MBB,
MBB?
What the…?
His mouth twitched up in an almost grin.
Her big boy.
He read on.
Hope you slept well.
Help yourself to whatever. I set up the coffeepot. The switch on the front, flip it to on.
Branch needed some coffee so he did just that.
Then he read on.
I’ve got a late-ish showing tonight but I should be home around 6:30. Maybe latest 7:00.
My turn to cook, if you don’t mind eating late. If you do, we’ll get takeout and I’ll pick something up to bring it home with me.
See you later, handsome.
xxx E
Her turn to cook.
He’d wait.
And not let himself think about how easy he was letting himself fall into shit like it being her turn to cook.
He also didn’t let himself think about moving around her kitchen as he searched for some bagels, didn’t find any but did find some English muffins so he loaded one in the toaster.
While he was getting out butter, his phone went again.
Unknown call, no number, no location, nothing.
Which likely meant Gerbil.
Good timing.
If word spread about him and Evangeline, it increased his vulnerability.
And hers.
There was a reason there weren’t a lot of people in his life and this was for his safety.
And theirs.
A dead man didn’t have friends, but Branch had allowed himself a few of them he knew he could trust.
But that man absolutely didn’t have a woman.
“Yo,” he answered Gerbil’s call.
“Piz,” Gerbil replied.
Branch stilled on the short trek from fridge to counter with the butter.
“What about Piz?”
“You know that crazy-ass bitch he married and divorced who was most of the reason why he didn’t mind becoming a ghost to be on Rifle Team?” Gerbil asked.
“Yeah,” Branch answered.
“Well, the crazy-ass bitch was more like a cunt. She divorced his ass and didn’t share she did it pregnant with his kid.”
Branch unfroze and made his way to the toaster, saying, “You’re shitting me.”
“Nope. A little girl. She’s almost seven now. And crazy, bitch-ass mama has decided the government is going to set them up so she’s all up in their shit, threatening to sue, saying Piz died the first time he died, that being the fake one, due to negligence. This being why he was traced to Rifle Team and the files were discovered.”
“I can’t fucking believe that woman was pregnant. If Piz knew—”
“He’d be alive, a part-time daddy, because if he knew he had a kid, he’d never sign on to Rifle Team,” Gerbil finished for him.
They both fell silent, thoughts of Piz alive, the man they knew who they also knew would kick ass as a father and love doing it weighing heavy over the phone line.
Gerbil broke it.
“From internal memos, they’re gonna pay her off to shut her up. So she’ll go away. And outside Raines being screwed that audit brought his shit to light, everything’s all good, brother.”
At least there was that.
“Thanks for lookin’ into that,” he said, the muffins popping up, he put them on a plate and got a knife.
With that, he stilled again.
Because he knew right where her knives were.
Shit.
He reactivated and moved back to the muffins, asking, “And Raines?”
“Well, just because I like how you mete out vengeance, I’ll have to admit to making it a little tough on the new guy’s team in finding him. You say the word, I’ll make that easier.”
“I feel like saying the word, I’ll do that,” Branch replied. “Now, I gotta share that things with me and Evangeline aren’t under wraps like they used to be.”
“Under wraps?”
“No one knew about us.”
“Why?”
Not a-fuckin’-gain.
“Do I need to explain?” he clipped.
“Yeah, you do,” Gerbil retorted.
“No, I don’t,” Branch ground out. “I made more enemies in those missions than just Raines, Cam.”
“And they all think you’re dead, John.”
“Let’s keep it that way. And now we gotta keep Evangeline safe. Because the circle I got is tight. And it seems the circle she’s got is tight. But shit happens.”
“For the most intuitive field operative I met in the entire fuckin’ United States intelligence corps, you’re one dumb motherfucker,” Gerbil fired at him.
Branch’s back shot straight.
But again, as usual, Gerbil didn’t let up.
“Two days ago, you tell me you’re with a good woman and you want me to help you keep her safe. Now you tell me word’s getting out in your circle. If you don’t see what’s happening to you with her, John, I’m gonna have to come out of my bunker and slap you upside the head so I can rattle it loose.”
“Don’t piss me off, Cameron,” Branch growled.
“I’m a thousand miles away from you and even you couldn’t penetrate the Gerbil Shelter even if you could kick my ass in about three seconds so don’t mind if I do piss you off, John, so you’ll see the fuckin’ light.”
“Last woman I gave a shit about I broke up with and a week later she went out and got herself dead.”
“Fuck,” Gerbil whispered.
“Head caved in with a baseball bat.”
“Holy fuck, John, fuck.”
“She would not have done the stupid shit she’d done to get herself in that position if I hadn’t ended it with her so do not fuckin’ tell me I need to see the light. Even if you don’t get why I feel I have to do it, you need to get I feel I have to do it so I’m protecting Evangeline and I’m asking you to help me protect Evangeline and that’s the last we’ll talk of it. If you don’t wanna help with that, brother, then just don’t and shut the fuck up.”
“I’ll help, John. Of course. I’m here for you, always. Team, man. Brotherhood. Always.”
“You got any more to give me?” Branch demanded.
“No.”
“Then later.”
With that, he disconnected.
He stared at the muffin, suddenly not hungry.
And his phone rang.
“Goddamn it,” he bit out.
He looked at the screen and relaxed when he saw the name of a colleague he sometimes worked with, a man named Tucker Creed, on his phone.
Then he took the call.
And with all the shit he’d been getting that day even though he’d only been awake less than an hour, he needed time to clear his head.
So even though it meant missing Evangeline’s cooking, the job Creed asked him to help out with, he took it.
EVANGELINE
After finishing up Mira and Trey’s listings, Evangeline was about to head out the door to find some lunch.
But when her phone rang and it said Branch was calling, she didn’t even bother playing it cool.
She snatched it up, took the call and put the phone to her ear.
“Hey,” she greeted.
“Hey, thanks for making coffee.”
She felt the smile split her face.
“Did you get some food?” she asked.
“Muffin,” he muttered then spoke more clearly, “Listen, Angie, this sucks but a friend of mine called. His usual partner is his wife, don’t ask, she’s arguably more badass than him, but that’s beside the point. They’ve got a job and they can’t find a babysitter and it’s her turn to watch the kids. He’s asked if I’d take his back on it tonight and we trade favors. I gotta do it.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“It’s gonna run late, I don’t know how late.”
“Oh,” she repeated.
And waited.
He had her key.
His job had run late last night too, but he’d come to her and pulled her in his arms when he’d crawled into her bed.
This after he pitched an alpha fit at seeing her with another man.
But she waited.
And he made her wait.
And then she waited more.
And he said nothing.