Callahan's Fate

by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

  “Callahan?”

  “I’m right here, doll.”

  “Come here, please.”

  Once he settled down on the bed facing her, she took his hand and held it. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Are you going to use me as bait?”

  “No,” he said. “God, no. If you were listening, you heard me say I wouldn’t.”

  “I was, but I want you to do it.”

  “Raine, forget it.” No way in hell did he intend to put her out there as a target.

  “But Pop said…”

  His voice came out as a growl. “Forget what he said. He’s an old man, he doesn’t know.”

  “You asked his advice, and that’s what he told you.”

  “He said me or you as bait. I’m not taking the risk with you, baby.”

  Her lips slanted upward into a smile. “I’m glad you feel that way, but you might have to, Callahan.”

  “Not happening,” he told her. “Are you feelin’ better?”

  Raine wrinkled her nose. “A little bit. I still have a headache, though.”

  “If you’re ready to eat, I thought we could order a pizza.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not very hungry at all.”

  Callahan studied Raine with close scrutiny. She appeared paler than usual, and although he didn’t doubt her head hurt, he didn’t think she suffered from any illness. A worry line furrowed between her eyebrows, though. Her lethargy and lack of appetite concerned him enough to ask, “Doll, what’s really wrong?”

  Her lips pursed up into a pout, pretty enough he wanted to kiss them. Callahan didn’t.

  “I told you, a bad headache.”

  “That’s not all of it.”

  He waited, and after a few seconds, her eyes filled up with tears. “I’m really scared, Callahan.”

  “The fear factor’s nothing new, baby. We’ve been living with this shit hanging over us for weeks now. What’s got you so freaked out?”

  Raine exhaled hard. “The way your grandfather talked about the situation and what could happen, so matter-of-fact and without any doubt at all. I guess it brought everything home to me. I’ve been scared all the time, sure, but now I’m terrified.”

  Earlier, she had called the old man Pop, now she said “your grandfather.” Callahan noted the change. “He didn’t mean to upset you,” he told her. “You weren’t meant to listen. I know he can be a handful, but I love him, you know?”

  “I do,” she said. “I like him a lot.”

  “That’s good to know. But he didn’t say anything different from what I have, so what got you spooked?”

  She shivered, although it wasn’t cold in the apartment. “I don’t know. I just…well, he made it sound like whatever happens will be soon.”

  “Yeah.” He’d thought the same and didn’t care for it either. “But it’s good in a way, so it’ll be over and done with.”

  When she closed her eyes, he thought she might be about to cry, and he wasn’t too far wrong. Tears escaped down both cheeks, but she held back any sobs. “Maybe I should have agreed to go home.”

  If she left now, it would be like ripping away part of his body or carving his heart into halves. Callahan would miss her, but if she wanted to go, he would put her on a plane. “Do you want to, doll?”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t. But I can see now why it might have been a good idea.”

  Their fingers curled tighter together as he tried to figure out what he could say to offer comfort. Raine spoke first. “How’s your eye?” she asked. Her free hand lifted to touch it, light and easy.

  “Aw, it’s not bad now,” he said. With the swelling down, the multicolored bruising looked worse than it felt. “It’s all right.”

  “Your grandpa didn’t say anything about it.”

  “He noticed, believe me, he noticed.”

  With sudden hindsight, Callahan realized he’d had the perfect place to keep Raine safe, but failed to think of it. “I should’ve left you with Pop,” he told her. “You could’ve stayed there till this is over.”

  Her eyes blazed with angry fire. “No way. We’re in this together.”

  He pretended not to understand. “Didn’t you like him?”

  “Your pop?” Raine asked. “Of course I did. But that doesn’t mean I wanted him to babysit me like I’m five years old. I’m going to work tomorrow, too, Callahan.”

  His heart lost its rhythm, and his gut clenched tight. The stubborn jut of her jaw warned him she had her mind made up. “I wish you wouldn’t, doll.”

  “Well, I am.”

  Callahan sighed long and deep. “Okay. At least tell me where you work, then.”

