Brian lifted one brow. “What else? Come make me dinner.”
Sway slapped Brian’s shoulder hard. “You better get some more of those Fresh Favorite ready meals you and Dana love so much.”
Brian laughed. “You know about those?”
“Of course, I do. Dana may be able to fool Ford, but I know the man can’t cook that damn good.” Sway’s laugh was so much lighter now. “He made beef bourguignon last night. Come on! Does Ford think he went to culinary school while attending weapons training?”
Brian loved how naïve civilians were to their skills. Brian stood and shook his head sadly. “You can’t tell him, but your brother is crazy if he thinks he’s fooling Ford.”
“He told me Ford is always praising his cooking.”
“I would too!” Brian signed dramatically, making Sway crack up. “Why rock the boat? He’s eating well. Let it ride. If it makes Dana feel good to pretend he made it all himself from scratch… then whatever. If he wants to suddenly be called ‘cookie’, then who cares? Feigning ignorance with your lover is a small price to pay for good eating.”
“Now we know your schemes,” Sway grinned and leaned in for one final peck.
Brian left, letting Sway walk him out of the hospital to wait with him for his Uber. When the Expedition pulled up for him, he told Sway he’d call him and if he could squeeze any time in, he’d let him know.
He watched Sway turn and go back inside to his job and Brian had to go do his. Next week couldn’t end fast enough.
One week ended up being a damn week and a half. Brian rubbed his eyes and checked his computer monitor time display for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. They’d been in the office every night, waiting like firemen anticipating an alarm. Every time the phone rang, they jumped, praying for it to be Chef LaRoy. Their gear was packed in the truck daily, so there’d be no delays. From their office they could be to the hotel in nineteen minutes. However, the waiting was tiresome. Brian wasn’t second-guessing his strategy, but after a week of nothing, Duke told them to dig harder into their backup plan, just in case. Which was trying to find who was helping their skipper inside the hotel. Comping room rates and meals. Which meant cross-referencing their asses off. Which meant, Brian wanted to stab toothpicks under his fingernails. Just call already! At least he didn’t have to put up with that rude-ass bond agent they were catching this prick for anymore. When Duke had found out how he’d treated Brian, he’d told the man not to call them—he’d call when they had his guy—and especially not to disrespect and harass his staff.
Brian was cranky. And damn if he didn’t miss Sway like crazy. Missed his touch and his unique communication. The time he’d spent with Sway had him spoiled. He missed the conversation when it was gone. Hadn’t realized he’d wanted it so badly until he’d gone without it for so long. He’d gotten used to his silent existence. Working with the guys and even hanging out with them was cool, but his brother was the only one who understood him. Yeah, they talked and did the brother thing to the fullest, but Ford wasn’t all that chatty. Dana couldn’t hold a full conversation, though it was always entertaining when he tried. Now he had this amazing thing maturing with someone he found pretty damn amazing… and his job was stalling it.
Sway had texted him several times asking if Brian had a certain time frame during the day available and it’d always been, ‘no’. Duke had them on this case in the evening and still handling the day-to-day business until late afternoon. It was gruesome, but Brian could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He was going to have all the time he wanted real soon. In the meantime, his and Sway’s relationship had been reduced to lots of texts and ‘wish we coulds’, and one late night video chat that had left Sway way too tired for his shift the following morning.
Brian balled up a piece of paper and slammed it onto his desk. That thought pattern was going nowhere. He yanked another clean sheet out of the tray and started again.
“That time of the month, B?” Dana chuckled from the other side of the office.
Brian flipped him off. He bet Dana wasn’t confused what he meant by that sign.
Ford spun in his chair. He appeared no better than the rest of them. Ford tried to throw an inconspicuous wink at his partner, but Brian missed very little. When Ford turned back to him he asked, “If we ever get our nights back. Come over again. It’s been a minute. Dana can cook a masterpiece and you can bring your nurse.”