Dangerous Secrets: Callaghan Brothers, Book 1

by Zanders, Abbie

  He had a protective streak a mile wide. Maybe he just wanted to make sure she got safely on her way and wasn’t going to hole up in the woods somewhere. Or maybe he was hoping that Shane, definitely the sweet-talker of the lot, could conveniently run into her and convince her to stay in town for a little while longer.

  But the little voice in her head – the one that had kept her alive for the last ten years – suggested another possibility. Maybe somehow – against all probability – they had figured out who she really was. How they would have done that, she couldn’t fathom, but she did know that there was a lot more to the Callaghan brothers than met the eye. It was the way they moved, silent and graceful with complete economy of motion. The way each of them held an air of supreme confidence without arrogance, like they knew they were simply the best, period. The way they seemed to communicate with each other without a single spoken word. It reminded her of the secret service agents she’d seen whenever her father had a meeting with the President.

  Had they somehow discovered her true identity? She had to at least consider the possibility. Even if they didn’t know specifics, they might, at the very least, suspect that there was something “off” about her unusual behavior.

  The more important question was, what side did that put them on? Everything inside her told her they were good men, but could she take that chance? While her heart screamed “Yes!”, her more logical head disagreed. At this point, her head was a lot more reliable than her heart, which currently resembled little more than a shredded mess.

  Her mind worked frantically. She could not afford to make a decision based on emotion right now. The most important thing was to get out of this situation and then she could think about this calmly and rationally.

  Taryn took a deep breath to steady herself. Shane hadn’t recognized her at first, unable to see past all the props. She silently patted herself on the back for having the foresight to go the extra mile, thinking earlier that it was a little over-the-top. The ridiculous get-up had bought her some valuable time. But then he’d come tearing out of the store and she knew that he’d made the connection. Worse, now he knew exactly what to look for. It wasn’t like she could just blend in now. Sometimes the old adage about hiding in plain sight was nothing more than a load of bullshit.

  Crouching close to the ground, she peeked around the big tire carefully. Shane was jogging along the section where the big 18-wheelers were parked on the other side of the lot. She was just about to make a run for it when another truck pulled up alongside him. Taryn cursed when she recognized Kieran. Shane must have called him for backup. Which meant others might be on their way, too.

  “Oh, just fuck me,” she whispered angrily.

  “Now there’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” said a deep male voice behind her. Taryn froze, afraid to turn around. If the depth of his voice and the size of his shadow was any indication, he was huge. She briefly considered diving beneath the undercarriage of the truck and coming out the other side, but a massive hand reached down and grabbed hold of her wrist before she could move more than an inch or so.

  * * *

  Kane Callaghan was tired and sore and cranky. He’d been back in the country for less than a week and out of the hospital for less than twenty-four hours. All he wanted was some peace, quiet, and solitude at the family compound in the mountains. He couldn’t even bring himself to hit Jake’s, and he felt more at home there than anywhere. He deemed himself unfit for human company, at least until he got what was left of his shredded soul back together. Jack Callaghan knew that. For his father to call him in like this, it had to be serious.

  He didn’t have all the details; his father had been very stingy with the information, probably for security reasons. Kane didn’t take it personally. He trusted his father and brothers implicitly. He would know what he needed to when he needed to know it.

  For now, he knew there was a woman involved, and Kane groaned at the thought. By nature, females were overemotional and unpredictable. Men, at least, tended to be logical. Jack also said the woman was running scared and blind, which in Callaghan code meant she needed protection, but didn’t want it, and would be wholly uncooperative. To Kane, that translated into “huge pain in the ass”. Helping someone was one thing. Doing it against their will and without their knowledge was something else entirely. He wondered vaguely if he had any more tranq darts left in his personal stash.

  On top of all this, some punk teen was hiding behind his truck. Probably a thief, maybe a druggie looking for a quick buck to score. He didn’t need this shit, he thought as he scanned the lot and spotted Shane, obviously searching through the parked rigs on the other side. Which meant he’d lost the package already. Great.

  “You want to tell me what you’re doing by my truck?” he demanded.

  “Package in transit,” Shane’s voice spoke softly through the tiny earpiece he wore. Yeah, no shit, thought Kane as Kieran appeared, too.

  “Re-wrapped. Think Elvira, but cute.” Kane blinked, looking down at the kid again. No, not a kid. A small woman. It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

  “Crimson hair, lots of piercings, rocking the Goth look,” Shane added.

  Yep, this was his package. Well, wasn’t this just his fucking lucky day?

  * * *

  His voice resonated through her like a rumble of thunder, rattling her teeth. She looked up at him and her mouth immediately went dry. He was huge, and powerfully built. It was impossible to make out his features; his face was shadowed by the cowboy hat he wore, and the sun was directly behind him, making him little more than a big dark spot to her squinting eyes.

  Taryn stuttered for a moment, feeling the power of his stare. The man turned his head, looked around, then back down at her. Had she been able to see his face, she suspected she would have seen a frown creasing it. She heard it clearly enough in his voice, though.

  “You running from someone, darlin’?”

