Chapter Four #2
He nodded. “She’s right.”
Feeling a little better about dragging them into it, Brantley said, “We’re headin’ up to Dallas.
Simon wants a sit-down with Max Adorite.
We need to know what happened that night, if anything.
Once we get the team up to speed, I’m hopin’ to get some info on this Calloway guy.
I’d like to get eyes on him while we’re up there.
See if we can catch him doin’ somethin’ dirty. ”
“You make it sound easy,” Baz said with a snort.
“Maybe it will be. Who knows?”
JJ huffed a laugh. “Nothin’ we’ve done so far has been easy, but I like the wishful thinkin’.”
“Archer and Atticus are in charge of this investigation, but I’ll make sure they know you’ll be handlin’ anything related to Kylie’s death. Until we know more, I don’t want the team to know.”
JJ nodded.
“The first thing we need you to do is look into the doctor who signed the death certificate.” Brantley looked at Baz.
“If possible, you can meet with him.” He shook his head before Baz could say anything.
“I do not want it to take away from your family time. Only if you’ve got a few minutes. If not, we’ll figure it out.”
“But we need you to keep this to yourselves,” Reese tacked on. “We’ve told Travis, but we’re keepin’ this quiet for now.”
JJ’s eyebrows shot toward her hairline. “You told Travis?”
“Had to,” Brantley explained. “If he heard about it elsewhere…”
“Good point.” JJ nodded. “Who else knows?”
“Simon, Holt, Atticus, and Archer.”
“Not Evan?” Baz asked.
Brantley shook his head. “Not yet. I don’t want anyone to get their hopes up. And I damn sure don’t want it makin’ its way to my family before we have some answers.”
JJ looked at Baz. “We’ll keep it quiet.”
Baz nodded.
“How’re the babies?” Reese asked, quickly changing the subject.
JJ smiled. “They’re doin’ good.”
“Better than good,” Baz added. “They’ve said they may go home on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
“That’s great news,” Brantley said, getting to his feet.
“I know.” JJ stood, grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t wait.”
Figuring he’d better contribute to earn some social points, Brantley asked, “You got names for ’em yet?”
JJ looked at Baz and smiled. “Yeah.”
“And they would be…?” Good grief. He was pretty sure pulling teeth was easier.
“Naomi and Noah.”
“Beautiful names,” Reese stated.
Brantley winked at JJ. “What he said. And with that, we’ll get outta your hair. Like I said, we’re headin’ up to Dallas in a bit, but we’ll keep you updated.”
“And we’ll look into the doctor,” JJ added. “See what dirt we can find.”
“He might not know anything,” Reese said.
JJ cocked an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
Brantley had to agree with JJ. If there was even a remote possibility that Kylie was alive, someone, somewhere, had manipulated things to make her death appear real. And the first place to look would be at the source.
Travis looked up from his computer when Gage walked into his home office.
“Where are the kids?” Gage asked, his hair still wet from his shower.
“My parents picked them up.”
“They goin’ somewhere?”
He shook his head. “They’re just gonna hang out at the house for a couple of hours. I didn’t want them to be here for this conversation.”
Gage’s eyes narrowed as he eased into the chair across from Travis’s desk. “What conversation?”
For the past hour, Travis had been tossing around the idea of telling Gage about Brantley’s ludicrous theory.
He hadn’t come up with any sure-fire ways of delivering the news without pissing the man off.
That was generally what happened when Travis opted to go in a direction Gage would disapprove of.
This was likely one of those times, and since it was inevitable that Gage would get upset, he figured he should just come out with it.
“Promise me somethin’,” he said.
“What?”
“That you won’t get mad and you won’t overreact.”
Gage was silent for a moment before saying calmly, “You know I can’t do that.”
Leaning back, Travis exhaled. “It was worth a shot.”
Gage’s eyebrows formed a perfect V. “What is it, Travis?”
Before he choked on the words, Travis said, “Holt’s got a theory that Kylie’s still alive.”
He watched a storm of emotion play across Gage’s handsome face. But it was the ice in his gaze that told him that he’d once again succeeded in pissing off his husband.
Well, that and the fact Gage shot to his feet and marched out of his office without saying a word.
“Could’ve gone better,” Travis mumbled, following behind him. “Gage!”
“No.” He went for his keys and his wallet. “I’m not gonna listen to this.”
“I told you not to get mad.”
Gage spun around, stabbing a finger in his chest. “Fuck Holt. And fuck you for even putting that thought in my head.”
“I get it.” And he truly did. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous he knew it was. Unfortunately, his heart was involved, which meant he was entertaining the idea of something he knew was impossible.
Gage gritted his teeth. “No. You don’t.”
Grabbing Gage’s wrist, Travis gripped it tightly, pulling his husband toward him. “I do.”
