Page 20 of Unhinged Kallie

“You fell in love with me, and I’m not as bad as you thought.”

“Mmm, that’s debatable considering all you did before me, but yes, I still love you,” she said, her cheeks going red as I smirked. “But it takes someone very special to be okay with this kind of a life.” Kallie rubbed her eyes. “I don’t want her to end up alone because she can’t find someone that will accept her for who she is and what she does.”

“We can’t control that or force her into a box, it will only make it worse. When the time comes, we need to guide her to be like me now, not me then. If we do nothing, she will find her own way, which could lead to her being caught, hurting the wrong people, not having a life like we do, or worse.”

Kirby cupped my face and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Okay, let’s make a deal. I’ll go in and work today since we already have the paperwork to execute an arrest warrant, and I really want to get this scum. But as soon as I’m done today, I’ll walk into my boss’s office and hand in my badge. All the possibilities with Kallie and teaching her to be like you can wait until that bridge arises.”

“I guess that’s a deal I can live with, but I’d still prefer you stay home today and quit.”

“Is something wrong, Cain?” Her eyes searched my face, but I couldn’t explain why I felt like this. There was no logical explanation for it.

I shrugged. “Nothing I can put my finger on, just a feeling.”

Kirby chuckled. “You don’t do feelings, remember?”

“Such a comedian. It’s a good thing I love you.”

Her smile slowly slid from her face leaving her eyes serious. “I love you too. Always. You are my tomorrow.”

“And you’re my forever,” I whispered and pulled her into me to kiss her again.

“Mr. Buchanan?” Malone prompted, and my eyes focused on the agent once more. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and my breathing was shallow, making it hard to draw a deep breath. I’d never felt this before, the aching in my chest and the heaviness pressing in on me was crushing.

They may not have been here to arrest me, but they’d unwittingly shoved me in a cage and threw away the key. I could feel the part of me that had come alive with Kirby slipping away. Just like trying to grab a handful of water, the harder I tried to cling to the warm feeling she evoked, the more it fell between the cracks of my fingers.

“Daddy, where’s Mommy,” Kallie asked.

A sob had me looking to my left. Tears were streaming down Carter’s cheeks. His eyes met mine, and in them was the anguish I was trying to understand within myself. He turned and ran inside the house, the door slamming behind him.

“Daddy?”

“Mommy’s not coming home.”

“Oh. When is she going to come home?”

I wiped my face and stared at the wetness on my hand. “Never, Angel. Mommy’s never coming home again.”

Chapter Eight

KALLIE

I’d never seen my daddy like this. He sometimes looked tired or angry but never sad. Aunt Aspen came over to look after us while the two men in blue took Daddy with them. When he got home, he didn’t speak. He sat downstairs, which he never did, in front of the old television that didn’t work. Daddy looked like a statue sitting so still.

I’d tried following him and asking why Mommy wasn’t coming home, but he didn’t answer. Daddy never ignored me. I was his Angel, and I didn’t understand why Mommy left.

“What are you doing,” Carter whispered from right behind me, and I jumped at the sound of his voice. Twisting around, I looked up the stairs at him.

“Nothing,” I said, knowing it was a dumb answer. I never sat on the stairs to the basement, and Carter scowled, not believing me. Walking down to the step I was sitting on, he saw Daddy sitting still.

“Has he been like that since he got home,” Carter asked. I nodded and then stared down at our feet. His feet were right beside mine on the stairs, and I hated that his were so much bigger. It felt like he was a giant when I looked up at him. He wasn’t even a full three years older, but he acted like I was still a baby.

“I’m hungry,” I whispered. “Daddy has never missed dinner.”

“Come on. We can make it.”

Carter held out his hand, and I gave my daddy one last glance before slipping my hand into his. He helped me to my feet, and once we were in the hallway, he closed the door to the basement.

“Carter, why does Mommy not want to come home? Was it something I did?” My heart sank, thinking that I’d done something wrong.