“No. Until they know all the players, it’s not safe for her. I won’t lose her — I mean, we can’t lose her,” Luke corrected. “Not on my watch. I…uh, don’t want to be stuck with that neurotic dog.”
“Holy shit,” Dace chimed in. “You like her!”
“Like her? She’s a pain in the ass, always trying to take me to task. She talks…a lot, then snaps at me for not talking. How can I talk when she’s doing all the talking? She’s so damn complicated. So, no, I don’t like her.”
“Do you try to talk?” Liam laughed. “I mean, it’s really not your strong suit.”
“No. Like you said, it’s not my strong suit,” Luke replied. “She does enough for both of us.”
Dace laughed. “So you basically ignore her.”
“Hey, that’s what she said!”
“You’re making her feel like she’s talking to herself, man!” Dace continued, a sudden expert on the topic.
“She said that too.”
Dace shook his head before planting his face firmly in his palms. “She’s in a strange city, surrounded by strangers, and locked up in a building. You gotta at least talk to her.”
“Liam, have you been hacking my TV again or something? That’s almost word for word what she said,” Luke accused.
Liam threw his hands up, denying guilt. “I haven’t tapped your place since you gave me that black eye last time.”
“Women need to talk – and they want you to talk to. It makes them feel…something,” Declan continued.
“Yeah,” Liam jumped in. “It always comes back to feelings somehow. Something about getting to know you and feeling connected? Something like that. I forget what City said.”
“They like to feel important,” Wylie said, pulling up a seat. “Like you care about what they’re talking about even if you don’t.”
“Yeah! Lydia says I can scratch and watch football all day and be satisfied, but she can’t. She doesn’t scratch, and she doesn’t like football. Even if she did, she said she just wants my time. Wants to be noticed or whatever.”
“Woman like that shit.” Liam nodded in agreement. “Notice her, man. You need to notice her and tell her something about you. Like your favorite color. She’ll feel like you just trusted her with something.”
“Chicks are weird.” Dace shook his head. “It’s like they’re kind of needy, but don’t need you, ya know? I say give her whatever she wants. That ‘happy wife happy life’ thing can’t just be a married thing, right?”
They all nodded in agreement, mumbling, “Right.”
Luke looked around the room at the lot of them and shook his head. “Jesus, what is this? You guys been reading Dear Abby or something? I didn’t ask for female advice. She’s not my problem, her feelings are not my problem – she’s just a job.”
Luke didn’t really mean that and immediately felt bad for referring to her as such. She was more than that to him. No matter how hard he tried not to, he liked her. He didn’t talk back because he could listen to her all day. He couldn’t help but be genuinely interested in everything she said, because she was interesting, and smart, and beautiful.
But none of those things mattered when, at the end of the day, this would all be a distant memory. She would leave. He wasn’t good for her anyway – she deserved so much more than he could offer. His brothers didn’t need to know how he felt. It wouldn’t help her, or him, when she left.
He tuned them out as they each took turns accosting him for sounding like such an asshole. Mission accomplished. They knew exactly what he wanted them to know now. While they rambled on like a house full of hens, he let his mind drift…to Daisy.
After a long lunch full of wedding planning at City and Liam’s with the ladies, Daisy wandered down to the lair, looking for Luke. He had Gibson with him, since Luke was the dog’s new preferred master, and she wanted to see how they were doing. Gibson had been especially anxious lately and Daisy thought maybe a quick trip to the dog park next door would help.
Along with the coffee shop and pub, Luke had added the dog park to her list of safe places, but she wasn’t to go with anyone but him. After their blowup over the thrift shop outing, things had settled and they’d come to an understanding. He was complicated, but she knew he meant well, and his hard-nosed rules were for her protection. He might even care a little.
Luke wasn’t the social type, extremely introverted, but he didn’t miss a beat. He paid attention to what she said because she would notice little things later that suggested such. When Daisy mentioned how lovely the fall flowers were on the rooftop, she found a vase of fall flowers on the dining room table the next day. A cooking show had featured a local Portland restaurant, and Luke picked up take out from there the next day after she’d mentioned it.
When she discussed Gibson’s anxiety getting worse, and all the potential reasons why, he came home with a dog bed – even though she still slept on his pillow – her own blanket, some toys, special food, and a lavender calming collar. He acted like he didn’t care about anything, much less her dog, but his actions suggested otherwise.
Luke cared about Gibson, and he clearly cared about Daisy on some level or he wouldn’t react to her every word the way he did. He wanted them to feel comfortable in his home, taken care of, protected. The fact that she was still in his apartment when there was an empty one just next door spoke volumes too. He might have grunted a lot, but he liked having them around. She could feel it.
They didn’t have long conversations into the night, but he was starting to listen more, and grunt less. His single word responses were now full sentences, albeit few and far between, but they were on the verge of real conversation. And Luke rarely smiled, but when she told him City not only invited her to the wedding, but asked her to sing…well, he smiled.
He was wearing on her in a good way, and since she wasn’t going anywhere, she wanted to make the best of things, and decided to get to know him as much as he would let her and accept him for all his quirks. Luke O’Reilly – as is.
