Page 80 of Hero's Heart

Callum slid his phone away. He wasn’t going to say anything else to the man. “I told him I don’t know where she is. Easiest lie I’ve ever told.”

“Good.” Bear took another sip of his beer, once again glancing over at Joy and Sloane. “Any word on the Kozaks?”

“Fuckers have gone to ground. Their kidnapping ring is in shambles, thanks to us getting Interpol involved, but they haven’t been able to find Jakob and Nikola to arrest them yet.”

“Shame.”

Callum studied his beer. He still would love to get his hands on Nikola for the marks the man had put on Sloane. But he’d have to settle for knowing he’d scarred Jakob and waiting for them both to be arrested and rot in a Moldovan prison. “Their time is coming. They can run, but they can’t hide for long.”

Bear held up his glass. “Cheers to that.”

Callum clinked his glass against it. “Hell yeah.”

They both took a long sip, glad to be here and not Moldova, before Bear spoke again. “Don’t you think it’s strange that Sloane came here, of all places?”

Callum sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sloane and I got…close, during the escape from Moldova. I talked a lot about Oak Creek.”

“Yeah, well, I guess it’s a great town, so I don’t blame her for…” The younger man’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, howclose?”

“Very close.”

Understanding dawned in Bear’s eyes. “Oh. Oh, I see.”

Callum nodded, a mix of guilt and longing churning in his chest. “Yeah. So, I’m a bastard.”

Callum braced himself for Bear’s disapproval, expecting a lecture about taking advantage of a vulnerable young woman. Instead, Bear’s expression softened, his eyes filling with understanding rather than judgment.

“Callum, I may not know everything that went down in Moldova, but I know you,” Bear said, his voice low and sincere. “You’re not the kind of man who’d sleep with a woman just because she was there. And clearly, Sloane doesn’t think so either. She came all the way to Oak Creek, for Christ’s sake.”

Relief washed over Callum, though a knot of tension remained in his chest. He glanced across the bar, watching Sloane laugh with a customer as she refilled their drink. Her smile lit up her entire face, and Callum felt a familiar ache in his chest.

Bear leaned in, his voice dropping even lower. “So, what’s the plan here, Sheriff? You looking for something real with her?”

Callum’s throat tightened. He’d been avoiding this question, even in his own mind. With Amelia’s death, he’d thought his chance at any sort of serious relationship had passed. But watching Sloane now, seeing the life and warmth she brought to this small-town bar, he couldn’t deny the truth any longer.

“I want her,” Callum admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know what that means exactly, or how any of it can work out, but I want her. For as long as she’ll have me.”

Chapter 28

“I want to take you somewhere. You up for a short hike?”

Callum studied Sloane from across the breakfast table as he said the words. She stopped with her cereal spoon midway up to her mouth.

“Like…thirty miles across Moldova short? Otherwise, I’m not sure it’s worth my time.”

Callum grinned. “Not quite that long, but I’d like to show you something. If we hurry, we can beat the storm coming in.”

Despite her lightheartedness this morning, he knew something was on her mind. She’d been up multiple times during the night and anxious even when she was sleeping. For the past couple of days, she’d constantly looked like she needed to say or do something but didn’t know how.

Maybe this hike would help. Plus, he had some things he wanted to say too.

They were out the door a few minutes later. Sloane wore a pair of sneakers she’d bought with her second day’s worth of tips, the kind that spoke of someone who appreciated practicality over flash.

Where he was taking them wasn’t far, which was good since a storm was headed their way. They walked in silence for a while, their footsteps crunching over the dew-covered grass. Callum glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, noting the way she seemed to take in every detail of their surroundings—the way the leaves trembled in the light breeze, the faint hum of insects stirring to life.

Everything always seemed so new and interesting to Sloane. It made Callum look at things through new eyes also.

“Where are we going?” she asked finally.

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