When she did, Branch did as told.
He was at the door and she was at the sink when he turned to her.
“Angie?” he called.
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Yes, honey.”
“You’re everything too, you know,” he said gently.
He watched her frame lock before she turned fully to him, a wet towel in her hand, a soft smile on her face.
“I hope so, Branch. I really fucking hope so.”
He knew she did.
Fuck him.
He knew it down to his soul.
They stared at each other across the room and when Branch knew he couldn’t shove that expression on her face into the back of his mind, he lifted up his chin to her and left her studio.
When she was out of his sight and he was looking in on Murphy in the laundry room, checking he was all right, he realized he could accomplish the superhuman feat of not thinking about all that had happened after he’d returned from dealing with Raines, putting the team at peace. Hell, all that had happened before that.
All that had happened since Evangeline came into his life.
But as Branch lay naked on her bed, arms and legs spread, hips on the bolster, jewel up his ass, waiting for her, it all came crashing back.
All of it.
Every infinitesimal detail.
And he knew what he had to do.
He had no choice.
He’d never really had one.
He just had to go about it the best he could so, in the end, it worked for Angie.
* * *
Late the next morning, their Saturday starting their weekend together, after she’d worked him and then untied him, while Angie was outside with Murphy, Branch made the call.
Olly picked up.
“Hey, brother.”
Branch didn’t ease into it.
“Remember when you offered to listen to my shit?”
There was only a beat of hesitation before Ol replied, “Yes.”
“Need that, Olly,” Branch said.
“Tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Come to our place.”
“Leigh—”
“She’ll be there but she’ll give us space.”
Branch didn’t like it.
But he took it.
“What time?” he asked.
“Six?”
He had to tell Evangeline he’d need to be gone on a day they were supposed to spend together.
But she wouldn’t care.
Just as long as he came home to her.
Fuck, he hoped he knew what he was doing.
“See you at six,” he agreed.
“I’ll get the beer.”
“Thanks, Ol,” Branch muttered.
“Any time, man,” Olly replied.
They hung up.
Branch tossed his phone onto the kitchen counter and looked out the windows to Evangeline.
And one last time, he shoved it all into the back of his mind.
Tonight, he’d let it out.
And then it would be done.
* * *
They sat out by the pool on the end of lounge chairs next to a kickass statue Leigh had on her deck of a curvy woman on her knees with her arms raised above her in what looked like the shape of a heart.
There was shit Branch couldn’t give Olly because he just couldn’t, but more, he didn’t want to mire his friend down in that massive quagmire of crap.
But he told him about Tara.
And he told him what he could tell him about the team and how that ended and where he was at, who he was, or more accurately, how he wasn’t anything.
He also told him about him and Evangeline, the game they’d been playing, how she was playing it dirty, how he was playing it even dirtier, and how he wanted that to end.
And last, he gave him the dangers that lurked for him, which didn’t matter, and the same that lurked for Evangeline, which did.
When he was done, not having looked at Ol the entire time he spoke, he continued to keep his eyes to their view of the Valley spilled out below them on their mountain.
Olly didn’t say anything and this lasted a good while.
Branch still didn’t look at him.
He let it rest between them, fetid and stinking like the pile of shit it was.
Then he muttered, “Maybe I should go.”
“No, you absolutely should not.”
Branch cut his eyes to Olly.
Olly looked pissed, his mouth tight, his eyes wired.
“Buddy,” he sounded choked. “Christ. Fuck. Buddy.”
Suddenly, he reached out and Branch started to move away but Olly caught him around the back of the neck and swung Branch to him, swaying in himself. The tops of their heads collided with a thud and Olly moved his hand up and cupped the back of Branch’s head as he pushed their craniums together.
Branch sat still, staring at Olly’s knees, knowing in that moment he had another member of his family.
Finally, he found it in him to say, “Ol, just—”
“I have no words. Got no magic. Got nothin’ to help you with all that shit, brother. Except to say I’m so fuckin’ sorry, I can’t even express how fuckin’ sorry I am you lived through all that.”
Branch shut his mouth.
Olly pressed their heads together even harder before he let go and sat straight, looking to the Valley.
“Guts me,” he muttered.
“I shouldn’t have given it to you,” Branch replied and Olly’s gaze sliced to his.
“Keep it to yourself? Are you insane?”
“It’s not easy to know.”
“You’re right,” Ol agreed. “But it’s still a privilege to know it.”
Branch again shut his mouth.
“You’ve made the right decision,” Olly told him.
Branch shook his head. “I’m not sure I agree.”
“Well, bro, you’re straight-up wrong.”
“I follow through with that decision, let her win, take the life she’s offering, what kind of life can I give her in return?”
“The kind she wants.”
Branch shook his head again. “Not thinkin’ I’d ever be down with a trip to Disneyland with my babe and our kids.”
