Chapter 10
I t hadn’t sunk in yet. That was the only reason Callie figured she wasn’t completely flipping out about quitting four days ago.
Flipping out about walking into HR, handing in her gun and her badge, and walking out.
It hadn’t been quite that easy, of course.
She’d had mounds of paperwork to fill out, calls from colleagues and prior supervisors to field, and she’d had to wait until they officially cleared her.
But now, as she left DC behind in her rearview mirror, it all felt so… anticlimactic.
Well, part of it did. The one hitch in her giddy-up was Stella Zatoro, the owner of HICC.
She’d readily agreed to bring Callie on, only she’d insisted that Callie work out of the West Coast office.
She’d claimed they were undergoing renovations in the DC office, and they didn’t have the space.
But Callie had to wonder if Chad and Sabina played a part in that decision.
If they had, Callie decided to believe that they’d done so because they didn’t have anyone with her skill set in their office.
Not because Sabina was meddling. Something Leo once mentioned she liked to do.
Stella assured her, though, that the situation was only temporary.
And truth be told, Callie needed to speak with Gabriel again anyway.
She needed to ask him, once more, about Laura Nolan.
And now that she no longer carried the constraints that came with being an FBI agent, she could share Liza’s findings and suspicions.
Maybe then, he’d understand the situation better and be more willing to talk.
It rang enough times that Callie almost disconnected, but Daphne answered as she reached for the button.
“Sorry, had to finish a sentence,” Daphne said by way of greeting.
“We can talk later?”
“No, it’s always good to stop when I don’t want to. Makes me want to get back to it.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder?”
“Or it makes me forget how hard it is to string words together.”
Callie chuckled, then quieted.
“You’re never quiet. What’s going on?” her sister asked.
Callie hadn’t breathed a word of her plan to Daphne. She hadn’t wanted to risk it. The past four days were so out of character for her, and she’d worried that she might latch onto any excuse to backtrack—like her sister’s disapproval.
“I quit.”
Silence.
“Did you hear me?”
More silence.
“Daphne?”
“I’m sorry, did you say you quit ?”
Callie’s stomach twisted, bracing herself for the disapproval, the questioning, that would come next.
“I did. Four days ago.”
Another beat of silence passed, then Daphne laughed.
Callie frowned. “I quit my job that’s been my life for the past decade and you’re laughing ?”
“Sorry,” her sister said, catching her breath. “I mean, I know it meant a lot to you. And that you were good at it. You’re good at everything.”
“Not writing. I suck at that.”
“You’ve never set your mind to it, Cal.”
“But?” There was a “but” coming and she was 100 percent certain her sister was about to drop a truth bomb Callie didn’t want to hear.
“But despite how good you were at it—because, again, you’re good at everything—that job was never more than a way station.
A place you could hone your craft and build your skills while still having the reassurance, the safety net, of a structure.
And that structure gave you confidence, but it was never you . ”
Her heart stuttered, and she gripped the steering wheel. “What do you mean? You think I shouldn’t have gone into the FBI?”
“I think you love puzzles and justice and righting wrongs. And I think you made the best choice you could, given the circumstances. People like you and me don’t grow up without scars, and we do what we need to survive, physically and emotionally.
” She paused, her voice tinged with regret when she added, “And Mom and Dad did their best to grind you down. More than me.”
“Because you didn’t give them a chance,” Callie said.
“And that didn’t make it easier for you. When I left, I left you to the wolves.” Her voice trailed off as she spoke. “I’ve always regretted that. Back then, I hoped they’d realize that they’d already driven away one daughter and maybe, if they didn’t want to drive you away too, they’d change.”
“They were never going to change.”
Daphne sighed. “No, they weren’t.”
A mile ticked by before Callie spoke again. “I always wanted to be as brave as you, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“It didn’t feel brave at the time. I felt like a coward, running away from them. From you.”
Callie inhaled, then let it out with a huff. “I’ve never held it against you, you know. I’ve always admired you. Maybe we can agree that we both made the best decisions we could?”
“And when we know better, we make better choices?”
Callie thought that might be going too far. She had no clue if the choice she’d made was the better one. But she was committed. “Hopefully.”
“You’ve quit. You’re starting something new. So what are you doing? Driving somewhere, obviously.”
Callie adjusted her hands on the steering. “Now I’m going to start consulting with a private security company that is going to let me keep working on Liza’s case.”
“Perfect. You’ll get to do all the investigative puzzle-like things you love without bureaucracy breathing down your neck.”
“Only they want me in their office in California. Mystery Lake.”
This time, Daphne’s laugh was more of a husky chuckle. “Ah, the Fates can be a bitch, can’t they?”
“You have no idea.”
“You headed there now?”
“Yep, staying in Nashville tonight. Taking the southern route.”
“You have your stuff?”
“No, I put it all in storage. It’s temporary, so I found a furnished place to rent for a few months.” A cute little cabin she was lucky to find without having to pay an arm and a leg, given Mystery Lake was headed into ski season.
“You’ll drive safe?” Daphne asked.
“Of course.”
“And now that I know you’re on the road, I want you to check in every night.”
Callie made a face. “Nighttime here is like three in the morning for you—depending on where I’m calling from.”
“Then text when you get to the hotel and call in the morning.”
“You are such a big sister.”
Daphne snorted. “If the tables were turned, you’d have law enforcement in every town along the way checking in on me.”
Callie fought a grin and lost. “Probably. Fine, I’ll text and call. Love you.”
“Love you, too, and drive safe.”
They disconnected, and suddenly, the rumble of the road under her tires seemed a lot louder. With a sigh, she opened her audiobook app and pressed Play.