Page 7 of Callahan's Haven

She wandered through the lower level of the house, first peeking into his empty bedroom, then checking down the hall in the living and family rooms, and then finally the kitchen.

Was he working?

She went to his study at the back of the house and knocked on the closed door. “Dad?” She tried the handle. It was locked.

“Just a minute,” he called out. She pressed her ear to the door but didn’t hear anything, then took a step back when the lock turned and the door opened. “Sorry,” he said, his eyes troubled and face tense when he stepped into the hall and shut the door behind him. “I had something unexpected to come up.”

“Are you okay?” It had been years since she’d seen such a worried expression on his face—not since those last few days they’d had with her mom. Alarmed, she grabbed his arm. “Has something happened?”

“What?” Her dad took in a deep breath and smiled, his features relaxing. “Nothing’s wrong,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “At least nothing you need to be worry about.” He hugged her tighter.

“You’re sure?” His heart pounding fast in her ear slowed to a normal pace. Maybe it was one of those secret things he couldn’t tell her.

“Positive.” He let her go and reached for her bag. “I’ve got this.” He put his arm around her shoulders and walked with her through the house to the front door and then out onto the porch in a comfortable silence. They went down the steps to the driveway and stopped at her car. “Do something for me.” He opened the driver’s side door and put her bag in the back seat as she stood beside him.

“Sure. Anything.”

He straightened from the car and faced her, grabbing both her shoulders and stooping to hold her gaze. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“You—”

“I know I tell you this every time you leave, but I’m working out of Norfolk over the next few weeks instead of DC and won’t be as close to Middleburg as I normally would be.” His fingertips dug harder into her shoulders. “Just…” He grimaced. “Just take extra precautions. No being alone with people you don’t know. No late-night strolls through the quad.”

“That’ll be kinda hard since my schedule changed at the campus library and I’ll be closing a couple of nights a week.”

“Call security before you leave.” He pulled her in for another hug. “I have to know you’re safe.” He squeezed her against his chest, whispering, “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too.”

Tears pricked her eyes at her dad’s concern for her, but she blinked them back. “Dad,” she said, patting his back. “I promise you nothing is going to happen to me, and we’ll see each other again in less than a month for Thanksgiving.” She pulled out of his arms and smiled up at him. “So don’t worry. Okay?”

“I’ll try not to.” He gave her a smile and swift kiss on the forehead, although his eyes still seemed troubled. “You’d better get going. I don’t want you to have to drive in the dark.”

She shook her head. “I should get there well before sunset.” She stretched up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then hopped in her car, saying, “Love you.”

“Love you too,” he said, as she shut the door. He backed up as she pulled away.

“Dads,” she chuckled to herself. She looked in her review mirror as she went down the drive to see he was still standing where she’d left him but with a cellphone in his hand. She focused back on the road. “Always worrying about nothing.”

3

Someone once saidwhen you have children, your heart forever walks outside your body. Right now, his was about to drive off in a lime green VW.

Duncan Sheppard pulled the untraceable burner cell he’d taken from his study wall safe out of his jeans pocket and held it to his chest. He squeezed it while watching Haven start up her car and leave, and didn’t look away until her car topped the rise in their road and disappeared.

His girl was smart. She could take care of herself. He’d made sure of it.

Because while Patsy had taken their daughter to dance and ballet, Duncan had taught her self-defense and how to shoot. He had needed to know his sweet, pink-loving, dress-up playing, all girlie-girl daughter could kick ass if necessary. And she could. So, she wasn’t some helpless damsel needing him or any other man protecting her.

Usually.

But nothing was usual about what had transpired in the last hour.

Nothing.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t foreseen something like this could happen. He had. He’d just let himself become complacent over the years when it hadn’t. His work with counterintelligence in the Marines and now in the civilian sector hadn’t made him popular with some of the darker elements in the world, but he’d honestly believed they would come after him before his family. He’d never anticipated someone would use Haven as leverage against him.

It was a stupid assumption on his part.

Needless to say, he was warned not to report anything to his handlers. They hadeyeson him and they’d know. That directive he could handle. The bitch of it was, he couldn’t warn Haven.Shewas under surveillance as well, and if she deviated at all from her normal activities—gave any inkling she was aware of the situation—she was gone. She would also be just as gone if Duncan didn’t do exactly what they had directed him to do when he met with the Turkish Minister of Interior and Mazhar Sadik in less than three weeks for peace negotiations.

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