Page 6 of Cruel Love

Caleb taps her heel on the floor. “Archer.”

“Okay.” He holds up his hands in surrender. “I just need to borrow your husband for a few... hours.”

“Hours?” she repeats.

“Well, days,” he says.

She crosses her arms. “Days?”

“Okay, weeks. A few weeks. Tops.”

I feel her red-hot gaze on me. I keep my eyes forward at Archer instead. “What’s going on?” I ask him.

“Doesn’t matter,” Caleb says before he can answer. “I’m sorry, Archer, but Box is a little busy to come out and play tonight. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Archer blocks the door with his foot. “This really can’t wait,” he says, his face turning serious. “They’ve probably already made contact with Fox and if I’m tardy because of traffic I’ll never hear the bloody end of it.”

Caleb shifts forward. “Who made contact with Fox?”

His lips twitch. “I’d really rather discuss this with Boxcar...”

“Archer,” I say, “who?”

He swallows. “Dante and Lilah Hart.”

I look at Caleb as her face turns white. She spins on her heel and grabs her keys off the wall. “Box, find out where he is. I’ll put some pants on and get my gun.”

“See, now...” Archer steps inside and closes the door behind him. “That’s why I wanted to talk to him first. No offense, Caleb, but a fighter’s instinct isn’t what we need at the moment.”

“What we need?” I repeat. “You... and them?”

“Yes,” he says with a nod.

“You and the Harts?”

He cringes. “Yeah, I kind of started dating Lilah...”

I raise a brow. “Seriously?”

“It’s a long story, mate.”

“It’s been like three weeks!”

He gestures behind me. “Could you maybe talk her down, please?”

I turn around and see Caleb standing there in jeans and a shirt with a white-knuckle grip on her revolver. “Cal,” I say. “Hang on.”

“Where are they?” she asks him.

“They didn’t come to hurt him or you or anyone,” Archer says. “They’ve come to ask for his help.”

“Bullshit,” she says. “They wanted to kill him before. What changed?”

His eyes soften. “A lot has changed. Enough for them to put aside the petty shit and call a truce. You should, too.”

I shake my head. “Oh, yeah. Sure. I’ll just forget all about how they poisoned my wife and shot me in the back. Bygones away.”

He shrugs. “I didn’t say it would be easy, mate…”

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