Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Callie’s heart tapped a fast rhythm in her chest. She’d said she could do this, but the closer they got to Bridge Street Town Center in Huntsville, the more nervous she was.
Nikki was on her way to Kentucky with her trainer, Lisa, as well as Amelia and Evelyn, two of the other teenagers who rode at the stables. Fortunately, Nikki liked Amelia and Evelyn, and their moms were reasonable human beings who didn’t expect their child to win all the ribbons and get all the attention. When Callie had told her sister she’d changed her mind, after clearing it with Lisa, Nikki was so happy she bounced around the house for a good five minutes. Then she went to her room to start packing what she’d need.
When she’d said goodbye this morning, she’d hugged Callie extra hard and thanked her again. Then she’d whispered in Callie’s ear. “Use protection. Remember to hydrate. Bowchickawowow,” she’d finished in a sing-song voice.
Callie had blushed and swatted her, but Nikki had cackled all the way out the door. Seth had been standing in the cased opening to the kitchen, coffee in hand. He’d looked at her with a lifted brow when she’d turned his way, but she’d pretended not to notice. No way did she plan to tell him what Nikki had said.
Luna had followed Nikki to the door, tail wagging as Nikki gave her scratches before she was gone.
At least Nikki had fallen for Luna on sight. She’d wanted Luna to sleep with her, but Seth had said it was better if she stayed with Callie since that was who she’d bonded with at the kennel. He’d then explained that after she’d acclimated to them and the house in a week or two, she’d be able to roam around and choose where she wanted to sleep. Nikki had accepted it with ease, especially when she considered that she’d be gone all weekend and Luna would be sleeping with Callie anyway.
The dog had been a comfort last night. After she’d texted fake-Mikhail back and set the meeting, it was like the gravity of the situation started to press on her. Sure, she’d believed Mikhail had ordered the fire to intimidate her, and Seth and the One Shot Tactical guys had given the theory enough credence that they’d started to help her immediately.
But it’d seemed less immediate somehow, though still terrifying. Almost like she was an observer viewing it from above after the fact.
Now she was down in it, right in the middle, and her nerves were shot raw. Had been since yesterday when the plan was made. Luna had seemed to know something was up because she’d stayed close all evening. Then she’d hopped up on the end of the bed and curled into a ball while Callie tried to read a book before she went to sleep.
She knew that Luna wasn’t a trained guard dog, but Seth was right that having a dog was a good idea. Especially a dog like Luna who looked menacing even if she wasn’t.
They hadn’t left her at the house alone tonight because the situation was still new to her and they didn’t know if she’d be anxious. Seth said they needed to acclimate her first, so Daphne had agreed to take her for a couple of hours until they were done at Bridge Street.
“You’ve got this, Callie,” Seth said. “You go in, get a drink, sit at one of the tables against the wall with your back to it. Kane is already there, saving the table for you. He’ll give the table to you, throw his drink away, and walk out. Then he’ll stand outside and watch the door. I’ll be at the magazine rack, observing. Ethan’s at another table, reading a book. The other guys are in the parking lot watching the door. They’ll follow the target after the meeting.”
There was that word again. “And if the goal is to take me with him?”
“He’s not going to be able to do it. We’ll stop him if he tries. But he won’t. That’s the point of a public meeting. If he wanted to take you, he’d have suggested somewhere quieter. He’s doing this to make you comfortable—and probably to make sure you don’t have a tail.”
She was supposed to act natural when the person who showed up wasn’t Mikhail. Surprised, but curious. Maybe even a little hesitant to talk. All the things she would be if she’d had no prior knowledge of Mikhail’s death.
That part worried her. She wasn’t an actress, so what if she wasn’t surprised enough? Or what if she was too surprised? She’d said that to the guys, but they’d told her it was better to underplay it than overplay it. Just be as natural as she could be. Let them do the rest.
“I feel like I’m in a spy movie. And you know what? I don’t like it.” She drummed her fingers on the armrest as Seth turned into the parking lot for the mall. It was an outdoor mall with a central cobbled walkway that ran between shops. There were trees and park benches, performers playing music, restaurants, an upscale hotel, and a movie theater. The bookstore was at one end of the complex, facing the parking lot. You didn’t have to walk into the mall area to get to it.
Since it was after five, the parking garage nearest the bookstore, below the main lot, was open, and Seth took the ramp down. That was for the office buildings that sat to one side of the mall during the day. At night and on weekends, the parking was free and accessible without a badge. Callie worked not too far from here and often came over for lunch or to grab new books or do a little shopping, so she was familiar with all the parking areas.
Seth drove to where he could see the stairwell and elevator that led up to the ground level. His eyes speared into hers. “Don’t use the elevator. Walk up the stairs and go straight to the store. I’ll go back up and park on the ground level.”
Callie nodded. They’d discussed this. He was dropping her off so nobody would see them together. He’d come into the store a few minutes after her, but Kane and Ethan were already there. And the other guys were above, watching the entrance to the store.
