Catching Teardrops

by Abigail Davies

  “I fuckin’ love you,” he grits out when he pulls back, and there he is, the straight-to-the-point, rough Luke I know.

  “I love you, too.” The hoots and hollers behind us start to register and my face immediately heats. “Oh, God.” I push my face into Luke’s chest, trying to hide from them all. “I can’t believe you did that in front of everyone.”

  Luke chuckles, his chest vibrating with the movement. “They’re family,” he says simply.

  Taking a deep breath before I pull back and turn to look at everyone, my gaze roves over the whole team. Luke’s right, they are family, and when Kay steps forward and embraces me, Kitty and Lexi not far behind her, my whole body buzzes. This is where I was always meant to be, right here with them and Luke.

  They say everything happens for a reason, and maybe they’re right. If I didn’t know darkness and pain, I wouldn’t feel the true happiness that flows through me right now.

  “Lil!” Eli shouts, skipping to a stop in front of me. “I helped Mom make the cake, let’s go eat it.”

  I chuckle, not having a second to register what he’s doing before he pulls me over to the table and brings us to a stop in front of the white cake decorated in simple icing with roses around the base of each tier.

  Eli reaches over for the knife and I quickly cover his hand on the handle. “You can’t use the knife, Eli,” I tell him. “You could hurt yourself—”

  “You know it’s meant to be the bride and groom cutting the cake together,” Luke’s deep voice says, but I can hear the lightness to it as he stands on the other side of the table. “You tryin’ to take my girl, lil’ dude?”

  Eli’s eyes widen as his head swings back and forth between us. “What? Me? No, I just want cake. I swear.”

  I chuckle as Eli lets go of the knife, slipping his hand from underneath mine.

  “Hmmm,” Luke hums, walking around to us and crouching down in front of Eli. “Which one is chocolate?”

  “Bottom,” Eli replies right away, his gaze not moving from Luke’s as they have a silent conversation.

  Luke stands up and wraps his hand over mine before guiding us to the bottom tier of cake, and when I look up, I see Kay standing with her cell pointed at us.

  “Darlin’?” Turning to face Luke, I smile at the look on his face. He’s happy, happier than I’ve ever seen him as he drops a kiss on the end of my nose.

  I feel the knife go through the cake, but I don’t look anywhere but at him, caught up in his web as he pulls the knife out, placing it back on the table and putting his hand on the back of my head before pulling me to him and pressing his lips against mine.

  “Well, I never thought I’d see the day.”

  Luke pulls back at the voice, his body going rigid as he pushes his arms out, moving both me and Eli behind him.

  “How the hell did you get in the compound?” Luke growls at the same time Ty and Evan step toward the new guy in the room.

  Sunglasses cover his eyes, his body standing tall, and the suit he wears looks designer. But I know who it is before he takes his sunglasses off, his hazel eyes shining bright.

  “You should know I can get into anywhere.” He tuts, moving closer to the table and the cake. Nobody moves as he rounds the table, pushing his hand toward me and causing Luke to growl again. “Lily.”

  He winks, and I open my mouth, about to ask Reid what he’s doing here, but Luke beats me to it. “Touch her and you’re dead,” he snaps, standing to his full height. “I’m not even gonna bother asking how you know her name.”

  I look over Luke’s shoulder, seeing Reid smirk before he says, “You should know by now that I can find anything out. Besides, I’m here to help.”

  “Help?” I ask, my eyes widening. “But—” I cut myself off as his eyes flash a warning. What the hell is going on?

  He looks down at the hand he still holds in the air before he reaches inside his suit jacket. Luke moves for his gun at the same time Ty draws his and points it toward Reid, but there’s something else swirling in the air as he looks at me, something I can’t quite place.

  “You should know better than to break in unannounced,” Ty says, his voice demanding as he steps toward us.

  He shrugs, finally pulling his hand out of his suit jacket and bringing an envelope with it. He opens it up, not moving his gaze from mine as he throws it down onto the table.

