Page 8 of Barrett

Luckily, the café was quiet, so no one witnessed what happened except for the wide-eyed barista behind the counter. If they only knew the kind of hate that man could lay down—or the way I desired to be the one on the receiving end of Reghan.

I sat back down and stared at the muffin. It might as well have been a pile of fucking sawdust for all the desire I had to eat it. At least I wasn’t ready to shed more tears. Instead, anger licked through my veins.

Fuck this.

Standing fast, I called over my shoulder, “I’ll be right back,” and rushed out the door after Reghan.

“Hey, asshole!” I yelled at his retreating back. He was nearing his black Jeep Gladiator. It was outfitted with all kinds of extras, including bigger tires. Every time I saw it, I thought it suited him well.

Reghan stopped, his hands balling into fists at his sides. But he didn’t turn around, so I walked faster until I caught up and rounded him to look in his eyes.

“How dare you come in there and act like you give a shit,” I said, getting right in his face. “I didn’t ask for your sympathy. People are allowed to have shitty days. That doesn’t mean I need you comforting me like I can’t handle myself.” I would have loved for him to comfort me. As much as I wanted him to fuck me, I had a feeling it would have been great to have those massive arms holding me while I let the awfulness of the day out.

“Are you serious right now?” His nearly black hair had fallen forward onto his forehead. He didn’t let it get long, but it was just enough that it came free from where he styled it back. “I show you an ounce of compassion and give you space to talk about what’s bothering you, and you come after me like I committed a crime? Fuck you, Bear.” God, that nickname. It made my body sing with want.

“Sure, however you have to disguise it.” He could have been genuine and really wanted me to lean on him. Although, we didn’t work that way.

He stepped closer until the tips of his boots kissed the tips of my shoes. “I don’t know who you think you’re fooling, but I know you wear a mask. God forbid anyone sees you’re more than a good time. More than the detective who does his job and leaves for a happy family life.”

I laughed humorlessly. “Happy family life? You can’t be fucking serious.”

“I don’t know shit about you.”

“One word to your boss, and you would.”

“I haven’t asked him anything.” He gave a quick glance around us. No one was nearby. Either they gave us a wide berth, or people were home for the night. “Your life is your business. Do I know what goes on when you work with him, sure. But I never once asked him about your personal life. As I said, slide that mask down and pretend you don’t feel a thing.”

“You don’t fool me. You’d sooner pin me to the wall and knock my teeth down my throat than be any sort of comfort.”

“Oh, I’ve thought about strangling you,” he growled. “I’ve wondered what it would feel like to have your pulse flutter wildly beneath my fingertips as you slowly lose the remainder of the oxygen in your lungs.”

I gave him a cocky smirk, even though my dick was so hard I was surprised it hadn’t busted through the zipper of my jeans. “You can’t touch me, and you know it. Jordan needs me. I’m far too valuable.”

“More than me? Do you think he’d side with you if push came to shove? Gotta tell you, I’d win.”

“Any more threats you’d like to lay on a detective in the East Dremest PD?”

“Threats for that guy? No. Threats for Bear, you’re damn right I have them.”

“Hey, stop!” I heard come from behind me. Raiden didn’t dare put his hand on my shoulder, not out on the street where anyone could see. It was one thing for me to go toe to toe with Reghan. I could pass that off as if I was threatening him, seeing if he would offer up something valuable. His brother putting his hands on me wouldn’t go over well. Arresting him wasn’t on my evening agenda.

Instead, Raiden put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and pulled him back a few steps. “What the hell are you two doing?” he hissed. “Anyone could see you. More than that, what if they heard you?”

Reghan crossed his arms and gave me his bestI don’t give a fucklook. So I mimicked him because fuck that shit. Two could play at this game.

“You’re both so damn stupid,” Raiden stated. “I keep hoping you’ll figure this out and either do something about…” He waved his hand between us. “…this or just leave each other alone. You’re stuck in a perpetual loop of anger and hatred.” If he truly knew what I felt, he wouldn’t say that. Thankfully, the darkness helped conceal my dick. That and the streetlight that was shining more on Reghan than me. “Let’s go.” Raiden started pulling his brother toward the Jeep.

I doubted anyone could move Reghan if he didn’t want to go. He let his brother draw him to the passenger side door and asked for the keys.

“Go home, Barrett,” Raiden said. “Or stand on the sidewalk and watch our taillights. Honestly, I don’t give a shit.” He climbed behind the wheel.

I didn’t do either. I stalked back to the café, and angrily ate my muffin. I swallowed the cooling coffee and ordered a car to drive me home, not wanting to walk it.

4

REGHAN

“I don’t know why you let him get to you. I mean, I do, but fuck, Reghan, sometimes you have to walk away,” my brother said as he navigated us through the East Dremest streets until we were pulling into the garage of the building our boss owned. He put my Jeep in park, shut it off, and turned to me. “It’s just going to keep escalating until one of you hurts the other.”

---