Page 114 of Call Back

“I don’t know if there was anything else in that file, but there was another file.”

“Who was that one on?”

“Me,” I whispered. “And it was empty.”

“Where are you now?” he asked, his voice calm and direct like it had been when I’d called him the night of Lopez’s attack. This was Brady in his prime.

“I’m in Belinda’s fortress.”

He paused. “Can you stay there today? When is your brother coming back into town?”

“Uh . . .” I ran a hand over my head. “I don’t know.”

“You need to stay out of sight today. Somewhere James wouldn’t think to look for you. And if he knows about your brother’s animosity toward you, he’d never look for you there.”

He had a point. “I’ll talk to Belinda.”

“Let me know what she says. I’ll do more digging into Bill James.”

“Thank you, Brady.”

“Maggie, thanks for calling me. Even if we aren’t dating, I’m here for you.”

“Thanks.”

Since I’d showered the night before, I got dressed and went down to the kitchen, tracking the coffee smell like a bloodhound.

Belinda was sitting at the breakfast room table and glanced up from her planner. “Good morning, Magnolia. There’s coffee.”

I picked up the cup she’d left next to the coffee maker and used the creamer she’d left out too. After I poured my cup, I sat down across from her. “How are you feeling today?”

She grimaced. “Embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? Why?”

She kept her gaze on her coffee cup. “I made a fool of myself last night.”

“Please,” I said, waving my hand. “That was nothing. Hell, I embarrassed myself in front of the entire world. I was the only one who saw you last night.”

Her eyes lifted to mine. “And that’s what makes it worse. Do you honestly care what all those strangers think of you? Or do you care more about what your momma thinks? Or me or Colt?”

She had a point. Still . . . “Belinda, everyone has to let loose sometimes. And you’ve kept everything bottled up inside for so long, you had to let some of it out. Otherwise, you’d burst. Do you know how honored I am that you felt safe enough to let loose with me? You trusted me to make sure you were safe.” I pressed my hand to my chest. “That’s a huge gift to me, Belinda. Especially after everything in my past.”

“But I didn’t drink to let loose,” she said, rising from her chair with her coffee cup. “I got drunk to find the courage to do what I needed to do. And I didn’t even do it.”

That got my attention. “You took me to the office and showed me the files.”

She refilled her coffee and kept her back to me.

“Belinda,” I said in a sterner voice than I’d intended. “What did you plan to do?”

She turned to face me. “I love you, Magnolia, and I will protect you. You can’t come to my shop today.”

I stood next to my chair. “Why not?”

She ignored my question. “See if Colt will come get you. You can stay until noon, when I expect Roy to come home. If he finds you here . . .”

“He won’t.” I was torn between being hurt that she still wouldn’t confide in me and grateful she was trying to protect me.

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