Luke’s a big guy and reminds me of someone who could easily be a hitman. He’s got this stealth about him. You never see him coming even though it’s like a mountain is shadowing you.
“That’s probably a better idea,” Roman interjects. “Look at you, saving the day, Lex.” He slaps a hand on my shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze.
“I’m no savior, just trying to help a brother out. You guys have done a lot for me, and asking my brother for a favor is no problem at all.”
“When do you want to do this?” Luke asks, just as Roman’s cell phone starts to ring. He gives us a chin nod and walks away to answer it.
“I don’t know, tonight? He’s usually there until five or six.” I start to stretch my muscles from the beating I took from Roman.
“Perfect. I’ll meet you in the parking lot at five then, and we can go see him together.”
“Great, I’ll meet you there.”
“Next time, you can fight me. I’ll take it easy on you.” He makes punches in the air in front of me.
“Take it easy on me?” I cock a brow. “You both remember I was in the Marines, right?”
Luke chuckles. “Marines ain’t got nothing on what I’ve done.”
“Sure. I’ll see you later.” I shake my head, hopping out of the ring and grabbing my bag.
The way he talks, makes me wonder what kind of stuff he’s been through? Shaking the nonsense away, thoughts of Jude return, and I don’t want to think about her either. I don’t want to think about shit right now.
Walking out to my truck, I try and shut down mentally. Thinking about her won’t bring her back to me, it won’t answer the questions as to why she left before I could say goodbye.
“So how come your brother is the Dean of a university, and you work at a gym?” Luke asks as we’re walking across campus.
I raise my eyebrow at his question. “Did you just call me stupid?”
Luke tips his head back and lets out a loud laugh. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just wondering why your jobs are so different. Most brothers I know get into the same kind of work. Roman works with his brother, Ivan, all the time.”
I shrug. “Sebastian and I just never really had the same interests. He was good in school. I hated it. There was no way I was going to suffer through four more years of school after I graduated, so the only other good choice seemed to be the military.”
“Yeah, I get it. College isn’t my thing either...” Luke trails off, and I realize I have no idea what does he do for work. I know he drives a nice car and works out at the gym, and I know Roman is married to his sister, but beyond that, I don’t know much about the guy at all.
“What do you do for work?”
“I do some odd jobs here and there,” he answers vaguely before changing the subject. “Are you sure your brother is here? Looks pretty dark inside.”
I look at the entrance to the administration building, and indeed, find it completely dark.
“Well, shit, he must have left early today. Sorry, man. I can talk to him tomorrow.” I shove my hands into my pockets.
“No big deal. Don’t worry about it.”
We turn around and start heading back to the parking lot. I’m just about to ask him more about his work when we hear someone yelling behind us.
“Come on, sweets, don’t be shy. I know you want it...”
Following the voice, we both spin around and spot a guy approaching a girl. A girl whose body language clearly says, go away, I don’t like you. It only takes half a second from things to go from normal to horrible.
“That’s the fucker right there,” Luke growls, fists clenched at his sides.
“What? Are you sure?”
“Grace showed me a picture of the fucker, that’s him. I’m sure.”
Before I get another word out, Luke is sprinting over to the guy. I follow behind because I’m not going to let Luke do something stupid. The guy is so occupied with harassing the chick, he doesn’t see Luke coming until it’s too late.
Luke flies in like a bat out of hell, pulling his arm back and hitting the guy square in the jaw. The girl, who is still a good twenty feet away, lets out a loud shriek before turning and running away. Great.
“You fucking asshole!” The guy stumbles backward. “What’s your fucking problem?”
“You are,” Luke spits, his face taking on a look of rage like I’ve never seen. “Grace is my wife, and I know she told you to leave her the fuck alone. You have a problem with your ears? Or you just stupid?”
The idiot laughs while clearly looking danger right in the face.
“Maybe I just wanted to show Gracie how a real man does it.”
What a fucking idiot. Does he have a death wish?
Luke’s eyes go wide–like he can’t believe the fucker just said what he did. It only takes him a second to recover. Then he is on him again, taking another swing. The guy tries to defend himself, swinging his own fists, but I’ve boxed with Luke, and he doesn’t have a chance in hell.
Something tells me that this is going to get out of control if I don’t stop it. Luke’s eyes are crazed, and I actually think he might kill him if I don’t do something.
“Luke, come on.” I get in between them. Luke takes a step back and raises his hands, which are already bloodied. I look down at the guy and realize his lip is busted, blood drips down his chin.
“Fucking pussy! Who the fuck are you?” he yells at me. What an idiot. Shaking my head, I’m about to walk away when the asshole scoffs at my dog tags and says, “What are you? Some hero? Did you join the Army because you were to dumb for college?”
Army?
My fist slams into the side of his head before my brain makes the decision to hit him. The guy stumbles back, tripping over his own two feet and falling backward and into the grass. I take a step back, ready to get out of here, but Luke pounces on him again.
Shit, this is getting out of hand.
“Come on, man, you’re going to kill him.” I tug Luke backward and off the kid, staring down at him, he looks like he’s barely breathing. “What the fuck, Luke?” I growl low, looking over my shoulder, one way and then the other.
The air in my lungs stills when I spot Jude a hundred feet away, a look of pure terror in her beautiful blues. I should feel bad about punching this kid and be less focused on Jude, but all I can see in this moment is her face.
“You take care of the girl, and I’ll take care of him.” Luke grimaces, pointing at the guy lying in the grass. My eyes are still locked on Jude, and I know I have to go to her. How much did she see? God, I can’t imagine what she’s thinking right now.
Turning, she starts to walk away, and my body snaps back to reality. She’s not getting away this time.
2
Jude
Frozen in place, I stare straight ahead. The sound of skin hitting skin fills my ears. Two men beating another man less than a hundred feet away from me. They wrestle across the ground and into the grass. I should stop them, get help, do something, but my feet refuse to move, invisible vines of fear wrapped around each one. My lips part, and I’m not sure what I’m going to say: stop, or go away or I’m calling the police?