  “How many times do you guys have to insert yourself into my life?” he asks, and although his tone sounds bored, I hear the underlying frustration. “Every time I finally get somewhere, one of you have to turn up and fuck everything up.”

  “Take Eli upstairs,” Ty commands to Kay. None of us move as she walks over to us and takes Eli’s hand before leading him up the stairs, their footsteps echoing around the otherwise silent house.

  Questions rove around in my head. Why is he here? What’s going on? And who is he?

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Luke asks, not moving from in front of me.

  “Take a look,” Reid says, tilting his head down to the envelope.

  Luke grabs it before opening it up and spilling its contents onto the table.

  “He’s been watching you,” the guy says simply. “Every step you took, he was right there, one ahead of you.”

  I look down seeing several pictures of all the guys, but the ones of me at the house in the woods sitting on the porch are what stand out the most.

  “Who?” Ty growls as Evan reaches for the pictures.

  “Darrell.” He pauses. “He searched for me, but I knew that before Corey told me.” He tilts his head to the side. “He may be one step ahead of you, but I’m five in front of that fucker.”

  “The hell?” Evan says, throwing the pictures down. “That doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

  “I know what he looks like and where he is right now.”

  Everyone is silent as they seem to take in all this information, silent conversations going on around me. But I can’t move my gaze off Reid as I try to piece it all together. Everyone knows who he is, so why did he come to church? I’m sure Luke would have told me if he had someone watching me back then, but he didn’t. So why was Reid there?

  “What do you want?” Ty asks.

  “Help,” Reid says simply, shrugging.

  “Don’t you have enough teams?” Evan asks, folding his arms over his chest.

  My head bats back and forth, not understanding any of the conversation going on around me.

  “Sure, but not any this close. What I can’t work out is why he’s obsessed with all of you.” He frowns. “Me I get, but you guys?” He shakes his head. “I don’t get it.”

  “And you think we do?” Luke growls.

  “Oh, I know you don’t, and that’s why I’m here. You help me find out what he has on me, and I’ll help you find him and put all this to rest.”

  “Meeting,” Ty commands. “Evan’s safe room.”

  There’s a chorus of nods before Luke steps away from me. “Stay here with Kay and Lexi.”

  “Okay,” I murmur, knowing that whatever is going down right now is more important than the answers I want as to who took pictures of not only me, but all of us.

  “Let’s go,” Ty says, and when Luke presses a kiss to my forehead, Reid steps forward.

  “These guys know me as Daley.” He grins. “Nice to officially meet you, Lily.”

  I frown, wanting to ask what he’s doing, but he walks away with a wink over his shoulder.

  “Dick,” Luke growls, squeezing my hand once before following everyone out.

  LUKE

  “So, you’re telling me you knew who he was and what he looked like this whole time and didn’t think to tell us?” Ty growls, sitting at the head of the table in the safe room.

  Evan sits opposite him, me and Kitty on one side and Daley on the other.

  This fucker has been causing us problems for years, interfering where he shouldn’t. The fact that he’s essentially a ghost and killing him could go un
detected crosses my mind, but it probably wouldn’t be the best idea knowing he has connections only a handful of people know about.

  The way he looked at Lily, as if he knew all about her, has my hands clenched even tighter. He’s not stupid, and if the photos are anything to go by, I can tell he knows more than we think he does. Has he been watching us too?

  “Of course, I did,” he scoffs. “You think I don’t know where every one of my enemies are?” He leans back in his chair. “But this one went a step too far and looked into me. I need to know what he found.”

  I tilt my head, watching him closely. “You’re a ghost, what could he find?”

  A muscle ticks in his jaw. “We all have a past,” he says simply.

  I frown, staring him down and trying to work out why now. Why would he leave him alone for years but worry he’s found something now? It doesn’t make sense. Daley has his shit locked up tight. I mean that isn’t even his real fuckin’ name.

