Page 28 of Barrett

“Tell me.”

“I have a brother.”

“Okayyy.” Why was that such a big deal?

Barrett sighed. “He’s my responsibility. I provide for him. If something happens to me, I need to know he can afford to live. Every day I’m doing my job is a day I might not come home. He’s this amazing artist, but that doesn’t provide a full-time income, so he works part time and devotes the other part of his life to his art.”

“And you take care of the bills.”

“Plus, his health insurance. I pay for it out of pocket since I can’t insure him through work. He’s not a minor, and I'm not his guardian.”

“But Jordan pays you well, so you should be fine.” I didn’t want to think about Barrett getting shot, or worse, while he was working, which was why I kept to the topic of money.

“He does, but I can only take so much from him. If he were to pay me a shit ton every time I did something for him and I deposited it in the bank, that would raise flags. There would be no way for me to explain it. If the amounts stay smaller, I can pass them off as doing work on the side. The less flags, the more people stay out of my personal life.”

That made sense and wasn’t a thought that had crossed my mind. Barrett worked for the police department. He couldn’t have all this money in his accounts, nor was it safe to keep actual cash where he lived. What if someone broke in and stole it, hurt him and his brother?

“I get it now. You fly under the radar so your brother is safe and taken care of.”

“Yeah.” Barrett sounded so tired, so worn down. How long had he been doing this?

I was tempted to take the next exit just so I could pull over and gather him into my arms, but Barrett wasn’t the type to want pity, even though that wasn’t what it would be.

13

BARRETT

I’d told Reghan about my brother. It was easier than I thought it would be. Maybe because Reghan was nothing like the person I thought he was. He was kind and caring. I still saw glimpses of him wanting to choke me when I pissed him off, but that fueled the fire I had burning inside of me for him.

There was relief in mentioning Marshall. Trust I had given Reghan, which I hoped he wouldn’t break. If he did, I’d be done. There were no three strikes. There weren’t even two. One and done.

“What’s his name?” Reghan asked.

“Marshall. You should see his paintings. I look at them and can’t believe we’re from the same gene pool. He has all the talent.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Not everyone could do your job. You have patience and passion for helping people.”

“You could do it.”

Reghan scoffed, “I don’t belong in that world. I couldn’t uphold the law if I tried.”

“Not now but maybe at one time you could have. I’m not the only one who wants to help. You were out there with me today, trying to find the person responsible for others going missing. You didn’t get angry or raise your voice. You were calm and people responded to you. That’s a skill not everyone has.”

“I appreciate you stroking my ego, but it’s not necessary.”

“No? What if I stroked something else?” I couldn’t resist. He left that door wide open. Of course, I was going to walk through it.

He turned, giving me a sexy-as-hell grin. “I’m not even a little pissed you said that.”

I smiled back. “I’m taking it as a win. Tell me something about you. I shared. It’s your turn.”

“That’s fair. Let’s see… My parents are still happily married. My dad’s a guard at Untouchable and my mom’s a nurse. She used to only be part time when we were younger, but after Raiden and I became teenagers and could fend for ourselves after school, she went back to work full time, taking care of those who needed it.” We had files on everyone at work. While I knew some things about Reghan and his brother, I didn’t know it all. Digging into someone’s past only brought up so much.

“That explains a lot.”

“What do you mean?”

“The more I get to know you, the more I see another side of you. It meshes with having a loving family.” I had to bite my tongue not to tell him it was something I didn’t have. He could have already come to that conclusion after I told him about Marshall, but I didn’t flat-out say my parents were pieces of shit.

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