Chapter Four
“What’s on your mind?” Reese asked from the passenger seat.
Dragging himself out of his thoughts, Brantley cut his gaze over briefly before looking back at the road. “Oh, you know. A little of everything.”
“Holt’s theory that Kylie’s alive?”
His hand tightened on the steering wheel. “You and I both know that’s not even a possibility.”
It couldn’t be. No matter which way he tried to spin this theory, it never worked out for him. How could anyone fake a woman’s death when that woman died surrounded by her family and friends? If they had done it, then it was a complete stroke of luck because it shouldn’t have been possible.
When Reese didn’t respond, Brantley glanced his way. “It’s not possible, Reese. We were at the hospital. We went to her funeral.”
“We did. You’re right.”
He didn’t sound convinced.
“You think somehow there was an elaborate ruse right under our noses, and what? Kylie was carted out of that hospital, locked up in some medical facility somewhere—if she was lucky—and cared for until she could get back on her feet? The extent of her injuries…” He trailed off, not wanting to remember how she’d looked after the accident.
Someone had caught the crash with their phone and had posted it on the internet for the whole world to see.
During those days when they’d been searching for Juliet, Brantley had watched it more times than he wanted to admit, wishing like fuck he could turn back time and change where Kylie had been standing.
“That would mean we buried an empty casket, Reese. Do you think we buried an empty casket?”
Brantley knew he sounded irritated. He was. Immensely.
“I honestly don’t know what to think at this point.” Reese shifted, facing him. “Trust me, I’ve thought of little else in the past couple of hours.”
Brantley understood that all too well. He’d been tossing around various scenarios in which it could be possible for Kylie to be alive.
And every one of them was preposterous. This was the sort of shit you saw on fictional television.
It didn’t happen in real life. There weren’t rogue FBI agents who kidnapped people in order to force an outcome.
And fine. Perhaps that shit did happen. But it was rare. Very.
“It’s wishful thinking,” he muttered, flipping on the turn signal as they neared the hotel where JJ and Baz were staying until the babies were released from the hospital.
He had a hard time wrapping his head around it. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a shit-ton of hope buried beneath all his doubt. It was a stretch to believe any of Holt’s nonsense, but that little thing called wishful thinking had Brantley by the throat.
Ever since their initial conversation with Simon and Holt, he hadn’t stopped thinking about the duo’s contrived theory.
Admittedly, he’d been drawn into it because of the conspiracy.
The thought of some pompous asshole using people for his gain pissed him off to no end.
Thinking that Calloway’s manipulations had somehow crossed into Brantley’s family made him see red.
But this… thinking Kylie was alive … well, that was just Holt grasping, desperate for there to be a happy ending. The guy was an author. That was what they did.
In this case, he couldn’t fathom a happily ever after when there wasn’t a lick of proof that agreed with Holt. Not that he’d seen yet.
“Don’t you wish there was some truth in it?”
Brantley sighed. “Damn straight I do. But am I gettin’ my hopes up?”
He let the question hang because he didn’t want to admit to Reese that he was already headed down that road. Despite his best efforts.
Now he needed to figure out how to break this information to JJ. The only thing he knew for sure was that he could not lead with, “There’s a chance Kylie Walker’s not dead.” That seemed like the worst segue ever. Especially since he didn’t have anything to back up the claim.
No, his rational side didn’t believe it for a second, but there was that tiny thread of optimism that he wanted to pull. Which was why his hackles were raised, but still.
“I think it’s worth pursuing,” Reese said, his tone calm, as though he were talking to a wounded animal.
“I agree.” That much was true. There was enough information to see that something was off. He wasn’t sure it substantiated Holt’s theory that the FBI faked a woman’s death, but yeah, there was something.
As he pulled into the parking lot of JJ and Baz’s hotel, he allowed himself to believe for a moment that Kylie was alive.
That they would find her and bring her home.
That Travis and his family’s world would be put back together.
It was an absurd notion to even consider.
But that was exactly what Brantley was doing. Considering it.
He could still hear Holt’s words. You saw her? You actually saw Kylie in that casket?
The fact of the matter was, no, he hadn’t. Not once. So, of course he was looking for reasons to believe there was a modicum of truth to it. But there wasn’t. It was a fucking conspiracy theory.
Brantley pulled into the first empty space he came to and put the truck in park.
“How do you plan to tell JJ?”
“That’s a damn good question,” he told Reese. He honestly didn’t know.
