34. Luke
Luke
Scarlett’s car was parked down the block, but there were no lights on in the flower shop. I went to call her again, but Wes’s comment stopped me in my tracks.
“Someone’s inside. At least two people,” he said, craning his neck back to look in the windows.
“Then why the fuck are the lights out? Power’s not out on the block. It’s just the flower shop.”
“Turn around. I need another look.”
I was already pulling up to the curb. I didn’t have time to do a series of drive-bys.
I needed to get eyes on my woman before I flipped my shit.
I wanted to believe that I was overreacting, but my gut was telling me something was wrong.
Jumping out of the truck, I didn’t wait for Wes before hauling up the street back toward Daisy’s business.
Wes’s hand caught me around the arm and pulled me back.
“What the fuck?” I hissed.
“Get a look first. Don’t be stupid, man. You don’t want to make things worse. We don’t know what we’re walking up to. ”
He was right, but that didn’t mean I wanted to hear it.
I stopped just before the windows, my back against the cold stone exterior of the adjoining building. I peeked my head around to see inside.
Never in my life had I ever felt fear like I did when I saw Scarlett pressed against the case of flowers.
She held a broom in her hands, like they had caught her unaware.
Cress was standing in her way, blocking her path to the front door.
The knife in his hand glimmered, a reflection from the streetlight outside.
On the other side of her, behind the employee counter, stood fucking Steve Langston—I’d be damned if I ever called him my captain again.
“Fuck. Langston and Cress are inside with her. Cress has a knife. I’d bet money Langston is armed, but if he is, it’s concealed.”
Shouting came from inside. Langston was screaming so loud I could practically see the spittle flying from his mouth, even though it was too dark to tell. He wasn’t looking at Scarlett though. His attention was solely focused on Tyler.
I needed to keep my head on straight. If I plowed through the front, Cress could get to Scarlett before I had a chance to take him down. Langston would be even harder to get at since he was protected by the safety of the counter he stood behind.
What I needed was the element of surprise.
“Around the back. Let’s go.”
Wes gave a single head nod, his expression a mask of pure fury and determination. I hated to leave Scarlett out of my sight, but I needed to get inside, needed to get to her, and the best way to do that without risking her safety any further was through the back door.
I turned and sprinted to the end of the block, pulling my phone free from my pocket as I did.
“Did you find him?” Monroe answered.
“Both of them. Need backup, now. Daisy Days. They have Scarlett,” I told him, punctuating my words as I barreled full speed to the back alley behind the building.
“Do not go in until I get there,” he warned.
I disconnected the call without responding. He was delusional if he thought I was waiting a fucking second longer.
An earsplitting scream filled the air. Sounds of shattered glass followed by more screams.
Shit. My feet propelled me forward, every cell in my body echoing the screams, needing to get to Scarlett.
“Go back to the front. I’ll get in from back here,” I yelled to Wes.
I got to the back door and tried the handle. Locked. I wanted the element of surprise, but I didn’t have that luxury anymore. Getting to her was the most important thing.
I pulled my leg back, adrenaline surging as I rammed my foot into the door just below the latch. With a loud crash, it swung open.
I charged into the back room, through the array of pots, vases, and crates of flowers, stepping into the showroom to a flurry of movement and ruin.
Shattered glass and ceramic littered the floor.
What were once colorful flowers were trampled and smashed bits, left scattered throughout.
Tyler was now at the front door; blood dripped from between his fingers where he held his nose.
Steve Langston was halfway through the showroom.
He must have been heading to the front door when he heard me crash through the back .
“Police, put your hands up. Get on the ground.”
I didn’t see Scarlett. Where was she? Was she okay? My pulse skyrocketed when I couldn’t find her.
Langston spun around. His hand went to his hip. I drew my service weapon before he could react, the years behind the desk making his response time slower.
“Don’t do it, Steve. Get on the ground,” I warned.
“It isn’t what it looks like, Wilder. I can explain,” he said, removing his hand from his holster slowly and cautiously.
“Fuck this,” Tyler said, making his way for the door, catching it in the face as it flew toward him with force. The thunk of the metal frame against his skull sent him rearing back.
