Chapter 12

Sunlight streamed through the half-open blinds, casting a warm glow across the hardwood floors of Brody's Brooklyn brownstone. He stretched out in the king-sized bed, the cool sheets against his skin a stark contrast to the warmth that should have been there. He turned to the other side of the bed, patting the empty space beside him, and his heart clenched with a pang of longing.

"Josiah," he murmured to the quiet room, the name a tender ache on his lips. The absence of Josiah's slim figure made the spacious bedroom feel cavernous and hollow. The blond hair that had fanned out on the pillow was now a memory.

He let out a heavy sigh and pushed himself up. Brody had known leaving Josiah would be hard, but this was only the first morning after returning home, and it felt a thousand times more painful than he'd expected. Unfortunately, there had been no other option. Brody had to return to the city to meet with clients in person, and Josiah needed time to pack his things. Brody had already arranged for a moving company to transport everything from Chicago to Brooklyn, so they only had to make it through one week apart.

But that week would feel like an eternity.

Brody had things to do, however, and that included a difficult conversation he couldn't put off any longer. He'd texted Milan to set up a meeting, and the man had immediately agreed. He'd proposed a coffee shop, but Brody wasn't risking talking about his past in public, so he'd invited Milan over to his place. It couldn't hurt for the man to see Brody's home and confirm Brody could take care of Josiah properly.

He didn't need Milan's approval or blessing on his relationship with Josiah, but it would sure as fuck make things a lot easier. From what Brody understood, Denali was already on board, even though Josiah had told him nothing about Brody's background. The kid couldn't know, but Milan should.

Brody had debated long and hard, but in the end, he'd concluded that someone needed to know the truth, if only so they could help protect Josiah. And who better to trust than the president's brother-in-law, a man who had helped bring down a terrorist group and served a long and highly respected career in the NYPD? That police force had its fair share of rotten apples, but Milan had zero complaints against him, not from civilians nor from fellow officers, and that spoke volumes.

All Brody could do was hope Milan would understand. But if he didn't, Brody still wouldn't walk away again. No risk, no looming threat, no warnings could ever outweigh the magnetic pull Josiah had on his heart. He would navigate this treacherous path, find a way to keep them both safe. Because the thought of a life without Josiah's vibrant presence was a fate far worse than any potential danger. That much he knew for certain. He'd walked away from him once. He would never do that again.

The doorbell rang right on time, and Brody let Milan in, noting with some amusement that Milan's expression wasn't exactly friendly. Josiah might've convinced Denali of Brody's good intentions, but Milan clearly wasn't on board yet, and Brody appreciated him looking out for Josiah.

"Thanks for coming," he said. "Can I get you anything? Coffee?"

"Do you have decent coffee?"

"I'm confident the amount of money I spent on an Italian coffee machine has paid off," Brody said dryly.

"Then yes. Black. As strong as you can make it."

While Brody was making coffee, Milan wandered around his house. "Nice place," he said when he returned to the kitchen.

"Thank you."

"Did you inherit the money?"

Brody frowned. "Excuse me?"

"There's no mortgage. You bought the house nine years ago and paid cash. That's rare."

He'd been digging into Brody's background, then. Brody shouldn't be surprised, considering the man's job. "You ran a background check on me?"

Milan shrugged, not looking a bit guilty. "I wanted to know who I was dealing with."

"You wanted to make sure I was good enough for Josiah."

Milan crossed his arms. "After that stunt you pulled, you're goddamned right I did."

"And what's the verdict?" Most of all, Brody was curious if Milan had discovered anything about Brody's past. A standard background check shouldn't reveal anything, but Milan had resources few people had, and those included his other partner.

Milan accepted the coffee Brody handed him, and they sat in the living room. "The verdict is that there's something fishy about you, but I can't put my finger on it. You don't have so much as a parking ticket, but my gut tells me you're hiding something."

No wonder he was such a good detective. He had excellent instincts. "Did you ask Asher to run a check on me? As an FBI agent, he has access to databases you don't."

Milan's face tightened. "He refused. Asshole."

Brody snickered. "Oh, that must've pissed you off."

Milan sighed. "Yeah, but he's right… which makes it ten times more infuriating. Asher's moral compass is far more sensitive than mine."

Brody loved that Milan was honest enough to admit that. The man was a straight shooter, and Brody appreciated that. He took a deep breath. "Your gut wasn't wrong."

Milan narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

"I need your word that you won't tell Denali."

