Page 71 of Legends Luke

“Everywhere. They waited until 4 a.m. this morning, and then they started hitting several places in each town in this area, including Fire Creek. It’s the first time they’ve made a move in this town.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Was anyone hurt?”

His frown returned. “Unfortunately, yes. I don’t know how many or how severe. Everything’s in chaos right now. They hit during the shift change at the police departments when the towns would be the most vulnerable. Everyone’s overwhelmed with the calls and sorting everything out. Alex messaged a minute ago to tell me they even took a hostage.”

Melody’s skin turned cold, and her hand shook as she dialed a number and put her phone to her ear. She let it ring, her breathing becoming more labored each second it went unanswered. She hung up the moment the voicemail picked up and dialed again.

“If you’re calling Luke, he may not answer. He and his brothers are trying to assist law enforcement in any way they can. I promise you he’s okay.”

Melody shook her head. “I’m calling Lyric.”

She hung up on her sister’s voicemail and called again, raw emotion clogging her throat until she thought she would be sick. Drake watched her in bewilderment.

“Lyric is my sister. Instead of driving from Shreveport this morning, she left last night and drove halfway. She left the motel this morning and should almost be here. She sent me a picture when she stopped for gas this morning. I’m sure she’s fine. She’s not answering her phone, but she could be in a dead zone, right?”

Drake didn’t react. He didn’t reassure her, nor did he act concerned by her news. He simply regarded her closely for several seconds. Lyric’s voicemail picked up again, and Melody ended the call.

“Do you mind showing me the photo she sent to you earlier?” Drake finally asked.

Melody opened the photo and handed the phone to him. She knew what was coming before he broke the news, and her body started to shut down. Noise roared in her ears, her knees buckled, and spots appeared in her eyes. She would have collapsed if Drakehadn’t been quick to catch her. He half-carried, half-led her to a chair, and sat down across from her, his hands on her shoulders.

“Put your head between your knees, sweetheart, and match your breathing to mine as best as you can.” Drake drew in long, deep breaths and released them in slow rushes of air.

Melody couldn’t remember the last time she fainted or came close to fainting. She was usually calm in stressful situations even if she did focus too much on the what-ifs. But this was Lyric. Her sister. Her best friend. The only family she had left. That alone was enough to bring her to her knees.

When her dizziness subsided, she raised her head and pierced Drake with a stare. “Tell me.”

He studied her intently. “First, I’m going to get you a bottle of water. I want you to sip it. I promise to tell you everything, but I need to make sure you’re okay. I need you to stay with me. Can you do that?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and stood. “No apologies needed,” he said as he reached into the refrigerator for the water.

She accepted it gratefully and sipped it as he instructed. Satisfied, Drake returned to his seat and leaned forward to watch her face as he spoke.

“I recognized the background of the picture you showed me. The sign over your sister’s shoulder is for Barley’s Gas Station and Mini Mart. It’s located in Waverly, about two hours away from here. The time stamp on the photo tells me your sister — you said hername was Lyric, right?” At her nod, he continued. “It looks like Lyric took the photo about ten minutes before the robbery crew hit the mini-mart. Don’t panic on me, Melody. There’s more I want to tell you, but I need you focused.”

Melody took another deep breath and pushed her emotions down. Worrying herself about Lyric wouldn’t accomplish anything. Lyric needed her to keep it together, and she would. For her sister, she would find a way to keep her wits about her.

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded for Drake to continue.

“This is all we know as far as Lyric is concerned. I’m not going to say any more until I know more about how or if your sister was caught up in this. I know it seems like torture, but I need you to be patient. Let me make some calls.”

“Wait!” She gripped his arm to stop him from rising. “Tell me first. Please. Just tell me what you know about what happened at the mini-mart. Then make your calls. I— I need to know.”

Drake looked ready to refuse her, but he finally settled back in his chair.

“The mini-mart is open 24 hours. It’s sort of a last stop for travelers passing through on their way to just about anywhere. I’m from Waverly, and my buddy Jeff’s family has owned the mini-mart as long as I can remember. That’s how I knew where her selfie was taken. The mini-mart is a gas station and small café. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean, the food’s good and the prices are reasonable. It’s a popular location. The report I read this morning said a crew of threehit the mini-mart. They were armed. The crew must have known it would be a decent source of money and goods for them to steal.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Yes. Unfortunately for them, Barley’s is where the local cops go for their meal breaks. So, a couple of officers stumbled onto the armed robbery before the crew could make their escape. One member of the crew shot an officer. They also pistol-whipped Mr. Barley Senior. He’s not usually at the mini-mart at that time of the morning, and I’m guessing when the crew came in demanding money and other things, he stood up to them.”

“Did they stop the crew?”

Drake shook his head. “The crew took a hostage and made their escape. The officers had called for backup, and their backup gave chase. Somehow the crew slipped away. As far as we can tell, they still have the hostage. The officers wouldn’t make a move as long as they had an innocent with them.”

“The hostage? Do you think it’s Lyric?”

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