Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,22

ocean was a great way to hide."

"Ah, so that's why the hairstyle change." He chuckled and plopped his feet up on the old coffee table, too.

"Yup. But back on topic. I trust him."

"Do you know when you're on deck?" He had a plan for a way to get Pilar alone, and it was starting to gel, but there were so many moving parts. Tonight, being the biggest.

"Not for another two weeks. There are enough teams to do a one month on, one month off rotation in our area."

He cocked his head and asked, even though he had a gut feeling he knew the answer, "Where is your area?"

"The Southeast, baby!" Smoke laughed when he rolled his eyes and groaned. "That's what you get for letting me in the house. An almost permanent houseguest. At least until I can find something this sweet." They watched a sixty-foot yacht cruise down the intercoastal. "Damn, that's the life, isn't it?"

"I'm sure you could afford something similar. Why are you still in the game?"

Smoke stared out the window. "I actually own something similar. A bit bigger. It is moored in a rented slip about ten minutes away. We Ubered here. And to answer your question, I don't know man, just not the right time yet. Sometimes you have to wait until everything settles into place, you know?"

He nodded. Hell yeah, he knew exactly what Smoke was getting at. He had no reason to leave the game if Pilar... He shook his head. He couldn't let his imagination about what was between them run amuck. He shot his friend a look and asked, "Is there someone for you?"

He shook his head. "Not really, but there's always a hope, you know?"

Yeah, hope was a double-edged sword, and it was a sharp motherfucker. It could protect you or kill you depending on what you based your hope on. "I do."

"So, before Sage comes back, are you Tempest or..." Smoke left the question hanging.

He cleared his throat before he said the name he'd almost forgotten, "Luke. Luke Wagner." Of course, Smoke had no way of knowing the name wasn't an alias, which was as it should be.

"Cool. Is it okay if we crash here after we do that little job? Unless you have a problem with us being here? We can drop you near your mark and then head to the substation, blow it up, and then come back to get you. Using your truck of course."

It made sense, and he sure as fuck wasn't going to kick them out after they did him a favor. "Of course. As long as you get the hell out of my room you can suit yourself." He got up and stretched. The sun had just about set and he needed to change.

Smoke's laugh followed him down the hallway. "I always do!"

Chapter 7

Pilar settled into the corner of the lounger she adored and listened to a classical music YouTube channel. The strains of Mozart's Piano Sonata Number 11 filled the room while she stared through the window at the gathering darkness. The waves were no longer distinguishable in the distance, only visible when they broke on the beach. However, she wasn't seeing the scenery but rather thinking about the man she'd seen today. He was breathtaking. The voice and those eyes were the only thing which echoed a familiarity. Everything else about him had changed.

She hadn’t been sure it was him at first. He was healthy and robust, nothing like the shell of a man she remembered. The breadth of his shoulders under the worn t-shirt and the long, tan, muscled, legs and tight ass which filled his board shorts were remarkable. His hair had been trimmed, but it was still rather long and windblown. The sun had obviously kissed not only his skin, but his hair as well, shading it with golden highlights which matched the gold flecks in his eyes. Eyes that had haunted her for the last three years. He was alive. She closed her eyes and said yet another prayer of thanksgiving for his survival.

She refocused on the darkness outside the window. The man she met today dwarfed her memory, eclipsed her dreams and surpassed her wildest desires. She shook her head and examined her nails. Fat lot of good any of it did. Those desires fed fruitless fantasies which would never materialize. She'd cut the man loose from his vow today, and she'd never see him again. She couldn't be responsible for him being taken by her