Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Luke couldn’t help himself. He glanced over his shoulder before he slid into the taxi waiting at the curb.
Yep. Connal still stood there staring at Luke like he’d stolen his favorite toy.
Luke wanted to run back into the terminal, like one of those scenes from old movies, and leap into Connal’s arms.
Yeah, right.
Instead, he closed the door behind him then directed the taxi driver to the hotel where he had his reservation. He reached for the seatbelt and allowed the click of the buckle to signal the end of his thoughts of Connal.
“No problem.” The driver typed the address into his GPS before easing into traffic.
Luke swallowed hard, fighting the urge to look over his shoulder one last time. Hopefully, Connal would put his number to use. Maybe they could hook up later, and Luke could scratch the weirdness of this itch away.
Hell, Gomez was right. He did need to get laid. With a grin, Luke made a mental note to tell his friend he’d had the thought when they chatted later.
“You in town for business or pleasure?”
“Business,” Luke replied automatically.
“Huh. You don’t have that look about you.”
Luke laughed, thinking of Gomez’s loathing of his preferred travel outfit. “That bad, huh?”
“Not bad. Just not the normal suit-and-tie type.”
Even though there was a ton of traffic, the driver managed to keep them moving at a steady pace. He wove in and out of the multiple-laned highway with an expertise Luke would need years of practice to achieve.
His phone buzzed, and Luke pulled it out of his pocket.
Gomez: Did you survive the flight, or should I start planning your funeral?
Luke smiled despite himself.
Luke: Barely. Tell Karlotta I’d like something very dramatic. Think Day of the Dead, but with arepas and empanadas.
They were only a couple of exits away from his destination when a chill went down Luke’s spine. He was being watched.
Again.
He ran a few quiet checks, using the cab’s side mirror as his starting point. A random sedan with dark-tinted windows caught his eye. It kept a steady three cars between them. It took only a few lane changes by the driver for Luke to identify it as the first vehicle tracking him.
They were good. He’d give them that.
Gomez: RUDE. I was going to wear black and everything. Very tasteful. Very tragic.
Luke: You being a good boy and staying in the hospital bed of shame, or did you try to escape again?
Gomez: Excuse you, I am in my nest. Which is not shameful. It is strategic. Also, I dropped the remote and almost died, so if you could hurry back, that’d be great.
Traffic was thick but moving. Nothing else unusual. So why did Luke feel he should add “yet” to the end of that sentence?
Gomez: Also also, if you meet someone hot, I expect details. I am living vicariously through you.
Luke hesitated for half a second before replying.
Luke: Define hot.
Gomez: Tall. Broody. Looks like he could ruin your life.
Gomez: But in a fun way.
A dark blue SUV sped up the on-ramp. Luke was pretty sure the same SUV had passed them not long after they first got on the highway and now it was suddenly behind them again.
Then the sedan changed lanes, backing away and allowing the SUV to take its position.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Luke grumbled under his breath.
“What’s that?” the driver asked.
Luke glanced up at him. “Friend of mine,” Luke replied. “Thinks breaking both legs is a personality trait.”
The driver barked out a laugh. “That’s one way to get out of work, I guess.”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “He’s really committed to the bit.”
Gomez: Why do I feel like you just met someone?
Luke: You don’t feel anything. You’re high on pain meds.
Gomez: RUDE. Also accurate. But still rude.
Luke continued scanning the traffic for other threats. He adjusted his position slightly in the back seat of the taxi, giving him a better angle of the road through the rearview mirror.
The sedan moved back into position behind them, keeping three cars between them.
Luke exhaled slowly through his nose as a sleek black motorcycle smoothly slid between several cars.
“And motorcycle makes three. Dammit.”
Gomez: You should buy a new tie. That green one is such a crime against humanity.
Luke: You said it brings out my eyes.
Gomez: IT brINGS OUT REGRET.
His driver wove through traffic with expert precision—and only a few curses at the ineptness of others’ driving.
The sedan slipped back a few spots while the motorcycle assumed its place.
Clean.
Controlled.
Not aggressive.
Not sloppy.
As his taxi exited the highway, Luke realized he needed a quick change of plans if he had any hope of losing the tail. Two of the three follow vehicles exited the highway with them.
“Hey, is there a mall or something nearby?”
“A mall?”
“Just realized I forgot my tie. The boss will be pissed if I show up to the office without one.”
