Page 3 of Legends Luke

“You’re all set. Just needed the oil changed, tires rotated, and some tweaks under the hood. I’ll email the invoice to the city clerk.”

“Thanks, man. Appreciate you bringing it over. I’m going to be needing it later. Gotta head over to Valley in a bit.”

Some people may have tried to assuage their curiosity byasking Tater to share what was taking him to their neighboring town. Luke wasn’t the type to ask about things that weren’t any of his business. He simply nodded his head and stood.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

Tater’s head whipped up to stare at him. Luke held the man’s gaze, waiting for him to voice…something. Luke got the impression the other man was reluctant for him to leave, but Luke couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t known to sit around and shoot the shit for the fun of it. If you needed him to help you build a deck on your house or fix a problem with your computer or share a beer in companionable silence, he was down for all of it. Anything else was beyond him.

Tater cleared his throat. “Before you go, I was wondering how everybody is your way. Heard your sister-in-law is about to pop any second.”

And this fell outside his comfort zone. Not that he didn’t like his brother Jackson, and though he’d gotten off to a rough start with his sister-in-law Reagan, he loved her and would protect her with his life, especially now when she was carrying her and Jackson’s first child. With everyone in Fire Creek knowing everybody else’s business, it was no secret that Reagan had passed her due date to deliver, and the family was impatiently waiting for the little one to make an appearance.

What made this moment fall outside Luke’s prevue was Tater talking about the first thing that popped into his mind, instead of voicing what he wanted to say.

“Yep. She’s about five days overdue. They have a check-up today.”

“Damn. Hard to think of one of you boys settling down with a family of his own.” Tater sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I remember all the trouble you used to cause when you were younger. Who knew someone like English Barlowe would straighten you boys out?”

Luke had this conversation or one similar with Tater every time he saw the man. Tater knew Luke and his brothers when they were teenagers living in rotten home situations. Their circumstances were different, but they all landed on English Barlowe’s doorstep at one time or another. He took them in when they had no safe place to go. Though English meant for the placements to be temporary, over time, they’d become a permanent fixture around English’s place above the Fire Bar and Grille. The residents of Fire Creek started referring to them as English’s “boys.” They grew up to be productive citizens, but their past and their moniker as “the boys” followed them.

Luke had stopped responding to thecan’t believe how you turned outconversations, figuring no one wanted his two cents on their musings anyway. Besides, he was ready to escape Tater’s lame attempt at small talk. “I should have Sanford’s car ready by the end of the week. I had to order a part for it, and there was a delay in delivery.”

Tater drew a hand down his long face and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, that’s fine. I have him riding with Lopez. It seems to be working out, so no rush.”

Luke waited a moment to see if Tater had more to say. As much as he hated small talk, he didn’t want to risk offending the police chief and hindering their good working relationship.

Finally, he cleared his throat. “Well, then, I’ll see you around.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Tater stood before Luke could stop him.

Luke shrugged. He wasn’t sure the short walk to the door would compel Tater to open up, but Luke was probably better off letting the police chief at least try to get it off his chest instead of brushing the man off.

As they walked through the squad room, Tater kept his head down and his fists buried in his pockets. Luke spoke to a couple of officers as they passed heading to the front lobby. Tater never said another word, so figuring he’d misread the situation, Luke was ready to head out the door. Then Tater pulled him off to the side out of earshot of the desk sergeant. Luke couldn’t help but brace himself. He had no reason to suspect bad news was coming, but with Tater’s cagey behavior, he wanted to be prepared for anything.

“Listen, I know we’ve never talked about it before, but before he retired, the old chief told me about you and your brothers and…you know, what you do. I know it’s not common knowledge, so I’ve never wanted to say anything. And I never would tell anybody about it, but, well, right now, I thought…you know, I probably shouldn’t ask…” Tater shuffled his feet and dropped his eyes.

Luke felt a jolt at hearing Tater admit he knew about him and his brothers. The previous chief had been a poker buddy of English’s, and English must have trusted him enough to share about his workwith the CIA as the operative known as Legend. Few people knew that after he retired from the Agency, Legend began his freelance work helping those in need all over the country. His work and identity were known to a select few, and the number of people who knew the boys followed in English’s footsteps as the next generation of Legends was even less.

They didn’t broadcast their work as the Legends, but somehow it seemed more and more people knew about them. The requests for their help came in regularly, but they were careful to steer clear of cases close to home if they could. Their work was more effective when they could operate under the radar. He had a hard time believing someone English trusted with their identity would, in turn, share the secret with someone else, but there was no other reason for Tater to know.

“Whatever you’re trying to say, Tater, spit it the hell out already.”

If the police chief was bothered by Luke’s abruptness, he chose not to let it be known. His hand swept over his face again before he continued. “You and the boys see a lot of folks. What with the jobs you have in town and, well, your side hustle. I imagine anyone who lives here or even passes through town probably crosses paths with you or your brothers at some point.”

Luke could see Tater’s point. English had many business ventures within the small town, and the boys took over those ventures when they each completed their military service. Luke ran the auto repair shop. Ben operated the Fire Creek Hardware store, and Jacksonand Easton both manned the Fire Bar and Grille. All three businesses attracted droves of customers.

Luke was saved from commenting when the chief kept talking.

“Could you be on the lookout for strangers who give you a bad vibe? You know, like something’s off about them. Not necessarily troublemakers, but…ah, hell, I don’t know. Something you think makes them suspicious or dangerous.”

Luke scowled. “I feel safe in saying we will help out any way we can, but what you’re asking is kind of vague. What’s going on, Tater? I get you can’t share details on cases you’re working on, but it’s hard to help you out when we don’t know what’s going on. You’ve got to spell it out for me. And stop dragging your feet about it.”

Tater exhaled loudly as he glanced around them as if making sure no one was listening. “This intel is need-to-know for now. Understood? I can’t have this getting out into the community.”

Luke nodded. “Understood. But this goes both ways, Tater. You keep what you know about us to yourself. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah. You don’t have to worry about me. I know how to keep my mouth shut, which is why I don’t know why I’m even telling you about this. I guess I’m feeling a little…I don’t know, outmatched, maybe. So other police chiefs in neighboring cities have reported a surge in criminal activity they’re attributing to one group of suspects. We’re talking burglaries, assaults, carjackings, you name it. No one has been able to get a lead on these guys. Sometimes they work as a group, sometimes in pairs, sometimes alone, depending on the job they’re pulling off. They dress all in black and wear masks to disguise their identities. They wear gloves so there are no fingerprints left behind. They act like pros, but I don’t think they are. At least not like the career criminals we’re used to putting away.”

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