Page 53 of Shadows Relived
He winced at something she did, and she pulled her hands back for a second. “Besides, I’ve donenothing but sit in a hotel and then that damn SUV for the past day. I’m tired of resting.”
She redressed the wound in silence, her fingers working with quiet efficiency. When she was done, she sat back on her heels, looking up at him.
He caught her gaze, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes.
“I don’t know about you, but I could use some more coffee,” he said, his voice softer. “Besides, I think we need to hash through some of this.”
She nodded as she pushed herself to her feet. “I’d say you’re right.”
She watched as he eased himself out of the chair, wincing slightly with the movement. Reaching out, she offered her support for him to stand, and it actually surprised her he took it, telling her he was hurting more than he wanted to let on.
After she fixed them both a cup of coffee, they sat at the small metal table in the kitchen, the hum of the fridge the only sound between them for a long stretch. She wrapped her hands around the ceramic mug, taking a slow breath. “Thank you for everything you did for my students. If you hadn’t shown up, I’m not sure how I would’ve handled it.”
He smiled at her, soft and reassuring. “You would have managed, I’m sure. You’ve always been hell on wheels when backed in a corner.”
“And you’ve always had more confidence in me than I ever had in myself.”
He took a slow sip of his coffee, watching her with his intense, storm-dark eyes. “Are you all right with all this?”he asked as he set his cup back on the table. “Going after your father’s connections like this?”
She folded her arms over her chest, giving a slow bob of her head. “I don’t see that I have much choice with the way they’re coming after me. I need to know who’s trying to kill me and why. What my father did to make someone want to punish him by killing his daughter?”
“That’s not what I asked.”
She dropped her gaze to the table. “The truth? I don’t really want to see my father in handcuffs. I don’t want…” She took a slow breath. “Even after everything that’s happened, I still don’t want to see him hurt.”
“I know. It would surprise me if you did.”
“But I also know I can’t keep pretending he’s clean.” Her voice thickened as her throat tightened. “All those missed birthdays. The phone calls he never returned. I thought he was just too busy being important. But now… maybe he was simply too busy hiding things so we would never know where the money truly came from.”
Callen didn’t flinch. “We’ll find out.”
“I just…” She looked up at him, her heart aching. “If this all leads back to him, as it sounds like it will, what do I do? How do I turn him in?”
“You survive,” Callen said. “We figure out the rest after. But first, we have to get you safe.”
It was the simplest promise he could offer, but it was enough to ground her, to give her hope.
The sharp buzz of Callen’s phone interrupted them.
He glanced down at it, his brow furrowed. “Now this is interesting.It’s Tex.”
“Tex?” She shook her head. “Blaze, Elvis, Gage. Now Tex. Are you the only one without a nickname?”
He grinned over at her. “Oh, I have one. People barely use it, though.” He picked up his phone. “I need to get this.”
He answered with a flick of his thumb, putting it on speaker. “Hey, Tex. I gotta say, I didn’t expect to hear from you of all people. Blaze get stuck somewhere in cyberland?”
“Not exactly,” Tex said with a chuckle. “He’s busy tracking the people hounding you, so asked if I could lend a hand with the government… um… research. That’s what we’ll call it for now.”
“Oh?” Callen leaned forward, pushing his cup back slightly. “And did you find anything?”
“You can say that. Blaze asked for a digital pry bar, but let’s just say I gave him a battering ram. Gently, of course. Didn’t need anyone hearing me bust through the company’s holdings, real estate holdings, registries, the works.”
“And? Did you find the senator’s name?”
“No, actually. He’s listed nowhere in their payouts or emails or anything that would tie him to them.”
“But that makes no sense.” He glanced up, his troubled eyes staring at Meaghan as she leaned closer to the phone, staring back at him. “We already know he’s working with them. Blaze found some files.”
