Visions of Taryn huddling behind the log pile in the storm flowed through Kane’s mind as he listened to them bickering, remaining silent himself. She’d been angry with him then, too, but she’d come to him. But that was different. That was before her trust in him had been completely annihilated.
“That little girl isn’t going to welcome the sight of any of you,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “You’re wasting your time. She’s clever and resourceful, and she’s been on the run for a long time. You keep underestimating her, and she keeps spanking your arses.”
Jake looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Are you actually suggesting we should just let her go?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. If she doesn’t want to be found, you’re not going to find her. You mark my words – that girl is holed up somewhere safe. Give her some time. If you force her hand, she might do something desperate.”
“Like run off into the mountains alone without proper equipment, clothing, or protection?” Jake spat out.
Jack shrugged, as if that just further proved his point. “She would’ve been safe and happy here if you hadn’t shown up and starting pissing all over each other.” He shook his head. “She’s smarter than the lot of you.”
“Well I just can’t do it,” said Jake. “Sorry, Dad, but I guess I just don’t have the faith in her survival skills that you do.”
“For once,” Kane said, surprising everyone, “Jake and I are in total agreement.”
Jack shook his head as Michael blocked the door. “Let them go, Michael. Maybe the cold air will cool them off.” Michael moved to the side with a look that clearly expressed how foolish he thought they were.
“Ian, Kieran, go with them,” Jack commanded when his two eldest sons had stalked through the door. “Those boys don’t have the sense the good Lord gave a tomcat.”
After everyone else had gone, the older man pulled out his cell phone again. Michael narrowed his eyes, looking suspiciously at him. Jack Callaghan was being unusually calm about this whole situation.
“You know where she is, don’t you?” he guessed.
Jack grinned. “At least one of my boys has something between his ears.”
“But how?”
Jack turned his cell phone around so Michael could see it. “See this? It’s a special GPS app. This is us...” he placed his finger on the grid. “... and this is Taryn.” He indicated a small red dot to the southwest, not far away.
Michael looked at his father with renewed respect. “You planted a tracker on her? When?”
“Back at the Pub, when you gave her that sedative. But mine was just a backup. She already had one on her.”
“How did you know, Dad?”
“Charlie Malone and I served in the SEALs together. Hadn’t heard from him in years, but he contacted me when he knew he didn’t have much time left. Told me about a young girl he’d taken under his wing, was worried what would become of her. Said he gave her the cross in case she ever ran off. He sent me a tracker app right before he died, and asked me to keep an eye out for her, that he’d left something that would send her our way. It’s got to be our girl.” He chuckled again. “The son of a bitch bought up the acreage next to ours, clever bastard.”
It was all beginning to make sense.
“I didn’t know her true identity, though,” Jack admitted. “That was a surprise. I’m not certain if Charlie did either, but Fate has a way of ensuring everything works out the way it was meant to. I wasn’t sure when or where, but I’ve no doubt Charlie got her where she needed to be. He sent me this.” Jack pulled a few neatly folded papers from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed them to Michael.
“Blueprints?”
“Charlie’s own personal bomb shelter,” Jack told him. “Built to hole someone up indefinitely, if they knew what they were doing. Charlie always believed in being prepared.”
“And that’s where Taryn is?”
“Aye. And she’ll find it well-stocked and ready for her.”
Michael smiled, shaking his head. No matter how old he got, his father would never fail to amaze him. “Are you going to tell the others?”
Jack shook his head, turning serious once again. “No, not yet. She fights like a little hellcat when she’s backed into a corner, and those fools will just scare her off right now. They need to get their heads on straight first. We’ll give her some time, let her cool down, but we’ll keep a close eye on her. She’ll be safe enough in the shelter awhile, until we can figure this out.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Each day, Taryn was increasingly amazed at the perfect little hideaway Charlie had created. She had known he had a gift for gadgets and inventions, but she had no idea just how brilliant he’d been.
The structure was almost completely self-sufficient. It had two separate fresh water supplies. Everything was powered by a combination of geothermal, solar, and wind energies. It had three entrances/exits, each of which was completely camouflaged.
Charlie’s notes were invaluable. He really had thought of everything.
It remained a mystery to her, though, just how well-stocked and clean the place was, as if someone had been keeping up with it. Maybe Charlie had at one time – he used to disappear for several days now and again – but he’d been gone a year now, and he’d been very ill for a while before that. What if someone else had found this place and was using it? Had Charlie told anyone else about it? What would happen if someone came and found her there?
She tried not to think too much about that, though. She would just have to have faith. Charlie had never let her down before.
After two weeks, Taryn convinced herself that enough time had passed, and that she should probably pick up a few more supplies while the mild weather held. Charlie had thought of that, too. He’d left a list of suggested supplies and suppliers, locations and phone numbers. He’d even had the foresight to set up an account to which to charge it all, so she didn’t have to provide any personal information of her own.
Still, she wasn’t sure she was ready to leave the warmth and security of her cozy new home. She’d had no reason to venture outside thus far, afraid that if she did, she would inadvertently draw attention to her hiding place. That was something she definitely did not want to do. She was tired of running, of pretending. And she really didn’t want to cross paths with any more damn Callaghans.
