Page 68 of Legends Luke

Melody studied his profile for a moment. “Yeah, but what has that got to do with anything?”

“For you, nothing. For me, it’s worth a trip to say I had a hot bodyguard watching over me. I’m coming, Melon. You can try to change my mind, but you won’t. You’re always there for me. This time, I want to be there for you.”

“You say that like you’ve never done anything for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I know. It’s the same for me. I’ll see you later.”

“Look, if you’re going to come, wait to leave until the morning. I don’t want you on the road by yourself late at night. It’s not safe.”

“Okay, fine, I’ll wait. I’ll see you tomorrow. Call before then if something changes.”

“I will,” Melody promised. “Love you.”

“Love you back.”

Melody pocketed her phone as she walked back into the living room. Drake flashed her a smile as she sat on the opposite end of the couch from him. She folded her legs under her and rested her arm along the back.

“Any word?”

“Not on the case, no, but you have a visitor coming.”

Melody’s eyes widened. “What? How did you know? Lyric’s not leaving until the morning.”

“Lyric’s your sister? Luke told me she was visiting. I saw the picture of the two of you on your bookshelf over there.” He gestured across the room. “You two look alike. Almost like twins. I wasn’t talking about her though.”

“Who else is coming here? Is someone taking your place as my protector?”

“Not exactly.” There was a knock on the door, and Drake rose, motioning for her to stay where she was. He first looked out the window before going to the door. Next thing she knew, Luke was walking into the room, and Drake was stepping outside.

Melody stood and didn’t say a word. She stepped into Luke’s embrace, holding on to him tightly. His arms around her felt delicious, and she was ready to stay there forever. Eventually, she pulled back to look into his eyes, and he lowered his head to kiss her, his lips lingering, making her yearn for more.

“You okay?” His eyes searched hers.

“I’m better now that I see you. What are you doing here? Is it over?”

“No. We haven’t found Drummond or Erin.”

Her fingertips smoothed the wrinkle in his forehead over his brow. “You can’t take this personally. You’re only one person, and none of this is your fault.”

“Everybody keeps telling me that, but it’s hard not to think that I couldn’t have done more.”

Luke wasn’t the type to open up, so she knew what it cost him to admit that to her. She raised herself on her toes and touched her lips to his.

“You’ll do all you can, and that will be more than most people could do. I’m surprised to see you. I didn’t expect to until this was over.”

His hand caressed her cheek. “I had to see you. I can’t explain it. Usually, I get lost in my work, but I couldn’t focus. Not until I saw for myself you were okay.”

Melody rested her head against his chest. “I’m safe, but I can’t say I’m okay. Not when I’m worried about you and missing you. Lyric told me to get out of my head, and she’s right. But it’s hard to stop.”

“I’ve been worried about you. I hate the idea that my shit could come back on you.”

Melody pulled out of his arms as far as he would let her get from his touch. “But you didn’t. I involved you. You wouldn’t have gone to Blake Drummond’s house if you weren’t helping me find Erin.”

“That’s true, baby, but he’s mixed up in a case I’ve been working on with the local police. Have you seen any news reports about a robbery crew hitting the surrounding areas?”

“Blake is involved in those?” She felt the color drain from her face, and she was thankful Luke kept a hold on her otherwise her knees would buckle. “That’s why Erin has been stealing. Because she’s involved with him.”

“We don’t know for sure why Erin’s involved with him, but we think Drummond is leading the crew. I didn’t connect Erin with them when you first told me about her. But when I checked into Drummond’s background and we found her with him, I started piecing things together. We still have more questions than answers. If we could get another lead, I think we can find him and hopefully find Erin. But it’s been one dead end after another. That’s why I decided to take a break and come to see you. And make sure Drake was behaving himself.”

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