Page 20 of Caught in His Sights

They took out a hit on me, after all.

“Sort of,” he admits with a sigh. “But not for the reason you think. I just don’t want them in my business.”

I mull over his words as the mansion-filled neighborhood glides by outside the tinted windows.

There’s something comforting about Caleb wanting to keep whatever is going on between us to himself. But it also leaves fewer witnesses to worry about when he does grow tired of me.

As Caleb takes the ramp onto the highway, his eyes flick to me. “My tech guy went over your laptop to track down the origin of those death threats you’ve been getting. It’ll take some time, though. The person who sent them knew enough to use an internet cafe and pay in cash, which means digging through security footage.”

“Wow.” I push out a breath, surprised by how much he accomplished while I was cuffed to the bed, bored out of my mind until I fell asleep.

“We’re also pulling video of last night from around your building to see if we can catch the shooter on camera.”

I pick at my pant leg. “Did you find anything else on my laptop?”

“Like what?” Caleb smirks. “Your spank bank folder filled with pictures of me?”

Heat rushes to my cheeks. “Why aren’t you more weirded out by that?”

“Why aren’t you more weirded out that I planned to kill you yesterday?” he counters.

“Huh.” I settle back against my seat. “I guess we’re both weirdos, then.”

Caleb barks out a laugh. “Doesn’t sound like such a bad thing.”

The city skyline looms closer as we near our exit, and I find myself lost in thought, staring out the window. It’s strange how easily my life has been uprooted and changed in a matter of hours.

“Your articles are good,” Caleb says suddenly, pulling me out of my reverie. “I checked out your blog.”

My head whips toward him. “When did you have the time?”

“While waiting for people to report back.” He drums his thumbs against the steering wheel. “How do you do your research?”

“Digging through forums, cross-referencing police reports, social media…” I pick at my pant leg again, more nervous to talk about my work than to be naked in front of him. “It’s a bit like a puzzle, putting all the pieces together and fact-checking.”

“I didn’t realize so many Omegas were going missing from your neighborhood.” He lapses into silence for a moment. “I saw the folder you had in your bag. Who’s Dylan?”

The question catches me off guard, and I freeze, unsure whether to share this part of me with him. It’s too personal, and I’m too vulnerable. He might decide to use the information against me.

Caleb’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “It’s fine. You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s not really a secret.” I look at him. “He was my little brother. He vanished last year from the apartment complex your family just tore down.”

7

Caleb’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Tell me about your brother.”

It’s not a request but a command, and I stare out the windshield at the early morning traffic, skyscrapers looming on the horizon.

“Dylan was younger than me by five years.” My voice wavers as I think back to happier times when my family was whole. “He had moved into his own place not long before…everything happened.”

Caleb takes his focus off the road for a second to look at me again. “What about your parents?”

I swallow hard, memories of their loving faces flooding my mind. “Our dad died from a brain aneurysm when Dylan was still in high school, and our papa passed away six months later from a broken heart.”

“Broken heart?” Caleb’s knuckles turn white around the wheel, and anger thrums through the words. “He gave up just like that? When he still had kids to take care of?”

“I was angry, too, at first.” Exhaustion and numbness creep in, and I prop my elbow on the window ledge to rest my head against my hand. “After the funeral, I had to give up on my dreams and move back home to look after Dylan. But once I worked through the stages of grief over losing both of my parents so close together, I realized it couldn’t have happened any other way. Their love was too strong. They were a true bonded pair.”

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