Dangerous Pursuit (OSI Dark Ops #3)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lucas stepped into Locals Only and shook the water out of his wet hair. Felix looked up from where he stood at one of the taps filling a glass with beer, and they tipped their chins up at each other.

Lucas held up one finger as he walked straight over to his booth. He slid across the bench, angled his back to the corner, and propped one foot up on the seat next to him. He rested his forearm lazily atop his knee and scanned the room. The sky was dumping rain outside, so other than raindrops plinking against the windows, the pub was fairly quiet.

A powerful representation of the turmoil building inside him.

Alma, a waitress who’d been with Felix since he opened the pub, was refilling the salt and pepper shakers on a table next to the jukebox. B.B. King’s soulful rendition of “The Thrill Is Gone” played at just the right volume.

A couple of diehard regulars were seated at the far end of the bar, taking advantage of the free peanuts and cheap beer. Two men and two women sat at a high-top by the front window. He knew them from the farmer’s market. They were there the day Norah was killed and, at great risk to their own lives, provided Lucas a description of the men who attacked Adella and killed his wife.

Poor Adella had been hospitalized with her injuries and had been too traumatized to provide a helpful description. For months after the attack, she’d been consumed by guilt, knowing Norah was killed trying to protect her. No matter how many times he tried to reassure her that none of what happened was her fault, she couldn’t seem to recover. Eventually, her family made the difficult decision to leave Palomino.

Lucas certainly understood her parents wanting to do whatever was necessary to help their child heal physically and emotionally.

The men at the high-top glanced his way and acknowledged Lucas the same way Felix had a minute ago. The women just gave him their usual pitying, closed-lipped smiles.

He knew they meant well, but fuck, it sucked to think people felt sorry for him.

After figuring out who’d killed Norah, Lucas hunted those sonsabitches down and made sure they would never be able to hurt anyone again.

They’d been the first of many .

“Here ya go, mate.” Felix walked over and set a lowball glass and an entire bottle of Everclear on the table in front of him. “From the look on your face, I thought this might help with whatever’s ailin’ ya.”

The powerful grain alcohol was illegal in some U.S. states because of its dangerously high alcohol content. If a man wanted to punish himself, Everclear was the perfect way to do it.

Tempting, especially since his confrontation with Jonathan had left him feeling edgy and conflicted. The wild storm raging outside wasn’t helping much either.

“Thanks, man, but I’m good with just one tonight.” He poured himself one fat finger of alcohol and slid the bottle back across the table to Felix.

As much as Lucas would like to get drunk to the point of forgetting—if only temporarily—it would have to wait until this op was over.

“Let me know if ya want anything else.” Felix picked up the bottle and headed back behind the bar.

That was the thing about his friend—he didn’t pry or dig for answers. He simply gave Lucas the space he needed to stew.

Deep, angry thunder rumbled nearby and vibrated the old building, causing the liquor bottles on the shelves to clink together.

Hell, even Mother Nature seemed agitated tonight .

Lucas took a sip and suffered through the burn as the alcohol chewed its way to his gut. He stared at the liquid as he gently swirled it in the glass and thought back over his conversation with Jonathan.

His cousin said some things about moving on and letting go that made Lucas wonder if he actually could find happiness and a full life after Norah. He’d never even considered the possibility of letting another woman into his life.

His mind immediately conjured up the image of Calliope laughing at the pub her first night there. He smiled at the memory of the way her face lit up whenever she laughed or talked about a mission. Her big personality and passion for life were intoxicating and made him want things with her he wasn’t sure he deserved or was ready for yet.

“Fuck.” He scrubbed his hand down his face and took another slightly less painful sip.

What the hell kind of man was he? Less than ten minutes ago, he was ripping himself open and spilling his guts to Jonathan about Norah, and now he couldn’t stop thinking about Calliope.

The two women were different, yet alike in some ways.

Norah had been a borderline pacifist, whereas Calliope was a trained killer. Norah had always been openly sweet and kind to everyone, a bit na?ve to the evil that could live within some people. Calliope, on the other hand, had seen the uglier side of humanity and protected herself from it with her sharp wit and sarcasm. She cared deeply about people; she’d just learned to conceal that part of herself until they earned the right to see it. His wife had been a strong woman, but she never would’ve gone toe to toe with grown men the way Calliope did on a near daily basis.

Lucas lifted his glass to his mouth, and over the rim—as if his thoughts had manifested her presence—there stood Calliope, just inside the door. He slowly lowered his glass back to the table.

She was soaking wet, and water dripped from the tip of her nose. Her long pigtails hung limp down her back, and her workout top showed through her wet tank top, which hugged her sweet little body.

Her head pivoted to take in the room until her eyes landed on him. He watched as she drew her shoulders back before stalking over to his table.

He slid out of the booth and stood.

“Did you come down here alone?” He leaned sideways to look behind her, expecting to see some of the guys.

“Yeah, why?” She followed his gaze, then gave him a genuinely confused look.

“You cannot be fucking serious!” The memories stirred up by his conversation with Jonathan and seeing the people from the market had caused his protectiveness to boil to the surface. “I can’t believe you were so irresponsible.” Shouting at her was probably not the best approach, but dammit , how fucking dare she put herself in jeopardy ?

