Page 65 of Veiled in Brick

I grumbled a non-answer. Considering the officer from the night prior’s reluctance to take action without further incrimination or blaring details of this man’s appearance, I had come to the bitter conclusion that I was more or less on my own until further notice.

“Just trying to figure out who this guy is—I mean, he attacked me in the street.” Brenda shifted nervously on her feet as I added, “And it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere.”

Brenda moved her head up and down. “Well, I think the guy was white? Super pale—like he hadn’t seen the sun in weeks.”

“Anything else?” I pressed. “Tattoos, piercings, whatnot?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Looked like a normal guy, ’bout your age. Just walked in here, chewin’ gum, handed me the flower and the note, and left.”

I held back a shudder as the scent of cinnamon gum flashed in my mind.

“Gotcha—thanks, Bee.” A timid knock just barely tickled our eardrums and I exhaled in relief, escape from this conversation a necessity. I voiced, “That’ll be Luke.”

I turned back to make my way to the front door, finding Luke waving at me through one of the glass display windows, and Brenda questioned, “Luke?”

“Protection detail,” I reminded her somberly, my steps clacking against the tile until I reached the door and allowed him inside. “Hey—thanks for walking me. I just have to grab my things.”

Luke waved away my thank you as if to say, ‘No problem,’ stepping inside and observing the store curiously.

“Nice shop,” he noted as the door shut behind him.

“Yeah, yeah, we like it,” I replied as I rushed to the back to retrieve my purse. Brenda appeared from the doorway with reddened ears and a shy glance toward Luke and I chuckled. “Brenda, Luke; Luke, Brenda.”

“Hi,” Luke greeted her with a genuine smile and a wave, his grey eyes pinching as his nose scrunched up with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice-to-meet-you-too-bye!”

Brenda rushed out her reply, scurrying past Luke and out the door before either of us could say anything else on the matter of their brief introduction.

Luke watched the door close behind her, blinked once, shook his head, and looked back to me, bewildered.

I laughed, Brenda’s ever-entertaining behavior around men a welcome distraction. “Yeah,” I told him, “Bee’s a little shy around good-looking men.”

His eyebrows rose as he pointed a finger toward his chest. “Am I—”

“Oh, save it,” I instructed. “Ya may not be my cup of tea, but you’re a lot of people’s.”

Luke stood a bit taller, beamed a smile at me, and murmured, “Ah, okay.”

I snickered at his reaction to my offhanded compliment and snatched my purse from the back, turning off the lights as we went, and we were on our way.

Luke was always a pleasure to be around. Our interactions were casual—friendly; and his sarcastic flair was historically a joy to ingest. One thing that I had noticed in the past but never fully comprehended, however, was how similar he looked to his brother.

It was the differences that I always took in—Luke’s brown hair was cropped short and most likely styled with the help of gels and creams while James kept his chin-length and product-free. The stubble on Luke’s face was tidy—James’ facial hair had grown over the past few months to a scratchy beard. Jay was large. The muscles combined with the tattoos on his arms gave off an intimidating presence, and Luke, though he was clearly in shape, had a lean build to him that somehow matched his more introverted personality.

The similarities, though—it wasn’t until this moment that I noticed how striking and obviously related the Turner brothers were. The eyes, of course—they shared the same grey eyes. If James hadn’t broken his nose so many times in his younger years, his would have the same slim shape as Luke’s. Luke smiled sympathetically at me when the sound of our clogging steps began to ominously echo down the street, and the gesture pinched his face in such a way that it reminded me of James.

I wasn’t sure if it was guilt that coursed through me, for James hadn’t crossed my mind since Liam had spoken his name the night before. I pondered the emotion to myself until we were one block down the road without a word said, and I finally voiced what was running through my brain.

“Is this awkward?”

Luke chuckled. “Huh?”

“Escorting the girl home that called it off with your brother,” I returned.

“Ah, that,” he replied, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

“Did, um—did he talk to you?”

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