“I swear those things cut off circulation to the brain. But yeah, I can take you to a shopping area. No malls, but you can find something. It’s only a few blocks from your hotel.”
Luke used the mirror to check behind him again. The same SUV from earlier followed three cars back.
Same distance.
Same lane discipline.
Interesting.
Gomez: Hello?? Don’t ignore me. I’m fragile. And medicated. Mostly medicated.
Luke: Almost at the hotel. Try not to burn the place down while I’m gone. Again.
Gomez: ONE TIME. IT WAS ONE TIME.
Luke locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket. He’d have to move fast if he hoped to lose them in a crowd. After tugging some cash from his wallet, Luke prepared to make a run for it.
The sedan was back.
Three cars back.
Holding.
When the driver hit the gas to speed through a yellow light, Luke grinned. “Hey, go ahead and let me off at the corner.”
He shoved a wad of cash through the divider, nodded a quick thanks to the driver, and bolted out of the car.
He ran down the block and entered a shop on the corner.
After checking the windows, Luke pulled off his backpack and plucked his beanie from the top.
His hoodie followed, then a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.
Within a minute, he’d switched up his look enough to hopefully give him some extra time to evade his followers.
Then he was back on the street, dodging traffic and getting onto the route to his drop-off point. He grabbed his phone and shot a quick text to his boss while he tried to blend into the crowd.
Luke: I’m being followed.
It was too bad he hadn’t let Connal the Bear come with him.
He’d happily hide behind that guy any day of the week.
Hopefully, Luke would be able to get out of his current mess and have a meet-up with Connal later.
There was something really intriguing about him.
Well, other than the fact that he was a giant behemoth of a man whose adorable confusion only added to his charms.
And dammit, his distraction almost cost him.
His followers were definitely on his tail again.
Either he’d lost his touch, or they’d gotten a lucky break.
Luke darted between a group of teenagers in front of a display of comic books, then he turned the corner and slipped into the first shop he found.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, a guy came around the corner, searching for a glimpse of Luke. Luke used the opportunity to make another quick change, stripping off his hoodie and beanie.
After quickly shoving them into his backpack, Luke glanced around the shop and plucked a long-sleeved T-shirt off a pile. He checked the window again and froze.
The guy lifted his head and—was he smelling the air?
Luke ducked down behind the display and pretended to tie his shoe.
The guy moved on, but way too slowly for Luke’s peace of mind.
Surely he hadn’t actually been—no. He’d been watching way too many of those fantasy shows with Gomez. They’d gone to his head.
Luke darted to the counter and put enough cash by the register to cover the shirt plus some. “Would you mind if I went out the back?” he asked the elderly cashier.
He glanced nervously at the door, then bit his lip.
The older lady frowned in concern. “You okay?”
“Just a little nervous. Maybe it’s nothing?” Luke’s indecision seemed to convince the woman he needed some assistance.
“I’ll let you out through the back. It’ll put you in the alley, though, so be careful.”
“Thanks.”
Luke followed her through the door marked “Employees Only,” then through a second door that led him into the alley.
“You be careful.” The bell above the front door chimed, and she glanced over her shoulder. “Go on.”
Dark shadows filled the small lane behind the shop. Dumpsters, boxes, and pallets provided opportunities for cover, but there were limited exits. It wasn’t ideal by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Luke’s instincts spiked again. Had he walked right into their trap?
Too late now. The door had been closed and locked behind him; he couldn’t go back.
A quick check to his phone confirmed that he hadn’t received a reply yet from his boss.
Probably in a meeting. Luke should have texted Patrick.
Too late now. Luke hurried to the other end of the alley, making sure to move between the piles of debris.
If he needed to take cover, he would only have a second or two to hide before he’d be spotted.
His nerves spiked, and Luke dove behind a dumpster a moment before a shadowy figure appeared.
Dammit. He looked up, hoping for a random fire escape he could climb, but no such luck.
The back door of the shop burst open, and suddenly Luke found himself trapped between two of his followers.
Nowhere to go but out, so Luke chose the closest exit point.
He didn’t waste a precious second. Scrambling out from his hiding spot, Luke ran for the alley exit. When one guy moved forward to stop him, Luke pivoted, used the wall as a recovery point, and bounced safely out of the way of the attacker’s grasping hands.
