CHAPTER THREE
Tuesday, July 18th
Brady glanced over at Brock and had a pretty good idea of what he was thinking, which was one of the many advantages of working with your big brother. Smirking to himself, he watched him stand and speak to a man at the end of the bar.
Bingo.
They were currently on a personal protection assignment for an actress who had come to town to speak with his girlfriend, Lilly, about one of her books. Shaking his head, he waited for Brock to settle himself back in his chair before speaking. “The guy isn’t a threat and you can’t give people a hard time for staring.”
“It’s not polite,” Brock succinctly replied.
Brady snorted and wondered when the cool operator his brother had once been was going to reappear. Ever since Lilly had been threatened earlier in the year, he’d been hyper vigilant. The fact that they were sitting in Lilly’s sister Lucy’s restaurant in the middle of the day didn’t make any difference about how closely he kept an eye on things. Worst thing they were going to deal with today was some rude fans. Not a psycho who wanted to shoot up the place.
The woman they were protecting was Erin Phillips, and she had a lot of enthusiastic fans. She had starred in a sci-fi series a couple of years ago and some people had a hard time separating the character she played from the actual person she was. Which made for some interesting encounters with the public, but so far not dangerous.
Erin’s personal bodyguard nodded his acknowledgment from his seat against the wall. Damian Kirk was a retired Ranger and probably appreciated Brock’s vigilance because it was easier to stop something before it got started.
Brady watched Brock study the guy who’d been staring and wondered what he planned to do. Love hadn’t made his brother real reasonable and he figured if Brock could figure out a way to get Lilly wrapped up in a safe bubble, he would. And her being around someone who had eager fans was about the exact opposite of what he was comfortable with. Not that he could do anything about it. Lilly was her own boss and there was no way she would put up with Brock dictating her movements. Which meant his brother kept his mouth shut and prayed she didn’t figure out how closely he guarded her.
Seeing Brock fall ass-over-teakettle in love had been damn entertaining, and Brady was grateful that he’d finally found happiness. A happiness that Brady wouldn’t mind finding himself. He didn’t know if it was possible, but at least now he’d have the time to find out.
His retirement from HRT had made him reassess what he was looking for in life with fresh eyes. And one of the things he wanted to have was someone to call his own. Someone to build something with. His dedication to the bureau hadn’t left time for much of a personal life and he was ready to make it a top priority.
Leaving the FBI hadn’t been easy, but he hadn’t really had a choice because his shattered knee had taken him out of the field. And, the desk job they’d offered hadn’t appealed to him enough to stick around. So here he was, back home working side by side with some of the best men he’d ever met. TRG had been a great fit so far and he only expected it to get better as time went on. If he could add some personal happiness to the mix, he’d be set.
His phone buzzed and he pulled it out to check the incoming message. Claire’s face popped up on the screen and he found himself smiling. His girl genius hadn’t totally shut him down yesterday and he took that as a positive sign. What he didn’t consider a positive sign was how happy she appeared this morning. Apparently, the stupid pharmacist she had dinner with last night wasn’t a total dud. How that was possible he had no idea.
One date down, six more to go before she would be free. Why she was considering any of the bozos as real candidates wasn’t anything he was ever going to understand. So what if they had answered the questionnaires correctly? That didn’t mean a thing if there was no chemistry. And as far as he was concerned, he and Claire had it. When her breath had hitched as he tucked her hair behind her ear, he knew she wasn’t impervious to his charms. Which meant all he needed was a chance.
Reading the text she sent, he realized he might have a small one when he went by her office later to pick up the information she had for him. He typed a quick response and told her he would be by in a couple of hours. He was going to be off duty soon, so he was going to have plenty of time to make it in to TRG before she left for date number two.
The fact that she had a spreadsheet on the men she was seeing told him he probably had very little to worry about. If someone caught your attention, there was no way you wouldn’t be able to remember his name.
