Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
CALLUM
I shouldered open the back door to the warehouse not too far ahead of closing time. The intermediate climbing expedition I’d been on had been just what I needed to level myself out. Challenging enough to feel like I’d done something without wearing me out.
“Oh, good, you’re back.” Alex emerged from the hall, his expression dialed to a level of serious I didn’t like. Something was up. “Want a hand bringing in equipment?”
I placed the coiled climbing ropes and harnesses into the bin to be rechecked before being stored for next time. “Later. What’s going on?”
He kept his voice low. “I had a weird conversation with Parker earlier today.”
My hands stilled on the carabiners. “What kind of weird conversation?”
Alex leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “She asked me about hypothetically helping someone communicate with someone without revealing their location. Said it was research for the romance author she works for.”
“And?”
“And I don’t think it was research.”
Every sense went on alert. “Why?”
He scratched his jaw. “Something in her manner when she asked… it didn’t sit right. She seemed nervous, but trying to hide it. Probably would’ve worked on someone without our training. She’s been fine the rest of the day, but…” He shrugged. “Has she mentioned anything to you? Any problems?”
I shook my head. Anything outright? No. There wasn’t a single specific incident or remark I could put my finger on. But there had been moments. Little things that hadn’t quite added up. I’d filed them away, let them go. But maybe it was time I did a little more recon. If she was in some kind of trouble, I wanted to help.
“Well, it may be nothing, but I thought you’d want to know.”
I secured the last of the gear and glanced at the clock on the wall. She’d be heading home in about ten minutes. “Right. Thanks.”
Alex’s lips quirked as I started for the back door. “You planning on tailing her?”
“Aye. If someone’s hassling her, they willnae be doing it for long.”
I didn’t wait around to see if he had opinions on the matter. The man had known me for years. He wouldn’t have told me if he hadn’t expected exactly this.
I waited just out of sight at the side of our building, downwind, so the dog wouldn’t pick up on my presence. Melting into the shadows was second nature, something I’d always excelled at. My callsign had been Ghost for a reason.
When she emerged from the office a few minutes later, Falkor predictably at her side, she turned toward the village proper. I waited thirty seconds, letting her get just far enough ahead that I could fall into step without her noticing. Even from this distance, I could tell her shoulders were knotted with tension. Her stride was determined, her chin up, but there was an element of a gallows walk to the whole thing. Once she reached the high street, she ducked into the corner shop. I positioned myself across the street where I could see through the windows. She went straight to the counter. I couldn’t hear the exchange but there were obviously pleasantries being traded, conversation about the dog that made her smile despite whatever was weighing on her. Then the shopkeeper turned and grabbed one of the prepaid SIM cards off the back wall.
She already had a UK number. Why did she need a burner? Alex had said she’d asked about contacting someone without revealing her location. Who did she need to talk to without being traced?
Parker exited the shop and crossed over to my side of the street. I stepped into the doorway of the charity shop, but her head was ducked, not paying a bit of attention to her surroundings. I’d be having a word with her about that, too. But later.
She strode down to the church, following the cobblestone path around to the walled garden in back. I followed, easing around to the opposite side of the garden, where the other gate was open. Without a sound, I slipped inside, ducking into the space between the wall and an overgrown hedge. I could just see her through the branches. She sat on one of the stone benches and swapped out the SIM card with fumbling fingers. Once done, she sat for a long couple of minutes, petting the dog as if the great beastie could offer strength. Then she scrubbed both hands over her face, blew out a breath, and dialed.
“It’s me.”
Even from my place in the shadows, I could see her wince at whatever reply she received.
“I’m not telling you where I am.” Her voice carried on the wind. “I’m safe. I’m happy.”
She listened, her free hand clenching into a fist in the dog’s fur. “I have not been kidnapped or joined a cult. No one is holding me against my will.” Pause. “Because if I tell you, then it’ll get back to them, and they’ll try to force me back.” She sucked in another breath, her voice getting stronger with conviction. “I can’t go back. I won’t.”
The hell anyone would force her back to anything while I was around to stop it. My hands curled into fists as I fought back the instinctive rage.
She paused again, listening. “I know. And I’m sorry. But this is as good as it’s going to get for now. I’m not ready for anything else. I’ll touch base again soon.”
Without saying goodbye, she ended the call and immediately popped out the SIM card, replacing it with the original. The next breath she blew out was less than steady.
Only then did I move, separating from the shadow of the wall to close the distance between us. “Who’s after you?”
Parker jolted to her feet, whirling toward me with a chalk-white face. “Callum! I—” She swallowed hard, those big brown eyes wide with fear and shock and an unmistakable thread of guilt.
I had to fight the instinct to reach out and touch her. I wasn’t the sort of man anyone came to for comfort. But I could give her this.
“Listen to me verra carefully.” I kept my voice pitched low, trying not to spook her any further. “No one—and I mean no one —is going to force you to do anything you dinna want to do. No’ while I’m around.” I edged a half-step closer, ducking my head a little to look her in the eyes so she’d understand exactly how serious I was. “No one.”
She stared at me with something like wonder. As if no one had ever offered to stand between her and trouble before. The thought made my chest ache. She looked at me like some kind of hero. It had been a long time since I’d been that for anyone, and the role didn’t sit exactly comfortably anymore.
At last, she swallowed and nodded once, wrapping her arms around herself. “Will you come back to my place? I’d rather talk in private, if you don’t mind.”
Christ. What kind of mess was she in? But I nodded. “Lead the way.”
