This included Olly pushing it last night, right in front of Barclay, who motherfucking jumped right on Olly’s bandwagon, doing it grinning like an idiot the whole time, like Branch and Angie were out with who they were and what they had together. When they were, both men knew about him and Evangeline.
They were also not.
And neither man knew that or, if Branch explained (something he didn’t do), they wouldn’t get it and would likely get up in his shit about it.
It also included Amélie texting his ass to try and convince him to convince Evangeline she needed to add a variety of species to her family.
All of this giving Branch ammunition he knew was weak to put off leaving her until he knew she’d made the right decision and got herself a dog, a scary one, even if she got one along with a cat.
Not to mention, once he’d accomplished that, he couldn’t go until after she got the dog, he knew the beast was trained and would do his job, that being more than hanging around panting while Angie lavished him with her brand of love but instead after Branch was certain the canine would rip anyone limb from limb who might look at Angie wrong.
Yeah.
Fucking fuck him.
He shoved all this shit in his brain aside, made himself a bagel (also shoving aside the fact that the minute Angie knew he liked those in the mornings, she made sure to get some and then keep them stocked), poured himself some coffee and scowled through her abundance of plants at the window in her cozy, busy, homey kitchen out to the backyard.
He did this reminding himself he needed to check the levels on the pool like he’d been doing weekly after he caught her doing it and he told her to quit because he’d be doing it from then on.
Oh yeah.
Fucking fuck him.
His phone rang, and to get him away from his thoughts he was happy to talk to whoever was on the other line, he didn’t give a shit it was Pol Pot risen from the dead, so he nabbed it from the counter and looked at the display.
Unknown caller. No number. No location.
Gerbil.
Damn.
They hadn’t spoken since Branch lost his shit with his friend weeks before.
He took the call and put the phone to his ear.
“Yo,” he greeted.
“Brother.”
Gerbil said no more but he didn’t have to say anything, the whipped-dog tone of his voice said it all.
“Listen, man, I was a dick,” Branch declared. “You didn’t know and I threw it in your face like you did. Should have touched base, let you off the hook with that because I know you felt crap and you’re my brother, deeper than blood. I owe my life to you and you saved it more times than getting me out of that hellhole, before and since. So you got my apology, Cameron. I left it too long but I shouldn’t have let it happen at all.”
“We all live our lives and the people around us, even those close to us, John, have to understand there are things they don’t know and proceed thoughtfully and with as much grace as they can. Because we never know the demons people are battling, be it the reason why they’re a pain in the ass in line ordering coffee or sitting homeless, baking in the sun, because they’ve lost touch with humanity. I didn’t give you that. I went in hard and I should have kept my mouth shut. And for that, John, you have my apology.”
He didn’t deserve it but he knew Gerbil enough not to fight it.
“Then we’re done with that,” Branch muttered gratefully.
“We’re done with that and I mean it when I say that, even when I end it by asking, you still with her?”
That surprised him.
“You don’t know?”
“Disabled the GPS tracker on your truck and phone, man. Got no trace on you, like no one can get a trace on you. I know when she’s home and everywhere she goes. You, no clue unless my facial recognition catches you and it doesn’t when it does her, so no. I don’t.”
And so he was keeping her clean.
At least that was a relief.
“And just to say,” Gerbil carried on, “you got a way with avoiding CCTV. At least you’ve kept that skill sharp.”
The skills they’d drilled into him would stay sharp until the day he died and not because of the training. Because of the extent and extremity of the practice.
Regardless of what Gerbil said, he knew that so Branch didn’t comment on it.
He said, “I’m still with her.”
There was a long pause before his friend’s reply of “Good.”
“Gerbil—”
“Just good, John. That’s all. It’s temporary or you find it in you to take it further, even if you have a little bit of what you deserve, it’ll make me happy.”
“I need to end it.”
It didn’t feel good sharing that but he needed to say it out loud and do that giving it to someone he trusted.
Gerbil said nothing.
“I know I gave you reason to keep your mouth shut, but like we said, we’re done with that,” Branch told him.
“You giving me permission to ride your ass?”
Was he?
Was he asking his friend to give him more reasons to stay right where he was?
“Forget I said anything,” he answered, lifting his mug and taking a sip of coffee.
Coffee he’d bought at the store.
With the Italian cream creamer Angie used that he’d learned he liked that he’d also bought when he saw they were running out.
Christ.
“You know where I stand with that,” Gerbil reminded him.
“Yeah,” Branch mumbled.
“And I’m glad we’ve worked this through, brother. I called to do that. I also called because things are going down and I couldn’t delay any longer.”
Branch grew alert. “What things?”
“Twice since we last talked, they nearly got a lock on Raines. I intervened. But I can’t do that too often, John. They’ll put two and two together and they might not get Gerbil, but it still puts me out there.”
“Fuck,” Branch murmured.
“So, you wanna play with him or you wanna get the deed done, it’s time to get the lead out.”
He thought of Angie.
He thought of coffee with Italian creamer.
He thought that he needed to clean her pool, check its levels, make sure it had enough chlorine.
He thought the motion sensor lights she’d ordered online were going to be arriving and he needed to put them in.
He thought he had to work on her to push her to get a dog and then he had work to do with that dog.
He thought all this would be happening with him in her bed.
And he had enough blood on his hands, he wasn’t going to bring more into her house.
Not hers.
Not Angie.
“I wanna play with him. End game, they can have him.”
“You got something in mind?” Gerbil asked.
“Pissed himself last time he saw a ghost. He’ll lose his mind, everywhere he turns, that ghost is lurking.”
Gerbil sounded like he was smiling when he declared, “Always liked the way you think.”
“We need to plan it. I fuck with him, when I’m done, you lead them to him.”
“I’ll have that covered,” Gerbil promised.
“Great.”
Gerbil didn’t miss a beat. “Permission to ride your ass, Lieutenant?”
Branch closed his eyes but his mouth moved. “What?”
“That deed gets done, that massive dickweed wiped from the earth, it’s behind you, John. It’s behind me. It’s over. We can finally lay the team to rest. We can finally both move on. And when I say that, I’ll hazard to say what I actually mean is, if you’re still there because she’s making you happy, I hope you move on with her.”
Branch didn’t reply.
“At least think about it, brother. Just promise me that,” Gerbil pushed.
Maybe for himself, maybe for Angie, maybe out of guilt for losing it with Gerbil, maybe because he owed Gerbil everything, maybe because of all that, Branch gave it to him. “I’ll promise you that.”
“All I need.”
He drew in breath and he didn’t want to give Gerbil his next, but to organize maneuvers, he had to.
“I need some time with Evangeline. Need to tell her I’m going to be out of town. Once that’s done, and I’ll do it tomorrow morning, Gerbil, I’ll connect and move out.”