  His eyes flash in warning, his whole body tense. I know that look, the fire burning in his eyes because that’s how I felt when Lily was—

  “Holy shit.” My eyes widen. “A girl.” Daley stays silent. “That’s why you want him, because you have a girl he might know about.” Still he says nothing, and when I know I’ve hit the nail on the head, I laugh.

  “You think this is funny?” he roars, pushing back in his chair and slamming his hands on the table. “You think I wanna come here and have to tell you a part of my life that was never meant to be uncovered?” He slams his palm down on the table several times. “Fuck! What the hell am I doing?”

  “Protecting what’s yours,” Ty comments.

  Daley closes his eyes before inhaling a deep breath. “I’m not telling you everything, but just know that if he gets hold of who I was—who I used to be—he’ll kill everyone I’ve ever cared about.” He pauses, clearing his throat. “My family. He’ll kill them.”

  We’re all silent, each of us watching him. He isn’t our family, but he’s helped us in the past to protect ours, and the fact that he’s here speaks volumes. He doesn’t trust anyone—doesn’t rely on anyone—and yet he’s here asking for help.

  “What do you need?” I ask, not waiting for Ty, because we all know we’re gonna help him.

  “To take him down, but I can’t do it without your help.” I nod, leaning forward. “I know where his base is.”

  “His base?” Evan asks, opening his laptop. “Coordinates?”

  Daley reels off the coordinates, running his palm over his face. “We gotta move quick because as soon as he knows I’m here, he’ll disappear and none of us will be safe… especially the people you love the most.”

  We all hear his warning loud and clear.

  “Let’s plan.”

  LILY

  I sit in the middle of the bed with Luke’s t-shirt covering me as I wait for him to come back. I stayed at Kay’s for hours helping her tidy and when Ty called her to go to Evan’s, I stayed with Eli and put him to bed until she came home an hour ago.

  I expected Luke to follow her, but when he didn’t, I went home. Home.

  Leaning back, I close my eyes and breathe in deeply but jump up as soon as the front door opens. I’m yanking the bedroom door open before I know it, and when I make it to the top of the stairs, my gaze lands on Luke. He halts halfway up, and I know it’s time.

  Time to make this more than it’s ever been. Time to make my own choice.

  I swallow, gripping my hands in front of me as I stare into his ice-blue eyes. “For the first time...” I pause, clearing my throat. “Since my mom died, I feel like I belong.”

  He moves up a step, coming closer to me and my breath catches in my throat.

  “I never thought I’d ever feel like that again, not after everything.” I bite down on my bottom lip and Luke zones in on the action. “But I realized tonight that this is home.” He moves another step closer. “You are home.”

  He takes the last couple of steps, looking down at me as he grips the side of my neck. “You’re where you were always meant to be, darlin’.” His throat bobs. “We may have had to endure the pain to get here, but we did it.” He tilts his head down, lowering his voice as he whispers, “We made it to each other, and that’s all that matters now.”

  I stare at him and watch as his eyes darken, his fingers pressing into my skin before he lunges forward, slamming his lips down on mine.

  His hands slide down my body, gripping onto my waist before he lifts me, and my legs wrap around him on instinct as I clutch his shoulders. His tongue runs over the seam of my lips much like it did earlier, but this time when I open, I don’t hesitate.

  He moves us and seconds later, my back is hitting the bed and he’s pulling away slightly.

  “You sure?” he asks, his voice deeper than I’ve ever heard it.

  I run my hand through his hair before grinning up at him. “I’ve never been surer in my entire life.”

  He watches me for several seconds before his hands reach for the bottom of his t-shirt and pulls it over his head. I don’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t the muscles upon muscles displayed in front of me. I should have known, but when I see a tattoo weaving over his chest and down his side, I can’t stop my fingers from whispering over it.

  He grips my hand when I stop at the waist of his jeans but brings my fingers to his mouth where he kisses them gently.

  “We’re gonna take it slow, okay?” I swallow as he lifts off me and pulls me into a sitting position. “You wanna stop at any time, you tell me, and we can… well, stop.” He chuckles but waits until I nod in confirmation.

