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Something pulled at him, making him want to go to the lab and ask Noelle if she wanted to come with him. He knew it was foolish, they barely knew each other, but the need was there, as weird as it seemed. But it would be for nothing, it was Friday night and Cinderella had vanished once again.
The bar was in a quiet street slightly off the busy French Quarter. He felt the city’s real soul wasn’t in the noisy and packed streets surrounding them, but in the places frequented by the locals, and he intended to discover them all. The Crescent Moon bar was precisely that. On the corner of the street, the restored building looked lively and welcoming. There was a terrace limited by a beautiful iron-wrought fence, but Ryland had messaged him that they would wait for him inside.
The place was packed without being stifling. On the contrary, patrons enjoyed themselves but kept the noise low, so everyone could hear the band playing moody jazz music.
A waving arm directed him on the right side of the car, near an archway where he saw Ryland and Nico standing up when he turned the corner.
“Brandon!” Nico was the first to grab his hand and pull him into a half-hug.
“Hey, Nico. It’s great to see you, even if you’re as ugly as ever.”
With a laugh, Nico released his hold, and Ryland clapped his shoulder. “It’s been a long time, my friend.”
Brandon had to agree, and to be honest, he missed them too. It had been one of the very few teams in which he’d felt included, even though he was an outsider.
“Brandon, I’d like you to meet my wife, Leanna.”
The lovely brunette offered him her hand and a dazzling smile. “Ry has said such amazing things about you. Gosh, you’re so tall! As tall as Nico! And blond! And so handsome. I can’t believe it. And those eyes! You must stand out in a crowd. Are you of Scandinavian descent? I’m sure you are! I can imagine that Vikings looked exactly like you!”
Not sure how to respond to the flow of kind words and questions, he looked at his former colleagues, who only shook their heads.
“Well, thank you, Leanna. I was born in New York but lived part of my life in California. No idea if Turner is northern in origin or not. I think it’s Scottish or Irish.”
The other woman at the table giggled and put a hand on Leanna’s arm to stop the flow. “Nice to meet you, Brandon. I’m Jordyn.”
Nico leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “She’s the love of my life and the reason I’m no longer doing undercover work.”
Brandon released Jordyn’s hand and pulled out a chair as they got seated again. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you. Nico has seen the light. Undercover work is no joke, but I can’t complain. If Ihadn’t been in a tight spot, I wouldn’t have met Nico and Ryland. I prefer to see the positive in things. It helps push the bad away.”
The waiter came to take his order, but it was clear from the light shining in Leanna’s eyes, and the way Jordyn leaned in a little, both women wanted to know how the three of them met.
“I didn’t know Ry did undercover missions. I knew Nico did before meeting Jordyn.”
Brandon shook his head with a sigh at the memory. “It was a tough case. I’d never had a mission like it, and it was the beginning of the end on my part. The undercover thing, I mean.”
Jordyn smiled. “You can’t leave us hanging like that! I know you can’t go into details, but what was it about?”
As if telling a secret, Nico winked at her. “It was about the infiltration of a white supremacist group suspected of selling explosives. The FBI collaborated with the LAPD, and Brandon here was one of the head investigators and the only blond guy in the entire squad, so when we planned the infiltration, you can guess who the lucky winner was.”
Ryland elbowed Brandon. “You just had to sacrifice a little bit of yourself.”
It was easier to smile about it now, and his hand went to his beard. “Yeah, I had to shave and get a buzz cut. This gang was ultra-religious and wanted every one of their men to be clean cut. I hated looking at myself in the mirror.”
Both Nico and Ryland laughed. “Admit that under that beard hides an ugly bastard.”
Nico’s only love came to his rescue. “There’s no way Brandon could be classed as ugly, with or without facial hair.”
They had a great time during the following hour, discussing what had happened to each of them since they’d last talked. Brandon was relaxed and enjoyed their company. He’d missed that feeling of camaraderie. It was clear that it would take timeand effort to find that here and that old secrets and wounds would have to be taken care of first.
It was amazing to see how Ryland and Nico had changed since he last saw them. Not that it was that obvious, both of them were good men to start with, but now, as he observed them interacting with Leanna and Jordyn, they were at peace. Happy.
The two women were incredible: funny, smart, lusciously beautiful, and head-over-heels in love with his friends. Envy gripped him.
Brandon had good mates, a job that challenged his skills, lived in a fascinating city, but had nobody by his side. This sudden pang of loneliness was unexpected.
“Oh! Oh! Look at the time!! We’re going to be late!” Leanna clapped her hands, excitedly.
Ryland seemed equally amused while Nico rolled his eyes. “When we decided to take this little vacation together, Leanna began researching every possible activity in New Orleans. I can say Ryland and I fought hard for some free time.”
