by Frankie Rose
It’s still dark when the phone starts screaming in Luke’s apartment. If I’m honest, I’ve been watching him like some creepy yet very confused stalker, and he totally busts me when his eyes snap open. He gives me a small smile when he comes to and rubs at one eye sleepily before stretching and grabbing hold of the handset beside his bed. The blue glow from the screen lights up his face as he answers.
“Cole, if this is you, I’m going to cause you severe fucking pain. It’s four am,” he groans into the receiver.
Four am and I’m naked in Luke Reid’s bed. What the hell am I doing? I’ve never, never, done anything like this before. Then again I’ve never told anyone I love them before either, so tonight is clearly a night for firsts.
Luke goes still as he listens to the muffled voice on the end of the phone; he seems to be holding his breath. The voice stops talking and Luke just stares up at the ceiling for a second before he closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. “Wait, what? Say that again.”
He’s quiet for a few minutes, unblinking, as he stares blankly ahead of him. I study his face, wondering, fearing, panicking over whatever has made him turn to stone.
“And why the hell do they think that?” he asks, sitting up slowly. His free hand goes to the back of his neck, where he rubs back and forth anxiously. The tone in his voice is strained—not a good sign. “Yeah. She’s here. Her phone’s probably…it must be in the other room.” My stomach bottoms out. I sit forward, clasping my hands together, holding them to my mouth. Luke blinks, the look of a stunned man. “Yeah. Yes, I’ll be there.” He hangs up and leans forward, pressing the phone into his forehead.
“What is it, Luke?”
“Breakwater PD,” he whispers.
Oh. God. My heart starts slamming in my chest. Whatever it was they just told Luke was worth calling for at four am in the morning. And by the sounds of things they’ve been trying to call me, too. I scoot back in the bed, clutching the sheet to my chest, trying to work out how on earth I’m going to escape whatever it is I’m about to find out.
“Just tell me.” The words fly out, unbidden, in a whisper. I want to snatch them out of the air and cram them straight back into my mouth.
“That was the duty officer at my old station. He said…” He trails off, shaking his head blankly.
“He said what?”
Luke’s eyes are dark pools in the half-light. “He said they just brought your uncle in for questioning.”
Twenty Six
Breakwater
