Page 72 of Legends Luke

“I don’t know. It wasn’t included in my intel. Alex shared with me about Mr. Barley because he knew I was friends with the family.”

“I’m sorry. Will he be alright?”

“I don’t know that either. I’ll reach out to the family when I can, but for now, I need to call Alex and Luke. In the meantime, you keep trying to text and call your sister. If you hear from her, let me know immediately.”

Melody wished there was more she could do, but she had totrust this man put in charge of her protection. Drake was concerned for his friends and his hometown, but he pushed it aside to help her. The least she could do was respect him and his instructions.

“Of course,” she agreed.

“I’m going to step outside. Lock the door behind me and don’t open it until I’m back.”

After doing as he asked, she sat at the kitchen table to make her calls. This time when the voicemail picked up, she spoke.

“Hey, Bird, I hope you’re on your way. Prepare yourself for the craziness you’re walking into. Please be careful and call me. I can keep you company while you’re driving. I want…” Her voice broke, so she ended the call and sent a text.

Bird, call me. I’m anxious to hear your voice.

In the messages, she tried to pretend she was well, but in her heart, she was anything but.

Chapter Thirty

Luke sensed English standing behind him before his mentor placed a strong hand on his shoulder. He lost track of how long he stared at his laptop screen. At first, he’d pretended to work on the case even as his thoughts were with Melody. He’d finally given up the pretense. If one of his brothers had fallen into the hands of the robbery crew, he would have been concerned for them, but he also knew they could handle themselves. They were trained to deal with difficult situations.

Melody’s sister wasn’t. She was a college student with a good heart. The moment she knew her sister was in trouble, Lyric wanted to be at Melody’s side. Luke respected that. He admired Lyric for how she handled the situation when the men broke into her apartment and how she carried on after the trauma of what happened. He couldn’t remember ever wanting to meet the family of someone he was seeing, but he looked forward to meeting Lyric. The idea of anything happening to her, especially knowing how devastated Melody would be, affected him like a double punch to the gut.

“What are you thinking, son?”

Luke closed his eyes to the wave of emotion overwhelminghim. English rarely referred to Luke or any of them as “son.” It wasn’t because the other man didn’t love him or didn’t accept his role as a father figure in Luke’s life. English wasn’t an overly affectionate person, not even to Becky or his sons. When he did have softer moments with them, it was hard not to feel moved.

Luke’s eyes opened, his stare hard as he fixed it on his laptop. “It’s my fault.”

“Bullshit. You didn’t cause this.”

“Maybe not. It’s hard not to feel responsible. This wouldn’t have touched Melody if not for me.”

“It touched her before you met her. We wouldn’t know what we know if you hadn’t met her. Take your head out of your ass. If you care for this girl, you need to be there for her.”

Luke turned to face English. “And if we can’t find her sister? Or if it’s too late? What then?”

“Then you help her navigate through this.”

“I don’t know how, Gish. I’ve not…I mean, there hasn’t…Ah, hell, I don’t know.”

He had no idea Becky was close enough to listen, but she was suddenly at his side, placing a paper plate with a turkey sandwich in front of him. She turned and rested her hip on the top of his desk. They had moved their base of operation from English’s apartment over the bar to Luke’s office at the garage. There was more space for them to work, especially since the involvement of the Atlas Security staff increased their numbers.

“I’m glad we get to meet the woman who has you twisted upin knots,” Becky teased. “I wish it was under better circumstances, though I’m starting to think you boys aren’t destined to meet your significant others any other way.”

“I never said—”

“You didn’t have to,” she interrupted his denial. “You care about her. You’re probably falling for her even if you haven’t realized it. Don’t fight it, honey. She has to be a special woman to catch your eye. She’s damn lucky too because you’re a fine man.”

“I need to get back to the case.” Luke never thought he was someone easily embarrassed, but the uncomfortable feeling was there.

“I’ll hush, but remember one thing. It’s no accident that you’re the one who came into her life when she’s going through something like this. You may feel inadequate in helping her deal with it, but you’re not. I think you’re the perfect one for the job.”

Becky walked off, dragging English with her, and Luke felt no better than before they came over. He glanced at the clock display on his screen and exhaled loudly. Drake was taking his sweet time bringing Melody to him, and Luke was ready to jump out of his skin. He allowed his gaze to roam over his office. Other than Becky and English, the only other people in the space were one of Atlas’ computer techs, who was weeding through video footage from the day’s rash of crimes committed by Drummond’s crew, and Ben, who was talking to someone on his cell. Luke wasn’t sure who, and he didn’t care.

Alex Crandell was coordinating his Atlas employees fromwhere he watched over Reagan and Jax at their home. The employees who weren’t involved in Atlas cases were boots on the ground for this one, having been mobilized the moment they realized Lyric was missing. Jackson and Easton were among them, providing Luke with some peace of mind. As much as he respected the work of Atlas Security, he trusted his brothers above anyone else. If they were going to get Melody’s sister back safe and sound, it would be the Legends to make it happen. His entire adult life was built on that promise. He had to believe it now.

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