  She glanced down at the bed before she answered. “In the morning, I’m in the Bronx at a juvenile detention center and then a drug rehab facility. Then I go to the upper West Side for a homebound student, then down to Little Italy to a halfway house, then to a hospital in the Financial District. Then I’m done.”

  The fuckin’ Bronx? Didn’t she realize she would be walking in Snake’s home territory? Callahan counted to three, then said, “Okay. Just make sure I have the addresses, just in case, you know?”

  Her harsh expression lightened. “I will, Callahan. I was afraid you’d be mad at me.”

  He shook his head. “No, just worried, that’s all. If you’re working, you ought to eat something. If you don’t want the pizza, I’ll make something.”

  “I need a shower, and no, I’m not into pizza right now.”

  “Fair enough,” he said. “Go clean up, and I’ll make sandwiches.”

  Raine let go of his hand and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She lifted an eyebrow. “What kind? I don’t think there’s any deli meat left.”

  God, he adored her sass, all the more now after she’d been so pensive. “Doll, trust me, I can manage a coupla sandwiches.”

  She blew him a kiss as she gathered up her clean clothes and grabbed a towel. Raine paused long enough to strip. Callahan watched with interest as she headed into the bathroom, enjoying her rear view very much. Then he checked the fridge and cupboards to find something for a sandwich. They were out of lunch meat, but he had cheese, butter, and bread. After searching, he found a can of chicken rice soup, too.

  Raine emerged in her pajamas with her hair still damp, just as Callahan flipped a pair of grilled cheese sandwiches onto two plates. Soup steamed on the table in mismatched bowls. He had even managed to set the table with paper napkins and spoons. “Hey, doll,” he said. “Supper’s ready.”

  Her smile rewarded him. “Wow,” she said, pausing long enough to brush a kiss across his mouth. She sat down. “It looks good. I’m impressed. Two meals in one day is quite a record, Callahan.”

  He liked her praise, so he downplayed it. “Aw, it’s not much.”

  “It’s perfect,” she said. Then she reached for his hands and chanted the traditional blessing before meals. Callahan joined after a moment’s pause, touched by the gesture. Sometimes they said the blessing, sometimes not, but right now he appreciated the comfort of the familiar words.

  ****

  In the morning they rode the Downtown Two train together from Thirty-Fourth Street Penn Station to the Bronx, then went their separate ways. Raine, wearing a knee-length camel-colored coat and a bright red scarf, set off without a backward glance. Callahan, after a moment of indecision, followed. He remained behind her as she moved among the morning crowds, her golden hair a bright beacon on the gray morning. As he trailed behind, Callahan scanned every cross street, corner, and alley in case Snake should appear, but he didn’t. Relief rushed through him when he watched Raine enter the juvenile facility. For now, she was safe. I hope she texts me like she promised.

  Callahan turned around and all but ran to the precinct. His effort to still be on time failed, and when he strolled up to his desk, Joe Lowry shot him a knowing glance.

  “You’re late, Callahan.”

  “Yeah, I know, and
I’m sorry.”

  “Uh-huh. You got another bellyache? No? Maybe it’s a pain a little lower or an itch that needed to be scratched. Or did she belt you a good one in the left eye?”

  Any other time, he would have laughed at his partner’s crass attempt at humor, but not now. Callahan tapped his chest. “It’s more of a feeling here,” he said. “And yeah, it’s to do with Raine, but it’s not what you think.”

  “So tell me.”

  He did, in as few words as possible. Joe shook his head. “Jeez, and to think I missed such excitement. We took the kids to a thing in Central Park. I must be gettin’ old. Let’s hit the streets.”

  Two arrests, three tails, and four slow hours later, Callahan managed to spend his lunch break trailing Raine from the drug rehab to the subway station. He considered alerting her to his presence but decided he wouldn’t. She might get mad, and he didn’t want her to be angry, just alive. If she got pissed, she might not text him, and when he had time to check his phone, he noticed she had sent several. Most of them ended with a row of x’s which he figured meant kisses. I’d rather have the real deal, though. After work, he hustled to hit the Thirty-Fourth Street Station in time to meet her train, armed with a bouquet of fall mums he bought along the way.

