Skye gripped Callie’s hand. “Don’t say that. You were halfway to saving yourself when we found you.”
Callie just shook her head. “You saved me. And the worst part is I always resented you. I always thought of you and Conner as Dad’s real family. It’s taken all this bad stuff to figure out that you are part of my family, too.”
Skye hugged her again. “Well, now you know. That’s what matters.”
Callie took a deep breath and brushed away the wetness on her cheeks. “Conn’s not here. A guy named Morgan Burke is downstairs in the study. He’s a friend of Conn’s. Conn said he was a marine before he went into security. I guess something happened when he was working in the Middle East, and he quit the job and came back to the States. He just started working for Nighthawk.”
Skye nodded. “I heard there was a new guy coming in. I haven’t met him yet. You like him?”
“He’s . . . umm . . . he’s really hot.”
Skye grinned. “Yeah?”
Color rose in Callie’s cheeks. “Yeah. Very.”
“How old?”
“Early thirties, maybe.”
“Single?”
“I think so.”
“He’s a little old for you.”
Callie grinned. “Doesn’t make him any less hot.”
Sky laughed.
“You don’t have to worry; he seems very professional,” Callie said.
“I’m glad to hear it. I’ll say hello on my way out.” Skye checked the time on her phone. “I’ve got to get back. I’ve got a ton of things to do. As I said, I just wanted to be sure you’re all right.”
Callie glanced away, and Skye frowned. “You are, right? You are okay?”
“I just . . . I still have nightmares about him, Skye. I keep asking myself how I could have been so stupid.”
Skye understood bad dreams. They didn’t come as often, but every once in a while, she still relived the nightmare explosion that had destroyed her leg.
“Daniel is a good-looking man. He managed to charm you into believing he was something he wasn’t. He did the same thing to other women with a lot more experience than you.”
“That’s what I tell myself. But in the middle of the night, it’s like he’s there in bed with me. Like he’s making me do . . . things to him again. It makes me sick.”
Skye looked at Callie, and worry filtered through her. “Maybe you should see someone. Talk to someone about what happened.”
Callie shook her head. “I’m mostly okay. It’s just knowing he’s still out there. And I’m worried about Lila. Once Daniel’s in jail—”
“Oh, he’s going to jail. We’re getting closer to finding him every day.” Last night, before she had gone to bed, she had checked Beekman’s location. His phone had pinged in a tiny town called Eagle Nest. With luck, Daniel was with him.
Callie relaxed enough to smile. “I know you’ll get him.” She walked Skye to the door. “Thanks for coming. Thanks for everything.”
Skye left the guest room and headed back downstairs. As she reached the bottom step, a man stepped out of the study, a semiautomatic pistol on his hip as if it belonged there. He was dark-haired and handsome, with chocolate-brown eyes that seemed almost black, a solid jaw, and a cleft in his chin. Like a lot of the men she knew, there was a hardness to his features that said he wasn’t someone you wanted to mess with.
“Hi, I’m Skye Delaney.” She offered her hand. “I hear we’re going to be working together.”
“Morgan Burke.” He accepted the handshake. “I prefer working alone, but you never know.”
“No, you don’t.” She glanced up the stairs. “Take care of my sister. The guy who’s after her will do just about anything to get his hands on her.”