“You’ve done a lot of stupid things in your life, Travis, but this…” Gage swallowed hard, shaking his head, but at least he’d stopped trying to pull away.
“I didn’t want to tell you,” Travis admitted. “Not until they give me something real to go on.”
“Then why did you?” The torment he saw in Gage’s eyes mirrored what he’d been feeling ever since the day Kylie died.
“Because I made you a promise.”
Gage’s eyes skimmed over his face. “You promised to tell me the truth.”
“This is the truth. As they know it.”
“No, the truth is she’s dead.”
Travis heard the pain in Gage’s voice, the grief that still encompassed them both.
“I’m not gettin’ my hopes up,” Travis whispered, stepping closer, cupping Gage’s face. “But I had to tell you.”
“She’s dead,” Gage repeated, his eyes glassy.
Yes, she was. But there was no denying that Travis would trade anything for that not to be true. Hell, he’d give his own life if it meant bringing Kylie back.
“Why does Holt think that?” Gage jerked back. “No. Don’t answer that. It doesn’t matter. It’s not true.”
“Probably not, but…” Taking a step back, Travis dropped his hands and exhaled heavily.
“But what?”
At least his husband was now engaged in the conversation.
“They think there’s an FBI conspiracy to take down Max Adorite.”
Gage frowned but didn’t say anything. Travis had expected a snort of derision at the very least.
When he still didn’t say anything, Travis elaborated. “A conspiracy that goes back two decades and involves Kylie’s mother.”
Again, Gage simply stared as though he was processing the information and it was making sense.
“Gage?”
“Hmm?”
“Why aren’t you rantin’ that this is pure horseshit?”
Gage turned away from him.
“Do you know somethin’ I don’t?”
“No,” Gage answered quickly, honestly. “But it doesn’t sound as absurd as it should. Takin’ down Max, I mean. Not the part about Kylie. That’s…”
Travis frowned. “Wishful thinkin’?”
“Exactly.”
Travis could tell there was something Gage wasn’t saying, so he waited him out by sitting on the arm of the couch. A minute passed. Two.
When Gage turned back to face him, Travis expected him to speak, but he didn’t.
He knew better than to rush him when he got like this.
Unlike Travis, Gage preferred to think through his thoughts before they shot out of his mouth.
And based on the crease in his forehead, he was considering his next words carefully.
His patience was rewarded when Gage met his gaze and said, “Remember back when you found me workin’ undercover at Club Destiny?”
Travis didn’t have to think too hard on that. He remembered it as if it were yesterday.
“Travis, come over here. I’d like you to meet someone,” Logan McCoy said.
Without hesitation, Travis joined him.
“Travis, I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the temporarily disbanded club. Chance Reed, meet Travis Walker. If you like our club, you’re going to want to get to know this man personally.”
“Chance Reed, huh?” Travis did his best to hide the heat churning in his veins. “Interesting, considering all this time I thought your name was Gage Matthews.”
“What about it?” he asked Gage now.
Gage scratched the side of his neck. “Back then, when I was workin’ that case, there was a rumor of some rogue FBI agents lookin’ to bring down the Southern Boy Mafia. They thought the senator had ties to the mob and asked if I’d look into it.”
“Did you?”
“Not officially, no.” Gage tucked his hands in his pockets. “I was ordered not to work beyond the scope of my case. Since takin’ down the senator was key, I did my best to stay in my lane.”
Travis considered that for a moment.
“The group called themselves Censorious,” Gage continued.
Travis frowned. He’d heard that name before, but he wasn’t sure where. Then again, he met all sorts of people, considering he owned and operated one of the most prestigious fetish resorts in the country.
“Is that who Brantley’s goin’ after?” Gage prompted.
Travis shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I was able to glimpse a bit of information, but I was too shaken up to stick around.”
“I want to talk to Brantley.”
Raising his eyebrows, Travis stared at his husband. “About what exactly?”
Gage took a step toward him. “I don’t believe for a second that Kylie’s alive, Travis. I wish I could, but I saw her.”
Travis had, too. He’d seen her lying still and cold on that table. He shook his head to dislodge the memory. Whenever he thought about it, his entire body threatened to shut down.
“But I’d like to see what they’ve got,” Gage continued. “If they’re workin’ on takin’ down Censorious, maybe I can help.”
Travis was surprised by the request, although he wasn’t sure why.
At his very core, Gage was the sort of man who wanted to take down the bad in the world.
It was a wonder they’d made it this far together since they both knew Travis walked a very fine line between right and wrong.
And there were times when he knowingly stepped over.
However, he kept those instances to himself.
No sense rocking the boat any more than he did on a regular day.
“I think they were headin’ to Dallas at some point.”
“Call ’em. If they haven’t left, I want to go over there.”
Since he couldn’t very well tell Gage no, Travis grabbed his cell phone and made the call.