It was obvious they’d been working with each other a long time. That they knew each other well. It made Brannigan strangely happy, that K really did have a family of his own, that he hadn’t been alone, as Brannigan had assumed him to be. He just hoped K’s family hadn’t botched things tonight. K was upset with them, and he might be upset enough that he would use tonight as a reason to not come near Brannigan ever again.
God, he really hoped the hacker wouldn’t reach that conclusion. But he really feared he might.
He went straight home, as a favor to K. Once there, he beelined for his home bar because frankly, he needed something stiff and alcoholic in his hand after today’s events. Fortified, he went next for his home office and sat down to come up with a contingency plan for when the Mob decided to extract revenge. Not that they would likely be able to put together who had just taken out their men, but it was Brannigan’s work site. He’d get the lion’s share of the blame.
There was no warning whatsoever between one moment and the next. He sensed someone at his elbow and looked up, then startled badly enough that he nearly sloshed his drink over the laptop. “Eidolon!”
“Sorry, I startled you again.” Eidolon didn’t seem sorry about that. There was mischief in the man’s grey eyes. “I get many complaints about not making noise when I walk.”
Brannigan put a hand over his chest, making sure that his heart was still in it. “I can see that, actually. Oh, right, you’re here for the earbud.” He fished it out of his ear and handed it over.
“Da, and that.” Eidolon planted one hip on the side of the desk, regarding him with a very penetrating stare. “Malvagio told us of your conversation with him. I wonder why are you so keen on meeting a man you’ve never seen even picture of.”
Why did this feel strangely like speaking to a father about dating their child? “I’ll be honest. K is one of the most interesting men I know. I vastly prefer his company, even virtual, and it’s been very frustrating to me that he doesn’t seem to feel the same. Or doesn’t feel it strongly enough to let me see him.”
Eidolon’s head cocked further, expression becoming enigmatic. “Will meeting him once satisfy you?”
“No.” The answer was instinctual and blunt. “No, I don’t think it will. Everything I know of this man, every conversation I’ve had with him over the past six years, tells me he’s not only incredible, but fun. I really want to try dating.”
“And his being hacker is non-issue?”
“For me it is. I don’t think anyone around me—anyone that I actually care about—will have much of an issue with it either. K hasn’t said anything to me, but I can guess this is one of his concerns.”
Eidolon paused, weighing him with his eyes, before speaking again. “My husband is not like us. He is good man, too. When I first met him, I worried just as K does now that my background would be too much for him to swallow. It took talks and time before I overcame that worry.”
That sounded like Eidolon was on Bran’s side. “All I’m asking for is the chance. The chance to talk and to have that time.”
“Da, is reasonable, what you ask. Alright, I go and push him. He needs good push. Maybe swift kick to ass, too.”
“Please.” Bran heaved out a sigh of relief. Alright, another of K’s family on board. Maybe they’d actually get somewhere before the next century.
Eidolon straightened and headed for the door. Obviously for show, as he hadn’t used it to get into the room. At the doorway, he paused and looked back for a moment. “Hey, want to see a magic trick?”
“Sure?” Not certain where he was going with this, Bran stood from the desk and walked into the other room.
The empty other room. There wasn’t a Russian thief anywhere in sight.
“Okay, seriously. How the hell did he do that?”
6
Kyou
Kyou was ready to just call this year quits. He was to the point of building a blanket fort, stocking some snacks and a Switch, and he’d just game and snack until this year was over. Being a responsible adult was too much.
First, Brannigan had been alone while in Roxbury, which he knew better than to do. That alone gave Kyou nightmares. Then Ivan, Ari, and Carter had somehow figured out who he was and followed him for god knew how long. Then, to top it all off, they had a shootout with the Irish Mob.
Yeah. Blanket fort. Blanket fort was the only sane answer.
Brannigan had at least gone straight home and honored Kyou’s wishes. He appreciated that beyond words. Ivan, as a sort of backhanded apology, had wire tapped the O’Conners’ headquarters, so Kyou had something to listen to. He needed any edge right now. The hassling from the Mob had abruptly escalated, and Kyou didn’t know how hard they’d jump from this. From what he heard, the Mob was very unhappy to lose thirteen people all in ten minutes. They were determined to figure out who was behind the attack and retaliate.
Kyou wished them luck. Bad luck, that was. He absolutely did not want them figuring anything out.
It had been a long night of him sitting here perched at the desk, setting up alarms and putting additional alerts into place. Just in case. It was now five a.m. and he’d been up for twenty-three hours and change. Even caffeine couldn’t keep him up and actually functional for much longer. With a sigh, he went and grabbed a shower, one scorching hot to beat the tension out of his shoulders and neck. He had a low-grade headache that he absolutely didn’t want to take to bed with him.
God, what a shitshow the past three days had been. Kyou honestly had no idea how it had happened. Sure, he’d gotten comfortable enough with the guys that he’d started complaining about Brannigan—and actually using the man’s first name. And yeah, Remi had thrown him under the bus a little by showing everyone his picture. But that had all been within tolerable limits. Kyou didn’t actually care if they knew that much as long as they let Brannigan be.
Clearly, they couldn’t let him be.
Kyou had underestimated both their curiosity and how nosy they were. He did not want this much interference. And yes, they’d been helpful (somewhat) last night by protecting Brannigan and his employees, but Kyou would have gotten other help there in time. Probably.
This honestly unnerved Kyou and he wasn’t able to put his finger on why. He just didn’t like that his two worlds were colliding. He’d kept them separate for a long time, and he liked it that way, dammit.
He stood in the shower, letting the water sluice over him, and tried to get his brain to unwind. Kyou was so incredibly tired. He felt like he shouldn’t sleep for long—things would inevitably happen today, but he couldn’t keep going like this. His brain was steadily crashing. It had taken three Monsters and far too much coffee just to get him through the night. And if Aiden found out he was drinking energy drinks again, the doctor would have his head on a platter.
When the headache was mostly gone, he finally stepped out, wrapping a towel around his waist. He blow-dried his hair, as Kyou hated sleeping on wet hair with a passion. He looked around the bathroom and made an absent note to himself to clean it at some point. The white on white was nice when clean, but right now it showed every speck of hair and dirt, and it was starting to get a little gross looking. That had been the nice part about Aiden and Ivan temporarily staying with him for a month while they found a place up here. Aiden had kept the place clean. He didn’t really want the newlyweds back in his space, mind you, but he liked having his apartment clean.