Page 30 of Philly
By the time she arrived, Mantis, Stone, and Viper had joined the fireside group and been caught up on the situation by Hawkeye and Monk. Judging by the way she paused at the door, swept her gaze over all of them, as if hesitantly taking the temperature of the room, she’d guessed he’d told them about their past and wasn’t sure of her reception.
“Callie,” Mantis said, stepping away from where he’d been standing by the mantel.
Her eyes darted to him, and her shoulders relaxed an inch at his expression. Not exactly smiling, but signaling that she was welcome, although they’d still be watching her. She gave a tiny nod, understanding the unspoken condition, and stepped farther into the room as his brothers rose or moved from their spots.
“We’re headed to Rita’s,” Stone said, dropping a kiss on her cheek as he passed by. Viper offered her a quick hug. She seemed startled by their reactions but took it in stride.
When the others filed out, she approached him, her strides cautious. For a fleeting moment, he missed the confident, ball-busting agent she’d been the past few months. Although, to be fair, he preferred the outfits she’d worn the past few days to the suits she donned like armor. She’d been wearing jeans when she visited him in his backyard, then last night, she’d had on black leggings and an off-white sweater. Today, she was back in jeans with the same tall boots, but instead of her puffy black jacket, she wore a maroon windbreaker and black hat. Both types of clothes fit her perfectly—she was one of those women who looked put together regardless of what they wore—but her suits seemed like a uniform, whereas her clothes in the past few days seemed to reflecther.
“I didn’t mean to clear the room,” she said, walking toward him. He gestured to one of the now-empty chairs, and she sat, holding her hands to the fire.
“They had things to do. We were just catching up,” he said. He could see the question in her eyes, but he didn’t feel like telling her what he had or hadn’t told his brothers. With another tiny nod, she accepted his decision and moved on.
“I stopped by the Blacksmith last night on my way home,” she said. He arched an eyebrow and almost smiled. She did smile, a rueful one. “I needed to calm my brain down a little bit,” she said, then paused. “Joey and Charley and Lina and Juliana were there. They said a few things that maybe I wasn’t supposed to hear, but I did.”
He had a good idea of where this was going. What he and the club did wasn’t a state secret, but it also wasn’t something they advertised.
“Did you help Laura escape an abusive relationship? Is that why you’re protecting her?” she asked.
He hesitated, and she jumped in again. “Because if that’s the case, I get it. I really do. You don’t have to tell me where she is, and I don’t need to talk to her if it will put her at risk. But maybe we could compromise? Maybe you could speak to her and relay any information to me? I don’t need her to testify or anything like that, I”—she sighed—“I just need information. I have a few leads, but not as many as I’d like. If she has any idea which direction I should look, it would be very much appreciated.”
Since she’d told him about her friend Liza last night, he’d been thinking a lot about the situation. But it was more complicated than she thought, and he had a few conversations he needed to have before he made any decisions.
But before he could come up with a way to ask for time while still acknowledging the importance of what she was doing, hisphone dinged with a text, drawing his attention to the device. Leo. He frowned.
“Hold on,” he said. “It’s Leo.” He read the text. “He wants us both to come down to HICC.”
She tipped her head. “Why?”
He rolled his lips before answering. “Well, I got a little curious as to why Laura Nolan would come onto your radar, and so I asked Ava to look into it for me. Only she started having contractions and had to go into the hospital for a few days—she’s fine now, though. On bed rest,” he added at Callie’s alarmed look. “Then Leo took over.”
Callie blinked. “You asked HICC to look into the Nolans?” He nodded. “And Leo has information he wants to share?” He nodded again. A flash of panic crossed her face. He didn’t understand the look, but before he could ask, she let out a deep breath and rose. “Okay,” she said. “Shall we go together or separate?”
17
They traveled together in her car, a quiet ride. Not as tense as she’d thought it might be, but they were both still wary around each other. They’d picked the scabs off a lot of wounds the night before that hadn’t magically healed overnight.
Pulling into HICC twenty minutes later, she spotted Leo and another man—who, judging by the way he watched their approach, must be an operative—standing outside talking. Leo waved as she parked, but the other guy simply stared.
“Who’s that?” she asked, nodding toward him.
“Ben Chambers. He’s an operative. Scary as fuck.”
She glanced over and raised a brow. “You were Special Forces for years andhe’sscary?”
He tried to look serious but couldn’t hold back a grin. “Well, to most people, he’s scary. You see him with his pregnant wife, though, and he turns to mush. Unless you upset her, and if you do, then evenI’dbe worried.”
“Noted,” she said. “Since I’m not likely to meet her, I’m not that worried.”
“You might. She runs the Warwick daycare,” he said, jerking his head toward the cabin they’d passed on the way in. She glanced at the cute building, the only original-looking one on the property. When she peered more closely, she caught sight of brightly colored play structures peeking over the top of the fence.
“They have their own daycare?” she asked, climbing out of the car.
“The Warwicks are many things, including fertile. I don’t even know how many kids there are now, but I think all the cousins except Charley and Joey have two, or, like Ava, will soon have three.”
She grimaced as they walked toward Leo.
“You don’t like kids?”
