11
Lincoln
“Come on, bro. What else did Bella say?” Lincoln probed.
“Nothing,” Lucas muttered nonchalantly before shoving a fork full of distressfully rare ribeye in his mouth.
“Ugh!” Lincoln grunted, leaning back in his chair. He had asked his brother to do one thing: get him some info about Donna’s undercover detail. She’d been unreachable and he at least wanted to know when the detail would end. “I expected better of you.”
Lucas chuckled and forked another piece of bloody steak.
“Why don’t you just run up to the fucking cow and bite it in on the ass?”
Lucas stuffed the meat in his mouth. “You’re in a mood,” he mumbled with a mouthful.
He was. He hadn’t seen Donna since their tryst at Bella’s house. She hadn’t reached out to him, and he’d been unable to reach her. Admittedly, he felt as if he was chasing a woman that didn’t want to be caught. Seemingly, the only time she seemed at all interested in him was when he was standing in front of her. Out of sight, out of mind.
Lincoln had never had to chase a woman, especially if he’d already slept with her. It would have been so easy to chalk Donna up as a loss. But she was so fucking captivating. Smart, funny, and absolutely stunning. Not to mention, her beautiful body and her snug, wet pussy weren’t making it any easier for him to walk away. And it was a damn shame too. Donatella Devereaux was mutilating his self-esteem.
“What’s up with you, Linc? You don’t seem yourself. Don’t tell me my sister-in-law put in on you like that,” Lucas teased through laughter.
“Sister-in-law my ass,” Lincoln mocked with his own laughter. “That woman ain’t gonna marry you.”
“Ha-ha-ha,” Lucas fake laughed with a frown. “We’ll see. Anyway…I’m not the one with the level three security clearance. Find her yourself.”
Lincoln grabbed his glass from the table, sipped his bourbon, and glanced around the restaurant. His spine straightened and the hairs on his arms stood at the sight before him. Heading in his direction was a beauty he hadn’t seen in over a year.
Tahira Raji was an Egyptian born, American CIA operative who was turning each and every head as she walked through the swanky, downtown restaurant. Even in a simple navy-blue pantsuit and matching hijab, concealing her hair, she was beautiful. Although her attire was meant to be modest, there was absolutely no way for her to hide the curves that lay beneath. She was a very well-formed woman with dangerous curves.
When she made it to the table, she took the seat next to Lucas. “Lincoln, it is so good to see you again,” she said with a smile.
“Tahira,” he responded dryly. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her. He was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tahira’s presence could not be good. It never was.
When she turned her smile on Lucas, he reached for his napkin to wipe his mouth. “Hello,” he greeted with a raised brow.
Lucas was polite, but Lincoln could see the questions in his brother’s eyes.
“You must be…Lucas. My goodness, you guys look so much alike. It’s hard to tell you apart.”
Lucas frowned, but before he could respond, Lincoln asked, “What’s happened, Tahira? Why are you here?”
Ignoring him, she remained focused on Lucas. “You should get to Northwestern. Your sister-in-law has been shot.”
“What?” Lincoln breathed.
“Wait…what the hell did you just say?” Lucas sneered, leaning close enough to make a normal person feel uncomfortable. Tahira, however, was no normal person. She was unfazed.
“Don’t worry, dear, she’s okay. But you should be with your brother. And you,” she turned to Lincoln, “I was sent to bring you in. I can brief you on the way.”
Lucas pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and, assumedly, dialed Victor. When he didn’t get an answer, he hopped up from the table.
“I told you, she’s fine. Try to stay calm.”
Lucas leaned toward Tahira and glared at her with angry narrowed eyes. “Lady, who the fuck are you?” he snapped.
Lincoln hopped to his feet and placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Luc,” he hushed calmly. “Go and see about Taylor. I have to take care of something.”
Lucas looked from Tahira to Lincoln, and he could only speculate about the inner debate going on in his older brother’s head.
