Page 17 of Missing Pieces (Brantley Walker: Off the Books #12)

After their morning run and his shower —which he took separately from Reese despite his pleading—Brantley left Reese to whatever he was doing in his office in order to check on the team, see if they needed anything.

“You wanna go to the barn, girl?” he asked Tesha when she didn’t move from her spot on her bed. “I bet Holly’s over there.”

That was all it took to get her on her feet, racing out the door ahead of Brantley.

The walk across the yard took seconds, not minutes, as did keying in the passcode and waiting for the locks to disengage. When they did, he opened the door and stepped aside so Tesha could rush in, seeking the attention she got every time she came here.

To his surprise and approval, the scene before him was vastly different than the one he walked in on yesterday when JJ’s head was on the big screen, and people were standing around talking over one another.

“Mornin’,” he greeted.

“Hey, boss,” Slade called.

“Morning,” Evan said.

He was pretty sure the grunt came from Luca.

“Any news on JJ?” Holly asked, looking at him with a mixture of hope and worry in her eyes, even as she knelt to give Tesha love. “I tried callin’ her, but she didn’t answer.”

“We didn’t get by there this mornin’, but I talked to Baz. The doctor’s closely monitorin’ her contractions, which are increasing,” he explained. “As soon as I hear somethin’, you’ll hear somethin’.”

“She in labor?” Slade asked, his forehead creased with confusion.

“She thinks she is. Like I said, the doctor’s keepin’ a close eye on her.”

Holly gasped and clasped her hands together, fingertips touching her lips.

“Are we expectin’ babies soon? Like today?” Luca asked.

Brantley exhaled. “According to Baz, Dr. Tinder said there’s a good chance, yeah.”

“That’s not bad, right?” Holly questioned, a boatload of worry in her tone. “That puts her at thirty-six weeks.”

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” he told her, wanting them to focus on what they needed to get done.

If JJ’s labor did progress, they would all want to head over to the hospital, which meant they needed to tackle everything they could as soon as they could.

The last thing he wanted was to hear from Z that the team was behind on their reports.

Paperwork was the absolute worst part of the job, but it was also important if they expected to justify their existence.

“Do we have a case, boss?” Slade asked.

“Nothin’ hot. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”

Brantley looked at his watch. It was only a little after eight, but it felt like he’d been up for an entire day already.

That was JJ’s fault since he’d gotten the call moments before his alarm would’ve gone off.

His best friend had been just shy of panicked when she explained that her contractions weren’t stopping.

Luckily, he had the presence of mind to get the real details from Baz before they jumped the gun and raced up to the hospital. The soon-to-be father had been much calmer, insisting Dr. Tinder was confident it would likely be several more hours before she progressed any further.

At that point, Reese had effectively taken Brantley’s mind off everything.

Shaking off the thought, Brantley looked at Holly. “You hear anything more from Corpus Christi PD?”

“Not yet, no.”

“Anything from Z?” Brantley asked Darius, who was officially filling in for Baz.

“I talked to him half an hour ago. Gave him an update on the goings-on here,” Darius explained. “I updated him on JJ. I think he’s planning to come down with RT when it’s confirmed the babies are being pulled outta the oven.” Darius smirked. “His words.”

“Oven. Cook a little longer,” Atticus mused. “Y’all freak me out sometimes.”

Brantley laughed.

Charlie raised her hand. “I have a question.”

“Elana, would you mind gettin’ me some coffee?” Brantley asked JJ’s assistant. If he’d known he would be over here this long, he would’ve brought some with him.

“On it,” she said with a beaming grin.

Brantley turned his attention back to Charlie. “What’s up?”

“Rumor has it you hired a new investigator yesterday.”

“That doesn’t sound like a question,” he told her.

She flashed a beaming smile. “Who’d you hire?”

Before he could answer, Holly said, “Archer Halligan.”

“She’s in love,” Luca said. “Too bad for you, he bats for the other team.”

“He does not,” Holly argued, her gaze shifting to Brantley.

“What?” he asked. “Because I’m gay, I’m in tune with his sexual preference?”

She blushed. “I didn’t—”

“I’m kidding.” He laughed. “Not that I give a shit one way or the other, but yeah, I think he prefers misters.”

“Archer Halligan?” Charlie asked, her tone confused. “The investigator for Havoc Your Way ?”

“One and the same,” Brantley confirmed. “But for the record, he has not accepted the job.”