As we walked, I positioned myself between her and the street, hyperaware of my blind side and the need to keep her safe. Whatever was going on, whatever she was running from, she wasn’t alone anymore.
We made it back to her flat without incident, and I didn’t miss how she seemed to lean on Falkor for support going up the stairs. Inside, she let the dog off his lead and shrugged out of her coat, hanging it on a row of hooks on the wall. The place already looked different than it had when we’d walked through just days ago. Colorful pillows had been added to the sofa, and a crocheted blanket that looked like something someone’s nan had made was draped over the back. I spotted a few cheerful prints propped against the walls, waiting to be hung. A blue glass vase of wildflowers added a pop of color to the table by the window. She was making herself a home.
“Can I get you something to drink?” She picked up the kettle.
“No.” I wanted answers more than tea.
She glanced up at me, then away as she put the kettle under the tap to fill it for herself. “Will you please sit down? You’re looming.”
Every instinct screamed to pace, to move, to do something, but I forced myself to drop into the armchair. Falkor padded over and licked at my hand in his version of silent support as we both waited for her to make tea. I stayed quiet, figuring she needed the ritual of it to settle herself.
A few minutes later, she sank down on the sofa, hands clasped around a speckled blue ceramic mug. “I haven’t been entirely honest with y’all.”
“I gathered that.”
Despite my effort to keep my tone gentle, she winced. “I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you the full story. I did come here to have some adventures and build a new life.”
“Away from who?”
Her eyes flicked up to mine. “My parents.” She sucked in a deep breath. “They’re… extremely overprotective. They mean well, but they’ve tried to put me in bubble wrap since I was diagnosed as a teenager. Nothing I do is ever without supervision or approval or commentary. They never want me to overdo, but by their standards, I can never really do anything. I just hit my wall with all of it. Saved up the money from my VA job with Paisley, made this plan, and came over here to start that new life. And I had to give my bodyguard the slip to do it.”
There were so many things I wanted to ask, but I prioritized the one question that likely had the most to do with her safety. “Why do you have a bodyguard?”
She flashed a humorless smile and sipped at the tea. “My family… is pretty prominent in the business world. Not just in Nashville or the US. Globally. Let’s just say my father has a lot of very prominent people in his Rolodex, and his reach is… long. The bodyguard thing started when I left for college, after some threats that had been made against my father. Threats that have never been acted upon, for the record. But Jade’s been with me ever since. She’s part bodyguard. Part assistant. Entirely my friend.” Parker paused and grimaced. “Or was before I completely betrayed her trust to come here.”
“If she’d sell you out to your parents, that’s hardly a friend.”
Parker shook her head, quick to defend. “It’s not like that. I know I put her in a really tough position, because they’re the ones who pay her salary. Officially, she has to answer to them. I don’t know what she’s told them.”
“Where do they think you are?”
“We were supposed to be taking a six-month trip around Europe together. Because she’s been with me for so long, she knows how to handle my… particular issues when they arise. So my parents finally agreed to let me go live a little. Have an adventure. They gave an inch, and I took an ocean.”
Issues. Diagnosis.
I looked at Falkor, resting patiently by her side. “He’s no’ just a pet. He’s a service dog.”
Parker reached down to scruff his ears. “Sort of. He failed out of the program for being too friendly. But he does have the training. Saoirse knew exactly what she was doing when she brought him to me.”
Did that mean Saoirse knew what health problems she was dealing with?
I bent forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “You’re no’ obligated to tell me what you’re dealing with, but I could help better if I knew.”
She hesitated. “I’ll tell you if it becomes relevant. Please?”
“Aye, fair enough.” I understood about keeping some things close. God knew I had my own demons I wasn’t ready to share. “I meant what I said before. Nobody’s going to force you to do anything. I understand about needing to get out from under the thumb of family.”
Her eyes sharpened with interest. “I feel like there’s a story there.”
Not one I wanted to get into now. “Perhaps another time. We’re talking about you. Now, I’m assuming Jade isnae likely to just give up because you said so.”
“No. Paisley’s been running interference for me since I got here, but that option has run its course. I know I’ll have to let her in on things, eventually. I’m just not ready yet.”
“We can talk to Alex. He can set up a means for you to communicate regularly with her without revealing your location.” When she hesitated, I pressed on. “He’ll do it without having to know all the details, if you dinna want to share them.”
“Okay.”
Because I couldn’t sit still any longer, I pushed to my feet. Parker rose when I did, setting her mug aside. Before I realized what she was doing, she’d wrapped her arms around my middle and pressed her head to my chest. I froze, caught between wanting to return the embrace and knowing I shouldn’t.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You have no idea how good it feels to have someone finally know the truth.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. How long had she been carrying this alone?
I gently closed my arms around her, figuring it made me a total bawbag if I didn’t hug her back. She relaxed against me, and we stood that way for far too long. One part of my brain debated when I ought to let her go, even as the other was cataloging the vanilla and lavender scent of her hair and the feel of her pressed against me, as if she belonged there. The thought should have terrified me, but instead it felt… right. The military had trained the need to protect into my bones, but with Parker, it went deeper than duty. It was personal in a way I wasn’t ready to examine too closely.
Eventually, she loosened her hold and stepped back. This time, the smile she gave reached her eyes. “You’re a good man, Callum Quinn.”
I didn’t know about that, but I was a man who believed in loyalty. For better or worse, Parker Lawrence had mine, and I’d stop at nothing to keep her safe.