Wes pushed his way in. His large frame towered over Tyler. He grabbed him by the neck of his sweatshirt with one hand and pulled him off his feet. With the other hand, he tore the blade from Tyler’s grasp, letting it fall to the floor, then kicked it away.
“Scarlett’s not here,” I told him, a bone-deep fear making my skin feel too tight. She was my only concern. My sole focus.
“She’s safe. She got out.” Wes’s growled words abated some of that gnawing feeling, but until I had eyes on her again, it wasn’t going away.
Wes put Tyler back on his feet, spinning him around and dropping him to his knees on the floor. With another shouted order from me, Langston conceded as well.
“Steve Langston and Tyler Cress, you are both under arrest,” I said. More movement at the door caught my attention. Monroe had his Glock in his hand, aiming it at the ground as he took in the trashed state of the shop. “Cuff him. ”
Monroe handcuffed Tyler, Wes holding him down as he thrashed around, trying to resist it.
I looked down at Langston, his head downcast, his hands behind his head.
This scum of a man was someone I had looked up to at one time.
Disgust clogged my throat as I pulled his arm behind his back, slapping the first of the cuffs on his wrist. As I moved to add his other arm, he tried to offer some version of an explanation.
“I wasn’t going to let him hurt her, Luke. I swear. I came here to stop him,” he said quietly. His eyes met mine, pleading with me to believe him.
“You had a chance to stop him. You’ve had months to stop him while we were off chasing a rabbit down a hole.
You let him get away with Alana’s murder.
You taught him there were no consequences.
This is on you too.” I pulled his other arm down, locking his cuffs in place.
“If anything happened to Scarlett because you were protecting him, hell wouldn’t be far enough away to escape my wrath. ”
I pulled him to his feet, shoving him toward the door. Two more cruisers skidded to a halt in front of us. Officers Leanne Shapiro and Ricardo Neves hurried around their vehicles before stopping dead in their tracks.
“Captain? Wilder?” Shapiro’s eyes jumped from me to Langston, her brows furrowed in confusion.
The door of my car flew open.
Scarlett hopped down, her blue eyes rimmed in red. But she was safe.
I took a breath for what felt like the first time, my heart beating solely for her.
“Take him in. Book him for aiding and abetting and obstruction of justice,” I told Shapiro .
“Um, Captain?” Neves questioned.
“We don’t need his permission to arrest him, Neves.” Monroe hauled Tyler in front of him. “Go check on her. I’ll bring them in. Just get to the station when you can.”
I passed Langston off to Shapiro as Monroe issued orders to get them booked and detained.
The urgency to hold Scarlett in my arms was all-consuming. I turned toward her, ready to run to get her in my arms. She threw herself at me, wrapping her legs around my waist, my face buried in an unruly mess of strawberry curls as I held her tightly.
“Letty.” I breathed her name like a prayer. My mouth crashed into hers. Wetness coated my cheeks, but I wasn’t sure if they were her tears or mine. “Do not ever do that to me again.”
Her lips found mine for another kiss. After a minute, she pulled back. “Luke?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“You’re crushing me.”
Fuck. I loosened my grip on her, letting her slide down my body until her feet hit the ground. “Sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” My hands trailed over her from head to toe.
“I’m okay. But Luke, he killed Alana. It wasn’t Ryan, it was Tyler. And Cap… Steve… Langston… he knew about it. He was covering it up.”
“I know. I just put it together earlier. I tried to call you to let you know, and when you didn’t answer my calls or texts, I came looking for you.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe you got here when you did. Thank you for saving me. Both of you,” she said, looking over my shoulder.
“We didn’t save you. You saved yourself,” Wes smirked.
“What happened? I saw you in the window, backed up against the rows of flower arrangements, and the next thing I knew, I heard screaming. When I got inside, you were gone.”
“I threw every vase I could get my hands on at him until I got to the door.”
“That’s when she broke his nose to get out,” said Wes. Pride welled up in my chest. My girl defended herself, got herself to safety. “I got here just in time to see that masterpiece.”