"Denali? That I can promise, but why not Asher? If you're on the wrong side of the law, it's not Denali you should be worried about."

Brody shook his head. "It's not like that… and it's Josiah I'm trying to protect."

Milan put down his coffee and leaned forward. "Talk to me."

"Twelve years ago, I was an accountant in LA, working for a prestigious firm. I was awarded a new client, and once I started digging into their books, none of it made sense. Large sums were being paid for services that didn't exist."

"Money laundering."

"On the grandest scale possible. I reported it to my boss, but his reaction told me he knew about it and expected me to fall in line. Except I couldn't. Not so much because of the amounts but because the money came from drugs and human trafficking."

Milan gasped. "Holy fuck. You were the key witness in the Victoria case. You're in the Witness Protection Program."

"Yes, though it's called Witness?—"

"—Security Program. I know. But that's…" Milan dragged a hand through his hair, a deep frown marring his forehead. He was working to connect the dots. "Josiah must've mentioned my brother-in-law."

"President Shafer, yes. Who was your childhood best friend. Your other best friend was Shafer's chief of staff. Your partner Asher worked for the Secret Service, and you and he were involved in breaking the Pride Bombing case."

Milan nodded. "And you got scared because all that means visibility, and you don't want to be seen."

"I can't. They altered my appearance enough not to make it obvious, but if someone dug deep enough…"

"Jesus, Brody…" Milan cursed, the implications of Brody's confession sinking in. He rested his elbows on his knees, his expression one of newfound understanding. "That's why you bolted without a word. Not for yourself but for him."

"Because I love him," Brody said, the declaration raw and fervent. "Because I can't stand the thought of anything happening to him because of me."

"Okay." Milan breathed out. "Okay, I get it now." His brows knitted as he mulled over the gnarled situation. "Goddammit," he said with an exasperated sigh. "I was determined to hate you, but now I can't."

"Sorry?"

"Nah, don't be. You did good."

"I'm violating every protocol by telling you, but I need you and Asher to know. I need you to help me keep Josiah safe."

"Does Josiah know?"

"Yeah. He deserved to know the truth. I love him, Milan. More than life itself. I want forever with him, and that meant telling him the truth. Otherwise, this would've always remained between us, chipping away at his trust in me."

"I can see that. It was the right call."

"But Denali can't know. Josiah understands that too. I know he doesn't like to keep secrets from his best friend, but we gain nothing by telling Denali."

Milan seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded. "I agree. Also, and I say this with all my love, Denali's shit at keeping secrets. He's far too open for that. Wears every emotion on his face. I love him for it, but in this case, it would be a liability."

"So, will you help me with this?"

"Absolutely. All I wanted was for Josiah to be happy. The kid's been hurt, and since you were at fault, I wanted to put the fear of God in you not to do it again. Guess we're past that now."

"You'll tell Asher?"

"Yeah. He might want to run that background check after all to see if anything pops up that could give you away. It shouldn't, but Asher is not your standard FBI agent. As a former Secret Service agent, he's been trained in recognizing patterns and anything that deviates from common human behavior."

That was interesting. If Asher found anything suspicious, that would give them the time and opportunity to fix it before the wrong people stumbled across it.

"You have my permission. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep Josiah safe. He's moving in with me next week." He couldn't help the undoubtedly goofy grin that broke free.

"Trust me, I know. Denali was over the moon when he heard. He's been dying to get Josiah to the city."

"Luckily, it wasn't a hard sell. I like it here, and he wasn't particularly attached to Chicago. Plus, I already have a house, as you have seen."

"You gonna kick Elya out?"

"No. First of all, his lease still has six months left on it, but more importantly, he's not in our way. He lives in the basement, while we have the other two floors. Besides, I like him."

Milan scratched his chin. "You're charging him a pittance in rent."

"So?"

"It's nice of you."

Brody laughed. "That cost you, didn't it?"

"Well, you'll have to forgive me for needing a moment to see you as a good guy."

"Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."

"I certainly hope not. You got away with being an asshole once, but you hurt Josiah again, and we're gonna have a problem."

Funnily enough, Brody knew exactly what kind of problem Milan meant, and it had nothing to do with Brody's past. Milan would never betray him. But he might beat the shit out of him, and Brody was strangely okay with that. "I do have to warn you that I have a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu."

Milan shrugged. "And I have a long list of friends who will make sure your body is never found."

"Fair enough."

Milan rose and extended his hand. "Welcome to the family."