Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“By we,” Blake replies, “I assume you mean Lucifer, or did you kill him for real this time?”
“I’m here,” Luke says before I can reply to that awkward confrontation. Clearly, the Walker men are protective of Luke, or it seems, Lucifer to just about everyone now. “Blake, meet Ana,” Lucifer says. “Ana, meet Blake. Have you talked to Adam or Savage?”
“They borrowed a neighbor’s car,” he says, “and I’ve already made contact with the owners to pay for their surprise rental. Darius is safe. All the perps but one are dead. They let him go to follow him, which is what they’re doing now.”
I open my mouth to ask about Darius when Lucifer says, “Where’s Darius?”
“He’s with them,” Blake answers. “Why?”
“I don’t trust him,” Luke replies. “As in, at all. I’m not so sure he didn’t sell us out tonight, or at least Ana.”
“I said he was safe,” Blake responds. “I didn’t say he wasn’t tied up. They’re dropping him at the FBI offices. Head to Breckenridge. I’ll send you the address. We have a place there off the beaten path. Hole up, and the team will meet you there.”
“Copy that,” Luke says.
“I pinged Jake’s phone. It’s on his property in Estes Park. I can send a team—”
“No,” Luke says. “I’ll go when the time is right.”
Blake’s silent a beat before he says, “Any more ideas on what’s going on?” Blake asks.
“Not yet, boss,” Luke answers. “But I will find out one way or the other, and over as many dead bodies as necessary.”
“Understood,” Blake replies.
“Thank you for the help,” I add quickly, sensing the conversation is about to end.
“Lucifer’s the hero here, like it or not,” Blake replies. “All I did was send someone along for the ride that could remove the bullet if you put another in him. Please don’t. He’s family, so you’re family. For now. Shoot him again, the game changes. Talk soon, Luce,” Blake adds and disconnects.
Silence follows.
Luke and I just sit in the darkness, our bodies touching, unspoken words, and unforgiven actions between us. There are things I want to ask and things I want to say, and I know there are things for him as well, but we have certain priorities right now, like staying alive, that force their importance upon us. His phone is still in my hand when the text message with the address comes through. “You want me to put it in Google Maps?” I ask, welcoming a way to break this silence.
“We’re not going to Breckenridge,” he says. “Not yet.” He doesn’t look at me. “Jake is lying somewhere dead. We’re going to find him and honor him properly, while hoping like hell he left us a clue to find our enemy before they find us.”
“Agreed,” I say. “Estes Park?”
“Estes Park is the plan,” he confirms.
“What about Blake? And your men?”
“Adam and Savage will come with us if I tell them the plan.” He glances over at me, his blue eyes shadowed in the darkness. “And it was one thing to ask them to help me save your life, with what amounted to a ticking bomb in play. It’s another to ask them to risk their lives to solve a problem that ties to my past. And yours. We do this together. We kill whoever wants us dead. And then we battle each other. Agreed?”
“Yes. Agreed.”
He reaches in his left pocket, grabs a knife, and cuts me loose. It’s my cue to move away from him. My eyes meet his, and once again, there are no words, but there is us. Just us. So much us in this car right now. Slowly, I slide to the other side of the vehicle, but it feels wrong. It was the reason why I was so scared the night I shot him. He felt so right, even then, even that night, that I knew he’d be the death of me. Like he was the death of my brother. I want to be wrong about him, but if I am, that means my brother was dirty and Luke isn’t a monster. I am.
Chapter Thirteen
ANA
Luke sets the car in motion, and the space between us is remarkably far more uncomfortable than our connected hands were. The drive will be an eternal hour and a half plus drive, and travel time is without traffic and snow, which won’t be an issue since it’s September. It’s cold, though, colder than usual for this time of year. Luke cranks the heat, the warmth somehow accentuating the tension between us.
He doesn’t speak. I don’t speak.
I sink back into the cushion and stare forward, my mind drifting back to the past…
It was the morning after that first meeting with Luke, a Saturday, and I’d been having coffee with Kurt and brother at Kurt’s luxurious Littleton complex. It was a new Saturday thing we did since Kasey exited the Army six months before, after being ten years in. We sat at the granite island, drank coffee, talked, and then hit the firing range on the property. That morning, though, I was distracted. That kiss with Luke lingered in my mind, burning through me, consuming me. Apparently, it wasn’t as impactful for him, since he didn’t ask for my number.