Brantley Walker and Reese Tavoularis are plunging headfirst into the satisfying chaos of married life. Although their preference would be to sit on a beach enjoying umbrella drinks for a week, the honeymoon will have to wait. With Jessica James treating her hospital stay like an all-inclusive spa getaway—complete with bed rest and boredom—Brantley, Reese, Baz, and the rest of the team are bracing themselves for the inevitable twists and turns ahead.Meanwhile, Atticus James shares not only the same last name with JJ but also the irritation that comes with monotony. He's spending his days sifting through partner applications, waiting for the day he'll see some of the action. Just when he thinks his excitement levels have hit rock bottom, Brantley hands him his first case assignment. Only he's not sure he wants it once he learns what it is. But if suffering is the name of the game, he can think of no better partner in misery and mayhem than Slade Elliott.
While Atticus and Slade are busy with their detective shenanigans, the rest of the team isn't just tuning in to their favorite podcast; they're about to dive headfirst into a live episode of Havoc Your Way when the podcast's host stops by. But Simon Jennings isn't there to sign autographs. He's dropping in with a case that veers dangerously close to home, blending the bizarre with the familiar, as he seeks their expertise to untangle a web that's both outside their skill set and uncomfortably personal.
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Excerpt
©Nicole Edwards 2025
"Yeah?" Reese Tavoularis, the man Brantley had married nine short days ago, didn't sound convinced.
"Shit. If you could be taken care of in a place like this,"—he gestured toward the nurse's station, which held two child-size vases of fresh flowers, giving the sterile white space some life—"Why wouldn't you?"
"You and I both know those flowers came from Wes."
Brantley had figured as much. It made sense that Wesley Buchanan, grandfather-to-be, would ply the nurses in this wing with gifts simply because he could. Rumor was he'd catered in breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the staff in this wing at least four times in the past week. The man was generous like that. Not to mention, fucking loaded.
As they neared the door to JJ's birthing suite, Brantley's shoulders tensed. "I really hope she's in a good mood."
"I'm sure she's not," Reese said with a smirk. "But she wouldn't be JJ otherwise."
True. These days, his best friend, Jessica James, a.k.a. JJ, wasn't known for her charming personality. He didn't fault her for it, really, but it also didn't make him look forward to these daily trips. Since he'd been through worse—in the Navy when he was buried under a building and nearly died—he opted to suck it up. She wouldn't be in this hospital forever.
Taking a deep breath in, Brantley rapped his knuckles on the door with his exhale. There was no response right away, so they waited. He was about to knock again when he heard JJ say, "Get your asses in here already."
Nope. No good mood today either.
Squaring his shoulders, he pressed the handle lever to open the door. He pushed it open slowly, revealing the enormous suite where JJ was riding out the last days of her pregnancy—however many there might be.
"Hey, Tesha," JJ greeted, smiling down at their canine partner. These days, Tesha went along for the ride anytime they left the house. "I'm so glad you could make it."
Brantley fought the urge to laugh but instead rolled his eyes. Passive-aggressive much?
"We brought you somethin'," he told his best friend.
There was a barely-there hint of a smile on her face as she eyed the takeout bag Reese was carrying.
"It's about time," JJ grumbled, a dark storm cloud in the otherwise soothing gray room.
"Good mornin' to you, too," Reese told her as he walked the forty miles from the door to the bed to give her the breakfast they'd picked up on their way in.
And fine, maybe forty miles was a bit of a stretch, but the space was enormous. Large enough to hold a king-size bed, a long, glossy white dresser mounted to the wall, a bathtub that would hold at least four people, two wall-mounted televisions, two nightstands (on wheels to get them out of the way if needed), as well as a sitting area that was about the size of their living room. Oh, and there was also a private bathroom that put Brantley's to shame.
At the moment, JJ was propped up in the big bed, half a dozen pillows keeping her in place, while the father-to-be, Sebastian Buchanan, a.k.a. Baz, was occupying the sitting area on the far side of the room, feet propped up, laptop resting on his thighs. Brantley got the feeling they didn't move much from where they were and probably wouldn't until the delivery.
"Do you share that thing with him?" Brantley asked, gesturing toward the bed and then over to Baz.
"Only when I have to." She flashed a smile.