  Taryn didn’t trust herself to speak. The man terrified her. He was easily twice her size and his grip was like iron. If she moved the wrong way her wrist would snap. She didn’t have a lot of options. Maybe she could play on his sympathy a little, do the helpless female thing. The thought was abhorrent to her, but nothing brilliant was leaping into her head at that moment. She gave him a slight nod.

  She tugged, a silent request for him to release her, but his grip didn’t lessen in the slightest as he resumed his scan of the parking lot. “Two big fellas, black hair?”

  She nodded again.

  “Are they cops?” he asked, his tone holding more than a hint of suspicion.

  She shook her head. At least not as far as she knew. Though come to think of it, she had no idea what they did for a living. They might very well be policemen. They did have that certain air of authority about them.

  The big guy watched them for a few moments, probably trying to make up his mind. “Ah, hell,” he cursed then, opening up the driver’s side door. “Never did have enough sense to mind my own goddamned business. Get in.”

  Taryn gaped at him as if he’d lost his mind. One side of his mouth tilted up in a smile. “The devil you know or the devil you don’t,” he said, clearly amused. “Hell of a choice, ain’t it, sweetheart?”

  As he moved to the side, she caught a glimpse of his face. It wasn’t scarred and haggard like she thought it would be. It was actually quite nice. Clean shaven and smooth, but with very strong, masculine features. No one would ever call this man pretty.

  “Not that you have any reason to trust me,” he said, “but I won’t hurt you.” As if in a show of good faith, he released her wrist. She briefly considered making a run for it, but if she did, Kieran and Shane would see her for sure.

  Taryn snatched her hand back quickly, rubbing the skin and cowering away from him. She couldn’t see his eyes through his mirrored shades, but she could feel his impatient glare plainly enough.

  “Whatever,” he shrugged, sliding in behind the wheel. “Good luck to you, then
.” He turned the key and the motor roared to life. “Oh, just so you know, they’re headed this way.”

  Taryn looked desperately around her. Once the big truck moved away she’d be out in the open. Making a split second decision, one she hoped would not result in her untimely death, she swung her pack into the truck and launched herself in after it, flattening herself across the stranger’s lap commando style until she wriggled into the passenger side floor space.

  For a brief moment Taryn experienced a flash of panic as she realized that if something bad did happen at the hands of this stranger, no one would ever know. She blocked the thought before it paralyzed her completely, grasping at her cross and forcing herself to think positively.

  Besides, the snarky part of her brain reminded her, no one even knows you exist.

  * * *

  Kane bit back a groan as she moved across him, sliding over parts that after being out of commission for a while were more than ready for active duty. He held up his hands, suddenly itchy, to avoid touching any part of her. He couldn’t help looking though, instantly sorry he did. Damn it! He did not need this shit.

  Tamping down those thoughts, he casually pushed his jacket from the seat to cover her as he began to pull forward. “Stay down,” he commanded quietly.

  Kane exchanged a quick but confirming glance with his brothers as he drove slowly past them.

  His package remained on the floor even once the vehicle was travelling at highway speeds. He kept glancing over her way until he finally saw her peeking back at him over the collar of his coat.

  Despite his irritation over drawing this unwanted assignment, Kane bit back a smile. With those glowing eyes outlined in black she reminded him of a little raccoon cub. “Come on up then,” he rumbled. “I’m not going to bite.”

  Slowly, Taryn crawled onto the bench seat, sliding as close against the passenger door as possible. He wasn’t even sure why she bothered. His arms were long enough to reach her easily, should that become necessary. He hoped it wouldn’t.

  He stole sideways glances at her every now and then. She was as still as a stone, not moving an inch, clutching her pack like a life preserver.

  “Not much of a talker, are you?” he said finally. She shook her head.

  “Good,” he said approvingly. “I hate chatty females.”

  If she kept this up, he thought, this mission might not be as bad as he’d thought.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Taryn tried to remain vigilant, but found her eyes closing of their own accord after a while. The hum of the engine and the warmth of the cab conspired against her. The stranger had made no further attempts at conversation. He barely seemed to acknowledge her at all, in fact. It was almost soothing, in a Twilight Zone kind of way. Though she promised herself if she started hearing Rod Serling voice-overs in her head, she was diving right out the door.

  “Hey.” His deep, booming voice – like a rumble of thunder - vibrated through her chest from the other side of the truck. It took her a minute to realize that they weren’t moving anymore. She opened her eyes to find the side of her face pressed up against the window.

  “I need to gas up and take a leak. Stay or go, do whatever you need to.” Then he stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind him.

  She blinked at the sudden burst of brightness from the inside dome light. He was nothing if not blunt, she thought. Taryn stretched out some of the kinks as she assessed her surroundings. The sky was black, the moon just a hint of light behind some dark clouds. It felt late. Opening the door, she dropped down onto the asphalt without making a sound.

  The air was chilly and damp, the promise of a storm all around her. If she was smart, she would disappear into the night while she could. But her logical side reminded her that she had no idea where she was, and it was the middle of the night with a storm approaching. Did she really want to be stuck alone out here? And really, the stranger hadn’t been all that bad. If he’d meant to do her harm he could easily have done so a hundred times over by now.