“So don’t take them to Disneyland,” Olly fired back and leaned into him. “And she won’t give a shit. Take them to a cottage by a lake in the middle of nowhere where there’s nothing to do but fish, cook out and fuck when the kids are asleep. You’re there and you’re together, Disneyland’ll never be better than that.”
A cottage by the lake in the middle of nowhere.
Fucking when their kids were asleep.
Have his babe offer him something soft and sweet and delicious after he took care of her, his cum still inside her, and they go downstairs to get some ice cream while their kids are asleep under his roof.
Kids.
Under his roof.
Asleep.
Shit.
He might be able to do that.
Shit.
He wanted to do that.
With Angie.
Still.
“You give up enough of what you want, you never forget you gave it up and that can fester, man,” he informed Olly.
“You get everything you want, you’ll forget what you thought you wanted before because you not only got everything you really wanted, you got everything you need,” Olly returned.
Branch looked away.
Ol didn’t let it slide.
“And I see you fuckin’ know it.”
“She deserves better. A man like me in her home, her life?” Again he shook his head and repeated, “She deserves better.”
“You’re the best she’s ever had, suspected it before but know that for a fact with all you just gave me, but bet she knows it better, not even having that shit. The only one who doesn’t know that’s the truth is you and the way you don’t, no way I can talk you into getting it. So, my advice, Branch, just
let her have a chance at the promise of a lifetime of showing it to you.”
Branch glanced over his shoulder at his friend. “When we first started, I could barely stand in her kitchen, Ol. That’s not the man I am anymore. To stand like I belong in a home like that owned by a woman like Evangeline. But I brought my shit into her house. Now you think I should settle it into her life?”
“You already did that and seems to me she doesn’t care.”
Branch turned fully to him. “She doesn’t know.”
“This shit,” Ol flipped up a hand, “my advice, don’t give it to her. Not ever. You need to let more out, give it to me. Just let her have the man she knows has the baggage you’ve already told her and she totally doesn’t give a shit.”
“How do I get past where I’m at in my head?”
“Eat her cooking. Take her spankings. Get her the dog you want her to have so you’ll feel she’s safe. Come over to our house for chili. And sleep with her in your arms.”
“You think it’s as easy as that?” Branch clipped.
“No,” Olly shot back. “What I think is, you should die. In your mind, you should die in that place where you lost your team. And then you should come back and see the one who lived. See him or her livin’ the life you’re making yourself live. And feel what they feel, Branch. Feel how fuckin’ goddamned, motherfucking,” he leaned deep into Branch and kept growling, “pissed they’d be that you were throwing away the life they didn’t get to live.”
Branch felt his jaw clench.
“Your woman,” Olly kept at him. “The one you lost. She saw this, she loved you. How would she feel?”
“You think it’s that easy?” Branch ground out.
“Yeah, for that, brother, I think it’s that easy.”
“You’re wrong.”
Olly shook his head. “I see you’re takin’ on the responsibility of what happened to them. All of them. But it isn’t yours, Branch. And the only way I can help you get past that is to say what I just said. If that shit went down with you and you were the one who was lost, would you blame them? If that doesn’t penetrate, think of it this way. With the shit that happened to Evangeline, is it her fault? Did she make that guy do what he did? Was that her responsibility?”
“Fuck no,” Branch clipped.
“So why is it yours when other people did crazy, awful crap that ended with tragic consequences?”
Damn him.
He had a valid point.
Seriously valid.
Branch shifted in the lounger so he was facing Olly dead-on.
“I’m not just a PI like any PI, Olly, I deal with filth.”
“You break the law?”
“Only ones I think need broken. Not ones I get paid to break.”
“You got no problem with that, she won’t either.”
“That’s the man in her home, her bed,” Branch reminded him.
“That’s the man she’s falling in love with.”
Unable to take the truth of that while looking in Olly’s eyes, Branch looked down to his knees.
Olly’s voice came quieter when he said, “Scrape off the filth if you don’t want that to infest your life. She doesn’t care. But you don’t want to bring that to her, then scrape it off. And then there’s nothing, bro. You said your bud can keep you both off the radar so you’re safe. She’s safe. So you got no excuse except just to be fuckin’ happy.”
He looked into his friend’s eyes.
“I want it to be that easy.”
That’s all he’d ever wanted, growing up with his family, he just wanted easy.
After Tara, after the work he did with the team, after the team bought it the way they did, he lost all hope for easy.
Until Evangeline.
Olly reached out again and hooked him around the back of the neck.
“Then let it be that easy.”
They looked at each other long beats before Olly grabbed hold of the neck of his shirt, swayed him a couple of times and then let go.
“You there?” he asked.
“She’s the world I always wanted the world to be,” Branch answered.
Olly’s face split in a huge fucking smile.
“Then you’re there.”
He wasn’t.
But he was right then beginning to think he could be.