“I know you want to keep this on the DL, but I think we should tell them.”
Brantley had already decided that he would. Of all people, JJ deserved to be read in. She’d been with them since the very beginning. Hell, they wouldn’t even have a task force if not for her.
“She’ll insist on helping.”
Reese nodded. “She can do that from the hotel room when she’s not visiting the babies at the hospital.”
They could certainly use her help. JJ had skills no one else had, and when she put her mind to something, there was no stopping her. If they wanted to figure this out sooner rather than later, it made sense to bring her in.
“Okay.”
Five minutes later, they were walking into JJ’s hotel room.
It was a run-of-the-mill kind of place with a king-sized bed, complete with a blue and orange floral-patterned comforter, pillows that looked like bricks, and cheap, laminated-wood nightstands on either side.
Across from the bed was a television in an enormous cabinet that also played the role of a dresser.
Beside it, a desk and a rolling, black leather, slope-back chair.
And yeah, it was strange that this place looked like a pay-by-the-hour motel compared to the hospital room JJ had spent the last two weeks of her pregnancy. But he wasn’t about to bring it up.
Tesha headed right for Baz, seeking attention. After a quick pat on her head, she turned, obviously looking for JJ.
“We were about to go to the hospital,” Baz informed them, gesturing toward the closed bathroom door. “JJ’s getting ready.”
“We won’t keep you long.” Provided JJ didn’t have a million questions once they told her the truth.
“Something wrong?”
“Not sure it’s quite right,” Brantley admitted as he pulled out the chair from the desk, spun it around, and straddled it.
He could tell Baz wanted to ask more, but he preferred not to go through this twice. Thankfully, the bathroom door opened, and JJ stepped out.
“Hey,” she greeted, looking at each of them as she moved closer. “This is a surprise.” Tesha was instantly in front of her, causing JJ to bend over to pet her. “Hey, girl. Oh, my goodness, I’ve missed you so much.”
All eyes were on JJ as she showered love on Tesha.
When she finally stopped, Brantley waited until she looked his way. “We’ve got some information we need to share, and it couldn’t be done over the phone.”
JJ glanced at Reese. “Is it just me, or does he overwhelm with pleasantries?”
Reese grinned. “It’s been that kind of mornin’.”
“Oh, really?” She looked worried as she perched on the corner of the bed, so she could continue petting Tesha. “What’s goin’ on?”
Brantley decided to lay it out for her. “Last night, Atticus and Archer were compiling Holt’s data, attempting to outline it.”
“I saw their timeline,” she admitted. “Quite impressive.”
“Yeah.” Brantley looked at Reese, then back at JJ. “There was something they found that Holt had left out.”
“About?”
Brantley tried to get the words out, but they didn’t come.
Reese spoke up. “Kylie.”
JJ glanced between them. “What about her?”
This time, Reese was the one to clam up, so Brantley tossed out, “Holt thinks she’s alive.”
Yeah, so much for not overwhelming her with it.
Brantley watched JJ as she processed the information. Her hand stilled on Tesha’s back, and her expression ran the gamut of emotions: surprise, reflection, contemplation, hope, disbelief, and finally resignation.
Before she got a word out, Reese’s phone buzzed, signaling a text. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Brantley watched him to ensure it wasn’t anything urgent. His husband’s quick shake of his head told him it wasn’t.
“Alive?” JJ finally asked, looking at Brantley.
Assuming she was seeking confirmation, he nodded.
“And you believe it?”
He shrugged one shoulder at the same time he said, “No.”
JJ smiled. It was slow and hesitant, but it was definitely a smile. “So you don’t believe it, but you want to.”
“Something like that.”
“Okay.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Regardless, we have to look into it. It’s the right thing to do.”
“It is,” he agreed.
She started petting Tesha again. “What do you want us to do?”
Well, that was far easier than he’d expected. He thought for sure he’d spend half an hour trying to answer all her questions.
“Look. I know it’s just a theory right now,” JJ said, clearly picking up on his bemusement. “But something led Holt to believe that. I’m all for digging in until we know the truth. Whatever that may be.”
“We don’t want to take away from your family time,” Reese said.
“Trust me, you won’t,” JJ said decisively. “I’m at the hospital during visiting hours. When I’m not there, we’re either findin’ food or we’re here. I’ve got plenty of time to assist.”
Brantley looked up at Baz for confirmation.