“Close enough,” he said.
“History has shown us Daisy is an obvious source of threat to you,” she said. “But I doubt she’s the only one.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“This is heavenly,” Daphne said, stretching her legs in the heated water. Amber sat across from her in the spa’s hot tub while Callie sat on the edge, only her feet dangling in. While prenatal massages were a thing, soaking in a hot tub was a no-no; even Daphne knew that.
“Are you feeling better?” Amber asked.
“Getting there,” Daphne responded. “It will take time. I just need to keep moving my body. Not working it, just moving it.”
“The massage after this should help,” Callie said.
Daphne made ahmmnoise and slid up to her neck into the water. While she’d napped, Lovell had texted Callie and Gabe about booking the appointment. Gabe had taken over and booked all three of them the deluxe package. She had no idea what the men were doing, but they’d agreed to meet for dinner at the lodge restaurant before she headed to Harper’s cabin.
She swirled her arms, half stretching them, half enjoying the heat soaking into her bones. A twinge of something tweaked her conscience when she thought about staying in the cabin alone. Harper was meticulous about security, so it wasn’t that. And she spent 90 percent of her time alone anyway, so it wasn’t that either.
“You’re looking very pensive over there,” Callie said.
“Why do you think Weeks shot Beeks?” she asked, not wanting to convey any of her curious thoughts to her sister.
Callie’s dark eyes lingered on her. Her sister was no fool, but thankfully, she dropped her gaze to her toes and gently fluttered her feet underwater.
“Hard to say,” she replied. “Maybe they got in a fight and Weeks had the bigger gun. Maybe Beeks threatened him. Maybe there’s a woman back home. There are a lot of potential reasons for two criminals working together to have a falling-out.”
“Any updates from Ryan?” Amber asked.
“They found Beeks’s cell phone about twenty feet from his body. They’re going through it now,” Callie answered.
“Not HICC?” Daphne asked.
“Ryan’s team is taking the initial lead. If they need help, HICC is on contract with them,” Callie answered.
Daphne eyed her sister. Aside from the obvious reasons—Gabe and the baby—her face reflected a little extra glow. “You love working for them, don’t you?”
Callie looked up. “HICC?” Daphne nodded. Callie smiled. More reserved than Daphne, Callie’s easy smile told Daphne all she needed to know. “I do. I didn’t know companies like them existed when I was in college. I learned about them while in the FBI, but never considered making a jump. I was so focused on being an agent. It was all I’d ever wanted to do, and I wasn’t interested in looking elsewhere.”
“Philly changed that?” Amber asked.
Callie shook her head. “No, he was an added bonus, but not the reason. We weren’t even speaking when I moved here.” Callie paused, a shadow of sadness flickering across her face. “I wanted to investigate the death of my best friend, and the FBI wouldn’t let me. Couple that frustration with the worst boss in the history of bosses and one day, well, over a couple of days,I kind of snapped. I reached out to the owners of HICC, Stella and Hunter, locked down a job, then quit. I was supposed to work out of their DC offices, but they moved me here because, supposedly, they were doing renovations.”
Daphne and Amber both laughed. “You think they weren’t?” Amber asked.
Callie paused, then huffed a laugh. “I don’t know. Stella and Sabina are tricky that way. Regardless, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Moving here was the best thing for me, in ways I never could have imagined.” She paused again, then flashed a wry smile. “Which, admittedly, is not hard since my imagination isn’t that great. I’m more the left-brain type.”
Amber smiled. “Amazing job doing what you love, husband who adores you and looks at you like he wants to drag you to the bedroom every chance he gets?—”
“Which he obviously did. Or maybe she dragged him,” Daphne said with a grin. “It didn’t take long for that little bean to come into play.” She nodded to Callie’s still-flat stomach.
Callie dipped her eyes, not quite in embarrassment, but she’d never been one to talk about sex much. “Yet another added bonus,” she conceded.
“On that note, what is going on with you and Lovell?” Amber asked. The way Callie’s eyes shot up to Amber gave Daphne pause. There was nothing going on between her and Lovell—well, except the massage that might have strayed into more-than-massage territory—but she couldn’t decipher the sharpness in her sister’s expression.
“Nothing is going on,” she said. “He feels guilty that I’m a part of this.”
“It’s more than that,” Amber pushed. Callie’s gaze shifted to Daphne.
Daphne shook her head. “It’s not. We’re two reasonably attractive people who got thrown into a high-stakes situation.Things—emotions, reactions, what have you—can be interpreted in ways they shouldn’t be.” She hoped. Lovell was a delicious-looking man, and if the situation were different, if they weren’t so closely connected through Callie and Gabe, things might play out differently. But that wasn’t the case, and she had no interest in bringing any awkwardness to her sister’s life. Especially not when she finally seemed settled and happy. Daphne might be selfish, but her sister came first. Always.
