Page 44 of Legends Luke

A ghost of a smile curved Reagan’s lips. “I understand exactly how you feel. Luke and I didn’t hit it off when we first met. The circumstances were less than ideal, so we didn’t have a reason to trust each other. But the boys were there for me when I needed them. I wouldn’t be standing here with you now if it wasn’t for them. If you want to leave, I’ll drive you home myself. But I think you want to hear what I have to say.”

Melody studied her hostess as her heart warred with her good sense. The evening was getting late, and fatigue was zapping her energy. She should have refused to come. No one would have blamed her after what she went through. But she grabbed the bottle of water and motioned for Reagan to lead the way outside. She braced herself as much as she could for what she was about to hear, but she couldn’t shake the dread of things between her and Luke changing after learning the truth. She wasn’t sure she’d survive walking away from him.

Melody and Reagan settled on chaise loungers on the patio, their gazes fixed on the darkness around them. The night was clear, the stars twinkling at them. The moon was a sliver in the sky, and she felt like they were the only two people around for miles.

“I’m going to start by telling you my story,” Reagan finally spoke. “I know it probably seems weird, but it’s relevant. So hang in there with me, okay?” She didn’t wait for Melody to respond before she continued.

“I spent most of my life without my biological father in it. He and my mother had an affair, and when he found out she was pregnant, he asked my mother to marry him. Life was good for a little while. He traveled a lot, but when he was home, everything was great. We’d do all of these fun things as a family. He brought me special presents. I never thought about how my life was different from most, and I didn’t care. Then he was gone again. No explanation, no contact at all. I was only six years old at the time. Their marriage was eventually annulled. My mother remarried, and my stepdad is great. I started thinking of him as my father, and I refused to acknowledge my birth father.”

Melody sipped her water in an attempt to fight off her fatigue. She wanted to ask Reagan to short-hand her explanation, but she reminded herself hearing the whole story was important, even if the reason why wasn’t clear at the moment.

“I’m sure Luke has told you about English Barlowe.”

Melody nodded and then remembered Reagan couldn’t see her. “Yes. His mentor.”

“He’s more than that. He’s my father.”

Melody blinked. “The one who left you and your mother?”

“Yes. He had tried to reach out a couple of times over the years, but I wouldn’t answer his calls. I knew he settled here, but it’s all I cared to know. One day, I got a phone call from a family friend who told me English needed me here. He’d been badly hurt and was in a coma. You see, he had named me his medical proxy. His doctor needed me here to make decisions about his care. It was touch andgo with him. So, I came, and I found out that after he left me and my mom, he settled in Fire Creek and started another family. He had taken in four boys who had rough upbringings, and he became their family.”

“It must have hurt. It’s like he replaced you and your mother.”

“It did seem that way. As much as I wanted to pretend I didn’t care what he did, I was angry. I felt betrayed. But there was more going on than I knew. This is the part which affects you. English left my mom and me to protect us. We didn’t know at the time, but he worked as an operative for the CIA. He was known as Legend because he would drop into a case, close it, and then disappear almost without anyone realizing he’d been there.”

Reagan paused, and Melody sat very still, her water bottle feeling heavy in her hand. She tried to process what she was hearing, but she felt like she was being fooled. She asked Luke a simple question, and his response was to bring her here to hear a ridiculous tale of spies. What had she walked into?

Reagan continued. “English left us when it became apparent he could no longer keep his life as Legend separate from his life as a husband and father. He eventually left the CIA, but by then, he felt it was too late to come back to us. So, he settled here. Jackson, Luke, Easton, and Ben came to him at different times, but they had nowhere else to turn. It was a life of being bounced around foster care and group homes, or it was living in the apartment above the bar with English to look over them. I know it seems odd, but after English took Jackson in, the people in town started to see him as amentor for wayward boys. As long as he took care of them, no one seemed to care where they lived. The boys eventually found out that English hadn’t completely left his CIA ways behind.”

Melody sat up straighter. “What does that mean?”

“After English left the CIA, he still wanted to help people who had nowhere else to turn. I think he considered it his penance for leaving me and my mother all those years ago. When the boys found out, they wanted to continue his work. So, English trained them to be the new crop of Legends. What English couldn’t teach them, they learned through military service or other ways. You wanted to know how Luke knew what to do to help your sister when he was so far away. Well, it’s what he does. It’s what they all do.”

“Are you trying to tell me that Luke and his brothers are spies? Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, not spies. I don’t know what to call it. They would be the first to tell you they’re not heroes or vigilantes. They’re guys with special skills who want to help people who have nowhere else to turn. Sort of like English did for them, I suppose.”

Melody swung her legs off the chaise, so she could face Reagan, even though she could only see her hostess’ shadowy silhouette. “Why all the cloak and dagger? Why make a big production about sharing this with me? They’re operating outside the law, aren’t they? They’re breaking the law and justifying it by saying they’re helping people.”

“And if we were?”

Melody whipped her head to the side. Luke stood inside theback door, the houselights illuminating his face. The stormy glint to his pale eyes told her he’d been standing there at least long enough to hear much of their conversation. He stepped out onto the patio and moved to stand behind Reagan.

“Ray, I know I promised to let you handle this, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked having you speak for me.”

Reagan stood and placed a light kiss on his cheek. “I think you’re right. I seem to have made more of a mess of things than I hoped.” She turned back to Melody, who braced herself for what else Reagan might say. “Melody, I’m sorry if I upset you. I only meant for you to understand where Luke is coming from. He and the boys work in secret sometimes, but they do a lot of good. You’re not wrong to trust him. Believe me. I was once in your position, doubtful and wary of them. But if it wasn’t for the Legends, my mother and I would have been killed by someone obsessed with my mom. I wouldn’t have fallen in love and married Jackson. I wouldn’t have Jax.”

Reagan walked back inside. Feeling at a disadvantage with Luke’s shadow looming over her, Melody stood and stepped away from him. She opened her mouth to speak her mind, but he spoke first, his tone hard.

“I could have lied when you asked me about helping Lyric. I considered it. But I couldn’t. Not with you. I like you, Mel. A lot. You’re different from anyone I’ve ever met, and if you hadn’t gotten the call from your sister, I would have taken you into the bedroom, stripped you of your clothes, and spent the entire night worshipingyour body. And I wouldn’t have stopped there. One night with you is never going to be enough.”

Melody’s words died in her throat. Her breathing became heavy and shallow as her heart pounded in her chest, the thumping vibrating her ears. He moved until he was directly in front of her, and she felt his pull like they were opposite poles of two magnets.

“To answer your question, yes, we work outside the law. Not because what we do is illegal, though we do operate in a gray area. We work outside the law because the law is of no use to the people we help. We’ve helped women who were frightened, but because their stalkers didn’t make a move to hurt them, the cops’ hands were tied. We helped some elderly people who were cheated but had no proof for the authorities to act on. We’ve recovered children held for ransom whose lives were threatened if their families involved the police.”

“So, you’re saying you and your brothers are the good guys?” She pushed the words through dry lips, her defensive tone the only buffer she had to keep her from acting on her attraction to him.

“I’m saying we’re a last resort for some people, and we take the role seriously. So much so that we decided a long time ago to act in secret. Only those closest to us know what we do. For me to share this with you was no easy thing. Hell, I didn’t even talk to my brothers about it before I decided to tell you. It was a risky move, and I’m asking you don’t do something to make me regret it.”

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