If Luke didn’t care, he wouldn’t cook every meal for her, or stay behind when the team went on whatever it was they went out on. He stayed because of her, to protect her, and make sure she felt safe. He fiercely loved his family and protected them – it warmed her heart and made her crave what they all had.
An idea sprung to life – one he may not have gone for – but it was worth a shot. The women had discussed the local Farmer’s Market just one block behind them on the other side of the dog park. Maybe it was her turn to make dinner. If he was up for the park with Gibson, maybe he’d be up for a walk through the Farmer’s Market so she could throw together a meal for him…like a farm fresh salad. She couldn’t burn salad.
Pleased with her idea and content with their situation, she stepped off the elevator with a smile on her face and her fingers crossed. Just outside the lair doors, though, she paused and listened, not wanting to interrupt a client meeting or something serious before barging in.
“Jesus, what is this? You guys been reading Dear Abby or something? I didn’t ask for female advice. She’s not my problem, her feelings are not my problem – she’s just a job.”
Though she was glad she heard what he had to say, and where she stood with him, she wished she’d just gone back to the apartment because the pinch in her chest he created was overwhelming. How could he? She backed away from the lair and made her way back to the elevator. His words made her want to cry as much as they made her want to toss glitter all over his apartment because she knew glitter pissed him off more than anything.
She entered their apartment –his apartment, and stormed to her room. Pacing back and forth, she let his words wash over her. Just a job. Not a person, a job. And here she thought there was a bit of a friendship growing between them. Well, the joke was on her because he was just working. It wasn’t real – just the remedial tasks of being someone’s oversized bodyguard.
Tossing the small wardrobe she had across her bed, she pulled together
an outfit. If he didn’t want her around, she’d leave. She didn’t want to be there anymore than he wanted her there. She didn’t wear makeup, but a little lip-gloss didn’t hurt nobody, so she slapped some on, ran her fingers through her unruly hair, and headed for the door.
When she reached the lobby, she heard the door unlock to open as she approached, reminding her of how that was done. Her smartwatch – it was how she was able to get in and out of all the locked doors. She propped the door open, held it with her foot, and stared at the watch for a moment. Taking it off, she tossed it on a nearby chair and left Watermark.
“Screw you, Luke O’Reilly,” she said, making her way down the front steps, headed toward downtown. “You’re off duty tonight.”
The words he shed stung, hurt her even. But the words that didn’t hear after she stormed off would frighten her.
CHAPTER 7
“Let’s get back to the subject at hand here, can we?” Luke scolded. “Enough about the woman in my apartment – Carter is still missing.”
“This program has been running for thirty-six hours and there’s still nothing,” Liam said. “I’m running DC, Nashville, and everything in between. Not a single hit on anything and I have it all running.”
“I have the team on the ground now. They’ve been to his office and condo – not a trace,” Dace said, scrolling through images already acquired by the team they’d sent in for intel. “Both places look clean – too clean. They’re still working.”
“Too clean, like a pro clean up?” Declan asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer. A pro clean up, or professional cleanup was when someone went to a crime scene and cleaned up any evidence left behind.
“I don’t know, man. It’s pretty damn clean,” Dace added, shaking his head. “He knew there were hits on him from other cases, but he had people on those. If someone took him out, none of us saw it coming.”
“We don’t miss shit like that,” Wylie said with pride. “Especially that close to home. It just doesn’t happen. Carter is too fucking smart to be marked like that.”
“Hey!” came a voice from the door. City. “Oh, good, you’re back from the park, Luke.”
“The park?” he questioned.
“Yeah. We’re headed over to the Farmer’s Market,” Lydia added. “Daisy seemed interested in going, but mentioned taking Gibson to the park.”
City smiled at her fiancé and winked before turning to Luke. “Since you’re back, we were hoping you guys would go.”
“I didn’t take Gibson anywhere. She ran with me this morning, so she doesn’t need the park.” Luke was confused, and something told him he didn’t want to hear the rest. He was getting that knot in his stomach again. “She’s been here with me for hours.”
“Good. Bring her too then. All the more reason to go. Get Gibson out too!” Lydia added. “Join the weekly outing. Daisy could use it. There’re food trucks, beer, wine…and everything else Farmer’s Markets usually have.”
“Food, beer, and wine…” Declan laughed. “I know why you’re going.”
“No,” Luke said hastily. “She shouldn’t be out there.”
“You’re such a brute. Let her out for a while before she goes crazy.” Lydia was joking about the brute part, but not about the rest.
“That girl has the patience of a saint dealing with you.” City laughed.
“It isn’t safe for her out there right now.”
“That’s why you’re coming, big guy,” City interrupted with a sock to his shoulder. “You can keep her safe, and I’m pretty sure Liam will buy you a beer and some of that barbecue you guys get excited over.”
“When Carter has these guys locked up in a super max prison, we can go out more,” Luke explained. Truth be told, he wanted to go out as much as she did.
