Family Is Family Who: Bronte and Brennan Where: The Cat and Fiddle When: Evening - Monday, January 18
He wasn't quite sure why, but Brennan had saved talking to Bronte last. Okay, second to last because let's face it, he was a coward when it came to confronting his brother. His invitation was open-ended, having said that if she wanted to see him, he'd be at The Cat & Fiddle Tuesday evening.
Brennan sat at the back of the bar, his back to the wall so he could see who came and went. Although, at the moment it was kind of moot since he was completely absorbed in writing in his journal. Head bent over, all his attention on writing with a Jack and Coke sitting off to the side a bit on the high legged table he sat at.
The lycan was hoping his cousin would show up that evening. After visiting with Neely, Brennan didn't have the heart to involve his sister in his little game of revenge. Perhaps it was the whole, "protect your sister" mentality, but Brennan just couldn't involve her. Bronte, on the other hand, had proven her worth to Brennan six months ago, so it was Brennan's hope that she could help him track down this mated pair from The Coyote's he tracked to L.A.
There was no legitimate reason why Bronte wouldn't accept Brennan's invitation to meet at The Cat and Fiddle. She still worried about her cousin knowing he'd still be looking to exact revenge on those few remaining of the pack that had been responsible for Laurie's death, and really Bronte couldn't blame Brennan for wanting to extract revenge of the most vicious kind because if the same thing had happened to her there'd be no force on earth that would prevent her from avenging the death of a loved one.
Stepping through the entrance of the place the blonde's eyes scoured the interior until the fell upon the form of her cousin sitting in the back with his attention presently concentrated on his writing journal. After a detour was made to the bar to get herself a glass of wine, Bronte continued on toward Brennan's table.
"This seat taken?" And though the words spilled out in a question Bronte didn't wait for a reply from her cousin when she reached his table, the blonde simply seated herself there across from the man.
A smile curved his lips at Bronte's question and didn't wait for a reply on her part. Brennan was used to it so he didn't quite look up to her, yet, while finishing a sentence. Done, the lycan set aside his pen and slapped the journal closed, a snap sounding as he snapped the elastic band that went with the moleskin notebook in place.
"Bronte." Brennan said by way of greeting and then shrugged with his hands, "I'm sorry I haven't written." He would've liked to, considering Bronte had been witness to his emotional state after Laurie's murder. Bronte, out of anyone in the family (save Brandon, but he wasn't ready to see his brother) was the one who would understand most what Brennan was going through. They had fought side-by-side that week after the funeral. The werewolf shifted a little uncomfortably, recalling what he'd been up to the last six months, "I've been...busy."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Brennan." Bronte told him with complete understanding as she knew what he had gone through, and something like that was not easily gotten over. For some people it was never gotten over.
"Have you contacted the others?" It was a natural question to ask as Bronte hadn't any idea of who or who he may not have gotten in touch with on his arrival into the city.
"I wrote to Uncle David on my way here. Baily picked up at the bus station and dropped me off near his place." He paused, snapping the elastic band idly a moment before adding, "I'm staying with him until I'm finished." Although, the last few days, after seeing Neely and now Bronte...Brennan had to wonder if he could just up and leave once his business in the city was done. Maybe coming to L.A. was therapeutic in more ways than one. It had been so long since he'd seen any of his family, other than Laurie's, that he didn't realize how much he'd missed them. But in the face of revenge, Brennan could easily push that path of thought aside. Staying meant, eventually, dealing with his brother and after carrying the hurt around with him for years...he wasn't sure if he could just let it go. Which would've disappointed Lauren, as she'd been encouraging him for months to reconcile their differences, but all the Bale's had a mean stubborn streak in them. Brennan was no different.
"Until you're finished?" Now that certainly gave Bronte cause for concern. She knew that not all the Coyotes had been put down, and if that was the reason behind Brennan's unexpected arrival in L.A. If he planned on going up against any that had found their way into L.A. Bronte was going to make sure he didn't go it alone whether it was what Brennan wanted or not.
A muscle twitched in Brennan's jaw at the implication of Bronte's question. He didn't answer right away and instead, took a gulp from his glass of Jack and Coke, setting it aside. The werewolf then leaned in, not wanting their conversation to be overheard, he spoke in a murmur that only supernatural hearing would pick up, "...I've tracked some of The Coyote's here. Mates." Brennan glanced around and continued, "One of my sources said they'd be here, but...I haven't any contacts here, so..." He left the sentence unfinished and shrugged, sitting up.
Bronte sipped her wine while she listened to the low murmured voice of her cousin taking an additional brief moment setting her glass back on the table top to hold loosely within her hands. "You might not have contacts within the city... " Bronte letting her own low toned words track off knowing Brennan would have caught the meaning behind them.
A smile slowly curved Brennan's lips, one that was full of angry determination that would've creeped any of his family out had they seen it. But Bronte had been privy to this look before and knew it's ramifications. The lycan finished off his Jack and Coke, the smile fading and Brennan's voice was soft as he spoke, "Thank you, Bronte. I...I don't think I can do this on my own anymore." It was true. While at first he hadn't been able to sleep because of his sorrow, the hole in his heart, what he'd done the last few months was beginning to eat at him.
"You don't have to, Brennan. You just say the word and you'll have the whole Bale clan at your side." Bronte knew though that he'd want to keep as many members of the Bale family out of things. She knew because she'd want things handle the same way. The less involved the more smoothly things would go.
Perhaps it was the two or three Jack and coke's he'd had, or maybe it just boiled down to the fact that he was bitter over his estrangement with Brandon, but Brennan blurted out, "...Except one."
"Family is family, Brennan." Bronte reminded him, the blonde though knew there had been some kind of riff between the brothers, but what it was or what had caused it she wasn't exactly privy to. The Bales had a tendency to come through for each other no matter what kind riff might have been keeping them apart.
"Sometimes I wonder," Brennan muttered, rubbing a hand over his closely cropped hair. That wasn't just in regard to Brandon, but everything that had happened since Laurie's death. However, maybe they were both right; For Brennan's reason in coming to L.A. other than revenge, and Bronte's plain and simple reason that family was family.
"Just think about it, okay?" Bronte put out there before taking another leisurely drink of her wine. "If you want to keep this just between us," they had taken on what might have equaled half the Coyote pack a few months back and survived, taking on a mated pair would be cakewalk in comparison. "I won't say a word to any of the others about the main reason you came to L.A."
Brennan was silent for a moment, running his hand absently over his hair while he thought about what Bronte said. After a while, the lycan sighed, "Hold off, for now, anyway. I...I need to see him before I do anything else." The werewolf wanted his brother at his side when he took down this couple, because Bronte was right. Family was family.
"You got it, Brennan." Bronte said offering the man a little bit of a smile. She was hoping that he wouldn't take on the mated pair on his own, Bronte had witnessed first hand the aftermath after Brennan had gone up against the Coyote pack. She had been in the mix of it and when the dust had settled Brennan had been left in a bad way. The both had their scars from that fight.
A small smile curved the lycan's mouth as he fiddled with the notebook that sat in front of him on the table, "Thanks, Bronte." Brennan shrugged, "For everything." He glanced to the wine glass and then chuckled, "Next round is on me."