Page 70 of Exit Strategy

“Thanks.”

* * *

When I finally decided thatenough time had passed, a fact that demonstrated itself by realizing that I only had two smokes left in the pack, I went back in. Kyle followed me, and there was something reassuring about it, how he did it. Despite the suit and the slick shoes, all the polish and posture, he still had the demeanor of an American special force’s commando.

The scene inside Tate’s office was not something I was prepared for.

All the women looked rattled, like a bomb had gone off. Callie’s makeup, so artfully applied, was mostly streaked down her face. Tate looked like she had gone through a wringer, and her smart jacket was folded and on her desk. The AV people seemed to be wrapping things up and despite the level of emotional carnage, things seemed to be okay.

“This might sound rude, but thank you for stepping out when you did,” Tate said, looking to Kyle and me. “By making this just us women, it made things…” She groped for the right word, but finally settled on, “Easier.”

“You’re welcome, and if this is easier, I don’t think I want to imagine what more difficult would look like,” I said. “But anything I can do to help, just let me know. Even if it’s fucking off so you can have some privacy.”

“It okay,” Callie said, and wiped at her eyes with a tissue. “We’re going to do good here, and everything that I had to go through, it’s documented now. Maybe we can make sure no other girl has to go through what I did.”

There were so many shining eyes looking at her.

I wasn’t sure what had happened in that room, and what was on that tape or file, or whatever they recorded the deposition with. I didn’t want to know either. I knew in my heart that it would just make me bloody angry. I steadied myself, taking a centering breath. I didn’t need to let my emotions get me all hot and bothered, not considering what I had on hand. I sat next to Callie, and she gave me a smile. Her eyes were still puffy, and her face was red from crying. What horrors and abuse had she shared with them?

Fuck me, I didn’t want to know.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yes, yes I am,” she whispered, and pressed her head against the side of my shoulder. I put an arm around her, and for all the world, I wanted to destroy the people who had hurt her. Thinking of it, I felt my cool trying to slip. Kyle put a hand on my other shoulder and gave it a squeeze before moving to engage Tate and her people.

I was thankful for him. He was a social assassin. He knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. Fuck me, I was sure that it he wanted to leave Tate’s office with her panties in his pocket, he could.

I turned back to hold Callie. She seemed so small in my arms, but just being there soothed her spirits.

In that moment, with my arm around her, and my face pressed against the top of her head, I had an answer to Lachlan’s question; I loved her.

Fuck.

This wasn’t some riff onThe Bodyguard, and I didn’t care about her because I was some wanna-be White Knight looking for a princess to rescue. I didn’t need to make myself feel like a big man with a little woman to save.

“So, what’s next?” Tate asked.

“Dinner reservations atLe Jefferson,” Kyle said.

“Oh, Lord, not like this,” Callie said.

“There is plenty of time before our reservation for you to clean up and redo your makeup, and anything else you might need to handle.”

“Duly noted,” I said.

“We’ll take a day or so,” Tate said. “But our people are going to clean up that reel, and then we’ll get everything ready to go. It won’t take much to get this to our legal department and the public relations desk. Then, we go with everything at one time, hitting New Eden, Rex, and Triple E with this at the same time. We’ll file the subpoenas, see what we can get for warrants, and the press release, all in sync.”

“Is that important?” I asked.

“With a group as large and wealthy as New Eden, it’s vital. We have to hit them with all we have as quickly as possible. Ideally, they will be cut off at the knees, tangled in legal and police procedure while trying to not look like the bastards that they are,” Tate said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Perfect,” Kyle said.

* * *

Almost an hour later,we were back in the car, returning to the house on the edge of the bay. Kyle handled the sedan like a fighter pilot, and I kept wondering if we were being chased. Every time I looked back, I saw nothing, but he continued his pace like a madman.

“Why are we going so quick?” Callie asked, gripping the armrest with tense fingers.

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