Page 15 of Shadows Relived
Three families. Three different situations, and none of them good. And no safe way to bring the children back to them yet, even if there was. Her stomach twisted.
Callen sat across the room now, watching her. Quiet as he sipped his coffee.
“I should also call my principal,” she said, already dialing again.
The conversation was brief, with Mr. Kinsey more concerned than surprised. He trusted her; that much was clear. And he didn’t ask where she was, or when she’d be back, for which she was glad, just that she needed to get the kids back to their parents before things turned ugly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll hold down the fort,” he assured her, his tone rough with emotion. “Take care of those kids until you can return them to their parents. And yourself. Just call when or if you need anything from us. We’re always here for you.”
She hesitated after the call, thumb hovering over the next contacts in her book.
Ronette. Andy.
Her best friends. Her family in every way that counted.
However, before she could press a button, Callen’s voice cut through the quiet. “No.”
Her eyes met his across the room. “You don’t even know who I was calling.”
“I don’t need to know,” he told her, standing and walking over to take the satellite phone from her grasp. “Whoever it is, it’s a bad idea. You’ve called all I agreed to let you call.”
“And why the hell can’t I call whoever I want? Other people will be worried about me.”
He waggled his finger at her. “Language. They might still be awake.” He slid the phone into his back pocket. “And as for the why… if they track you through them, if someone shows up at their house, and your name is the reason…”
She looked away.
“I’ve lost people that way,” he mumbled. “So no. Not your friends or any other family members. Not until this is over.”
Anger and grief tangled inside her chest “They’re going to worry.”
“They’ll survive that.”
“And what about me, Callen?” she whispered. “What about what I need? What about what I can survive?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he gestured toward the hallway. “Take the second bedroom. It’s yours tonight. I’ll stay on the couch, which will put me closer to the door, anyway.”
She nodded stiffly, rising from the table.
But she didn’t walk away. Not yet.
Instead, she stood there, watching him as he pulled off his boots and set them near the door like he had a hundred times before, back when life was simpler and they’d stolen kisses in the shadows of summer bonfires and laughed like the world couldn’t touch them.
“I used to think you were invincible,” she whispered. “Back when we were kids. You always acted like nothing couldshake you.”
He looked up at her, tired eyes meeting hers. “That was before I figured out I could lose things.”
Meaghan took a slow step forward, then another. She stopped in front of him, her heartbeat like thunder in her ears.
“Good night, Callen,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Then she reached out, curled her fingers in the fabric of his shirt, and pulled him down into a kiss.
It wasn’t soft.
It was fire and frustration and all the years they’d wasted pretending they didn’t want each other. His hand came to her waist, and for a second, the rest of the world faded into ash.
