Chapter 6 - Coffee date

I came out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my head, and then patted myself dry. I was going to meet Lukas at a friendly little café downtown.

He had offered to pick me up, but I made it my duty not to let anyone know where I lived. I didn’t know who Lukas was, and I didn’t know if he could be trusted. I just knew that he was hot, and I hated how my body responded to him.

Why the hell did I even accept his invitation? I didn’t date. I didn’t have the time. Well, that wasn’t true. I had the time, but I just didn’t take it. I had other things to think about.

I spent an hour trying on clothes, to the point where I groaned and fell face-first on my bed. I had not gone out with a guy in six years. And I hadn’t dated anyone in ten.

The last time I dated someone, dating apps were starting to be popular, but the good old method was meeting people in bars or public spaces, not behind a screen. Which also suited me since I didn’t have a cell phone. Yes, people like me existed in a world where everything was done with a cell phone. I had a crappy home line, but I didn’t give my number to anyone. I rather liked not being called.

I had a mini panic attack when I thought I was in over my head. I was fine being single. There was no drama, no sharing, no nothing. I didn’t know what the social standards were for dating now.

I stopped myself and took a deep breath. This didn’t mean it was a date. It was only coffee, for Christ’s sake. I would go there, say “hi,” and then leave. Yes. That was the plan.

I pushed myself off the bed and put back all the dresses I had tried on. I decided to wear something casual, so I went with plain blue jeans and a black button-down shirt tucked inside my pants and leather boots. My thick ebony hair was straight, even though I had come out of the shower an hour before, so I did nothing to it, but I did put a bit of burgundy red chapstick on my lips, then dabbed some on my cheeks to brighten up my naturally pale coloured skin.

I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed. I sucked at this. This was the last time I ever did something of the sort. I remembered dating used to be fun, not something to stress over. So why was I so winded up?

I arrived an hour early at our rendezvous place, scanning the café. I looked for exits and entry points, then at the surrounding area, memorizing the street map. After doing this, I went to the store across the street and waited until Lukas arrived.

He arrived ten minutes before our designated time and came by foot. That slightly disappointed me since I would have liked to see his licence plate and run a check on him down at the local DMV. I had a contact there who helped me with some of my cases.

I waited until Lukas had his back turned, and I left the store across from the café he had entered. When I pushed through the door, I was right on time. I pretended to look for a table when I heard him say my name and wave at me.

I shot him a coy smile and walked over to where he was sitting. Lukas got up and offered me a chair, then seated himself in front of me, his deep amber eyes penetrating my gaze.

“You actually came! I thought you wouldn’t show up.” He said with a bit of surprise.

I looked at my watch and frowned.

“We had agreed to meet at four, yes?”

Lukas chuckled and raked his fingers through his tousled brown hair.

“Yes, but I meant to say I didn’t think you would actually show up.”

“There’s still time for me to leave if that’s what you want?” I cocked my head to the side and waited for his reply.

He laughed again, and the reverberation it made calmed me.

“You’ll have to excuse me. I don’t ask people out for coffee a lot. Let’s start over. What can I get for you?”

I smiled at his candidness and linked my fingers over the table. If he was that nervous himself, I felt better with my own insecurities. I did think about not showing up, but I wasn’t that kind of person. I didn’t go back on agreements.

“Just a black coffee for me and maybe a danish, if they have any.”

I knew they had danishes since I saw them when I got there an hour before, but he didn’t need to know that.

Lukas winked at me, then went to ring up our order.

I followed his retreating figure from the corner of my eye. I couldn’t hide the thought that he was extremely attractive. Every move Lukas made had me in a trance. My skin tingled, and goosebumps raised at the idea of me kissing him.

My face blazed when he saw me staring, and I tried to look at anything but him.

Lukas returned and set the food and drinks on the table. I needed a distraction from my unwelcome lewd thoughts.

“I haven’t seen you at Sal’s before. Do you go there a lot?” I asked before taking a sip of my coffee.

“No, it was my first time. I pass by it now and then and decided to finally check it out. I’m sort of happy I did. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you.”

“Well, don’t make it a habit,” I said as a joke. “I lost my winning streak because of you.”

Lukas laughed at that and took a bite of his sandwich.

“Duly noted. But between you and me, I think you should have won,” he looked up from his sandwich and had honest eyes. “So, how do we go about this? Should I tell you where I’m from and what I do, or do you want to go first?”

“You can go,” I quickly replied. And I could keep stalling from having to answer those questions myself.

“Erm, Lukas Randall. I’m thirty-three, and I work primarily in construction. I own a company that does demolition and stuff. No kids and no ex-wife. I mostly just work. How about you?”

Shit. That had been too fast. Lukas didn’t even lead on anything.

“And where did you learn how to fight?”

“Oh, I’m fluent in many combat sports. My parents wanted me to learn how to play the piano or fence—that kind of crap. Heck, they even tried to force me to play golf! They said it would make them look good at their country club. Of course, I chose the opposite of what would be acceptable in high society. I quickly picked up boxing and other combat sports and thoroughly enjoyed them. I hadn’t fought in years, though, before last night.”

“Are you from here? I don’t know any Randalls. It’s a big city, but it’s not that big.”

“You’re not wrong. I was raised up north, then moved here when I didn’t want to take over my father’s law firm. I was sort of cut off after that. I worked simple jobs at first, but I had issues following orders. I was good with my hands, and well, who doesn’t love demolishing stuff? So I started my company and became my own boss.”

I laughed at that. I could relate. I liked the freedom of working whenever I felt like it… which was practically all the time. It helped take my mind off things.

Lukas shot me a quizzical smile and swirled his cup in his hand.

“What about you?”

Well, I guessed there was no way of escaping this.

“Maxime Ravenwood. Thirty,” I avoided eye contact, hoping he wouldn’t push any further. “I’m unattached and do what I can to get by.”

“You’re going to have to give me more than that,” Lukas said while taking another bite from his meal. “What about your family and your job?”

“No family. I spent my childhood in foster care, and as soon as I turned sixteen, I left and took care of myself. As for my job, let’s just say I catch bad guys.”

“So you’re in law enforcement?”

“Not exactly. More like a bounty hunter.”

“A huntress. I like that. That’s why you were able to give me a hard time last night.” Lukas’s grin broadened, and I felt my face redden at that sight.

I looked away to recompose myself, and my eyes landed on the TV screen positioned in the top corner of the back wall. The news was on, and it seemed like a dead body was found. My eyes narrowed when the news anchor showed the victim’s picture, and my stomach dropped.

I almost spilled my coffee over myself. It was Michael Umbridge, the “skip” I had brought in a few nights ago.

He died?

“Hey, are you alright?”

I stood up and gave Lukas a shaky smile.

“Yes. Erm, this will sound silly, but I just remembered I forgot to do something. Thanks for the coffee and everything. It was nice meeting you.”

Lukas got up and was about to interject when I turned my back to him and dashed out of the café.

My mind was swirling with pieces of memory from my last encounter with the victim. Michael had said people would find and kill him if I brought him in. It looked like he wasn’t joking.

Someone had paid his bail and got him killed within that time frame.

Something didn’t sit right with me. Mike was blabbering nonsense the entire time. What were the odds of what he said coming true?

I needed to find out what had happened.