Hell, he remembered everything about Claire. Her scent, the sound of her laughter, the way her hair fell over her shoulder when she tilted her head. There wasn’t a detail he couldn’t immediately recall and describe perfectly. And that included the way she’d looked in her dress the other night. He’d been torturing himself with those images for days, which meant his patience about when they could spend some time together wasn’t going to last long.
Clearing his throat, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and scrubbed his mind clean. The last thing he needed was to be thinking about Claire when he was on duty. Didn’t matter if it was babysitting or not. He glanced over at Lilly and Erin and saw they were still deep in conversation.
Brock had his arms crossed and was studying anybody who walked through the doors. If someone so much as glanced in the women’s direction, he gave them a death glare. Seemed his years with MARSOC had perfected his temerity.
Anyone with a half a brain wasn’t going to mess with Brock and his badass attitude. Not if he wanted to walk away unscathed. Shoving his elbow into his brother’s side, he raised an eyebrow. “Lucy’s going to kill you if you scare away the customers.”
“I’m not scaring away anyone.” He smirked and then sat forward on the stool. “If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear.”
He saw Lucy walk out of the kitchen and approach the women’s table. When she pulled up a chair and joined the conversation, he knew they were going to be there until Hunter and Miles took over. Which was fine by him. Sitting in the French Press restaurant wasn’t a bad way to spend the day. One of the waiters delivered a plate of sliders and told them Lucy wanted them to eat. “Thanks, man,” Brady replied. He lifted one, ate it one bite, and grinned. This was livin’ in high cotton, that was for darn sure. Lucy Bertrand was one of the best chefs in the state, and to be eating her food in the middle of the workday was not a bad way to collect a paycheck.
Brady kept his eye on the women and wondered if they were hatching an evil plan. The way their heads were almost touching and the furtive looks they cast over their shoulders made him think they were up to no good. Which was almost guaranteed if Lilly was involved.
The girl he’d grown up with was known for her love of pranks, and he figured she might not have left it totally behind when she’d become an adult. Just because she was a successful writer didn’t mean that she didn’t like to pull one over on people. If she could come up with some co-conspirators, who knew what she could accomplish?
The three women erupted in laughter and Erin’s bodyguard, Damian, shook his head. Whatever was going on over there didn’t bode well for Brock and whoever was in charge of Erin’s safety. “Has Lilly given up her pranks?”
Brock swiveled his head and raised an eyebrow. “As far as I can tell. I try and keep her occupied so that fertile mind of hers doesn’t come up with any shenanigans.”
“That’s probably best. Though I did enjoy the ones she pulled off in high school. I think the headless-drive-through prank she organized senior year is still discussed in some circles. Also, her old standby of using a strip of Saran Wrap across a doorway and watching people flail as they hit it had a simple elegance that has to be appreciated.”
Shaking his head, Brock turned back toward the group of women. “Lilly doesn’t need any encouragement, so please don’t remind her how good she is at it. The last thing I need is a wife I have to bail out of jail.”
Brady snorted. “She’s not your wife yet.”
“Soon,” Brock replied confidently. “Very soon.”
Lilly must’ve sensed they were talking about her because she lifted her head, waved to Brock, and blew him a kiss. “Does she know about you very soon plan?” Brady asked.
“Nope. I’m a very relaxed and easygoing boyfriend.”
“Doubt it,” Brady mumbled before grabbing another slider and popping it into his mouth.
“Wait until you’re in my shoes. You’re not going to be that much different. I hear you have a certain woman in your sights and I bet once you have her you’ll be ten times worse than me.”
Scoffing, Brady leaned back and shook his head. “I’m the most relaxed out of the Landry brothers. Anyone would agree with me.”
“Yeah, right.”
Brady looked over at his brother and decided not to take up a ten-year-old argument. Truth was, they were all wound a little tight. He’d always attributed it to losing their mama when they did. They had all discovered far too early in life that bad things could happen to good people, and it had made all three of them a tad on the controlling side. Which, if kept in check, could be a good thing.
And therein lay the rub…keeping it in check. Watching his brother, he figured that it was pretty much a daily struggle. Wouldn’t be that way for him when and if he found someone of his own. No way.