Page 115 of Soft Flannel Hank

“I couldn’t leave you,” she whispered, so quietly that nobody but him could have heard.

That is, unless the other people in the room were vampires.

Callum cleared his throat. “I was counting on that.”

Esther whirled around in Hank’s hold, his fingers tight on her shoulders as he stood behind her.

She’d forgotten how big Callum was. She’d been around Hank for so long without other company that it was easy to think that he was the biggest man in the world. He wasn’t, of course, and the proof was right in front of her.

Power radiated off of Callum like heat steamed up from a parking lot in the Georgia heat. It was almost oppressive, the way that it sucked the air out of the space and made your body feel heavy.

Callum was sitting in Hank’s usual chair, looking almost bored, his body relaxed and leaning, but Esther wasn’t fooled. Callum could kill them both before they could blink.

He gestured to the chair next to Hank.

“I’d rather stand, thanks,” Esther replied, and Hank squeezed her shoulders.

“Verra well,” Callum said with a shrug. “Ye’ve been a hard woman to get a hold of, Esther.”

“On purpose,” she replied through gritted teeth.

“I’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to find ye, to make sure ye’re safe, lass.”

The words were innocent enough, but there was a glint in Callum’s eyes, a predatory sharpness. As if he were weighing and measuring her weaknesses with his eyes and logging every one.

“You didn’t need to find me. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Esther said, feeling her pulse pounding in her head.

Callum raised an eyebrow. “So stealing an entire night’s worth of profits isnae wrong? Poisoning two dozen club patrons isnae wrong?”

“I didn’t poison them, and you know it. And if you really tracked me this far and this long for a few thousand dollars, I’ll pay you back. I’ll sell all my shit, and I’ll pay you back.”

Callum slowly unfurled himself from his seat and stood. Esther couldn’t help but think of a nature documentary she’d seen once when a king cobra slowly rose higher and higher into the air, hovering dangerously before striking. She took an instinctive step backwards but was blocked by the solid mass of Hank’s body.

Callum took a step towards them. Hank tried to push Esther behind him, but she evaded him.

“Just take me, alright?” Esther said. “Leave him alone, and I’ll go with you!”

“I was hoping ye’d say that,” Callum murmured with a slow smile. “I dinnae care for big scenes.”

“Esther,” Hank growled, still dragging her behind him while she resisted.

Callum nodded behind Hank, and Esther remembered the two men. Suddenly Hank’s hands were gone from her arm, and when she turned, she saw that the men held Hank tightly between them, utterly unfazed by his struggling. “Esther!” Hank shouted. He was desperate as he fought against the solid holds of Callum’s men. “Esther, sweetheart, no!”

Time stopped as Callum took another step toward Esther, a slow smile spreading over his lips. “Good. Now I can finally take care of you.” He leaned in closer, looking deep into Esther’s eyes, and she could almost see the crawling centuries of Callum’s life passing in the black depths of his pupils. She shivered. He opened his mouth.

But then the mudroom door slammed open, and Esther heard Jory’s voice, a loud bark in the mudroom, as she shouted, “If you harm one hair on either of their heads, Callum MacLeod, I’ll gut you like a fish and then stake you to the floor.”

Callum’s head whipped around as Jory crossed into the kitchen. Robbie tried to stop her, but she dodged him deftly, seeming to evaporate and reappear outside the reach of his arms. Esther blinked.

Esther couldn’t see Callum’s face, but she heard his hoarse whisper. “Marjory. Mo cridhe.”

He reached for her, his scarred hand stretching across the space between them. His hesitant fingers trembled, as if Jory would disappear like a soap bubble if he touched her. Jory slid sideways and into the kitchen.

Callum stared at her as if he’d seen a ghost, but Jory looked at Callum as if she was meeting the devil himself.

Esther glanced behind her to where the two vampires holding Hank looked as confused as she felt. Hank, on the other hand, was staring at Esther. He’d stopped fighting the vampires’ tight hold, but not because he’d given up. Esther could almost see him calculating how to take advantage of the turmoil.

She wanted to go to him, to wrap her body around his. He wouldn’t be able to hold her, not with his arms tightly bound behind him, but she could press her chest to his and feel his heartbeat reverberating against her cheek. She almost stepped toward him when she heard a soft moan from behind her. She turned to see Callum’s hands shaking as he stared, open-mouthed, at Jory.