Staking His Claim (Line of Duty #5)(53)

“Need a hug, man?” Daniel joked.

“I’m not in the mood today, pretty boy.”

Daniel didn’t press, but Brent thundered on as if he had. “Sometimes I wonder if women were just put on this earth to make men feel like *s. Who’s with me?”

Daniel lifted an eyebrow. “You’re asking the wrong guy. Women are kind of my thing.” A slow smile spread across his face. “At least, they used to be.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you could have talked some sense into my sister.” Brent tossed his giant-sized sneaker into the back of his locker with a bang. “I certainly couldn’t.”

Matt went very still. “What happened? Is she okay?”

Brent shrugged jerkily. “She was physically fine when I dropped her off at the airport an hour ago. Mentally, it’s anyone’s guess.”

“Airport?” Matt choked out, fighting a wave of dizziness.

Brent slumped onto the bench, his irritation seeming to drain out of him. “I don’t get it. I’ve barely spent two seconds with the girl since she finished grad school, then she’s off to Paris.” He rubbed his forehead, oblivious to the fact that Matt’s knees were nearly buckling in front of him. “Fuck. Did I give her the impression that I don’t want to hang out with her?” His eyes closed on a frustrated sigh. “She called herself a nuisance.”

Matt had been holding his badge. Now, it clattered on the ground. He fought the urge to grab Brent and shake him. “Nuisance,” he enunciated. “She used that exact word?”

The day of the water balloon fight came back to him then in a tornado of words and color. If I ever hear of you calling yourself that again, I will find you wherever you are and make you sorry. That’s a promise.

Looking miserable, Brent nodded. “She said the position at the Louvre opened early…that it wouldn’t wait. I could tell she was lying. I know her. Something was up.”

Matt could hardly think over the furious pounding in his chest. Was this her way of sending him a message? If so, she’d taken a serious risk of him not getting it. Like Brent, he didn’t buy the story about the position opening early.

He sprang into motion, shoving his feet into shoes and slamming his locker door shut. Unable to think of anything but the consequences of not getting to Lucy before she boarded the plane, he gripped Brent by the shoulders. “Flight number. Terminal. Give them to me, now.”

“Why?” Brent’s brow puckered, but his friend knew him well enough that it only took a quick study of Matt’s face to determine exactly why he wanted to find his sister. “Oh Jesus, Matty. Are you f*cking kidding me?”

“No. I need her.” He worked to steady his voice. “She belongs with me and I’m going to get her, with or without your help.”

“I can’t believe you’re making me kick your ass two days after you saved my life.” He threw up his hands. “Has to be done. It’s a rule.”

“Set in stone,” Daniel murmured, watching them closely.

Matt’s patience was rapidly deteriorating. “Look, you can try and kick my ass later. I’ll give you the first swing. But right now—”

Brent laughed incredulously. “You don’t get to schedule your own ass-kicking.”

That did it. Whatever composure he’d been able to maintain evaporated. He shoved Brent up against the lockers and held him there. His friend looked too stunned to react, so he pressed his advantage. “Listen to me. I love your sister. I love her so much I can’t wait for tomorrow. To see what she says, what she wears, which laugh she’ll use. She’s not your sister to me. She’s Lucy. She’s the girl who makes me feel human.” Once the words started, he couldn’t seem to stop. “I know I’m not who you’d pick for her, I’m probably not even who she would pick, but I’ll change that. I’ll give her everything. Just tell me where she is.”

For a moment, the two friends squared off, taking each other’s measure. Then slowly, wordlessly, Brent braced a hand on his shoulder. “If you were to get there in time, you’d have some serious convincing to do, man. She already accepted the job. You better be up for it.”

Convincing? After everything he’d said…done? Panic rolled through him, blood rushing in his ears. He’d let his insecurities rule him, positive she’d run because she didn’t like what he’d shown her. Had he been wrong?

A sickening feeling opened up in his stomach as he recalled every word he’d spoken in the darkness their last night together. We can’t keep sneaking around like this. I need to do the right thing. He’d still been holding back, not giving her a hint as to what he felt, beyond wanting her in his bed. He’d opened up his past as a way to give her his trust, ask for hers in return. She’d likely seen it as an excuse he’d been giving as to why he can’t trust. He’d only confirmed it for her by neglecting to show up at the bench on time yesterday.

She’d thought he’d ended it with her.

Oh God, he’d made a massive mistake. She was getting ready to board a plane, thinking he wanted nothing more than casual sex from her?

No. No. This couldn’t be happening. Matt barely registered moving toward the locker room door when Brent laid a hand on his arm. He turned and met his friend’s grave eyes. “JetBlue terminal. I’ll text you the flight number. Go get my sister and bring her home.”