by Donna Grant
“If anyone but Orrin had accepted the assignment, we wouldn’t know about the Saints or Ragnarok.”
“We still don’t know what the bioweapon does.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he insisted. “My point is that Orrin was smart enough to know something was wrong after they left Russia. Otherwise, he’d never have sent the weapon to you.”
She shoved her hair away from her face. “You make it sound like you’re glad it was Orrin.”
“I am.” He hadn’t realized it until now with all the information they had, but he recognized that between him, his brothers, and his father, they could strike a lethal blow to the Saints.
Callie laughed softly. “That’s something I never thought I’d hear you say. Wait.” The smile faded, replaced by a glare. “Do you mean you’re glad it was Orrin because he was kidnapped and beaten? Because if you did, that’s jus—”
“No,” he said over her. “That’s not what I meant. I might hold anger toward my father, but even I know how good he is at his job. I’ve had years to hear it from my superiors.”
“Oh. Well. That’s good to know.”
“How insistent was Hewett that Orrin take the mission to Russia?”
She scratched her chin as she thought. “Mitch just sent the one encrypted email, though he did call me the day before Orrin agreed to do it to see which direction Orrin was swaying.”
“Did you tell him?” Wyatt questioned.
“No. I work for Orrin, not Hewett.”
Wyatt expected nothing less from her. “You said that you suspected Hewett wanted Orrin specifically for the assignment.”
“It was just the way Mitch spoke. It was nothing he said specifically. Just a gut feeling I had,” she said with a lift of her shoulders.
“In our line of work, trusting your gut could save your life.”
“Then I should’ve said something to Orrin about it.”
Wyatt shook his head and glanced at her. “It wouldn’t have done anything but push my father to take the mission to see what was going on.”
“Does it bother you?”
It was his turn to give her a frown. “What?”
“That I’m so close to Orrin?”
Wyatt slowed the car in front of a stop sign before pulling away. “Why should that be a problem?”
“He’s your father.”
“It’s a fact I can’t change. Another fact is that he’s responsible for my mother’s death.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“I sure as shit don’t have any other person to pin it on.”
Callie turned her head to look out the side window. “There is so much I could tell you about Orrin to change your mind.”
“I suspect this is when you start?”
“No,” she declared without looking his way. “You wouldn’t really hear me anyway. You’ve made up your mind, and once you do that, there’s no changing it.”
He knew she alluded to when he broke it off between them. It was true, once he made a decision, he didn’t change his mind. What she didn’t know was that it took him a long time to come to such verdicts because he looked at every angle.
Which was why he was so certain when he finally did make his choice.
She suddenly looked his way. “No. I am going to tell you something. I don’t care if you don’t believe it. You should know.”
“Then tell me.”
“Orrin never stopped looking into Melanie’s murder.”
Wyatt cut her a dubious look. “And in all these years, he found nothing?”
“Ugh,” she ground out angrily. “You make me so furious.”
“Because the truth hurts?”
“Because you’re an ass. He got close several times with leads he uncovered, but each time, someone or something put a halt to it. Everyone who once helped him no longer would have anything to do with Melanie’s murder. No one.”
Wyatt stared at the dark road as the headlights lit the way. Her words troubled him more than he wanted to admit.
“You know what else?” she asked. “He could never find out who hindered his investigations. There was never a name he could go to, nobody to confront.”
“That sounds suspicious.”
“You think?” she asked sarcastically. “What else is suspicious, is that we discovered that he had gotten close because he would be given orders that put him in the direct line of fire.”
Now that didn’t sit well with Wyatt at all. “Is that why he retired from the Navy?”
“It’s one of the main reasons, yes. It gave him time to dig into things more, but even more doors were closed against him. He got nowhere. But the point is that he kept trying.”
They were approaching the cabin, so Wyatt slowed the car. When he put the vehicle in park, Callie reached over and turned off the engine, taking the keys.
He looked at her, seeing the fire in her blue eyes, the same heat that told him she was ready to take on the world. She wasn’t finished, so he remained to hear what else she had to say.
“You’ve never been in love. You don’t know how Orrin felt to have the woman who bore his children, the woman he’d made a life with, the woman who was the other half of his soul taken from him.” She paused, her eyes welling with tears. “Do you know that he never went on a single date after your mother? He’s never even looked at another woman. Because he holds her in his heart still. If you think he doesn’t care about Melanie’s murder or you, then you’re an idiot.”
She got out of the car and stormed into the house. Wyatt watched her go, her words ringing in his head. The distance he’d put between him and Orrin meant that he knew nothing of his father.
It came as a shock to hear that Orrin hadn’t found another woman. And Callie would know. She spent the most time with him.
Wyatt closed his eyes, thinking of his mother. She didn’t deserve to die so horribly. It was even worse that no one had been brought to justice for the deed.
Somehow, it all pointed back to Orrin—of that he was certain. It didn’t matter how much his father looked into the killing or how he pined for Melanie. The murder was still unsolved.
