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The next morning, leaving Orly all warm and soft in bed was one of the hardest things Luke had ever done, but the meeting with his friends was important and it couldn’t wait. He left a note for Orly by the coffee maker, explaining he had to go out, but would be back soon. Since he didn’t want his friends coming to his house, he’d asked if they could meet at Garrett’s, their usual hang out place and they’d agreed. By the time he pulled into Garrett’s driveway, everyone was there and eyed him curiously when he walked in the front door.
“Help yourself to some coffee,” Garrett said, nodding at the half full coffee pot.
“Thanks,” Luke said, but he was too nervous to drink anything right now. Everyone was sitting at Garrett’s dining room table and since they’d never actually eaten at that table before, it only put Luke more on edge. Deciding not to mince words, he turned to Martin. “Do you remember when you pulled Tim Gray out of that fire a couple years ago?”
Martin scratched his head. “Yeah, sure. What does this have to do with Tim?”
Luke shook his head. “It doesn’t. Not really. Do you remember what Tim said to us before they put him in the ambulance?”
Martin thought about it for a second. “No. Probably something about being lucky to be alive. I don’t know,” Martin chuckled. “What’s this about, Luke?”
“He told us about a guardian angel that talked to him until backup arrived,” Luke said, hoping to jog his friend’s memory.
Martin’s eyes widened then. “Oh yeah, I remember that. Man, he must’ve inhaled a shit ton of smoke and -.”
“She’s real,” Luke said, not letting him go on, then he paused to let the words sink in.
Martin narrowed his eyes for a moment. “She’s - wait - who’s real?”
“Her name is Orly Shepard and she’s not a guardian angel. She’s a woman. Ask me how I know.”
His friends all looked at him with wide eyes, their expressions filled with concern.
“Ask me how I know,” Luke repeated.
Caden stood then, his hands crossed over his chest. “Luke, this isn’t funny. We’re all here because you asked for our help and you’re talking about figments of people's imaginations.”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Luke said. “Until I was captured by that gang and a feminine voice came into my head. She talked to me, asked me where I was, and then called the tip line.”
Caden glared at him. “Are you telling me you’ve known all this time who made that call from L.A.?” Caden had tried to get surveillance footage from that luncheon, but the video had gone missing and was never recovered. Luke suspected Russell had something to do with that, but Luke hadn’t said anything because he was actually grateful for that turn of events.
“Wait a second,” Blake said. “You were hearing voices? Shit, that’s serious, Luke.”
Luke let out a long ragged breath. “No. I was hearing one voice, Blake. The same voice that Tim heard. Her name is Orly Shepard and she’s in a lot of trouble.”
Every single one of his friends went dead silent. Luke wasn’t sure if they believed him or were debating on whether or not to call a mental help hotline on his behalf.Either way, he was happy he’d decided to do this without Orly. The looks of scrutiny on his friends’ faces would’ve been too much for her.
“Why does that name sound familiar?” Tanner asked.
“Remember the photo all those news programs aired of a woman wanted for murder a few months ago?” Luke asked.
“Vaguely,” Tanner said.
“That’s her,” Luke said.
“Wait just a second,” Caden said, raising a hand.“How do we know any of this is true and even if it is, how do you know the voice in your head is the woman in that photo?”
“Because I’ve been talking to her for three months. The woman in the photo is Orly Shepard. Before all this went down, she was a nurse at a local hospital and she was engaged to Captain Russell Graham of the Los Angeles Police Department.”
“Okay, so you’re saying that he found her?” Caden asked.
Luke prepared himself for what he was about to say. And for all the possible ways this conversation could now go wrong. “No. I did and I brought her to my house.”
“You brought a suspect into your home?” Caden asked.
“She didn’t do it. Guys, she’s innocent. She didn’t kill anyone. He did.” Luke watched as his words landed and each of his friends took in that last bit of information.