“You guys said this thing can take months, even years. That’s a long time to be locked up in Watermark,” City tried to negotiate. “She really wanted to try the gourmet taco truck that was on that cooking show. Taco truck only, then back home. Skip the park – Gibson will understand,” she teased, bending to scratch the dog’s ears.
“No. Daisy needs to stay put. Is she upstairs?”
“She must be. When she left, she mentioned talking you into going to the park, and I think she was hoping to do the Farmer’s Market. She really wanted to go. I’m surprised she isn’t down here,” City said.
“Why do you keep talking about the park? We didn’t go to the park or have plans to go to the park.” Luke stood. He didn’t like what he was hearing. Something was wrong. Very wrong. “She hasn’t been down here at all.”
“Why do you keep saying no and it’s not safe?” City asked, sharing his concern as the pieces started to fall into place. “You guys have been going to the park. What changed?”
“Carter is missing. Now, where’s Daisy?”
Luke hit a few buttons on Liam’s display until his apartment came up. He flipped through each room while dialing the phone in the apartment. The live feed told them all what they were afraid to confirm. She wasn’t up there.
Surprised, City’s hands covered her mouth to muffle the gasp Luke’s directness provoked. “Missing? For how long?”
Liam took over, trying to keep the group calm. He could see, with each passing minute, Luke was becoming more and more concerned. “We don’t know. He isn’t responding to us. We don’t even know if there is a problem, but it isn’t like him to drop off the grid without some kind of warning.”
Luke waved his hand in front of Liam, cutting off the chitchat and assumed explanations. “Back to the park thing. Did she say she was going? Did she leave your place just now?”
“No,” Lydia chimed in. “She left…maybe a half hour ago, tops. Said she was headed down here to look for you. She wanted to go to the park, and I think she wanted to talk you into the Farmer’s Market. That’s why we’re here. We thought we could all go together. Safety in numbers and all that.”
“Oh man.” Declan looked at Luke, as did all the brothers. “Thirty minutes ago? You think she heard?”
“Heard what?” City challenged, her hands firmly resting on her hips. “What did you do, Luke?”
“I didn’t do anything,” he fired back before turning his attention to Liam. “Get everything up on the wall. Rooftop, gym – everything. Track her while you’re at it.”
Liam’s stare was stuck on his brother, disappointment etched in his expression. If she heard what he’d said, he was afraid what those searches may reveal.
“What are you waiting for, Liam? Judge me later, all right? All of you! Now, find her.” Luke didn’t need the judgement of his brothers. He was already judging himself harder than anyone else could. This was exactly why he couldn’t have what he was beginning to want. He ruined everything and didn’t deserve it.
“Her device is placing her right here in Watermark,” Liam started. “But it won’t tell me exactly where other than the west side of the building.”
“Okay. Good.” Relief washed over Luke. “West side. That could be the gym or lobby.”
“Gym’s clear,” Liam said. “Lobby’s clear too. Rolling back security feeds now, but let me check points of entry.”
“Points of entry?” Wylie questioned. “Surely she wouldn’t have left. Not again.”
“If she heard this idiot, sure she would have.” Declan walked over to the weapons closet and punched in his code. “Something tells me we’re going on a search and potential rescue. Grab your gear, guys.”
“Oh my God, Luke!” City marched over to where he stood and started poking him in the chest with every word she spoke. “If she left and something happens to her, I will personally kick your…your ass.”
City wasn’t one to curse, so when she did, she meant business. Lydia was fueled by her actions and joined her. “And I will help her. Got it? If she’s not in this building, you better find her – fast.”
Lydia wasn’t done. She turned to her husband. “Declan O’Reilly, you better help him bring
her back here. Then you’re going to help her bring her things to our place. She’s staying with us.”
“And us,” City tossed in there. “You don’t get to have her anymore. We all know you’ve been through some stuff, Luke, but eventually, you need to get your head out of your ass and move on.”
“We’ll be upstairs,” Lydia said, linking arms with City. “None of you come home without her.”
The men watched as the women left, then shifted focus to Luke. He stood speechless and expressionless. Nobody had to say another word because they knew whatever was going through his head was worse than anything they could say to him.
“I have her at the lobby door,” Liam said. “She left.”
Liam nodded toward the screen directly in front of him, and they all watched Luke as he watched Daisy look right into the camera before tossing her watch aside. She’d heard him.
Luke ran his hands through his hair. The anger coursing through him was less about her and more about himself. She left – she left him – and he didn’t blame her. Now, finding her would be like finding a needle in a haystack. They had an entire city to scour.
“Gear up.”
While the men geared up, Liam went to work, pulling up city security feeds based on the timeline they established from her Watermark departure. He had it narrowed down to a four-block radius in a part of town where the cameras weren’t updated and business owners relied on older analog technology. He couldn’t hack the area – not as quickly as he needed to.
The men put together a methodical tactical procedure that would peel back the layers of their search as quickly as possible. There was an immediate concern over the abundance of hotels in the area they would be searching. One: that was a lot of space to search and clear. Two: if someone found out about her, and they were here, what better place to do whatever they planned than a hotel?
Brother's Keeper III_Luke Page 7