“Excuse me?” Her voice was low and mean when she stepped right up to him, close enough he could smell lavender. She tilted her chin up and narrowed her eyes at him. “I can take care of myself.” She poked the tip of one delicate finger to his chest with each word.

He’d never seen her riled up like this before, and damn , she was a sight to behold when she was mad. It was like being hissed at by an adorable kitten. A tiny kitten who could take him to his knees—literally and figuratively.

“I am a specially trained sniper who is proficient in hand-to-hand combat.” She gave it to him with both barrels. “Stupid me, I assumed you knew that about me and maybe even respected that about me.” She propped her hands on her hips and leaned into him. “I can see now that I was way off base.” She turned, stomped a few feet away, then spun and stomped back to him. “And to think I came down here to … You know what, never mind.” Her gaze fell to his glass on the table, and she huffed, “Don’t get too drunk. We have important things to do tomorrow.”

Calliope stormed toward the door, slammed her palms against it, and like a dumbass, he stood there rubbing his chest where she’d poked him and watched her disappear out into the rain.

Suddenly, a towel hit him on the side of the head and dropped to the floor at his feet .

“What the hell?” He reached down and picked it up.

“Don’t be a stupid arse.” Felix pointed toward the door. “Go after her!”

“Right.” Lucas threw the towel back to him and dashed toward the door, hoping he wasn’t too late.

He stepped outside and was instantly drenched by the downpour. He wiped water from his eyes and frantically looked to the right, then his gaze swung back to the left. Down the street, behind three other parked cars, she was unlocking the door of the minivan.

A long, spiky finger of lightning stretched across the dark sky, leaving the sweet, cloverlike scent of ozone in its wake.

“Calliope!” A clap of thunder boomed overhead and drowned out his voice.

Lucas set off at a run, determined to catch her, to explain, and to apologize. His feet splashed through puddles in the shitty sidewalk, and he kept having to wipe water from his eyes.

She yanked the door open, gave him an angry look, and dropped in behind the wheel. He heard the growl of the engine, saw the headlights flash on, then she whipped out of the spot and started to pull forward.

He darted out to stand in the middle of the narrow road, held his hands out in front of him, and yelled, “STOP!”

Through the windshield, he saw her eyes widen and her arms stiffen as she slammed on the brakes. The van slid forward on the oily, rain-soaked asphalt and came to a stop about a foot from his legs.

She shoved the car into park, kicked the door open, and used both hands to slam it shut.

“Are you out of your damn mind?” Calliope barreled toward him and stood in the small space between him and the front bumper. “I could’ve killed you!”

“I wanted to talk to you.” He gave a dismissive shrug.

“Seriously?” Her voice went up real high at the end.

“Yeah, seriously.” He stepped right up into her personal space.

She stumbled back until her butt was against the hood of the van.

“I wanted to apologize.” Lucas reached up and skimmed a band of wet hair from where it hung over her left eye. “I was being an overprotective ass, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh … well, then … apology accepted.” She tried to take a step sideways, and he shifted to block her.

“I’m about to do something that’s probably going to get me punched in the damn mouth, but I can’t wait any longer.” Lucas circled his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him.

“What are you—”

Before she could finish her question, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.

The feel of her mouth on his surpassed anything Lucas could’ve ever imagined. Anticipation, joy, and oddly enough, hope powerfully intertwined and coursed through his veins like warm honey.

Halle-fuckin-lujah!

He braced himself and prepared for her to push him away and throw some kind of verbal jab his way. Yet, in typical Calliope fashion, she did the unexpected. She went up on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck. Then she tilted her head to achieve a better angle on his mouth, thrust her tongue between his lips, and pressed her tight little body against him.

Hell, yeah!

Lucas cupped her ass cheeks with his hands and lifted her up off the pavement. Without hesitation— right there, in the middle of the street during a massive storm—she lifted her legs, wrapped them around his waist, and crossed her ankles behind his back.

The rain became so heavy on their faces, they were forced to break their kiss.

“Follow me back to my place.” The words sort of exploded from him without thought.

Was it too late to take them back? Did he even want to?

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” She levered back to look him dead in the eyes. “Because if you’re not sure—”

“I’m positive.” Lucas thought about it, and yeah, he wanted this to happen between them.

“Alrighty, then.” Calliope unwrapped herself from around him and hopped down. She hurried to the van door, swung it open, and smirked as she said, “Do you need me to hang back a bit so you can rush home and straighten your place up before I get there?”

“Have you always been such a smart-ass?” His words held a hint of laughter as the rain continued to pummel them.

Unbothered by the rain and thunder crashing all around, she seemed to ponder the question for a few seconds. “Pretty much.”

He chuckled and shook his head.

“My place is fine.” Lucas had been unable to sleep last night—thanks to the woman in front of him—so he’d used the time to finally clean up his bungalow.

When he was done, he’d looked around and had been surprised by the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction it had given him to see everything in order.

“Let me get my truck, then you can follow me.” He wrestled his keys free from the pocket of his wet shorts.

“Okey dokey.” She dropped into the car and pulled the door shut.

The beams from her headlights cut through the dark, highlighting the sheets of rain buffeting the streets and buildings.

For the first time in almost three years, as he made his way back to his truck, he actually had something on his mind other than revenge.