Page 141 of Callen's Captive
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CALLEN
“What do you think?” Hayden asked as they watched the woman with green eyes and long dark hair enter the small abandoned shop for the second time in two days.
A week ago, after Callen and Blade had retrieved the Shifter Origination Virus from the bunker, Damien had ordered Callen to find and escort Dr. Evans from Montana to Colorado. The shifter doctor had made progress in developing a new vaccine against the shifter virus, but he needed help evading the WSSO. He had made it out of Montana and was stuck in the outskirts of Medicine Bow, Wyoming. While Damien had received a few requests from shifters escaping the spread of the shifter virus, this one had stood out from the rest because the doctor had specifically requested Damien’s enforcer to escort him.
Reports coming out of Montana were sketchy. The shifter virus was sweeping through the state like wildfire. While Liam was in charge of distributing the cure to as many packs as possible, too many shifters were dying. The cure wasn’t one hundred percent effective. Wolf shifters needed a vaccine which meant they needed this doctor and his expertise. Alex had finally cracked under the pressure and run off. No one knew where he was or if he was alive.
“She could be anybody,” Hayden said. “I read the message myself. There was no mention of another shifter with Dr. Evans. Maybe the woman is a WSSO sympathizer waiting to capture us.”
Hayden and Callen had been watching the abandoned storefront for two days and had checked all the exits, including the roof. No one appeared to be surveilling the building, and they hadn’t spotted any cameras or alarms. Callen was tired of waiting.
“We go in, subdue her. If the doctor’s not there. I interrogate her. Simple.”
“Are you ready to take that step? Interrogate a woman? I mean, do what it takes to get the intel?”
Callen released a growl. Since when the hell had Hayden become his conscience?
Since Kate had. . . Callen stormed off past Hayden, further into the dark recesses of the alley. He should never have come on this op. It was too soon.
“We haven’t come across any WSSO since we left Colorado,” Hayden said from his position by the street. He was talking softly, knowing Callen could easily hear him at that distance. Hayden had chosen to ignore Callen’s outburst.
“This looks like a honey trap if anything. It’s like the WSSO is inviting us in. It just seems too simple.”
Fuck it, but Hayden was right. Something was definitely off about this situation and had been from the start. If the doctor had made it out of Montana as far as Medicine Bow as the message claimed, then he should have been able to continue to Damien’s pack on his own. The woman was the only one going in and out. She was cautious, too. Each time she returned with supplies, she would pass the building, circle back, looking for anything out of place, anyone who could be following her. Callen didn’t get the sense that she was a WSSO sympathizer, but he and Hayden needed to be cautious.
“She could be holding the doctor hostage, waiting for us to show. Which makes the case for going in now, not sitting here on our asses waiting.” Callen was eager to get this over with. He had no patience left.
“I’m guessing she’s the doctor’s mate or daughter. Or simply a local contact. Just look at the way she moves, Callen. She’s no agent. Too sexy.” Hayden had that grin on his face, the one he wore anytime he spotted a woman he desired.
“She’s nothing more than a piece of tail to you,” Callen shot back. His comment was crude and uncalled for, especially since Hayden had never been disrespectful to women, including those he dated.
“I’ll let that pass because of. . .”
Because of Kate’s death.Hayden hadn’t talked much about Kate’s death. Neither of them had, really. The WSSO had killed her three weeks ago. The pain was still too fresh, too raw, and likely would be for some time.
Callen hated being here, on this mission, anywhere near others, especially Hayden, who reminded him of Kate every time he shifted. Seeing Hayden’s white wolf physically hurt. Every time he glimpsed Hayden’s white fur, Callen immediately thought Kate was beside him until reality set in and he remembered she was gone.
Why couldn’t his packmates let him grieve alone, in peace? They never left him alone. Those who had never bothered to give him more than a passing hello in the past approached him with dinner invitations or offers to help him. Help him. . . They weredrowninghim.
Damien was the worst of the bunch. Not only had he kept Callen busy with insignificant tasks, Damien always had someone assigned to Callen, as if he were afraid Callen might intentionally hurt himself.
He wasn’t wrong.
“Why don’t you leave, Hayden. I’ll complete this mission on my own,” Callen said.
“Still trying to get rid of me? Not happening. If this is a legit request, then we need this doctor. And if it’s a trap, I’m certainly not sending you in alone. We need you, Callen. Always will.”
The pack needed him. . . He had needed them once, too. Maybe he still did, but he’d never feel whole again, not without Kate.
“I’m not waiting in this fucking hellhole another day. We do this tonight or I’m out of here.”
“You were never this crude or surly before. . .” Hayden let the words fall away.
“Stop that already. You can say her fucking name. Kate. K-A-T-E. She’s dead, but you and the rest of the pack would rather pretend as if she never existed.” Callen stripped out of his clothes. “I’m going for a run. Try not to get yourself killed while I’m gone.”
Callen charged into the woods. He ran for an hour, draining off some of his energy, but not his anger. He had no right taking out his frustrations on Hayden, but he had. They would both have to deal with it, just like Callen had to figure out how to deal with Kate’s death.