  When she stepped from the train, Callahan waited until the crowds dissipated in every direction before he approached. “Hey, doll.”

  Raine’s face lit with a huge smile. “Hi, honey. What are you doing here?”

  “Waiting for you,” he said. “Here, I bought these for you.”

  He handed her the burgundy flowers, and she pressed her nose close to the blossoms. “Thank you,” she said. “They’re pretty. What’s the occasion?”

  “Because I love you,” he told her.

  Right there, on the platform, commuters and other subway riders all around them, she hugged him, one hand clutching the bouquet. “That’s reason enough,” she said. “I love you, too. Let’s go home.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he told her. “I’m beat.”

  “Long day?”

  “Aren’t they all?” He sidestepped the question. Concern for her safety created a never-ending stress. Rearranging his schedule to keep up with her took effort and wore him out. “Do we need to pick up something to eat?”

  She linked her arm through his as they climbed the stairs to exit the station. “No, I put dinner in the Crock-Pot before we left this morning, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah I do.” He did, vaguely.

  When he unlocked the apartment, though, the delicious aroma of simmering food smacked him in the face. “Something smells good,” he said. “What is it?”

  Raine smacked his arm. “Beef stew.”

  Now he recalled she’d tossed some meat chunks, chopped up an onion, diced a few potatoes, added some carrots, poured a can of cream soup into the mix, and added seasonings. At the time, he’d wondered what the hell she might be making, but the raw ingredients had turned into a delicious stew. Callahan couldn’t resist lifting the lid and inhaling with pleasure. Then he realized she’d said something that he’d missed. “What?”

  “I said I was going to make biscuits to go with it if you want to get out of the uniform and take a shower,” Raine said. “I want to put my flowers in a vase if I can remember where I put the ones I brought.”

  A long, hot shower eased the tension in his muscles and washed away some of his worry. For now, tucked into his apartment, they were safe and cozy. Snake had no idea where he lived or he would have been on the doorstep by now. Callahan relaxed and emerged wearing sweats and a plain white T-shirt. He padded across the floor in his sock feet as she pulled a pan of biscuits from the oven. Callahan slowed his step and waited until she’d piled them on a plate, then leaned forward and moved her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck with slow, tender lips.

  By the time they’d eaten a bowl of the hearty stew, teamed with buttered biscuits, he wanted nothing more than to stretch out and enjoy the evening. “So,” he said after they’d finished the dishes. “Whaddya want to do?”

  “I want to watch a little stupid, mindless television,” she said. “Then make love until we fall asleep. What do you think?”

  “It works for me, doll.”

  Nothing had ever sounded any better.

  They watched some silly sitcom, then a retro comedy he remembered his mom and aunt watching, then he switched off the television. “C’mere,” he told her, and she turned into his arms.

  They made love with a combination of sweetness and savagery he had never experienced, but Callahan liked it. Very much. Neither hurried, but when the climax came, it brought them both to shuddering heights of pleasure. Afterward, they slept tight, touching, and woke in the morning for another day.

  ****

  Tuesday sailed past, smoother and easier than Monday. Her stops took her to upper Manhattan, then down to the Village. Raine texted him each time she headed for a new location and sent another message when she arrived, so he managed to stay sane and not worry as much. Although still possible, Callahan found it less likely that Snake would track her into those districts. On Wednesday, according to the obituary he found online, the Marsh family gathered for Bull’s funeral, so he breathed easier knowing Snake and any other would-be badasses would be occupied for most of the day. Thursday brought the first snowflakes of the season to the city, a light dusting that coated everything with thin, white icing, before the sun emerged mid-morning to melt the magic away.

  The strain of waiting took its toll on both of them. Raine woke up with another acute headache Thursday morning and didn’t quibble much when Callahan insisted she call in sick. He headed off to work his shift, distracted. Although certain she would be safe, his concern shifted to her health. Raine, still in pj’s, radiated misery tucked under the blanket with a cold pack on her head.

