Brielle gazed up at him with those beautiful dark eyes of hers for a long moment. He tried to read her expression and decipher what she might be thinking based on how she was looking at him, hoping she understood how much he wanted to help her. When she finally smiled, it did absolutely stupid things to his insides.
“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’d rather get out of here and focus on something other than my brother for a while,” she said.
“Works for me.” He grabbed her coat, holding it up for her so she could slip it on. “If it’s a distraction you’re looking for, you’re in luck. It’s one of the few things I’m good at.”
They were halfway out the door, moving fast to catch up with the others, when he heard her murmur something that sounded like I’m sure there’s something else you’re good at. But since he wasn’t sure what she’d meant, he decided to let it go, even as his inner werewolf challenged him to show Brielle exactly how right she was.
Chapter 9
Brielle pulled her coat a closed as they walked toward the pub Caleb had found on the map. She assumed being close to the water had something to do with how cool it was out, but after being in the frigid temperatures of Siberia, the brisk evening air in Odessa felt downright balmy.
As they walked, she couldn’t help but notice the way Caleb stayed close to her side. It wasn’t obvious at first, but when two guys passed a little too near her and he actually bared his teeth a little at them, it was hard to miss.
His behavior didn’t surprise her. Ever since she’d come to in those tunnels under Surinda, he’d been acting protective, carrying her when she could have run, putting his arm around her and holding her close so she could fall asleep on his shoulder during the flight to Odessa. Even his offer to stay and help her go through old intel reports in the hopes of finding her brother had come from a place of concern. He knew she was worried about Julian and had gone out of his way to try and make her feel better.
Brielle had to admit, she found herself liking the attention more than she’d ever would have thought. She’d spent her whole life taking care of her brother, and it had left her little time for romance or anything even close to it. That a man like Caleb would look at her like she was the most precious thing on earth was more than nice. Even if she knew it couldn’t turn into anything. Why would a guy as amazing as he was ever want to get involved with her? When she wasn’t bailing her brother out of whatever problem he’d gotten himself into, she was trying to figure out how to have a normal life.
The pub Caleb led them into was nothing like what Brielle had imagined. The walk through the charming streets of Odessa had already shown her that the city was a lot more modern than she’d expected, with beautiful buildings and sidewalks illuminated by ornate streetlamps. But still, walking into the pub and seeing the long, polished bar that stretched the length of the interior along with a stage set up on one side and bright, exposed-bulb signs decorating the walls was surprising. This pub would have fit right in back home in Lyon.
Thankfully, it was the middle of the week and relatively late at night on top of that, so the place was almost empty. No band was playing on the small stage, and only a few people sat at the bar, chatting softly as they drank their beers.
Like she’d told Caleb, forgetting about her brother for a while was the entire reason she’d agreed to come out with him tonight in the first place. She needed somewhere she could hang out and unwind for a little while. If that included something delicious to eat and maybe a drink or two, even better. She wanted to do anything but think about the fact that they hadn’t found Julian yet. This looked like the perfect place to do that.
The blond waitress who met them at the door pegged Caleb and his teammates for Americans right away, welcoming them to the city, adding that they got a lot of tourists there.
“Are you here for food or just some drinks?” she asked.
When Caleb said they were there for dinner, the woman took them to one of the larger tables in the back of the pub, though her eyes widened at the amount of food they ordered.
“Ten large pizzas for the five of you?” she asked. “And five more for takeout?”
Brielle almost laughed at the expression on the woman’s face. She’d been with Caleb and his team for a few days, so she’d already seen how much they ate, and she was still amazed at how much food he and the other werewolves could eat at one time.
After the waitress gave the order to the kitchen, she brought beer for Caleb and the other guys as well as wine for her and Harley. The moment she walked away, the conversation immediately centered on the briefing from earlier.
“Do you really think someone is trying to start a war?” Sawyer asked, looking around the table at the rest of them. “I mean, what else could whoever is responsible for this expect after taking out a North Korean missile and a Chinese submarine?”
Brielle didn’t know much about geopolitics, but it wasn’t that difficult to figure out that firing a huge laser at two extremely aggressive militaristic neighbors was a great way to start a war, which made her wonder why Russia would do it. Was anyone that suicidal?
They were still talking about who might be behind it and the ramifications when their pizzas showed up. Brielle was surprised when Caleb, Harley, and Hudson admitted their own country could be behind it as much as anyone else’s, essentially “stealing” their own nukes and making it look like someone else had done it. That seemed crazy to Brielle. Sawyer, on the other hand, insisted that the UK would never do anything so despicable, which made Harley laugh so hard she nearly choked on her food.
The conversation lightened considerably after that, and Brielle found herself laughing along with everyone else. She couldn’t remember when she’d had this much fun. Friends were yet another thing she’d been forced to do without in her screwed-up version of a life.
“Can I ask you something, Brielle?” Hudson asked in between bites of cheese pizza, interrupting Sawyer’s bizarre rant about the difference between British and American bacon.
She nodded and sipped her wine.
“How were you able to slip inside the computer to get Misty out?” he asked. “I have to admit that I barely understand how Misty was able to go in there herself, but from what Forrest told me, her technopath talent is unique. It’s kind of incredible that you just happen to be able to do the same thing.”
Brielle set down her glass, not sure how to explain it. “Um…”
Beside her, Caleb glowered at Hudson across the table. “Jake made it clear you’d have to wait until everyone else on the team trusted you enough to tell you their secrets.”
To his credit, Hudson returned Caleb’s look with a glare of his own. “I didn’t realize Brielle was on the team. When did that happen?”