Holly’s eyebrows lifted. “But you offered it?”

“Yes. Reese and I think he’d be a good fit. We talked a little yesterday, and I plan to answer any of his questions when and if he calls.”

“ If? You don’t think he’s gonna take it?” Atticus asked.

“I didn’t say that. I’m gonna leave the choice up to him. Once I hear from him—one way or the other—I’ll let you know.”

“If he does take it, when will he start?”

“ASAP.” At least Brantley hoped that was the case. “If he accepts, we’ll submit the paperwork. He can start once it’s processed. He’ll be partnering with Atticus.”

Slade’s head snapped up, as did Evan’s. Holly was grinning like she’d just won the lottery. Darius nodded while Jay stared blankly at him.

“Archer Halligan ?” Charlie repeated as though the past minute or two hadn’t happened. “From Havoc Your Way ?”

Brantley looked at Holly. “Should I be worried that she’s repeatin’ herself?”

Holly giggled. “She’s had less time to get used to the idea. He’s kinda a god among men for those of us who like the podcast.”

“Yay, me,” Atticus said facetiously.

Brantley noticed Evan was grinning like an idiot.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

Brantley stared, waiting him out as he took the coffee mug Elana brought him. “Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

Evan laughed. “Sorry, boss. It’s just…” He coughed to cover up another laugh. “It’s nothing. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Somethin’ goin’ on that I should know about?” Brantley directed the question at Evan, but his attention shifted to Slade when the man ducked his head. It wouldn’t have been quite so obvious if Atticus hadn’t turned away at the same time.

Great.

“You two got a thing?”

Holly giggled.

Then Elana did.

And last, Charlie.

Brantley looked at each of the women. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothin’, boss,” Slade said, his tone rife with frustration.

Brantley studied him for a moment, then looked at Atticus. He’d heard whispers that the two of them had a thing, but he’d purposely ignored them. Since they weren’t paired up, he didn’t really care what they were doing.

Didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep an eye on them.

Baz sat in the recliner on the far side of the room, his gaze locked on JJ. He was doing his best not to hover, but it wasn’t easy. Every time she made a sound, he wanted to launch to his feet and get her whatever she needed.

The problem was, she didn’t need anything.

At least that was what she’d told him—very loudly—the last time he asked if he could do anything for her.

So here he was, sitting on his ass, not taking it personally because the JJ he knew and loved was hanging by a thread, and rightfully so.

In the time he’d known the woman, he’d seen her go through so much.

From waking up in a bloody bed and not knowing how she got there, to finding her ex-boyfriend’s finger—only the digit, not the ex—in her living room, to learning her house and everything she owned had exploded, to being kidnapped by a couple of lunatics.

There was no doubt the woman had been put through the wringer.

She could handle labor. Hell, she was the strongest woman he knew. JJ could handle anything.

But he wasn’t sure he was as strong as she was.

He was antsy and nervous and maybe a little eager.

He was ready for the babies to be born, but at the same time, he didn’t want them to be born too early.

Dr. Tinder seemed optimistic, although he did warn them that there was a good chance they’d be moved to the NICU—neonatal intensive care unit—for a period of time.

He assured them they would be in good hands.

According to what Baz had read on the internet, the babies should weigh somewhere around five pounds each and be close to eighteen inches long. Of course, Dr. Tinder informed them that it was a good rule of thumb, but there were other factors that played into that, so there were no guarantees.

Baz liked Dr. Tinder. He also trusted the man, which was why he was practically living in a hospital and sleeping in an uncomfortable chair just so he could keep JJ from getting up and moving around any more than she absolutely had to.

It was also the reason he was still carrying around an engagement ring in his pocket; he feared asking her to marry him might cause more stress than was necessary.

A soft knock sounded on the door a second before it opened.

Baz breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his mother’s face peering into the room.

“Come in,” JJ said, smiling.

Julia Buchanan pushed open the door and walked in.

His mother looked as regal as ever. The same could almost be said for his father, who was not far behind, though not many people could get away with calling Wes Buchanan regal even when the man was wearing a five-thousand-dollar suit.

And he was rocking it as he always did, looking very much like the corporate CEO that he was.

“I heard my grandbabies might be comin’ today,” Jules told JJ, her voice soft and soothing as she went over to her.

“That’s what Dr. Tinder’s sayin’,” JJ agreed, rubbing her belly gently. “It’s also why they downgraded me to this bed.”