I’m excited to finally sit down with Milan Bradbury, a veteran NYPD detective and the First Lady’s brother and the president’s brother-in-law. You can read more about him in the White House Men series, especially in book four, Serve. Milan, thanks for making the time for me.
Sure. I just wanna point out that the delay was not on my part.
Nope, that was all me. I had a little too much going on, sorry.
Nah, it’s fine. [sighs] I miss those days, you know?
What days?
Where I’d be busy from sunup to sundown.
You have a job now, don’t you?
[snorts] If you call that a job. It’s more of an honorary thing, a necessary evil to get me access into the investigation. And sure, I help Coulson and Seth wherever I can, but it’s not a real, fulltime job…and it’s certainly nothing compared to the workload I had as a detective.
What did you mostly work on for the NYPD?
Organized crime. There’s still a lot of that going on, you know. The golden days of the Italian mafia may seem over, but the underbelly of the city has always been seedy…and that won’t change. We’re getting better at catching them, but they’re getting better at evading us. I work closely with the FBI. That’s a more recent thing, I’ll admit. NYPD can get pretty territorial, but I’ve built good relationships with the Feds. They have great expertise in setting up undercover agents. It’s slow as fuck to get that set up, but they’re great at what they do. We can do some small stuff ourselves, but those guys ain’t dumb. They have pictures of a lot of NYPD officers so they can recognize us. We’ve had a few agents who were made on undercover stints, so we’ve become careful.
[groans] fucking hell, listen to me ramble. You’d almost think I was desperate to talk to someone.
Are you?
[lets out a sigh] Kinda. Asher and Denali both do have fulltime jobs, and both pick up extra shifts when necessary as well. I understand and I would never complaint, but… Actually, I do complain because I’m selfish like that, but I don’t give them too hard a time about it. But with Del and Calix, my best friends, being equally busy, I’m feeling a tad left out at times.
I’m sure your men make it up to you when they have the chance…
[laughs] They sure as fuck do. My baby boy especially is always eager to serve me, and that in itself is such a turn on. I’ve been a Dom for a long time, and I’ve had plenty of pretty boys on my c*ck, but no one like him. He’s so…so into being submissive. It’s who he is to his very core, and nothing makes him happier than taking care of me and Asher, preferably at the same time. We double stuff him regularly, and it’s ecstasy for him. I never thought I could find someone who would be enough for me, but those two are.
Why were you so convinced you’d never find love?
I didn’t think I was the type for it. I’m by nature not an easy man, and that’s an understatement. I’m dominant to my core, arrogant, stubborn, cocky, and rude as hell. And I just don’t care about a whole lot of things that are important to others. So given all that, I didn’t see how anyone could ever love me. Or how anyone could ever be enough for me, what with my high sexual drive and needs. But those two… For reasons that pass understanding, they love me. They really do, and it’s a goddamn miracle.
You love them as well.
Yeah, another miracle. I didn’t think I had it in me, that I even had the capacity for love, but here we are.
When did you realize you were in love?
In hindsight, things are much easier to pinpoint, but with me such a blind idiot, it took me way too long. The explosion in Camp David, that was when I realized I was in love. The thought of something happening to Denali… My god, I couldn’t breathe. Asher had to practically physically restrain me from leaving that room and finding out where Denali was. I just needed to know he was okay. That opened my eyes to the truth, which had been staring me in the face for a while, if I had been willing and able to see it. Denali is… He’s so special. He’s this ray of sunshine, so bright and happy and positive. And he’s so strong. Del likes to tease me that I was brought to my knees by an itty-bitty boy, and he’s not wrong. No man has ever managed to make me kneel except for him. I’d crawl over broken glass for him if necessary.
And Asher?
[laughs] Again, hindsight, you know? I never did repeats. Or rarely, I should say. Maybe within the club setting, so the rules were clear, but never outside. No matter how great the sex was, I didn’t want a second time. Asher was the one exception. Something about him made my break my own rules. He’s so… Look, there’s not a man more perfect on the planet than Asher Wylie. He literally turns heads wherever he goes and add to that the fact that he’s a Secret Service agent, and he could have his pick of partners. And yet he chose me and Denali. I asked him a few days ago why he picked me, and he just smiled and patted my head. He said that one day, I’d be able to see myself the way he and Denali see me. Not much of an answer, but he wouldn’t say more. But he loves me and he says he has for a long time, which I guess is true for me as well. I just didn’t realize it since love wasn’t something I was familiar with. Not love like this.
What does the future hold for the three of you?
I honestly don’t know. We’re taking it day by day because thinking about the future brings up so many questions and complications. My job is in New York, while the two of them have a life here in DC. I’m still grieving Sarah, and I know that even if I could, I’m in no condition to go back to work. I talked to my captain in New York, and he knows. We go way back, and he says I can come back when I’m ready. I just don’t know when that will be. As selfish as I am, even I understand that I can’t expect Asher and Denali to pack up and move to New York. It wouldn’t be fair to ask them to sacrifice their careers for me. I’ve been with the NYPD for twenty-three years. Maybe…maybe it’s time for a change. I don’t know. Asher says I shouldn’t make decisions right now when everything is so emotional, and I guess he’s right. He’s a smart one, he and Denali both. But not having enough to do has provided me with a lot of time to think. I promised my men I’d do my best to change, to become Milan 2.0 as Calix calls it. Change is hard, man. It hurts and it confronts you with things I would’ve much rather kept hidden. But it’s also brought me Asher and Denali. It’s brought me love and happiness…and maybe if I want to hold on to that, it’s me who needs to make the sacrifice and quit my job. The fact that I’m even considering it tells you how much I love them and how much their love means to me, because there’s no one in this whole world that I would leave New York for…except them.
That’s a big decision.
It is, and I’m not ready to make it yet. We have to see this investigation through till the end first. And that’s another reason to stay here, by the way. The idea of leaving Del doesn’t sit well with me. He needs his friends now more than ever, and for some reason, he’s rather fond of me.
Between him, Calix, Sarah, and now Asher and Denali, you’d almost think you may not be as unlovable as you’d imagined…
[blinks] I’m… I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that. Yup, head in the sand. Always works for me.
Love this! I was clapping as I waited for it to open! Can’t wait for CARE. Thank you, Nora, for all you do.