Page 60 of Legends Luke

Tyrell grew solemn. “Erin’s missing. She ran away last night. Sandra was already planning to spend the day with her and Hayden, so she came in late yesterday to get caught up and leave us some work so we wouldn’t get behind. When she got home, she went to check on Erin, and she was gone. She called Adam this morning, and he left to be with them. He asked Mavis and me to hold down the fort. They’re all pretty shook up.”

Melody’s eyes widened. She wasn’t surprised to hear that Sandra’s partner in the firm went to be by her side, but she was surprised that Erin would make such a poor move.

“Oh, God, they should look at this house—”

“Where you found her yesterday,” Tyrell finished for her. “The police went there first with a search warrant. She wasn’t there. They’ve checked with her friends, and none of them knew where she could have gone. That’s all I know right now. Adam said he would check in with Mavis to keep us posted with news.”

Melody opened her mouth but promptly closed it when she couldn’t think of anything to say. The news was shocking, and shewished she knew of something she could do to help. Tyrell touched her elbow.

“It’s a lot to process. Take as much time as you need to get your thoughts together. There’s not much we can do to find Erin, but we can reassure Adam and Sandra that we have things taken care of here. It’s the least we can do for them.”

She nodded. “Work doesn’t seem very important considering, but there’s not much more we can do. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you at your office.”

Her legs felt heavy as she walked to her cubicle. Her body collapsed in her desk chair, and she piled her breakfast and her purse on top of her desk. Her phone was in her hand, and she wondered if she should call or text Sandra. She didn’t want to be a nuisance, but she wanted her boss to know she was there for her. Finally, she fired out a simple text.

I’m here for you.

The response was immediate and equally short.Thank you.

Then Melody placed a call. “Luke. I have to tell you what’s happened. It’s bad. I’m fine, but I found out something about Erin.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Luke ended the call and returned his cell to his pocket. He already knew about Erin Bleekley’s disappearance before Melody called him. It about killed him to hear her upset about the missing teen. He offered to come to her, but she’d declined, saying she wanted to focus on work and hope they would receive good news about Erin’s whereabouts soon. It was probably just as well. He had a theory about Erin’s disappearance, and if he didn’t leave now, he’d never be able to prove it.

His day started great. He’d woken to find a naked Melody Douglas wrapped around him, her breath tickling his neck. The urge to wake her by trailing hot kisses down her luscious body had been overwhelming, but then she sighed in her sleep, the sound of contentment striking a chord inside him.

He climbed out of bed carefully, but he needn’t have worried. She didn’t stir. Wrapping her arms around his pillow, she settled back into sleep, the sheet pulling down to reveal her shoulders and upper back. He never considered that to be the sexiest part of a woman’s body, but studying Melody, her tangled curls falling over her skin at her shoulder blades, his cock hardened. One of these days, verysoon, he would kiss the valley between her shoulders and follow the line down her back where it dimpled at her squeezable ass.

He had an idea to lure her out of bed by cooking breakfast, but she had nothing in her refrigerator he could use to create even a simple omelet. So off to the bakery he went, pocketing her keys so he could let himself back in her house with fresh coffee and a treat.

It was when he returned that his day shifted toward rotten. A text came through from Ben, and once he read it, his dislike of Blake Drummond grew exponentially.

Another burglary in Stickwood. Homeowner wounded, critical. Missing person report filed on girl.

Luke left a note for Melody on the bakery bag, placed her keys on the counter, and locked the doorknob behind him as he left. He knew where he was heading even as he called Ben.

“What do you know?” Luke didn’t waste any time once his brother answered.

“Hey. I went by your house and your garage. When I didn’t see your truck, I thought you might have gone for a run or something and hadn’t heard the news. I ran into Tater at the diner, and he told me about the burglary and the missing person. He hadn’t connected the two cases, but there’s a video of the crew committing the burglary.”

“I was at Melody’s.” He answered without realizing he probably wasn’t ready for his brothers to know about their night together. They would tease him mercilessly and push him to get to know her better. There would be time for that after he enjoyed having her to himself for a bit longer. “Tater seen the video?”

“He sent me a copy. He could lose his job for releasing evidence to a civilian, but he’s desperate. Stickwood is close enough to Fire Creek for him to wonder if we’re the next target. I sent the video to you. I wonder if there’s any way you can figure out if the girl was part of the crew last night.”

“You think she was?” Luke already had his suspicions about Erin’s involvement, but he wanted Ben’s assessment.

“The timing would be right. Her mother reported her missing late last night. You can see what you think when you watch the video.”

Luke scowled. “I’m heading back to my place for my laptop.”

“I can meet you there.”

“No, it’s okay. Keep your phone handy. If I get a break in the case, I may need all of you to help me sell this to Tater.”

“You think you can get a lead off the video? If it’s like the others, there won’t be much there.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed as he focused on the road. “I have a hunch, and depending on what I can pull from the video, I may need help in proving it.”