But what if it went wrong? What if the person who’d killed Mikhail—the person presumably waiting for her—was smarter than they were? What if it really was like a spy novel and somebody stabbed her with a poisoned umbrella tip? She could die, and Nikki would be all alone.
Not acceptable.
She was going to sound crazy, but she didn’t care. She only cared about making sure Nikki would be okay.
“If this doesn’t work out, take care of Nikki for me. I don’t mean be her parent, but help her and make sure she ends up with decent people?—”
She didn’t get to finish the sentence because he leaned toward her, hooked her neck with one big hand, and dragged her mouth to his. Then he was kissing her, and Callie’s wits scattered to the four corners of the earth.
His tongue was hot, demanding, and she kissed him back with an urgency that surprised her. She was instantly, unequivocally, wet. Ready. So damn ready.
His fingers spread over her jaw, his other hand joining to cup her face between those big hands as he held her and kissed the sense and worry right out of her. He broke the kiss gently, not abruptly, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Then he let her go and leaned back.
All he’d done was kiss her and she was ravaged. Her soul ached, craving more than he’d given. Her body was primed. If he tossed her in the backseat and dragged her jeans down her body, she wouldn’t stop him.
She should, but she wouldn’t. That’s how starved she was for touch and connection. How lonely she was.
“Why?” she managed to croak.
He skimmed the back of his fingers over her cheek and smiled. That devastating smile that was so rare. The one that shocked her with its magnificence whenever she saw it.
“Because you needed distracting, Callie. You’re going to be fine. I want you to think about that kiss while you walk up those stairs. Think about my tongue in your mouth as you head for the bookstore. Imagine where else you’d like it as you stand in line for your drink. Don’t think about bullshit like never seeing your sister again because that’s not happening. Think about me and how good it felt to kiss me. How good it’d feel to do more.”
Storm clouds brewed inside her, mixing with the feel-good sensations still pinging through her system. That kiss had felt amazing, and she wanted more.
But she wasn’t some desperate woman needing attention so badly a man could do whatever he wanted to her. She’d been shocked and she’d kissed him back, but she wasn’t going to fall into bed with him like he was doing her a favor and she should be grateful.
She started to open her mouth to tell him off, but he stopped her with a finger under her jaw. “Save the pissy attitude for later. Channel your annoyance into battle armor and keep it locked in place. You can tell me to go to hell when we’re on the way back to Sutton’s Creek. Can you do that?”
There were so many things she wanted to say. But now wasn’t the time.
“Yes.”
He grinned. “Good. Now get your cute ass up those stairs and march into the bookstore like a queen looking for a throne. You got this.”
Callie was still fuming as she made the trip to the store. Tingling too. Arrogant man.
It was a short walk to the stairs, up a flight, a right, past the Cheesecake Factory and then a left into Barnes and Noble. The mall was crowded and it was still light out, though the sun was rapidly falling toward the horizon. People milled around, enjoying the weather. Evenings were nice, though it could get damn hot during the day.
Callie was hot now, but for a different reason. Her skin was on fire from that single kiss. She wasn’t a virgin, for heaven’s sake, so why had one kiss from a man with Hollywood good looks affected her like she was still that awkward girl Bobby Bowen took to the homecoming dance? Like she was filled with hope and happiness and need until the moment it all came crashing down?
But Tara Warren wasn’t lurking with a camera, waiting to step in and humiliate her. Nobody cared if she kissed Seth. So why the pounding heart and skin that felt just a few degrees shy of the surface of the sun? The pounding heart might be what she was about to do, but the heat was a different matter.
He’d said to think about him. About the kiss. To stop worrying.
It was the only reason he’d kissed her, and maybe that’s why she was so angry about it. It’d felt like heaven to her, but it was part of the job to him. She was part of the job. He was with her because he’d been the one sent to be there. It could just as easily have been Kane if he’d been at the range when she’d first asked for him.
Callie steeled her spine and walked with purpose toward the bookstore. She scanned the crowd but recognized no one. Not even the guys from One Shot Tactical. But they were supposed to be inside anyway. The three in the parking lot she wouldn’t see unless she went looking for them, and that was definitely not what she was supposed to do.
She entered the store as directed and went to order a drink. The line was long, but it was only seven-thirty. She was supposed to get her drink and take the table. Then she would wait.
She spotted Kane. He had one of the tables against the wall and he sat with his back against it, drinking a coffee and reading a book. She had the idea that he wasn’t really reading at all, that he was instead watching the crowd, but she didn’t know how he was doing it.
His presence made her feel better, and she could feel her muscles loosen by a fraction.
Ethan was there too. It took her a minute to see him because she couldn’t obviously look around, but he was at a table nearer the door, facing Kane, a magazine in his hand.
She didn’t have to be here. She could have said she wasn’t going to do it. She could have set the meeting up and waited at home with Seth, texting that she was running late, while they watched for the person who was on his phone and annoyed.