Until that changed, Wyatt would continue to blame Orrin.
CHAPTER NINE
For the next two days, Callie saw very little of Wyatt. He kept to the outdoors, constantly walking the perimeter. He didn’t come in for meals, either. Which suited her just fine.
Ever since their conversation returning from Carl’s, she’d been livid. She didn’t understand how Wyatt could still hold such a grudge against Orrin. Didn’t Wyatt realize how his father suffered?
Maybe he did and just didn’t care.
She sat back in her chair at the thought and pushed away the laptop. It would be just like Wyatt. The only thing he did care about was himself.
Why had she ever allowed herself to fall in love with such a cold man? She knew she had no control over her heart, but it didn’t make things any easier. If only she could be sure she was, in fact, finished with him.
Every time she thought she might be over Wyatt, she’d catch herself watching him—wanting him. And she’d remember how tender, how loving he’d been in those precious few weeks. During that brief time, she’d seen another side of Wyatt Loughman. The side that showed he could love deeply—if he wanted.
And that’s what wounded her the most. He chose not to love her. He’d decided she wasn’t worth it and closed himself off.
What had she done—or not done? What was it about her that pushed him away? Even now, looking back, she felt the same heart-wrenching pain.
He’d been everything to her. She’d given him her body, her heart … her soul. And he’d teased her with a glimpse of what could be, only to snatch it away from her at the last second.
The cruelty was staggering. She hadn’t expected him to turn it on her, but he’d given her an even bigger dose of his ruthlessness. Though she didn’t remember all the words, it was the tone she’d never forget.
The impatience and annoyance. The viciousness and finality.
It all said one thing: he was finished with her.
He’d had his fun, and he was moving on.
It had been almost unbearable for her to continue working at the ranch for the next few months before he left for college. She would watch him from the woods. He hadn’t even looked for her. Never in her life had she cried so hard as the day he drove away. Because she knew she’d never seen him again.
If Orrin, Virgil, Charlotte, Cullen, or Owen knew what had happened, none of them ever spoke of it. She’d made sure no one saw her tears. Wyatt Loughman had broken her with only a few words. It had taken years for her to pick up the pieces and move ahead.
And she was determined to keep moving. Whatever feelings she still carried for him had to be ignored at all costs. He’d never be able to give her anything but misery.
Knowing that did nothing to diminish the longing, however. There hadn’t been a single man she dated who had kissed her as passionately as Wyatt.
Her eyes closed as unwanted memories assaulted her. A sultry July fourth night when, beneath a sky lit up by fireworks, he’d made love to her. It had been magical. That night, more than their bodies had been joined.
She’d seen it in his eyes, felt it in his touch. Tasted it in his kiss.
Callie gave her head a vicious shake to dislodge the memory. She used to sit and wonder for hours what went wrong. Her life had come to a standstill during that time, and she wouldn’t go through that again.
Her gaze lifted to the window. The sky was streaked in bold, vibrant reds and oranges as the sun sank into the horizon. It was a glorious sight that she wasn’t able to enjoy fully because she was too wrapped up in everything.
There had been nothing from Cullen or Mia on their search for Konrad Jankovic. Callie initially thought Orrin might go after the scientis, as well, but no matter how hard she looked for a sign of Orrin in DC, there was nothing.
Where was he?
Her phone bounced on the table as it vibrated. She recognized the number immediately. Briefly, she thought about ignoring the call, but her family needed to be dealt with.
“How did you get this number?” she demanded when she answered.
Melvin laughed. “We’ve got good connections, cuz. You should know that there’s nowhere you can go, no place you can hide that we won’t find you.”
“Is that what your little note was about?”
“That was my idea.”
She’d always had a particular distaste for Melvin. Perhaps it was because he used his looks and charm to get whatever he wanted, and he didn’t care who he took down along the way. “Should I clap for you?”
“What are you doing with Wyatt?”
She’d wondered if they were watching her. Now, she had her confirmation. “He’s a Loughman. I work for the Loughmans.”
“Not in Austin.”
“You don’t know what the ranch is doing, so don’t pretend otherwise,” she retorted.
Melvin laughed again. “You’ll never be one of them. You belong with us.”
“I’m only going to say this once more, so listen closely. I don’t want to see any of you. I don’t want to talk to any of you. Don’t call me, don’t track me down, and don’t stop me on the street. I’m finished with all of you.”
“We’ll be the judge of that,” he said angrily.
Callie sighed. “You’re just not getting it. No matter what you do, I’m not returning. I won’t be party to crime, nor will I be involved with people who actively hurt others for their own gain.”
“You’re a Reed. We have the same blood. That makes you one of us whether you admit it or not. You’ll never be able to run from the truth of that.”
“I won’t continue to have this same conversation every few years.”
Melvin mumbled something she couldn’t make out. Then he said, “Tell Wyatt I’m ready for him to carry out his threat.”