Luke picked up speed, ignoring the shouts behind him.
A sudden jolt stopped him cold. Somehow, the guy behind him had moved fast enough to get a hand on his backpack.
Luke maintained his balance—barely—then clicked the quick-release straps.
As the bag fell, Luke spun a roundhouse kick straight to his attacker’s midsection.
“Ooof.”
His attacker’s grunt of pain was his only reaction.
Not good.
At least Luke regained control of his bag. Unfortunately, the delay gave the other guy enough time to catch up—and damn, was he fast.
Too fast.
Something about the way he moved let Luke know in no uncertain terms that he was in trouble. He took a few steps back, waiting for one of them to make another move.
Focus.
Luke dialed in even further, listening for any sound behind him. The alley’s exit was only a dozen yards away, but it might as well have been miles.
His attackers moved in sync toward him. Luke risked a glance behind himself as he moved so he didn’t trip over a random bag of trash.
That split second had them moving even closer, like they were those creepy angels from Doctor Who.
Don’t blink.
Static sparked, and one of the lights at the end of the alley crackled before going out. Perfect. Even more shadows in an already dark alley.
Luke needed to get the hell out of here.
Now.
He turned and bolted, ignoring the shouts and…growls?…behind him.
He made the rookie mistake of glancing back and ended up slamming headfirst into a wall. Luke’s vision burst into a white haze for half a second as pain ricocheted through his skull.
“Shit—”
He pushed off the wall, his sneakers slipping on the damp concrete as he fought to regain his balance. The world tilted, then snapped back into place just in time to realize how badly he’d miscalculated.
Too close.
The one he’d kicked stalked forward again, like the hit barely registered. No hesitation. No recovery lag. Just…moving.
Luke staggered back a step, then another, forcing his focus to narrow despite the pounding in his head.
Think. Distance. Angles. Exit—
Gone.
The same dark SUV from earlier stopped at the opposite end of the alley, engine low and steady, like the men inside had all the time in the world. Like they knew exactly how this scene was about to play out.
“Yeah,” Luke muttered under his breath. “That’s not ominous at all.”
The first attacker advanced again, his footsteps too quiet against the concrete. The second flanked, cutting off what little space Luke had left.
No wasted movement.
No tells.
No—
A sound tore through the alley.
Low. Sharp. Wrong.
No. Not a shout. Not a command.
A growl.
Luke’s stomach dropped.
“Okay,” he said, louder now, forcing himself to steady even as adrenaline spiked hard and fast through his system. “New plan.”
Neither of them reacted.
They didn’t even blink.
Or breathe hard.
They just kept coming.
Then the lightbulb nearest the SUV exploded with a sharp pop. Glass rained down in a brief glittering cascade.
Everything dimmed and the shadows grew darker.
Luke’s pulse kicked harder.
That wasn’t normal.
The first attacker charged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Luke barely got his hand up in time to deflect the strike. The impact rattled through his bones, stronger than it had any right to be. He twisted, redirecting the force, using the motion to try to create space.
But the second man was already there.
No delay.
No hesitation.
Like they knew where he’d be before he moved.
“Yeah,” Luke bit out, his breath sharp as he ducked under another strike. “I’m officially over this.”
He dove forward, aiming for the narrow gap between them. He managed to slip through and almost reached the end of the alley.
Then he slammed into something that hadn’t been there a moment before. Something heavy. Solid. Final.
He bounced back and spun as he fell against the brick wall once again. He surged to his feet, looking back at his attackers.
Both men stood frozen in place.
Not for long.
But long enough for Luke to know something had changed.
A strange pressure moved through the alley.
His head throbbed.
Slowly—very slowly—Luke turned.
A figure stood in the shadows, framed in the dim spill of light from the street beyond. Tall. Broad. Still, in a way that didn’t belong in the middle of a fight.
Luke’s breath caught.
No. No way.
The man from the airport stepped forward, his expression hard, his gaze locked on the two figures advancing on Luke again, like he’d been waiting for this exact moment.
Connal.
Relief hit first followed immediately by something else.
Because the way Connal moved—The way the attackers shifted their attention toward him. The way the air itself seemed to tighten.—This wasn’t better. This was worse.
Connal’s gaze flicked to Luke, just for a second, and in that moment, Luke knew one thing with absolute certainty.
This wasn’t random.
And Connal knew exactly what they were facing.