Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,30
a beer or three after this conversation.
“Happy New Year.” Brantley smacked him on the back. “And good luck.”
He would most definitely need it, Baz thought as he rounded the house and headed for the barn. There was a good chance JJ was scaling down from the second-floor window at that very moment.
Chapter Seven
When Baz disappeared around the side of the house, Reese got settled in the passenger seat of Brantley’s truck, buckled his seat belt with a resigned sigh.
Although it was usually the first thought he had when there was a destination in mind, Reese knew better than to insist he be the one to drive because it would get them nowhere. Brantley wasn’t keen on being a passenger, hence the reason they were always in Brantley’s truck rather than Reese’s. Not that Reese was all that fond of riding shotgun, but he figured someone had to compromise. And since there were plenty more compromises to be made in their relationship, Reese had conceded this one. Mostly.
“Prediction?” Brantley asked as he steered the truck toward town.
He turned his attention to the man behind the wheel, admiring Brantley’s profile. “On?”
“Baz and JJ.”
Reese thought about the conversation that was about to take place between the detective and the hacker extraordinaire. Considering how emotionally charged the air was when those two were in the same room, anything could happen.
“I’m not even gonna pretend to know what’s goin’ on with them. Why? What do you know?”
“Nothin’.” Brantley smirked, cutting his gaze over briefly. “Swear. She’s keepin’ that close to the vest.”
Yeah, Reese figured. JJ was a lot of things—fun, witty, smart, irritating, even—but she was not one to let many people get too close. And when it came to her feelings for Sebastian Buchanan, she treated them like they were a national secret.
Granted, Reese had witnessed the train wreck that was Baz and JJ for the past month, had seen how she mooned over the man although she pretended not to notice he was alive. She was delusional if she believed she was fooling anyone. Anyone except for Baz, anyway. For whatever reason, the detective wasn’t picking up on the clues that she was still hung up on him. Which, now that Reese thought about it, probably had something to do with all the moping Baz had been doing since they broke up.
Reese wouldn’t have had a problem with it except there were only six of them on the task force at the moment, which meant there were very few exchanges taking place when two of those six were going out of their way not to talk to one another. Reese knew Charlie and Trey were feeling the tension because they were the ones forced to share an office. At least Reese and Brantley could get away from them for most of the day since they spent the majority of their time out in the field. And when they didn’t, their offices were now in the house.
“No. Not surprised.” Brantley kept his eyes on the road. “I knew he’d break sooner or later.”
“They’ve gotta figure this shit out,” Reese said on a heavy exhale. “Preferably sooner rather than later.”
“They will. Eventually. But probably not tonight.” Brantley was shaking his head. “She’s too stubborn. It’ll have to be on her time, when she’s ready.” There was a hint of a smile. “But I figure Baz knows that. He’s just doin’ his part, puttin’ in the effort to prove he’s not like the jackasses she usually goes out with.”
“You think he’s in love with her?”
“Oh, yeah. No doubt about it.”
Reese wanted to say that was fast, but he held his tongue. He certainly wasn’t in a place to pass judgment. Considering how quickly and how hard he’d fallen for Brantley, he’d be a hypocrite to do so.
“We’re stayin’ till midnight, right?” Brantley asked as he pulled into the packed parking lot of Coyote Ridge’s one and only bar.
“Yeah.” Reese glanced at him, raised a brow in question. “Why?”
“Just wonderin’.”
Finding the parking lot completely full, Brantley got creative, making his own parking space in the adjacent field. Two more vehicles were pulling in behind them, doing the same thing.
Once the truck stopped, Reese reached for the door handle but came up short when Brantley grabbed his arm, pulled him back.
He fought his natural instinct to look out the window to ensure no one was watching. It was something that made him feel incredibly guilty—kissing someone you loved