“Guess he’s not dead,” Noah notes with disappointment in his voice. Then Shane quiets after a thud and the sound of duct tape ripping resumes.
“How did you know to look for me?” Callie asks, sounding stronger than before as she rubs her red skin.
“I needed to talk to you.” I shrug out of my jacket and drape it over her shoulders, holding it open so she can slip her arms in, then tugging it around her. “After the pie competition—I got second place, by the way—Noah made me realize I shouldn’t have let you go. And when I checked your location…” I stop speaking to see how she reacts to me continuing to track her. She nods for me to continue. “I realized you weren’t where you should be.”
“Second place, huh.” Callie attempts a small smile. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s not important.” I shake my head and pull off my beanie, tucking it onto her head.
“Thank you,” she says. Her eyes flutter as I lean forward and place a soft kiss on each side of her face. She sighs softly.
“Done,” Noah says from behind me. “He’s coming with us.”
“So you shouldn’t have let me go, huh?” Callie’s gaze flits from my eyes to my lips. I can’t fully read her expression, but it’s definitely sad.
“Yes. We need to talk, but not here.” All I want to do is tell her I love her and kiss her, but we have some pretty fucking urgent things to take care of first.
“Wes.” Callie’s voice catches. “I wanted you to come get me. But I thought—after all the horrible things I said to you—I thought you’d respect my wishes and leave me alone…” she trails off.
I offer her a hand and gently pull her to standing. Her knees buckle, but I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her against me. Her mouth trembles, and I run a finger along her lower lip while still supporting her with my other arm. The words she said to me have run through my mind like a ticker tape ever since.I could never be with someone like you. You need to leave me alone. This is over.
Maybe she didn’t really mean them. Fuck, it’s hard to control the surge of hope that almost knocks me over.
“I am not a noble person, Calliope. I realized I couldn’t let you go, even though you told me to. I know that’s fucked up. I know that’s not what most women want. But I need to do everything I can to convince you to stay with me before I let you go.”
Callie takes a sharp breath, and her gaze dances between my eyes.
“I hate to interrupt,” Noah says in the same calm tone as before.
“Do you, though?” I don’t look away from Callie.
“Yeah, well, we have a dude—unconscious, again, but still—duct-taped on the barn floor, so maybeyou can help me get him into the truck and then move this conversation to my cabin?”
“I thought he was awake?”
“Well. My baseball bat took care of that.”
“Ouch.” Callie peers around me at Shane, who is indeed once again knocked out.
After we get Shane loaded into the bed of the truck and pull the cover down, I sit in the front with Callie nestled against me for the drive to Lake Savage.
My panic comes in waves as Noah weaves his way out of the long, overgrown lane and turns on the radio. No one would’ve found Callie, and I shudder to think of what Shane was planning.
What Joe Killer was planning.
He was going to fucking kill her.
“Hey. Are you okay?” Callie slides her hand on my thigh and looks up at me. “Are you shaking?”
“I’m okay,” I say, but it’s clearly a lie. All the adrenaline of the past hour is leaving my system, and I feel weak. She’s right, the hand not gripping her to me is shaking. I open and close my fist to try to get the blood flowing.
“Wesley, you got there in time.” She lifts her hand and slides it onto my cheek, pulling my face down so she can press a soft kiss on my mouth.
I take a ragged breath in, our lips still touching. So much could’ve happened if we’d been a few minutes later. If I hadn’t checked her location at all. If Noah hadn’t kicked me in the ass to go tell her how I feel. Even if Ruth Roy hadn’t won the pie competition and I was busy with the winner’s photo shoot or schmoozing with the judges.
“Thank you,” Callie whispers.
“There’s nothing to thank me for.” I press my forehead against hers.