  Grasping me around the waist, he then moves us into the middle of the bed before resting his back against the headboard.

  “You’re in control, darlin’.” He encourages me to open my legs, and when I do, he places his hands on my thighs and pulls me so I’m straddling his waist.

  I feel his erection against my thigh, and when I look down at his jeans, he grasps my chin. “Don’t think about it. Just feel.”

  I nod and meet him halfway when he leans closer to me. We get caught up in another kiss, but this one is slower than all the rest. There’s no rush as he explores my mouth and I do the same to him.

  My back bows when his hands land on my waist under his t-shirt, and then he’s pulling it off me before sitting up straighter and wrapping his arms around me.

  Our naked chests press against each other and I can’t stop the moan from slipping free at the sensation. Is this what it feels like when you truly want it? When you love someone and want to show them how much they mean to you?

  His palm smooths over my side before dipping low and running a finger over me, eliciting a gasp as my eyes close.

  “Luke,” I groan, having never felt anything like it.

  His answer is to do it again, only this time a little faster and with more pressure. And it’s just the right amount. He pulls his lips away from mine and I let my head fall back when he traces kisses down my neck and stops at my nipple, pulling it into his mouth.

  It’s all I need for the fireworks to explode and my body to grow taut. The feeling flowing through me unlike anything I’ve ever felt. He eeks it out with his mouth on my nipple and his finger slowing down into wide circles.

  I want more of him. So much more than I ever thought I’d want.

  When my muscles wane, I let my body flop forward before placing a kiss on his neck.

  “I need you,” I whisper in his ear. “All of you.”

  He groans when I kiss him there again and blow a breath out.

  “Darlin’, if you—”

  I reach my hand between us, letting my palm rest over his jean-clad erection. “Please,” I murmur. “I need you to show me what it’s really like.” I pull back to look into his eyes, conveying what I’m really feeling.

  It’s not just about what I’ve been through and the pain associated with what we’re about to do. I don’t want to replace the bad with the good, b
ut I need to know what it feels like to want it. Truly want it.

  He grasps my waist, holding me up as he undoes his zipper and yanks his jeans down. I’m scared to look down, so I keep my eyes connected with his.

  “I’m scared,” I whisper, letting my emotions overtake me as he holds me up.

  His other hand moves to cup the side of my face. “I know, darlin’, but it’s me.” He presses his forehead against mine before slowly lowering me down. “You don’t have to be scared in here. Not with me.”

  I gasp when I feel him entering me, but the pain I prepare for never comes. Instead, all I feel is full. I place my hands on his shoulders, my fingers biting into his skin as I push down the rest of the way.

  His groan reverberates through me and mixes in with my moan as I rock forward, not really sure what to do until his fingers push into my hips and he lifts me up and down, silently showing me.

  I open my eyes before pulling my forehead away but keep my gaze connected to his. His hand moves from my face to my neck and he spreads his hand wide, his palm running down between my breasts and over my stomach before he moves it around to my ass. I close my eyes as he grips me a little harder, pistoning his hips up.

  The muscles in his neck strain when I open them back up, and I can see the fight for his control. And even though I wanted to be in charge of what happens when we first started, I’m ready to hand myself over to him. Willingly.

  I stop moving my hips before placing my hands on either side of his face.

  “Your turn.”

  His eyes widen when he stares at me and understands what I’m saying. “Angel…”

  I nod, and his eyes darken before he flips us over. I don’t expect the shocked laughter to come out of my mouth, and from the grin he gives me, I don’t think he did either.

  “You ready?” he asks, but I see the sparkle in his eye as I bite down on my lip and lock my ankles behind his back.

  His lips meet mine in another slow kiss, and when his tongue slips inside, he pulls out of me and pushes back in, building up his rhythm. I push the pads of my fingers into his back as he slowly moves in and out, his pace increasing when he pulls his mouth away.