Page 96 of Lumi
CHAPTER 19
The One Who Got Away
Lumi
The Pierced Pig was a traditional Irish pub with a long wooden bar and well over a hundred alcohol bottles lined up on built-in shelves behind the bar. The carpet and wall colors were warm, and the ceiling sunken with wood panels arranged in intricate patterns giving an old-world charm.
When Damian and I walked into the bar, he held my linked hand and moved with confident long steps.
“Wait.” I pulled on his hand. “I’m wearing high heels, so slow down.
Damian looked down at my black stilettos and let an appreciative glance glide up my tight black pants and green leather shirt that was tailor-made to enhance my waistline, flat stomach, and cleavage.
“I can’t believe how perfect ye look.” With his free hand, Damian rolled a strand of my shiny long hair around his finger. “I love when you have yer hair down like this. Ye ready?”
I nodded and glanced down the end of the room, where Damian’s colleagues stood. I counted two women and sixteen men, but I didn’t see Logan.
“Come on.” Damian squared his shoulders and led me to the group with a proud smile on his face.
Several came over to shake my hand and slap Damian’s shoulders in manly hugs.
“Inspector.”
“O’Rogue, good to see you.”
I’d never met Damian’s boss before. He was gray-haired, had a friendly smile, and a deep baritone laughter when he pointed to the handcuffs.
“Everyone has been talking about the experiment you’re doing. I would be going crazy after a few hours. How come you can look so relaxed?”
Damian and I exchanged a smile before he answered his boss. “It helps that Lumi and I are best friends.”
“Yes, I can imagine.” The inspector nodded and touched the handcuffs with interest. “Not exactly what we use, huh? They look like something from a…”
“A sex shop?” Damian suggested with a cheeky grin. “That’s because they are. We should get a discount with all the advertising we’ve done for these cuffs by walking around and displaying them.”
“People stare at us,” I said and gave a polite smile.
The inspector laughed. “I don’t blame them. I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff in my life, but what blows my mind is that you two agreed to this without being dead drunk.”
We laughed with him.
“Fancy a gab?” Damian’s boss pointed to the table where five jugs of beer stood with some glasses.
We were the center of attention for a few hours as we drank and cheered with Damian’s colleagues. I learned things about the Emergency Response Unit that I hadn’t known before. There were only about fifty ERU guards across the republic. All of them were trained to deal with armed criminals, meaning they would execute high-risk warrants, deal with hostage rescue, barricade situations, and other special duties.
Damian’s boss gave me a small history lesson about how the unit was formed in 1978 as the Special Task Force and named the ERU in 1987. He even showed me a long scar on his arm that he’d gotten during an undercover assignment when he first joined the ERU. It was clear that these men were proud of their unit, and a few of them entertained me with stories of training with army rangers and the American FBI. I knew they carried weapons, but I had no idea that Damian and the others were required to qualify with all weapons used by the unit, three times a year.
The more they had to drink, the longer their cheers got.
“Here’s to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold pint – and another one!” one of them cheered loud to overpower the white noise in the bar, which was filling up.
At seven-thirty, Kit arrived. She was taller than me and with flaming red hair. Feeling bubbly inside from the atmosphere in the room, the three glasses of white wine in my bloodstream, and the love I felt for her brother, I hugged her tight and kissed her cheek.
“Let me see ye two.” Kit pulled back and narrowed her eyes as if that was her secret weapon to spot a lie. “Were ye prankin’ me, or are ye serious?”
“Have I ever pranked you in my life?” I asked.
“Naw, but my brother has. Many times.”
