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Saturday night was family night in the Bailey household. Always had been unless you had a hot date, a work conflict, or were contagious with some kind of horrible illness, and for as long as Bailey could remember, his family—and Xander—had held up the tradition.
Of course, the location changed from time to time, but for the most part, they congregated here at Bailey’s house. He had the biggest lot, and the property behind his home gave them more privacy if they decided to turn the dinner into a party with friends, or a sports-watching event that got out of hand.
“They’re coming along good, I think,” Bailey said as he looked over his shoulder to see Sean cradling a beer in one hand, while stuffing some chips in his mouth with his other. “Xander and Kieran finish the salad yet?”
“Well, Kieran’s doing jack shit as always, and Xander is finishing up washing the tomatoes.”
“Well, don’t ruin your dinner. I’m almost done here.”
“Yes, sir,” Sean said as he popped the final chip into his mouth.
“Haven’t seen much of you this week,” Bailey said, as he hung up the tongs and picked up the beer he had sitting on the deck rail.
“Yeah, caught a case that’s been keeping me busy.”
“I heard about that down at the station. Talk is, this one’s the same as the other two women that were found over on the South Side. That true?”
“Unfortunately. We’ve got fuck-all to go by, though. Just some dead prostitutes and some drugs. Like that’s gonna narrow it down.” Sean took another swig of his beer and rubbed a hand over his face, and Bailey couldn’t help but notice how tired his brother looked tonight.
That wasn’t all that surprising, though, with the hours he kept. Bailey couldn’t begin to imagine how Sean managed the round-the-clock shit he pulled when he picked up a case. That was one of the main reasons Bailey had stayed with patrol, even though their father had always expected him to go for detective like himself and Sean.
But where the police force seemed like a calling for the two of them, for Bailey it was just a job.
Refocusing on his brother, Bailey looked at the bags under his eyes and frowned. “You been getting much sleep lately?”
“Eh, I’ve been getting a handful of hours here and there—”
“But nothing that leaves you feeling any better for it. Am I right?”
“You’re a pain in the ass is what you are. Quit being a mother hen, Bay. I’m fine.”
“But are you? Really? One of the main reasons cops burn out is because of the shit hours—”
“And the shit pay. Don’t forget that.”
Bailey pinned his older brother with a serious look. “You and I both know how important it is to have balance in this line of work. Don’t make the same mistakes he did.”
Sean looked past Bailey’s shoulder to the sizzling steaks behind him, clearly trying to ignore what he’d said. But Bailey knew his brother had heard him, just as he knew Sean would only ever listen to Sean, and when it came to talk of their pops, no one was more pigheaded and stubborn than his eldest brother.
Oh well, at least Bailey could go to bed tonight knowing he’d said his piece.
“Really, Bay, it’s all good. I’m fine. What’ve you been up to, anyway? Do anything exciting last weekend?”
And just like that, Bailey was inundated with images of the one who had done him last weekend.
“Uh, no. I’ve just been working, like you. They switched me to night shifts, so that’s been taking a little getting used to.”
Sean took another gulp of his beer, his eyes narrowing as he scanned Bailey’s face, and Bailey’s pulse began to race. Sean was a master at ferreting out the truth in suspects, witnesses, and his family, and as everyone who knew Bailey could attest, he was the worst liar on the planet.
“You met someone,” Sean said with such certainty that Bailey wondered for a split second if Xander had been shooting his mouth off.
“Okaaay.” Bailey chuckled, trying to play off Sean’s comment. “You must be more tired than I thought.”
“Nope. I told you, I’m fine. And you’re lying. Your cheeks are turning red.”
Bailey knew Sean was right; he could feel the heat on his face. But there was no way in hell he was about to admit anything to his brother. “They’re turning red because I’m drinking. Now, the steaks are nearly ready, so if you’re done annoying me, how about you go inside and tell Xander he’s got about three minutes?”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“Am I that obvious?” When Bailey gave him a tight smile, Sean laughed but turned on his heel and headed toward the sliding glass door. Once he disappeared inside, Bailey let out a relieved breath.
All week he’d been trying his hardest to push aside memories of Henri, but no matter what he did or where he was, all he could think about was how good it had felt to be naked and under Henri’s strong body.
