Page 4 of Dead Drift

“You’re going to want to take that,” Luke said.

Declan lifted his phone and strode out of the room. “Grey,” he answered. “Yes . . .” His voice trailed off as a door opened and shut down the hall.

Luke shifted his hands in his pockets.

“What happened to you?” Kate asked. “Looks like you got into a battle with a curling wand.”

Luke lifted his hand to his face. He hadn’t even realized he’d been burned. “There was an explosion.”

“I’ve got some salve,” Kate said, striding to the room on his left.

Everyone stared at him.

“I’m going to . . .” He indicated he was going to join Kate and pushed through the swinging door.

In the kitchen, Kate opened and shut drawer after drawer, her cheeks flushing. “I know it’s here somewhere,” she said, looking up at him and then straight back down.

He moved behind her and reached his arms around her waist, placing his hands on hers, hoping to steady her shaking. It was the wrong move. He should maintain his distance, but once in her presence . . . he couldn’t seem to keep away. This was Katie. After more than seven long years, she was right in front of him, in his embrace.

Her skin was soft and warm, and she smelled of cassis. His brief assignment in France, where the flower bloomed, flashed through his mind, but he quickly shifted his focus back to her. He was indulging in a moment of his old life, even if it was the wrong thing to do.

Kate’s shoulders shrugged at his touch. He leaned in, lowering his face flush with hers, cheek nestled against soft cheek. She needed to know the pain he felt. “I’m sorry, Katie,” he said, his words hoarse and throaty, nearly a whisper, though he hadn’t intended them to be. She felt so good, so right in his arms. All he wanted to do was . . .

She stiffened in his embrace. “For what?” Anger and hurt mingled in her cracking voice. “Leaving in the first place or showing back up?”

Ouch. He’d endured bullet wounds that stung less.

“For everything.” He swallowed, his throat still burning from the effects of the explosion. Why had he been foolish enough to hope for anything other than her anger? He shouldn’t have come. He was only causing her pain. “I’m sorry I ever left. I thought it would be a short, grand adventure. I never imagined we’d be standing here seven years later. I know none of this can be easy for you, but we’ve got a crisis and I need Declan’s help.”

She turned in his hold, facing him, her chin tilted up, her gaze a mix of wariness and defiance. “Why?”

He bit back the urge to kiss her, to feel her soft lips against his, and he quickly reined in his thoughts. “Because there’s an imminent threat on U.S. soil, and I don’t have jurisdiction here.”

The kitchen door burst open.

“How on earth did Ebeid get ahold of six ounces of anthrax?” Declan roared.

Luke lowered his head and exhaled. The brief reprieve from the demons he battled was over. He straightened. “He must have someone on the inside.”

“At which end? CDC or Fort Detrick?”

“I don’t know, but I could use your help determining which one.”

“This is the Bureau’s jurisdiction.” Declan raked a hand through his brown, spiky hair. “But I’d be a fool not to take advantage of your knowledge and intel. You clearly know Ebeid.”

“Yes, I do—far more than I’d like to. So . . . it appears we’re in this together.” The word together sounded foreign on Luke’s lips. He’d worked alone for so long, his contact with anyone other than targets severely limited. How would he function in a dependent dynamic?

“Excuse me,” Kate said, shifting under Luke’s arms, which were still wrapped around her. She slipped out of his hold as easily as he’d let her go the first time. He’d left her and his friends behind for a purpose—to stop this terrorist threat to America. There still was a purpose, but it was one he was ready to be done with, ready to face down once and for all.

He looked to Declan as the door swung shut behind Katie.

“She’s never going to forgive me, is she?”

“Would you?” Declan asked.

No. He wouldn’t, and he couldn’t expect Katie to either. He couldn’t be the man she wanted, not anymore.

“Let’s head back into the front room and get started,” Declan said, moving for the door. “You have a lot to catch us up on.”