“You don’t say?”Saccharine disregard dripped off her words.“That’s a pity.Still haven’t seen her, but I’d be willing to take down your name and number if she comes in.I’ll pass it along.What’s your name?”
He pushed a hand into his hair and tried a different angle.“Let me ask you another question.”
“I guess that means no toyour name?But by all means, what else can I help you with?”
“How many people have come in here looking for her?”
“Just you.”
“Would you tell me the truth?”
“Don’t see why not.”
No, Callum definitely wasn’t the best person to send to the library, and forget Wes or Eli.Vivian should have sent their social media maven.Scarlett Wu had a magical effect on people, whether in person or online.This librarian would love Scar.Everybody did.
Callum rocked back on his heels and thought about why Grace would come here again.She could have used the internet anywhere.But she’d come back to this library.Maybe the community was safe and anonymous.Maybe she’d made a personal connection.“Fair enough.If you haven’t seen her, you haven’t seen her.”
“Like I said—”
“But if you have seen her, and you’re keeping your mouth shut because you think she’s in danger…” He tilted his head.“Good on you.”
The librarian kept her expression blank, a stone-cold alibi.He liked that for Grace, even if it made his job that much harder.
“Grace called her brother for help.Said she was in trouble.”He studied the woman’s face for anything.Still, nothing.“Her brother’s deployed.We served together, and he asked me to find her.”The blank stare didn’t change.“All I want to do is check on her.Just let her brother know all is well.”Callum rolled his lips together and tried one last time.“Are you sure you haven’t seen her?”
“If I had, and I’m not saying I have—” Her gaze skittered behind him.“I, uh—would—uh, could I see that picture again?”She concentrated on him as if every ounce of her being wanted to look over his shoulder.
Callum turned.His breath caught.Her back was turned to him, but he had no doubt that was the woman he’d known most of his life.With wavy honey-brown hair tied into a messy bun and a cute ass clad in yoga pants, Grace was rushing from him toward the front doors of the library as though someone had entered her into the speedwalking Olympics.“Grace!”
Chapter Four
SomeonehissedatCallumto lower his voice.
“Sir,” the librarian called.“Wait!”
He ignored her and followed Grace, hot on her tail.Something hit the back of his shoulder.A pen hit the floor.Then a pencil.“What the—” He looked over his shoulder and sidestepped a flying magazine.“Jesus Christ, lady.I’m the good guy.”
She launched a paperback at him.“Leave her alone.”
“I’m here to help.”Callum pivoted, but Grace was gone.
“Wait!”
He ignored the librarian’s call to stop and hustled into the parking lot.No Grace.He called her name.She was so damn close but slipping farther away.His heart hammered.He couldn’t screw this up for Hayden.Not to mention, she was clearly on the run.More was wrong than they knew.Callum could fix whatever she was hiding from.She just had to give him a chance.
Think.She ditched her car a week ago.Nobody stood at the bus stop.Maybe she had another car.Hell, maybe she had Alicia Jackson’s car.Clearly, she had roots here that hadn’t turned up on Dean’s cyber analysis.
Callum scanned the parking lot and came up empty.All right.She wasn’tthatfast.Especially not on this sweltering day.There weren’t any vehicles speeding from the parking lot.She was still there.Somewhere.
“Your brother sent me,” he called to the empty sidewalk.“Grace?”
She didn’t magically appear.
A man with an armful of books walked out of the library and gave Callum a wide berth.
Callum itemized his surroundings: a bus stop, a pollinator garden, a shaded cluster of benches, and a path that disappeared around the side of the building.He rushed in that direction.
Hayden wouldn’t like how he was handling this, but hell, Callum didn’t either.He rounded the corner of the building.The summer heat baked him as if Satan had left the oven door open.