  Callahan hoped for an easy shift, but instead they were hammered. Before lunch, he and Joe worked a stabbing so recent the victim hadn’t been removed. He lay in a pool of blood on a cracked sidewalk, stiff in death. They made a narcotics bust, helped an old woman who’d lost her way, broke up a fight between six juveniles, and were the first to respond to a traffic crash at a busy intersection. The afternoon proved just as hectic, and when heavy clouds moved in around four p.m., they delivered sleet. Some incident on the tracks along the line delayed the subway trains, and it was well after six before Callahan got off at his stop.

  Since Raine had texted him to ask if he would pick up something to eat, he headed for a nearby Chinese restaurant and got takeout. By the time he walked the long blocks to his apartment, his back ached and he shivered from the cold winds sliced between the buildings. I hope the food’s not cold, and I really hope Raine’s better.

  His cold fingers fumbled as he struggled to unlock the door, and when it opened, he almost dropped the food. Callahan glanced up as Raine took the bags from his hands and smiled.

  “I’m glad you’re home,” she said. “You look cold.”

  “I’m frozen,” he replied. “How’s your head?”

  “Better. Would you like me to warm this up while you change?”

  “God, yes,” he said. “You think there’s time for me to shower, too?”

  “Of course,” she replied. “Take your time.”

  Callahan pulled her against him, frigid hand and all, then kissed her. She tasted sweet and smelled scrumptious, like springtime flowers. Best of all, her lips met his with eager passion.

  “I needed that, doll,” he said. “You don’t know how bad.”

  Raine grinned. “Then you can have more later.”

  He wanted that, too. “You look happy for a woman who stayed home sick. What’s up?”

  Her lips twitched into another smile. “I’ll tell you later. Go ahead, get cleaned up, and I’ll warm the food. Is your back hurting again?”

  She noticed, and that meant a lot to him. No one else ever had. “Yeah, some. I’ll take some ibuprofen before I shower.”

  “I
can rub it later.”

  A rush of tenderness welled up within him. “Thanks, baby. I’d like that.”

  He popped the over-the-counter pain relievers, then took a lengthy shower. As the pills kicked in and the hot water beat down on his aching back, Callahan relaxed. By the time he emerged, he found the table set, the food warm, and a glass of white Moscato wine at each place.

  Callahan caught her in his arms for a swift kiss, then hunger won over passion. “Let’s eat.”

  After they linked hands for a blessing, Raine dived into the food with appetite. “I decided I’m not going in tomorrow either,” she told him as she speared a piece of General Tso’s chicken on her fork.

  He glanced over at her and noted that her eyes were bright. Pink highlighted both her cheeks and he frowned, worried. She’d seemed fine when he came in, but maybe he hadn’t been paying enough attention. “What’s the matter, doll? Don’t you feel good?” he asked.

  When she smiled, his concern eased up a little. “I’m fine, Callahan. I did something, and I don’t know if you’re going to like it.”

  The bite of black pepper beef slid down his throat before he’d finished chewing and almost choked him. Coughing, he washed it down with wine. His nerves weren’t up for much suspense or drama. “What? Just tell me.”

  “Well, remember when we talked about liking theater and Broadway shows?”

  His gut clenched tight. “Yeah. Don’t tell me you went to a show today?”

  Raine reached out and touched his hand. “No, of course not. But I bought tickets for tomorrow night so we could go. I think we could use a break.”

  “What show?”

  She named a popular, long-running Broadway show, one he’d often thought he would enjoy. Any other time, under other circumstances, Callahan would be thrilled. His grandfather’s words echoed in his head. “I don’t know, maybe the theater district, maybe Broadway…”

  “I don’t know if it’s a good idea,” he began.

  Raine’s smile faded away. “I figured you’d say that and you would bring up what Pop said. I remember, but I also recall he said he wasn’t always right, not one hundred percent.”