OLIVIER
Olly closed the door on Branch after flicking two fingers his way while he was driving through their semicircular drive.
He turned and saw his Leigh-Leigh leaned against the wall at the end of the foyer, her cat Cleo in her arms, her eyes on him and they were talking.
“Has he made the right decision?” she asked softly.
“I’m thinkin’ yes.”
“It seemed difficult.”
She’d given them their space.
But she’d watched.
That was his Leigh-Leigh, looking out for Olly. Looking out for Branch.
He started moving to her as he answered, “‘Difficult’ is not the word. ‘Practically impossible’ is. But think I got him there.”
“Please stop moving, darling.”
He halted.
And when he did everything about her penetrated and his balls drew up.
She spoke.
“I would very much like to reward you for your recent efforts on behalf of your Branch and my Evangeline, so, chevalier, your choice. Take me to our bed and make love to me. Or position for me as you know I wish it so I can give you your tail and then give you much more.”
He knew which way she was leaning just by looking at her so he walked to her, cupped her beautiful face in both of his hands and dropped his mouth to hers.
He kissed her deep and wet.
Then he said, “Think your beast has earned not waiting too long to get his shit jacked and good.”
Her lips curved up. “We’ll see.”
He grinned at her.
Then he dropped his hands, one going to Cleo to rub her head, before he turned away and strolled down the hall to position for his Mistress so he could get his shit jacked like she always jacked him.
Really fucking good.
BRANCH
Sitting in his truck in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, Branch heard the click, the pop and two more clicks before Gerbil answered, “Wassup?”
“You still going with Tavis?”
“Pain in my ass,” Gerbil muttered.
“You can make her safe,” Branch declared.
This got him a sucking void of silence.
“Gerbil, vow it to me, man. I get a life with her, you can make us safe.”
“I can make you safe, Branch.”
“Then make us safe.”
He disconnected.
TAVIS WARREN
After Branch hung up on him, he stared at the six computer monitors in front of him.
Suddenly not in his control, his head dropped, his chin hitting his throat.
He drew in a deep breath.
He lifted one hand to the back of his neck and scrubbed it over his head, the other one, and repeat with both.
He dropped his hands and lifted his head.
“Right, so maybe this world isn’t the shithole I knew it to be,” he said to his monitors.
Then he grinned a lunatic grin and put his fingers to his keyboard.
ARYAS
“Talk to me,” Aryas demanded when he picked up Branch’s call.
Branch didn’t fuck around.
“There are going to be changes, Aryas, and I need you on board with those changes or I’m going to have to refer you to somebody else.”
Aryas went completely silent.
“Know a couple of guys. They’re assholes but they get the job done. That said, you’ll have to keep an eye on them because they like their work. Too much.”
Aryas ignored his last.
“Well thank fuck, son. ’Cause, see, I just made the decision to open a club in Tahoe so a lot of my time is going to be tied up in that for the
next eight months. But doesn’t matter. All work and no play makes Aryas a horny boy. Need a man I can trust who knows his shit to oversee operations with a focus on membership approval and security. I’ll give you a bonus, you don’t make me place an ad.”
There was only a moment of silence before Branch asked, “What’s the start date?”
“Yesterday.”
“Right. Good you didn’t give me an office during orientation because I don’t need one. And I’m down with travel. But I got a woman here in Phoenix so you need me to go, I’ll go, but I can’t be gone for long because I’ll want to get back home to her.”
Well thank …
Fuck.
Finally.
Aryas’s voice dipped low. “You owe me, Branch.”
Branch’s voice was just as low. “I know, Aryas.”
“Paid in full, you make her happy and you find some of that yourself.”
“We done, boss?” Branch asked.
“For now.”
“Later.”
“Later, Branch.”
They disconnected.
And Aryas Weathers exploded with laughter.
STELLAN
His phone rang and Stellan’s mouth got tight at seeing it was an unknown caller.
He almost ignored it.
In five minutes, he would be glad he didn’t.
For two reasons.
“Yes?” he answered.
“Lange,” Branch Dillinger said.
Concern filtered through him as he asked, “Is everything good with Evangeline?”
“She’s fine. Just called to say, you’re up.”
Stellan was silent.
“Anything goes down,” Dillinger went on, “it’s on me. But just to say, if you’re in, you’re up and if you can keep an eye, it’d be appreciated.”
“I’m in,” Stellan told him immediately, wondering how soon it would be before Leenie called to share that it was, actually, all it was cracked up to be. He let that go and continued, “It’s good I have you on the line. I’ve got a job for you.”
“I’m out of the business, Lange, found alternate employment.”
Stellan smiled.
Yes, he suspected it was all it was cracked up to be.
He was actually counting on it.
So he persevered.
“I’ll make it worth your while to do some moonlighting.”
There was a pause before Dillinger asked, “What’s the job?”
“I want to know everything there is to know about Mistress Sixx.”