“Thanks, bud.” He shifts so he’s facing me, effectively dismissing Josh and I want to kick him.
“That was rude,” I say after Josh leaves.
Luke sighs and runs his thumb over the condensation on his glass. “I’ll apologize to him later.”
“Before or after you make him watch you leave with another man?”
“Jesus, Freya. You’re brutal tonight.”
Now it’s my turn to sigh. “Sorry. Today has been a lot.”
Luke nudges my knee with his, letting me know we’re okay. “So, are you going to tell me why Captain called me in this morning and told me I’m partnerless for the foreseeable future?”
I pull back my shoulders and take a breath. The downside to hanging with Luke is that I can’t tell him everything. Even if I wanted to come clean, the contract I signed requires me to keep my true identity a secret. “I’m consulting with the FBI,” I say.
Luke’s crystal blue eyes zone in on me. “Why do I get the sense there’s more to it than that?”
The tracker anklet digs into my skin under my boot, like a tiny little collar. “Because you’re good at your job. I can’t tell you any more though.”
“It’s the Maxwell case, isn’t it?”
I don’t say anything, but that, in itself, is answer enough.
“Christ, Freya. Just... promise me you’ll be careful.”
I reach across the bar and give his hand a squeeze. “I promise.”
Glass shatters and a roar goes up across the room. I tense, my shoulders curling in as I duck my head.
Luke’s thumb runs back and forth over my hand, and I realize I’ve latched onto his fingers. “Hey, it’s okay. Someone just knocked over a glass.”
I force my fingers to unclench and look over my shoulder. The firefighters are jeering at one of their group as he grabs some paper towels and wipes up the mess. I must be more on edge than I thought. I’m not normally triggered by things like that anymore.
I flash Luke a smile. “Sorry, just feeling a little jumpy.”
We go back to our drinks and Luke catches me up with what’s happening at the precinct. I’m still rattled though. I’ve got that feeling you get when someone’s watching you. When I turnaround, I catch Rocky’s eyes. I shake my head again and he shifts his attention to a curvy blonde, but the feeling doesn’t go away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Freya
I TRY TO distract myself by playing wingman to Luke.
A guy with dark brown skin and these cute nerdy glassy sits down at the bar and I wiggle my fingers to say hello. He introduces himself as Eoin and I tell the story of how Luke once rescued a kitten from a tree. It would be cliché and over the top if it weren’t for the fact his pants caught on a branch on the way down and tore right off his body. I’ve got a photo of him holding the little ginger ball of fluff wearing only a shirt and his heart dotted underwear.
I turn the screen round to show Eoin and Luke tries to snatch the phone.
“Oh, come on, Freya. You’ve got to stop doing this.”
I hold him back with a hand to his chest and he gives up, running his fingers through his surfer boy hair. I smile to myself when I catch Eoin watching the movement before looking back at the phone.
“Is this your go-to way of getting him a date then?” Eoin asks me.
I shrug. “Lucky for me, Luke provides enough content for more than one story.”
Eoin grins. “I’d love to hear another.”
“Or...” Luke says loudly, inserting himself between us and turning his back on me. “You could just talk to me.”
