me on that case, but since there’s a billion agents working it, there’s a million other cases for me and a few others to handle. The only reason I have off today is because I’ve worked so much overtime in the past two weeks that the department can’t pay me.” He snorted. “Alec called me about an hour ago and asked if I could come in anyway, but I told him I’d have to wait until after our date. So… I’ll be working tonight, most likely.”
“That sucks. I can’t believe the BCA hasn’t been able to catch this guy yet.”
“Me either. The body count just keeps going up, and we don’t know what to do about it. Witches have been notified to stay alert and not to travel by themselves. Hell, the news has been playing our plea of people staying in groups whether they’re witches or not since this guy’s violence seems to be escalating. But somehow, he keeps grabbing witches anyway. I don’t know what to do.” There was a sadness in his voice that I hadn’t expected, but… I should have. For all his outer appearances and angry demeanor, Basil was actually pretty damn soft-hearted.
“I’m sorry. If you need any help, you know ya can ask me, right?”
He turned in his seat. “Would you really be willing to come into the BCA as a consultant?”
I thought about it, then shrugged. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with my jobs, I don’t see why not.”
“They’d pay you.”
I sighed, but didn’t dignify that with a response.
“I’m gonna text Alec and let him know. You’re better at finding people than anyone else I know. Alec should hire you.”
I snorted. “You really think a government agency is gonna hire a hunter?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
I shot him a look before refocusing on the road and shaking my head. “Hunters aren’t exactly known for stayin’ within the bounds of the law, now are they?”
“I guess not, but if you saw the shit my brothers and I get away with, you’d be surprised.”
“Is it ‘cause Alec’s in your coven?” He’d been trying to explain his family to me, and if I remembered correctly, Alec was married to his sister and was a… werewolf, I thought.
“No, it’s because we bring in the most criminals, and when we’re involved, we help keep the other agents safe with our shields and stuff.”