Page 6 of Catalyst

Callie turned away from him, crossing her arms as she completely focused on me. Her lips parted like she had something to say, but the words died on the tip of her tongue.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed before turning to walk away. To prevent her from leaving as quickly as she came, I jogged past her to the door and pressed my back against it. I shot Jace a glare, and he held his hands up in mock surrender, but his smirk said he wasn’t sorry.

Fucking dickhead.

“Hold on there, sweetheart. You didn’t come to visit just to get bullied.” I laughed, trying to think of something else to say, anything to keep her here. “We haven’t seen you for months. Why don’t you sit down? I can get you a drink.”

The second I offered it, I realized we didn’t actually have much in the way of beverages. We had a bunch of beer, something a pregnant woman couldn’t have. Jace brought home some whiskey the other day, but no mixers, so I couldn’t offer her a soda. I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think she could have coffee either. And, though it was fine for Jace and me, I didn’t really trust the tap water.

Callie pressed her lips into a thin line as she shook her head.

“I shouldn’t have come here, and I’m sorry.” She struggled through the words, and I swore I was going to see her cry again.

“Well, you did,” Jace called from behind me.

Callie wrapped her arms tighter around herself as her sapphire eyes flickered between me and the door. If I weren’t right here, she’d have bolted by now. And that would’ve meant losing the one form of contact we’d had with her in months. Of course Callie had been on my mind since Sulien’s death, but I figured she didn’t give a shit about us. And that was her right. Her family was heroes, and we were just low-grade villains.

“Don’t be like that,” I soothed, leaning further onto the wooden door for emphasis. “You’re here now, so just sit for a few minutes… I don’t really want you running around likethat.”

I wildly gestured to her stomach, still trying to process the news. Sulien had said something about Callie fucking around with other heroes before she got involved with us, so there was a chance thatthingwasn’t Sulien’s… but I hoped it was.

It’d be nice to have a piece of him to hang onto, and I knew his dad would feel the same.

Her gaze fell to the floor. “I can’t stay. I’m sorry for interrupting you.”

“Don’t be sorry.” I locked the sliding lock at the top of the door before pushing myself off of it and closing the gap between us. The second she was within reach, I placed a hand on either of her shoulders. “No matter what, you’re always welcome here. We’ve missed you.”

She tensed, but didn’t pull away. The second her eyes met mine, I saw an emotion much deeper than anxiety, sadness, or even anger. Callie was completely exhausted—not just physically, either. The normal spark in her eyes was gone. In the time since I’d last seen Callie, she’d been completely broken.

“I can stay for a few minutes,” she relented, batting at her eyes with the back of her hands.

“Good.” That was all we needed. Callie could explain why she was like this, and then she could leave, as long as she had somewhere safe to go. If she didn’t though… I guess I’d have to politely kidnap her.

I draped an arm over Callie’s shoulders and led her away from the door. Jace decided that was his cue to vanish into his room. Honestly, it might be easier to talk without his dumb ass here. After making sure Callie was as comfortable as possible on our depressing excuse of a couch, I settled into the weathered armchair across from her.

“Now, why are you in our neck of the woods?”

Our neighborhood wasn’t the place for people like Callie—too many shady things for someone so bright.

“I…” Her voice trailed off as she picked at the chipped pink polish on her nails. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

I fought a look of confusion. “Don’t you still live with your folks?”

At least, that’s what Sul had said. His exact words were:The Voltarises are like some sort of cult where the kids never move out. But hey, having a close-knit family wasn’t a bad thing. If my Mama hadn’t been so insistent about me joining the familybusiness, I would have stayed at home a few more years. Could’ve used the time to get myself on my feet, honestly.

“I got kicked out.”

My eyes involuntarily widened.

“Because of the baby?” In a fucked-up way, that made sense. They probably wanted some sort of cookie-cutter princess, and right now, that wasn’t Callie.

Her hair swayed as she shook her head.

“They wanted me to get into a relationship with the top hero at Aegis. Something about fixingourreputation.” A quiet sort of anger colored her words, but it didn’t last long. “So… I was hoping I could stay here… just until I figure out what to do.”

So, the Voltarises kicked out their own daughter because she wouldn’t play along with their plans for her. That wasn’t the type of behavior you’d expect from the world’s most popular family of heroes. And now, not only was their daughter homeless and pregnant, but it sounded like she thought she was a burden.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees as I studied her. If Sul were here, he would have burnt down their fucking mansion for hurting Callie like this, and I’d have helped him. But Callie didn’t need that stress. Instead, I focused on coming up with a way to tell her that I’d prefer her to be here. It’d be easierto protect her and the baby that way. I just didn’t want to come off as a creep.

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