  Maybe it was because of the day she’d had, but there was something oddly comforting about him. Despite everything, she actually felt kind of safe in his presence. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she refused to overanalyze it. She was just too damn tired.

  The drugs Michael gave her must still be in her system, she rationalized as she grabbed her bag and forced one foot in front of the other. Some meds took several days to work themselves out of the body, and he did say that it had been some serious stuff he’d shot into her. Without her full wits about her, she wasn’t sure heading off into the unknown alone was her best option.

  The lights of the rest stop beckoned, and she dragged herself toward the brick building. Thankfully, no one else was in the ladies restroom. Catching a glance of herself in the mirror, she gasped. She looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie. Her liner and mascara were smudged, the finely drawn shapes now nothing but darkened patches where she had pressed up against the window. And the light turquoise contacts were freaking her out a little.

  She ran the hot water until it was steaming, using the time to remove all of her “piercings”, which were really magnetically backed pieces that only looked like the real thing. She washed away all the makeup, even going so far as to dip her head into the sink and remove as much of the dark red gel as possible. The hot-air hand dryer proved a decent alternative to a blow dryer, allowing at least a partial dry.

  When she was done, she appraised herself critically in the mirror. The dye had seeped into her golden hair, giving her intriguing, irregular streaks the color of a candy apple. She changed from her black Goth gear to a soft, comfortable cotton T-shirt and jeans, trading her spikes for her Reeboks. The familiar clothes went a huge way in making her feel more like herself, though she wasn’t even sure she knew who that was anymore.

  With a sigh she pulled the GPS out of her pack and waited for it to acquire a satellite link. When it did, she studied the signal for a few minutes, pleasantly surprised to see that it placed her more than halfway to where she had intended on going anyway. She wrapped up the small device and stuck it back into the bottom of her pack. Taking a deep breath, she headed back outside, wondering if the stranger had gotten tired of waiting and decided to continue on without her, wondering what she would do if he had.

  She spotted him off to the side easily enough, feeling a little wave of relief. Other than two darkened rigs parked way in the back, his was the only vehicle in the rest area. The stranger didn’t recognize her at first. He stood by the truck, no doubt waiting to see what she had decided. She noticed that he held a tray with two cups of coffee and a bag of donuts. He glanced at her once as she crossed the lot, then twice more before recognition dawned. The corners of his mouth twitched.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” he said. “It is you, isn’t it?”

  She nodded, shifting her weight nervously from one side to the other. “Talkative as ever, I see,” he chuckled. “You decide what you want to do?”

  She nodded again, biting her lip. She looked toward his truck, then back at him. He didn’t seem quite as scary anymore, but the heavenly smell of the coffee and donuts might have had something to do with that.

  Want some candy, little girl? An evil voice sounded in her head, a residual sound-bite from her cartoon-watching days. She swept that thought under her mental rug along with every other horror-based imagery she’d concocted in the last few hours.

  The man grunted. “Well, come on then,” he said, waving her into the truck. “Can’t stand here bullshitting all night now, can we?”

  Her mouth curved in a small grin. He stared at her for a moment, as if surprised to actually see her smile, then opened the door for her. She didn’t fail to notice the slight grimace as he did so. Was he injured?

  Taryn managed to stay awake this time. The caffeine and sugar helped. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. Judging by the road signs, they continued to head northwest, which was fortunate. She kept her eyes
peeled for anything that might prove useful later. At some point in the very near future she would need to acquire some form of transportation as well as a cache of supplies. And if she was really lucky, she’d pick up some temporary work to earn a few more bucks before she had to hunker down for the winter.

  “Name’s Kane,” the stranger said out of the blue. “I don’t suppose you want to tell me yours.”

  “Kiara,” she said quietly, catching him off-guard. The name sounded strange on her lips. No one had called her that for a very long time. She wasn’t that girl anymore. The real Kiara Fitzpatrick died years ago, according to the Google search she’d done in a public library outside of Reno. At least then she understood why no one had come looking for her.

  She didn’t know why she told him her birth name. Probably because he would never believe she would. It made sense in some twisted, ass-backwards kind of way.

  He grunted again. She was beginning to understand that it was a sound of approval, or of acceptance at the very least. “Well, Kiara, we’re coming up on the last exit before I get off the interstate. I can drop you off there, or take you with me.”

  * * *

  Kane said the words, but they were meaningless. She didn’t really have a choice, but she had to think she did. If she opted for the wrong one, well, there always were those tranqs...

  She shot him a nervous glance. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head, calculating her odds either way. For a long moment, silence stretched between them. He decided to sweeten the pot a little.

  “This time of night, though, I can’t see any decent place being open.” He flicked another glance her way. “I have a hunting cabin about twenty miles in,” he continued. “But it’s isolated, far away from everyone and everything, because that’s the way I like it.”

  She shot him a concerned look. “I’m not saying that to scare you,” he said. “Just wanted you to know.” He dangled the information like bait in front of her. If she trusted him, which so far she seemed to, then an isolated place to hang would appeal to her.