Dangerous Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly #2)(57)

“The task force is already on Staten Island?” Julie asked. She sat on Luke’s bed and he was beside her, inserting some sort of tracking device into the heel of his boot. He wore all black again, and she knew it was to blend into the shadows if he had to escape the cartel. Would it be too obvious if she did as well?”

“And our team,” he said. “Blake left earlier this afternoon. Jesse will be here in a few minutes to stay with you. Do what he says. He’ll protect you.”

So she’d have to get past Jesse. She should have assumed such a problem would exist. “Can you take a weapon?”

He flipped the boot he held around and showed her the switchblade latched inside. “It’s small but it’ll get the job done if I need it.”

“There will be many of them and one of you, Luke,” she worried.

“And I hope it makes them underestimate me.” He flipped the heel to his boot into place and put it on. “And with the tracking device, if I leave the house, my team will know.”

“Just like Arel will know you were a SEAL. He’ll know to be cautious.”

He turned to her and covered her hand with his. “I might not be in the SEALs any longer, sweetheart, but I’m still a SEAL. I’m going to go in there and do what I have to in order to protect the innocent people the cartel is hurting.”

She read between the lines and knew he meant he’d die if he had to. Though she knew she’d see him soon, part of her feared he’d slip away and she’d never see him again. Julie pressed her mouth to his, her fingers curling at his jaw, repeating a version of what she had said to him once years before. “Stay alive. The world needs more good men like you.”

And just like in the past, he tightened his arm around her waist, and asked, “And what do you need?”

“You,” she whispered. “I need you.”

He kissed her, a kiss that ravished her with passion and intensity. When he pulled away, his eyes dark and turbulent, he vowed, “I’ll see you by morning.” Then he was gone.

Julie heard Luke speaking to Jesse in the other room and she knew she had no time to waste if she was going to make it on that ferry. The instant she heard the door and the television come on, she grabbed a robe and pulled it over her sweats before headed to the living room.

“Hey, Jesse,” Julie said, walking into the living room. “I’m just going down to Lauren’s place to get some bubbles for a bath and try on some clothes. I have nothing left and I want to bring a few things back over here.”

He stood up. “I’ll go with you.”

“No, no, please don’t. This place is, as Luke says, like Fort Knox, and…well. A few minutes alone, doing girl stuff would help me right now. I’m frankly trying not to have a meltdown over Luke going to the party.”

“He’s going to be okay,” he assured her.

She hugged herself. “Thanks, but I might have that meltdown if we talk about this. Believe me. A little girl primping will do me good. Then, how would you feel about ordering pizza? I always eat pizza when I’m stressed. Will that be some security breech?”

“Pizza is good,” he said. “Worth risking my life for.”

She laughed. He was a nice guy, and way too good looking for the single female population’s well being. She wasn’t one of them though, not anymore.

“I won’t be long,” she said. “Okay. I might be a bit. When I start with the clothes…well, you know.”

“Yes,” he said. “I have two sisters. I know.”

Julie kept her pace slow as she made her way to the door, but the instant she was in the hallway she took off running for Lauren’s door. She was in a flash and rushing for the bedroom, where she ripped open the closet and grabbed the hot pink dress she’d tried on earlier in the day. As much as black tempted her, she was supposed to be Luke’s ‘playmate’ and that meant arm candy. Besides, she was curvier than Lauren and finding a dress that fit was a struggle. She slid the silk over her hips and grimaced the unavoidable cleavage, she refused to think about. The idea of becoming the playmate of everyone at the party was not something she could consider. This was about Luke, and innocent kids, and it mattered, like he mattered. She was doing this because it was the right thing to do.

She shoved on her black heels she’d worn earlier for work, grabbed her purse she’d left here, and made tracks to the door. Her coat was next door and Lauren’s were too small so she was just going to have to freeze. Pausing, she inhaled and willed her nerves to calm, before slowly exhaling. She had to be quiet. She had to make this happen. She dug out the truck key she’d swiped from Luke’s key ring when she’d heard he was taking a cab, to avoid his truck being tampered with when he was on the island.

She kicked off her heels and picked them up and cautiously, silently, opened the door. And then she took off running, heading down the hall and then the stairs. She exited the garage door and shoved her feet in her shoes, and ran for Luke’s truck. She could barely breathe, and her hand was shaking as she unlocked the doors and inserted the key. She backed up and drove for the exit, using the remote above Luke’s visor and keying in the three digit code she’d seen him use. Once she cleared the doors, she prayed for light traffic. At the first stoplight, she grabbed her cell phone and punched the auto-dial for Jesse. Luke had put it in her phone, along with Blake’s and Kyle’s.