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“Good news?” She asked, so full of hope on his behalf.
Blake nodded, looking away for a second to regain his composure. “The drugs are a match for what Arlo J is dealing.”
“They’re the same ones that almost killed Orly?” Skyla asked. “How is that good news?”
Blake sighed. It really shouldn’t be except that was the only chance he had of bringing Brennan home. “It means she’s part of the federal case, so I get to take her home tomorrow.”
Skyla’s face lit up and came around to Blake’s side of the booth, sitting next to him. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her. “That’s great news, Blake. It’s what we were hoping for, right?”
He nodded, kissed her temple, and lifted one of her hands to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Yeah. Under the circumstances, it is. Come on,” he said looking at her empty plate, and not having much of an appetite to finish the few bites still left on his. “Let’s get out of here and get some sleep.”
The day could’ve gone much worse, but everything had somehow worked out, and Skyla had been there for him through it all. It was uncanny how she knew when to push him and when to let him be. Other women he’d dated in the past would have wanted him to talk more, share his thoughts and feelings, whatever that meant. As if it wasn’t blatantly obvious how concerned and scared he was for his sister.
Skyla never once pushed him to talk when he didn’t want to, nor did she ask him random or incessant questions to fill a void because she wasn’t comfortable in their silence. She had been the perfect companion on their road trip, and even now, when things were finally beginning to fall into place and Blake felt like he could actually breathe again, she still understood that more than anything, he just needed her support and presence.
As they got ready for bed in their cheap motel room that Blake chose due to its proximity to the jail, Blake felt more love for the woman getting into bed with him, than he had for anyone else, outside of his immediate family. This wasn’t the right time or place to tell her, but after Brennan was home, he would find the right way to tell Skyla how he felt about her.
He just hoped she wasn’t freaked out by it the way she had been about the idea of the two of them dating.
Chapter 21
It took longer than Skyla thought to get Brennan out of jail and into Blake’s custody, but once they were on the road, the brother and sister seemed more relaxed than when she first saw Brennan come out with Blake and her lawyer.
“I’m so sorry, you guys, but can we make a quick stop at the next rest stop coming up in a few miles?” Brennan asked from the back seat.
“No,” Blake answered, keeping his eyes on the road as they drove through Shreveport, Louisiana. It had been a long day, the sun had set hours ago, and everyone just wanted to get home. Brennan had indulged in three refills of Diet Coke on their last stop for food, and had been nagging to stop almost every hour for a bathroom break.
“We’re only like two hours away from home,” Skyla said. “Can you try to hold it?”
Brennan crossed her legs, kneeing Skyla’s seat from behind in the process. “I have been holding it. Blake, why didn’t we just fly home? It would’ve been so much easier.”
He glared at Brennan through the rearview mirror. “Seriously, Bren? You’re going to tell me what would’ve been easier? How about you not dealing drugs? How about Mom not calling me at four in the fucking morning to tell me that you’re in jail? Because if you want to talk about making shit easier, that would’ve been helpful.”
Brennan visibly recoiled at his words as if he’d slapped her across the face. “You don’t even know the truth. It’s not like it seems. Honest.”
“Save it,” Blake said. “You heard what your lawyer said. You don’t speak unless you have a lawyer present. Just because I’m your brother, doesn’t mean I’m not the FBI. And right now, I’m a tired and pissed off FBI. So, don’t tempt me.”
Skyla felt bad for Brennan and reached behind her seat. Brennan took her hand, and Skyla gave it a gentle squeeze. “Maybe you can tell me once you're back home and more settled. I know how sometimes things aren’t really the way they seem.” She was talking to Brennan, but she pointedly stared at Blake. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, obviously catching her drift.
They drove in silence for the next half hour. Skyla got a message from AJ asking when she was coming back, and she informed him she would be home in a few hours. She expected him to demand a healing, since he hadn’t actually called on her in a few days, but he went radio silent instead. While it was strange for him to reach out like that without some demand, Skyla shrugged it off, grateful he didn’t need her.
To her and Brennan’s surprise, Blake pulled off the highway into a rest stop. Brennan seemed relieved and hurried to get out, but Blake beat her to it. As soon as she stepped out of the car, he pulled her into a hug and whispered something in her ear that Skyla couldn’t hear. Brennan gave him a tearful smile. And Skyla found herself falling even more in love with the man she was already so in love with. They were both exhausted, and Blake obviously had a lot on his plate. But he still took the time to be there for his little sister. To reassure her. It was more than her father had ever done for her since her mom had died.
Two hours later, Blake pulled into his apartment complex’s parking lot and stopped at the rear bumper of Skyla’s car. He was letting Skyla out before making the forty-five-minute drive to take Brennan to his mom’s house. “Thanks for dropping me off first.” She’d been feeling off for a few days now and thought she might be coming down with something. “I really should get some sleep, then get to Madigan’s early to make sure it’s still standing.” She joked, and Blake smiled, but a part of her was being serious. She’d never been away from the bar for two days in a row, and she hoped her manager had been able to handle any hiccups that occurred in her absence. But Skyla would feel better once she saw for herself that everything had gone smoothly in her absence.
“Thank you for coming with me, and putting up with all my moody bullshit. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Blake said. He leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek, but she turned her head, and caught his mouth with hers.
He tasted like Diet Coke and hamburger, and smelled of mint and leather that was uniquely him. A soft moan escaped her throat, before he carefully pulled back. “Tomorrow,” she said.
His gaze crashed into hers, and for a moment, his guard was down and all the pain, anguish, and fear brewing inside him was on full display. All she wanted to do was make it better, but then just like that, his guard was back up, and those baby blues she wanted to drown in revealed nothing more than the in-control, sometimes aloof, FBI Agent she knew and loved. There were so many sides to this man. He really was like her own personal fifty shades. Only better. Because he was hers.
Skyla waved to a sleepy Brennan in the backseat then with one last look at Blake, stepped out of his SUV and shut the door.
The short five-foot walk to her car felt like it took more of her energy than it should’ve. But she hadn’t slept well the night before on the lumpy motel mattress, and sitting in a car for nearly two days straight had left her feeling exhausted and sore all over.
She plopped down into the driver’s seat and keyed the ignition. The dash lit up and the clock read it was just after ten o’clock. Not really all that late, but Skyla was dead tired, and the only thing she wanted right now was a hot shower and her own bed.
She drove the short distance from Blake’s apartment to her dad’s house, blaring the radio to keep herself awake. As soon as she pulled into the driveway, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Skyla thought it might be Blake or Arlo J, but when she looked at the screen, she was surprised to see a message from Hallie.
