I had been sleepwalking through my life and she woke me up.
Merry brought color and vibrancy to each day. Seeing the world through her eyes made me see what I'd been missing.
I didn't want to miss anything else.
I heard the front door open and realized that Callum was back. He must have traced from Ava and Macgrath's home.
Gently, I slid Merry's head off my shoulder before I slipped out of the bed. I grabbed my pants off the floor and pulled them up before I left the bedroom. The door shut silently behind me.
I could hear Callum moving around in his room, opening drawers and rummaging in the closet. He looked up when I entered his room.
"Hey. How's Merry?" he asked as he stuffed a couple of t-shirts into a duffel bag.
"She's sleeping." I gestured to the bag on his bed. "What are you doing?"
"Macgrath and I talked after lunch and we decided to keep an eye on our friend, Edward Channing, and the Fallon Group. Harrison, Rhys, Macgrath, and I are going to take turns on surveillance. I took the first shift so you and Merry could have some privacy." He disappeared into his closet again and reappeared with a pair of boots. "I figure they'll have their network up and running in a few days and I want to sneak back in there to plant a few little devices."
He jammed the boots into one end of the duffel and turned to the dresser.
"Hang on. Wait," I said, coming further into the room. Callum ignored me until I stepped in front of him and said, "Stop and talk to me."
Callum tossed the socks in his hand on the bed and put his hands on his hips. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Why wasn't I invited to this meeting that you had with Macgrath and the others?" I asked.
"Because I didn't want to interrupt your banging," he retorted.
My hands fisted and I resisted the urge to take a swing at him. I'd forgotten how he could push my buttons when he wanted to. Callum rarely acted like an asshole, so when he did, he made up for it in spades.
"Fuck you, Callum. Don't say shit like that."
He sighed and the aggression went out of his stance. "I'm sorry. That was an asshole comment."
"Apology accepted. Now, tell me the truth."
"The truth is that you need to stay here with Merry. For her and for yourself. You need each other and you need time together. Alone. We also need to keep an eye on Channing and his employers. As much as I would like to believe that the steps we took the other night will be enough to keep them off our backs, you and I both know better. Humans are a crafty lot and I don't want to be caught by surprise again."
"I'm grateful that you and Macgrath took my attachment to Merry into consideration, but that doesn't mean I can't take a turn on the stakeout."
Callum arched his brows. "How effective do you think you'll be when you're worried about Merry every second? The mating urge has you in its grip. You won't be able to stay away from her. You'll want to hear her voice, see her, touch her."
"I'm not a young vampire. I can control my instincts."
"Fine," he said, waving his arms. "After Macgrath, Harrison, Rhys, Caleb, and I each take a week of surveillance, it will be your turn. That's five weeks. We'll discuss it then."
"Fine."
He went to the bed, gathered up the scattered socks, folded them and tucked them into the bag. He went into the bathroom and came out with a toiletry kit that went on top and zipped up the bag.
He came over to me and held out a hand. I grasped his forearm and pulled him in for a hug.
"Be careful," I said.
"I will."
"And check in every day."
"Yes, Mother Dearest," he drawled, pulling away.
