Deadly Coincidence (Brantley Walker Off the Books #4) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,94

and tried to lever himself behind the protective barrier. Any second, one of these bullets was going to hit its mark—

Three rapid-fire shots echoed in the space, followed by complete silence and a ringing in Brantley’s ears.

Brantley looked over, saw Reese standing out in the open, his gun aimed at the second floor. He’d broken cover to save Brantley’s life.

“Dante?” Reese shouted.

“I’m here!” came the response. “You killed him! He’s dead!”

Brantley waited until Reese looked his way. It was then he saw the fear in his eyes, knew Reese had thought he’d gone down for good, so he’d taken out the shooter.

“I’m all right,” he assured the man. “Flesh wound.”

Another eye roll from Reese.

“Charlie, call an ambulance,” Reese ground out, still looking directly at Brantley. “You stay there. I’m gonna lock it down up there.”

Because he could tell Reese was still on edge, perhaps a little brittle, Brantley could do nothing but nod in agreement, pushing himself up with his good arm. He took a seat on the bottom step while Reese pounded up to the second floor.

“You’re shot,” Charlie snapped when she joined him.

“Flesh wound,” he told her. He hadn’t confirmed that with his eyes, but based on his experience with bullets slamming into his flesh, this one was minor.

“Shooter down!” Reese called out from the second floor. “Scene secure.”

Brantley looked at Charlie, grinned. “Damn good end to the first day of the year, huh?”

The look on her face said she thought he’d lost his damn mind.

He couldn’t help but grin.

That grin didn’t last too long, though. It died shortly after Reese insisted that Brantley go to the hospital to have his bullet wound treated. He’d argued but ended up overruled. Both Charlie and the EMT had agreed with Reese, and in an effort to avoid an ensuing argument, he had reluctantly climbed into the ambulance.

Now, two hours later, he was waiting for Reese to return to the house. After he’d gotten a handful of stitches, he’d been released, practically as good as new. At Reese’s insistence, he had come home—via an Uber—only to find himself in a perpetual state of waiting.

Not easy considering the only thing he’d been able to think about for the past couple of hours was finding somewhere private where he could strip Reese bare and have his wicked way with him, and moving was the only way he knew to deal with the adrenaline.

Sure, sex with Reese was probably an inappropriate train of thought while having a bullet wound stitched, but it was all he could do to keep from running out of the hospital. He despised the place, the overwhelming smell of antiseptic, knowing the sick and dying were behind closed doors. In order to avoid going postal, Brantley had allowed his Reese-fueled fantasies to play out in his head.

Good thing Reese proved to be a damn fine mental distraction when he needed one. Then again, Reese was a damn fine distraction all the time. Brantley would say he thought about Reese a good ninety-five percent of the day. Longer when he had nothing to do. Thankfully, those times were few and far between because Brantley wasn’t good at being idle.

The sound of tires on gravel had him strolling to the front window and peering out, watching as Brantley’s Chevy came pulling down the dirt drive, Reese behind the wheel. Planting his hands on his hips, he stared out, waiting for that moment when he would see Reese for the first time after they’d been apart. He wasn’t sure what it was about the man that kept him riveted, but Brantley had been awestruck since day one.

And there he was. All six feet five inches of grade A prime male. It sometimes surprised him that it was still a shock when he saw Reese. There was something about him—perhaps it was everything—that tripped him up and made him ache for things he’d never ached for before. He’d experienced it the first moment he’d laid eyes on Reese and every day thereafter. Reese had changed him in so many ways, brought out a side of Brantley he hadn’t realized existed. And yes, the man he loved had tested his patience a few times, but it was so fucking worth it.

Speaking of patience…

Brantley remained where he was, continuing to stare out even as Reese made his way up to the door. When the door opened, Tesha came lumbering over, tail wagging as she greeted Reese. Brantley allowed Reese to give her the requisite pat on