She was still pretty pissed at herself for naively believing that the universe was finally cutting her a break, putting her in the right place and the right time. It had been so easy, too easy, to see the hand of Fate in the events of the last few weeks: the car trouble that put her at Jake’s doorstep, the Homecoming rush and the fact that Jake’s regular tender had left him in a lurch, Kane’s fortuitous arrival at the Gas and Go.
Yeah, she was an idiot. They’d had an agenda all along, always one step ahead of her, and she had been too blinded by a bit of kindness to pick up on it. Damn it! How could she have been so stupid? How had she not seen it? When the three of them had stood together in Kane’s cabin, it was impossible not to see the family resemblance.
Taryn shook off those thoughts. Live and learn, right? Now she was smarter, wiser. What was done was done, and dwelling on it wasn’t going to ingrain the lessons she’d learned any deeper than they already were.
Taryn traversed through the underground tunnels to where a small Jeep had been stashed, taking deep breaths to calm herself as she went. Just keep your head down and get it done, she said to herself. With her loose, baggy men’s clothes, glasses, and baseball cap, she would hardly draw any admiring looks.
She travelled methodically from place to place, acquiring everything she needed. She figured she had to do this a few more times to be fully stocked for a long winter. Today was a test run. If all went well, she would return next week and the week after that until her task was complete. Then she would settle in for a long, peaceful hibernation.
Though she received a few mildly curious glances, no one
appeared to pay her any unusual attention. There was one close call when she could have sworn she spotted Shane parked across the street from the small mom-and-pop grocery store, but he didn’t give her a second glance.
Taryn allowed herself her first full breath when she returned safely to her little nest and began to unload. The first wave of dizziness hit her rather suddenly, and she was forced to sit down for a while. It passed after a few minutes, and she felt fine again. Chalking it up to the anxiety of the day, she finished unpacking the goods. Unusually tired, she made herself some soup and went straight to bed, glad that she didn’t have to answer to anyone or make excuses.
Another two weeks passed without incident. Taryn was completing her third journey into the small town at the base of the mountains. Other than feeling unusually tired, she felt fine. Despite the fact that she was going to bed early and sleeping late, she still found herself nodding off in the afternoon.
She supposed that’s what happened when you had nothing to do and nowhere to be. Even the smallest tasks seemed to wear her out. After returning from her trip, she only unpacked the perishables, not having the energy to do the rest. She curled up on the sofa under a down comforter and drifted off.
Taryn’s awakening was a rude one. She barely made it to the bathroom before violently dispersing the remnants of her much-earlier breakfast. Oh, great, she thought, laying her overheated cheek against the cool porcelain. The flu. At least she thought it was. The only other time she could remember being sick was when she had that awful pneumonia under Gavin’s care. She prayed she was not coming down with that again, but if she was, at least she had already picked up plenty of OTC medicines and a substantial supply of canned chicken broth.
Several days later, Taryn was quite sure she never wanted to be sick again. Everything she tried to eat came right back up again. She was so tired that she often just curled up on the bathroom floor with a pillow and a blanket rather than make the impossible journey out to the couch or, God forbid, the bed. She’d just be back in here again soon anyway.
* * *
“Another assignment, Dad?” asked Ian as Jack Callaghan carried the duffel bag across the kitchen and proceeded through the back door. The old man seemed to be taking off every few days or so. This time he’d been back less than a day, and now he was turning right around and heading out again.
Jack grunted in response, neither a confirmation nor a denial.
Reluctantly, they had returned to Pine Ridge in four-man shifts to keep the bar running, run intel, and gather as much information as possible. Kane remained at the cabin with the others, keeping a lookout for Taryn in the small town that catered to the few who made that area their home. After a couple of weeks had passed with no sightings, however, they feared that she was long gone. It didn’t stop them from searching, though. They would find her. The only questions were where and in what condition.
Jake poured another cup of coffee and spoke aloud the same words that had been rattling around in Ian’s mind: “He’s up to something.”
The old man had been very distracted lately - when he was around. Sometimes one of them would interrupt soft, guarded conversations between him and Michael. Michael, too, was looking more somber than usual these days.
“Think it’s got something to do with Taryn?” Ian asked as their father and brother conversed alongside their big black Expedition. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the look on Michael’s face grew darker by the minute.
Michael entered the kitchen, shot Jake a displeased look, then took the stairs two at a time, returning less than a minute later with a duffel of his own and his oversized med bag. Jake blocked his path. “What’s going on, Mick?”
Michael’s lips formed a thin line, his eyes flicking to where their father waited outside. The look Michael gave him spoke volumes. “Stay tight, Jake. Got it?”
Without another word, Michael stepped around him and joined their father at the truck. Moments later they were gone.
Michael’s warning to remain close and available sent his worry up another few notches. “Son of a bitch!” Jake hissed, banging his fist down hard on the table. “He’s known where she is all along.”
“How?” Ian wanted to know.