But it wouldn’t have been as straightforward. And she wanted this person found and stopped so she could live a normal life again.
Except a corner of her brain kept telling her that she should have run when she had the chance. That somebody had killed Mikhail and they weren’t playing around. No matter that Seth said she’d be safe, part of her quaked at the idea of coming face-to-face with a potential killer.
She was a computer programmer, not an international spy. She was not cut out for this at all.
Callie managed to get her drink and then sort of wandered into the seating area. The tables were full, but Kane started clearing his like he was about to go. She started toward him but a woman with a determined look suddenly dragged a man in that direction.
Callie wasn’t going to get there first. What was she supposed to do if she didn’t get the table? She was paralyzed by the thought as the couple moved closer before she could.
But Kane stopped what he was doing and leaned against the wall again, taking out his phone and scrolling through it. Then he picked up his cup and took a sip. The woman stopped barging her way toward him and turned with a huff before dragging the man in another direction.
Callie waited a few seconds, then started in that direction again. She walked past Kane, who didn’t look at her, then turned and looked around again. The café was crowded, and she was beginning to despair of things working the way they were supposed to when she made herself drift past Kane’s table again.
“Ma’am? Are you looking for a place to sit?”
She stumbled to a halt. “Y-yes.”
He motioned at the empty chair. “Take that one. I’m leaving in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay, thank you.” She pulled the chair out and sat, then got her phone from her crossbody bag and started to scroll. Kane didn’t talk to her, but her heart pounded anyway. She forced herself not to look at him. Eventually, he picked up his book and cup and stood. Then he walked away without a word.
Callie let out a long breath as she picked up her cup with a trembling hand. She really needed to get a hold of herself. Why was she so wigged out? She’d never been that wigged out about meeting Mikhail, though she’d certainly been tense as time went on and it became clear he wanted things from her she wasn’t comfortable providing.
She wished she’d never met him. Wished her parents hadn’t died—she still wondered if Mikhail had anything to do with it, and that made her sick inside—and that she hadn’t had to move back to the US and take custody of Nikki.
She also wished she’d never heard of Griffin Research Labs.
Callie told herself to breathe. She should have grabbed a book to look at, but she hadn’t been thinking. So she read on her phone instead while glancing up to check out the store from time to time.
She didn’t have to look up to know that Seth was there. She could feel him, which was a weird thing to think. But she could. On her next perusal of the store, she spotted him at the magazine rack, flipping through… Was that a gun magazine? She dropped her gaze again, sipped her drink, and stared at the words on her screen, unable to make them resolve into anything that made sense.
Seth. What the heck was it about Seth—grumpy, handsome, gorgeous, tortured Seth—that had her twisted into knots? He’d been at her house for two nights. She’d spent hours with him, in the same room, or in his truck, riding to Madison for Luna or to the range for equipment and his belongings.
And then there was the first night when she’d found him outside, on the ground, in pain because Nikki made him think of the child he’d lost. That had been the moment when something inside her cracked open.
She wanted to know more. Had he been married? Had it torn through his relationship? What happened to his daughter? None of those were questions she had a right to ask.
She thought he must have been very young when it happened. Barely more than a teenager himself.
Callie sipped her drink and looked at her phone. The minutes ticked by. Eight o’clock came and went, but she remained in her seat because she didn’t know what else to do.
She was going to have to pee soon. That was something she hadn’t thought about. She looked up again, saw Seth on his phone. He didn’t look happy. Ethan was still in his chair, but he wasn’t reading a book anymore. He was texting.
Callie’s heart beat a little faster as she tried not to panic or stare too much at what Seth was doing. He looked angry. Why was he angry?
By eight-fifteen, her bladder was full and her throat was dry, despite the liquid she’d consumed. If fake-Mikhail didn’t turn up in the next fifteen minutes, she was texting Seth and telling him she was done waiting.
Ten more minutes went by, and nobody appeared. There were plenty of people who stood in line at the café, but nobody who seemed to be looking for her. People got their drinks and snacks and either found a table or took them elsewhere. No one asked to sit with her.
When her phone rang, she jumped. But it was only Seth.
“Yes?”
“He’s not coming. Need you to send a text asking where he is, because that’s what you would do when somebody didn’t show up for a meeting, then you need to wait a few minutes and head back down to the rendezvous point. I’ll pick you up.”
“Okay, but I’ve been sitting here for nearly fifty minutes with a drink that’s completely gone, and I need to head to the restroom before I cause a different kind of scene.”
“Understood. Send the text, wait, then go to the bathroom. Ethan will keep an eye on you. Meet me in the garage in—” He looked at his watch. “Twelve minutes. Can you do that?”
“Yes. Did something happen?” He’d looked angry when he was on the phone, and though her bladder was taking up a great deal of her thoughts right now, she remembered to ask.
“I’ll tell you in the truck. Do what I told you, Callie. Time for talking later.”
Before she could say goodbye, he’d hung up on her.