To Brannick’s credit. He didn’t try to stop them. He merely set the example and flew east toward the club.
Fergus settled the most important matter with his men as he called out. I’m buying the first round.
The White Flame had a back room Brannick reserved for the impromptu celebration. Of course, it was near dawn, so the club had emptied of most of its night-loving creatures, especially those who couldn’t speed home with a quick levitating dash to avoid the sunrise.
Standing beside Brannick, Juliet almost took his hand, then decided not to. They’d been through an awful lot over the past few hours and had survived an impossible situation. But she needed to remind herself that though he’d made love to her, he’d also done his usual and left her abruptly. He might have owned up to his part in initiating the lovemaking, but he was still conflicted.
Besides, more than anything, she needed to respect their partnership and not to do anything that would put it in jeopardy. Working toward a better world was far more important than anything else right now.
~ ~ ~
Brannick held a mug of beer in his hand, as did the entire team. He’d loved working with Fergus and his men as well as with Juliet. Everything felt new to him, and his spirit was lighter than it had been since he’d come to Five Bridges.
He slid his arm around Juliet, but he felt her stiffen next to him. She didn’t exactly pull away, but he could feel how uneasy she was.
As the server passed around another tray of beers, Brannick leaned close to her and whispered, “Is everything okay?” His fae senses told him she had her guard up, and not without reason.
She turned into him, avoiding eye contact. “Of course.”
He had a lot he wanted to say to her, but now was not the time. “We need to talk.”
She lifted her chin slightly and this time met his gaze. “I’m always willing to engage in conversation with you. You’re my partner.”
He couldn’t help but smile as he held her gaze. “Talking is good.” He felt devilish. “So is something else I can think of.”
A startled expression flashed in her eyes. “Brannick, I can’t do this.” He saw the flush on her cheeks, and he felt the depth of her fear.
He got it. How many times had he made love to her in real-time then left her alone? The last time he’d made his escape, Roche had hijacked her from her dreamglide. She had reason to be wary of him.
He also knew how she felt about him, which prompted him to drop down and kiss her on the lips. I’m not at all satisfied with our partnership. We have a few details to hammer out.
This time, she frowned. What do you mean?
He feigned innocence. Just as I said, we need to talk.
Brannick, what are you saying?
Sensing her exasperation, he turned toward her more fully. Let me be more direct, when we get back to the cottage, we’re going to talk about everything and get things settled between us once and for all.
She blinked several times. What things?
He smiled again, and took a swig of his beer. Just things.
Okay, now you’re getting on my nerves.
I plan to get on a lot more than that.
He didn’t wait for her to respond, but turned his attention to the wolves. He lifted his mug. “To Fergus and the brave warriors of Savage. We got the bastard!”
The cheer that went up was a roar no doubt heard several streets over in every direction. A couple of the wolves even howled.
When Brannick had taken his revenge during the first few weeks of his arrival in Five Bridges, he’d been alone. More than that, he’d been warned repeatedly by some of his fellow officers that he couldn’t kill off high level cartel members without repercussion.
He hadn’t listened to them. He’d been wild with grief and uncontrolled.
And … alone.
What had happened tonight, however, had been different in every possible respect, even down to letting the corrupt chief of the Revel Border Patrol take possession of Roche’s factory. If Brannick had let Fergus have his way and they’d destroyed the dark flame factory, the cartels would have retaliated.