“I don’t know.” Jake was angry with himself for not realizing it sooner. Jack Callaghan would never have been so complacent if Taryn had really disappeared. He wouldn’t have left the mountain without her. As it was, he’d been conspicuously distant from the rest of them. If they hadn’t had their collective heads up their asses, spending every spare moment checking satellite images and taking turns searching the mountains, they would have seen it.
Nothing should have surprised him when it came to his father. The old man had more tricks up his sleeve than all of them combined. Except Michael was involved now, and for the first time since she’d disappeared, Jake had seen genuine concern on his father’s face.
Jake knew Ian had probably reached the same conclusion when he asked, “Think we should follow?”
That was exactly what Jake wanted to do. He trusted his family with his life, and Taryn’s. They would never allow anything to happen to her. But she was his woman. He knew this as certainly as he knew his own name. As much as he trusted his family, he needed to be there to see for himself that she was alright.
A single nod, and they were in motion, securing the Pub and on the road within ten minutes.
Several moments passed in silence. “Think she’s okay?” Ian finally asked.
“She has to be,” Jake answered, refusing to think about Michael holding that bag. Because that was the only answer he was capable of accepting.
* * *
Michael navigated the Expedition up the interstate. Jack Callaghan had spoken very little, his attention fixed on the small rectangular device in his hands. His fingers touched the screen now and then, his scowl deepening each time. Michael knew better than to question him. He’d know what he needed to when the time was right. But when his father started muttering oaths in Irish under his breath, his gut tightened.
Jack pulled out another mobile and pressed a button. “Kane.” There was a sense of urgency to his voice that hadn’t been there earlier. “I’m sending you coordinates. Speed is priority, stealth secondary.” He tapped a few more spots on the screen and exhaled forcefully.
“Perimeter’s been breached,” Jack told Michael grimly. “They’ve found her.”
Michael’s foot pressed down harder on the accelerator. “Any movement within?” He knew that Jack had been carefully monitoring the situation inside and outside of Charlie’s safe haven. The movement inside the facility, which he tracked with the chip in Taryn’s cross, hadn’t moved for more hours than he was comfortable with. Something was terribly wrong. Jack shook his head.
With another brief call, Shane and Kieran were en route as well, already nearby in the small town, keeping a lookout for Taryn and for any sign of non-locals. The Callaghans were well known up in the area, enough to be a part of the local network. Earlier in the week, a man claiming to be a hunter had arrived and was asking some unusual questions. They’d been on high alert ever since.
“You going to call Jake in?” Michael asked when his father put the phone down.
Jack smirked. “No need. They’re two minutes behind us.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The soft chime signaling that someone had tripped the hidden boundary wires tolled throughout the underground rooms. With substantial effort, Taryn opened her eyes and tried to push herself away from the gloriously cool tile on the bathroom floor, dragging herself to the monitors. How long had the alarm been sounding?
She squinted, rubbing her eyes several times in an attempt to focus. There – unnatural shadows, moving so slowly they were barely perceptible. Not a hunter, then. At least not the usual kind. Damn.
As quickly as she dared, she ensured the access tunnels were sealed, then proceeded to assemble a cache of weapons in the little control room, just in case. T
he timing sucked. Physically, she felt like crap, and mentally, she wasn’t faring much better. Even after nearly two months, the betrayal still left a bitter taste in her mouth. Damn those Callaghans for getting under her skin, and damn her for allowing it to happen. Years of living under the radar, all shot to hell with a crooked grin and a flash of the most amazing blue eyes she’d ever seen.
Looking back now, it was so obvious. Jake was much more than a bartender, as was his whole family. On the surface, they all held respectable jobs. But nature didn’t just make men like that to sit back and live normal, boring lives. Each of them was too strong, too powerful. They were good men, but inherently lethal.
Ironically enough, Kane had come the closest to actual honesty. He had told her that he was a mercenary, though that didn’t quite ring true either. For as much of a badass as Kane made himself out to be, she couldn’t see him taking on anything but noble causes. Not that the others had lied, exactly. They were guilty of sins of omission, more like.
Taryn shook her head, trying to dispel the dizziness that plagued her, made worse each time she imagined their probing stares or the silent, graceful way in which they moved. They were all like that, which should have tipped her off. And when they were together? It had a synergistic effect, each making the others stronger, until the whole became so much more than any one of them alone.
We only wanted to help you. Ian’s words echoed through her head. Goddammit. Goddamn them for almost making her believe someone could.
Another alarm sounded, ringing softly and harmonizing with the first. Taryn checked the location and frowned. Two trips, different locations. That was not good.
Taryn rubbed her fingers along the small gun in her palm. She kept it turned away from her, towards the door, in case she passed out again. She might not survive, but she wasn’t going to make it easy.
* * *
“He’s using some kind of sensor,” Kane reported quietly, the intruder locked in his sights. His voice was no louder than the softest breeze, but clearly audible through the high-tech ear pieces Ian had customized for them. The rest of the team – his brothers – were listening intently.
Dangerous Secrets: Callaghan Brothers, Book 1 Page 20