Brantley had to wonder which was more comfortable: the bed or the chocolate-brown leather recliners? If it were him, he would likely choose the chairs since they were positioned to face a fifty-five-inch television currently playing a news channel with the volume all the way down.
Brantley jerked his chin at Baz. “Mornin’.”
Baz's smile looked forced, but he managed a subtle chin jerk in response.
"He's in time out," JJ announced.
"Time out?" Brantley barked a laugh. "For what?"
"You want to tell them?" JJ asked, sounding far too much like Brantley's mother back when he'd been a wild and rambunctious kid and she spent most of her waking hours reprimanding him. No doubt he'd deserved it. He wasn't sure the same could be said for Baz, though.
Baz inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. "Because I went to the gift shop and forgot to pick her up a package of the little chocolate donuts," he droned, his tone defeated.
"He got these," JJ said, lifting up a package of powdered donuts. The white ones that left a mess on your shirt and fingers when you tried to eat them.
"And those are bad, why?" Brantley was almost positive he'd seen JJ eating those little powdered circles before.
Her eyes narrowed, and he knew he'd said the wrong thing.
"Well, it's a good thing we got you these," Reese told her as he set the bag on the tray beside the bed.
"They're your favorite," Brantley noted.
She curled her lip, reaching for the bag. "No, my favorite is—" Her eyes popped wide. "Oh my God! These are—" Her gaze slammed into Reese. "How?"
Reese grinned. "I stopped by Batter & Bliss yesterday and asked Ramona if she'd make you a couple. She made 'em fresh this mornin'."
Tears rimmed JJ's lashes but didn't quite spill over as she stared lovingly at her breakfast. "Cronuts. And it's not even Saturday."
Brantley watched as JJ sniffled, wrapping the croissant-donut hybrid in a napkin as if it were some sort of rare delicacy.
In an effort to change the subject, Brantley wandered over to the large tub that sat in the corner of the room. It was shaped like a Jacuzzi, only there weren't any jets. Apparently, those were bad for pregnant women, which he'd learned the first time he made the mistake of asking about it.
"Get any use out of this thing yet?" He patted the edge of the tub, knowing what the answer was. If memory served, the tub was used for water births.
"No. And we won't if I have anything to say about it," JJ insisted.
Based on Baz's expression, that was a topic better left unexplored.
"Alrighty then." He looked around the room, trying to come up with something to say. He figured talking about the large, fully tiled bathroom with its shower built for forty would likely not go over any better than if he brought up the machines discreetly tucked away behind a curtain at the head of the bed. They were tracking things like heart rates and contractions, feeding the information directly to the nurses working out there with all those flowers.
Continue reading on Nicole's website here: https://nicoleedwards.me/product/missing-pieces/
Friggin stellar read, I didn't want it to end, and that ending had me wanting to throw my Kindle across the room. As you may know, if you have been following my reviews, I don't give spoilers, so don't expect any here, even though I want to scream and shout over the ending. I will hold my tongue, or in this case, I will erase anything that remotely sounds like a spoiler.
In this episode of Brantley Walker: Off the Books, we have some interesting things going on. We are adding more members to the team, We have some tiny additions to the team as well, an interesting case pops up at the local high school which Attiucs and Slade are handling (lets hope they handle that better than their relationship) AAAANNNNDDDD the guys and gals are looking into a case that they didn't even know existed, is it a real case or is it a conspieracy theory?
I highly recommend reading this series in the order it has been released. If you want to go a step further, the author has a reading order list because this series cuts across some of her other series, not that those need to be read to follow this one, but if you're going to read them anyway, why not read them in the order they are flowing. This one intersects with VIOLET, so it may contain some spoilers for that book if you haven't read it already.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy STEAMY Romantic Suspense, LGBTQA+ Romances, Workplace Romances, former Military Romances, Law Enforcement Romances, Family Saga Romances, or Small-Town Romances.
Happy Reading!!!
About the Author:
Nicole lives in Texas with her husband and their youngest of 3 children. The two older ones have ventured out in the world on their own. She has a beautiful granddaugther and a rather spoiled grand-puppy.. Oh, she and Colt also have four dogs. Most of the time, you can find her hiding in my writing cave. If she's not there, she's probably hanging out with the family, reading, or watching hockey and football. One thing for sure... Nicole is always trying to have fun.
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