“Enticing you? I tried to be professional, Calico. You’re too damned beautiful and sweet.”
He had been professional. She’d been the one to insist she sit up front and chat as he drove her to work. The one to invite him over to watch movies with her. To snuggle up to him as they sat on the couch and watched. He’d made her feel safe. It had simply been a matter of time before the chemistry between them exploded.
She’d known Angelo was using her to hide his sexual preferences from his dad. She hadn’t cared at first because his father seemed incredibly nice and warm when she’d met him. They’d both made her feel like part of a family. Her own parents had never been that way. She hadn’t expected to find the men worked for the mob.
Looking back, she should have skipped town and not gone to the police. Or dropped them a note as she hightailed it out of Dodge. She gazed at Jack holding the baby. The one she wouldn’t have if she’d done that. This child had stolen her heart as soon as she saw him.
Jack glanced at the tag on the small crib. “You named him Jonathan.”
Callie rested her hand along the baby’s head, slyly touching Jack’s arm. The heat was instantaneous. “After his father.”
His mouth tightened and his eyes shuttered. He was hiding his emotions but Callie had always been able to read him, much to his chagrin.
“I’m honored. You have so many reasons to hate me.”
She wasn’t sure she could ever hate Jack though she’d cursed him often. He was the reason she’d agreed to stay friends with Angelo. She’d felt safe with him around.
“What happened between you and Angelo? I never got the whole story. Victor’s a bit biased in his opinion. He doesn’t know you’re FBI though.”
“Was FBI,” he muttered and his voice grew harsh. “I haven’t had much to do with them lately. They’ve got a leak and I can’t trust anyone there.”
“Haven’t they had you in protective custody? What happened?” All this time she’d pictured him holed up in some fancy FBI hideaway.
Jack’s face hardened but his arms remained gentle with their son. “Protective custody was a joke. My first few locations were compromised so I had to protect myself. It’s why I couldn’t contact you. I wanted to.”
He held out his free hand but stopped inches from her face. Did she want him to touch her? Yes. No. Her mind was too muddled to know what she wanted.
Jack looked around the room as if trying to make a decision. To tell her the truth?
“Why did you kill Angelo?”
“He knew you were pregnant. Some doctor friend.”
The same one who had blabbed to Victor before she could disappear. It showed her how huge his reach was.
“He saw me coming from your house that last morning. He was furious.”
“He knew about us? Was jealous? We were friends, that’s it, regardless of what his father thought.”
“He had plans for you and an unplanned pregnancy didn’t fit in with them. He tried to kill me. I got him in self-defense.”
Callie’s stomach plummeted and her breath stopped. “He…oh, my God. Were you hurt?”
“Not as bad as Angelo.” He shrugged. Typical Jack, downplaying his injury.
“What were these plans he had for me?” Angelo had always been sweet to her, but if he worked for the mob, he obviously had a darker side.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s dead.” Jack’s face was like granite. He was done talking about the subject.
“Where have you been all this time?”
“Running. Hiding. Victor put a hit out on me.” He averted his gaze as if embarrassed. He’d want to face this head on, but Victor was too powerful, even for someone like Jack.
She let out the breath she didn’t realize she was still holding. “No one’s been helping you all this time.”
“My cousin, Scott, and a few guys from my Army unit. They’re the only ones I trust right now. They’ve helped move me around the country, keep me safe, but unfortunately haven’t been able to get me any closer to putting Victor away.”
Jack had talked often about his cousin. They’d been raised like brothers after Scott’s parents died.