The line disconnected. Callie lowered the phone, looking at it as if it could give her answers. What the hell had Melvin meant? Wyatt never talked to her family. He hated them. Everyone hated the Reeds.
The more Callie thought about Melvin’s statement, the more she had to know the truth. She closed her laptop and walked outside with her phone still in her grasp. Her gaze searched the area for Wyatt, but she didn’t find him.
One of the first things they’d done when they got to the cabin was walk the property. Callie picked her way through the underbrush, careful of the traps he’d set. She spotted a rattlesnake and gave it a wide berth.
The first place she decided to check was the stream that ran through the property. She crested the hill and looked down to the water. There was no sign of Wyatt, but she spotted his clothes on a low-hanging branch.
Callie made her way to the creek in time to see Wyatt break the surface. He had his back to her, the rivulets running over his sculpted back to his narrowed hips and into the water. His muscles bulged in his arm as he wiped a hand down his face. Then he turned and froze when his gaze landed on her.
She tried not to look at his dark hair slicked back from his face. She really tried to stop from looking at his wide shoulders and thick chest or his stomach and abs where every muscle was defined as if sculpted out of granite.
Her heart accelerated, her blood heated. Desire thrummed through her, making her ache to feel his touch. But she stood firm in her resolve to ignore her feelings.
“Did something happen?” Wyatt asked.
“Did you speak to Melvin?”
There was a stretch of silence before Wyatt answered. “Yes.”
She waited for more, but he didn’t elaborate. “Why?”
“I wanted him to leave you alone.”
“So you searched him out?” she asked.
Wyatt shrugged.
Callie was taken aback. “How did you even find him?”
“I have contacts.”
“Contacts that you’ll use to locate my stupid family but not your own father.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know if I can trust those contacts to find Orrin.”
Damn him for making sense. Still, she was enraged that he would interfere with her family. Why would he do something like that? “Melvin said he’s ready for you to carry out your threat. What did you say to him?”
“Nothing,” Wyatt said as he looked away and walked out of the water.
Callie told herself to turn her back to him or look anywhere else but at the magnificent male specimen before her, but she just couldn’t manage it.
She drank in the sight of him, noting the many scars that seemed to touch nearly every part of him. Why did he have to be so damn … lickable?
He’d sported muscles at a young age, but the years had hardened his body, tightening it into a lethal weapon that matched his mind.
And it turned her on.
Shameless in his nudity, he stood on the bank and began to dress. “Why did you call Melvin?”
It took a second for the words to penetrate the fog of lust that filled her head. Callie shot him a glare. “I didn’t. Melvin called me.”
“On the new phones we got last week?”
Callie nodded, the unease she’d felt during the call assaulting her again. “He said they have good connections.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” He slipped the shirt over his head, hiding his muscles. “What else did he say?”
“That there’s nowhere I can go, no place I can hide that they won’t find me.”
Wyatt’s face was set in hard lines when he stalked to her, causing her to step back into a tree. “Does he know where we are?”
“He knows I’m with you. He saw us at dinner the other night. He left a note in the door of the car.”
Fury shot from Wyatt’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me about the note?”
“It’s my family. My mess.”
“It stopped being your mess when they beat the shit out of you.”
She looked
away, hating the reminder of that awful day. “You don’t need to interfere. I can handle them.”
“Right,” he said with a snort. “What did the note say?”
“You can’t run from us forever.”
Wyatt turned away with a curse and walked to his boots. He hastily yanked them on. “You should’ve told me.”
“No, we have enough to worry about. My family will have to wait.”
He picked up the rifle standing against a tree. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why not? They do this every few years. I’ll get rude with them, and they’ll back off.”
Wyatt gave her a contemptuous look. “You really think that’s what happens?”
“Yes.” What else could there be?
He stalked past her, saying, “I can’t believe you haven’t pieced it together.”
“Pieced what?” she asked, hurrying to catch up with him.
“Those ‘good contacts’ the Reeds have could very well be the Saints.”
Callie’s feet stopped working. She came to a halt as the truth settled around her. Of course, her kin would work with the Saints. The secret organization could’ve easily discovered the Reeds and reached out to them.
The Saints had already hacked her computer. The only way Melvin could’ve gotten her new number was by cloning her phone when he’d approached her that day.
Which meant now that he had the number, it could be traced.
Callie threw the cell phone on the ground before stomping on it.
CHAPTER TEN
Washington, DC
Mitch Hewett walked to the coffee shop, his gaze darting about as he looked for Orrin Loughman. It was only a matter of time before he turned a corner and came face-to-face with Orrin. The scenario he’d painstakingly arranged had turned to shit.
All because the Saints had trusted Yuri Markovic.
He’d warned them that it was a mistake, and the proof now lay before all of them.
Opening the door to the coffee house, Mitch strode inside. He paused, looking around until he saw who he was looking for sitting at a back corner table.
The man looked ordinary and inadequate, the kind of person no one would remember walking past, sitting next to, or even talking to.