I brought her to my chest again, trying not to crush her but probably failing. She let me hold her without complaint, tightening her grasp on me right back.
* * *
“So, you’re telling me you have an experienced police officer and a lumberjack private investigator come to your rescue, and you still had to save yourself?” Seb laughed.
I didn’t find it quite as funny. My narrowed glare didn’t do shit to curb his amusement.
“I was trying to get to her,” I said.
“I think it’s amazing that you knew in your gut that Scarlett was in danger. It’s romantic,” Maeve said. She cradled Veda in her arms, sitting in my father’s favorite recliner after family dinner.
Wyatt cuffed Seb on the shoulder as he passed, taking a seat at the base of Maeve’s chair. “When’s the court date?”
“Tuesday,” Scarlett and I said in unison. I ran my hand down her leg. At some point, she would need to testify, but that wasn’t the stage we were at right now.
“I’m fine,” she told me gently. She cupped my cheek, drawing small circles with her thumb along my skin. She was fine. She was the strongest, most resilient person I knew. But my heart broke every time I thought about what could have happened. How things could have ended differently.
I still couldn’t believe Calla Bay’s own police captain had falsified evidence, aided and abetted a known criminal—a murderer—and was willing to let an innocent man go to prison.
I didn’t think any of us could believe it.
Even Wes was disappointed at having been right from the beginning.
Scarlett changed the topic, trying to break the solemnness that hung over us whenever this came up.
“When’s the move-in date for the house?” she asked, directing her question to Reid and Claire, taking up one seat on the couch as Claire perched herself on Reid’s lap.
“Funny you should bring that up,” Claire said. “We wanted to invite you all to the housewarming party on New Year’s Eve.” She sent a loaded smile to Reid, and he returned it with a wolfish grin.
“Oh, that sounds fun. Absolutely,” Scarlett said before she turned to me, fake-whispering, “You don’t mind, right?”
“We’re probably just staying in with the girls this year,” Wyatt said.
“The girls can come too. They can sleep in one of the bedrooms after they pass out,” Reid said. “And no, you don’t mind. You’re coming too,” he added to me.
I met Wyatt’s eye, his look saying the same thing as me: When did he get so bossy?
“Yeah, alright. I’ll come to your New Year’s party,” I said .
“Good. I need to convince Lydia to come to town for it,” Reid said. “Luke, you call her. You were always her favorite brother. She might actually listen to you.”
I laughed, partly because no one could convince Lydia to do something she didn’t want to do and partly because he wasn’t wrong.
Lydia used to follow me around like a stray puppy when we were younger, always tagging along with me and Seb.
“I’ll give her a call and ask. She’s been pretty good at avoiding this place though. ”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Seb laughed. It didn’t sound like his usual easy laugh. Something more bitter about it, sharper.
“It’s important that she comes. Please try for us,” Claire said.
“What’s going on? What’s this about?” Wyatt asked.
Another look passed between the loving couple. “Just a housewarming party.” Claire shrugged.
We all agreed to go to their party since it seemed to be a big deal to the two of them. I got to my feet, offering my hand to Scarlett and pulling her up as well. We said goodbye to the family, not feeling the least bit guilty about being the first people to leave the dinner.
Scarlett placed her hand in mine as soon as we were in the car.
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye.
To think that six months ago, I was unhappily married to the wrong woman, not even aware of how I was falling for my best friend.
Little did I know how everything would change.
That I would find the love of my life right before my eyes, creating a brand-new life with her—within her.
I brought her hand to my lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. “I love you, Letty. I couldn’t do this life without you. You are my partner in every imaginable way. ”
“Does that mean we’re finally going to start our own Luke & Letty, Crime Stoppers, business?” She grinned.
“Hell no. My heart couldn’t take you being in mortal danger ever again. I thought I was going to stroke out seeing you through the window with only a broom as a defense. And the sound of your screams…”
“Warrior cries,” she corrected.
“Oh, of course. My apologies.”
Her airy laughter filled the car. “I love you, Luke. I promise I’ll try not to put myself in the sights of a murderer again.”
“That’s all I can ask.”