Page 17 of Callen's Captive
Callen tossed the towel to the ground and with a slow, pained movement, lowered his head back to the sofa and laid his arm so his hand rested below the carvings. “Because I understand what he did.”
“There is nounderstandingtorture,” she said, practically spitting out the words. Callen hadn’t seen the horrific images and videos she had seen in the WSSO’s files. The torture of the one shifter had been exceptionally horrific, with how they burned her while she tried to shift. She’d been stuck mid-shift, unable to finish shifting which appeared to bring on another level of pain beyond the iron searing her flesh. For as long as Kate lived, she’d never get those images and the sounds of that poor woman screaming out of her head.
“Sometimes torture is the only way to obtain information,” Callen added.
“Are you actuallydefendinghim?” She couldn’t believe what he was saying even as he pulled himself into a sitting position, his face twisting in pain with every move.
“I. . .” Callen slumped back down onto the sofa and turned his head away. He was beyond tired, and his head was probably all messed up from what Briggs had done to him, but it hadn’t sunk in yet. He wasn’t outraged, but she was, and she was taking it out on him, the man who’d been tortured. How screwed up was that? Somehow it fit the rest of her life.
She lightly tapped his shoulder to get his attention. Dark eyes turned to her, with a very distant look. “Get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
“I don’t think I can sleep. Too many things going through my head. Will you sit with me?”
It was the least she could do for him, especially after yelling at him. His large frame took up the entire sofa, except where he’d rolled onto his side to make room for her. That one action had probably cost him, given how he inhaled sharply.
She pulled the chair next to the sofa and settled in. “You shouldn’t have gotten yourself involved with this.” She peered out through the office’s window onto the machine shop.
“And you’re stubborn and talk too much.”
She quickly cupped her mouth to keep the laugh from bursting out. There was an incredible resilience in this man that she had to admire, but his ability to joke after what he’d been through, well, that said a lot about him. He was a guy she wouldn’t mind getting to know if circumstances were different.
With his eyes already closed, he rolled back onto his back, once again taking up the full sofa. Kate wanted to reach over, to touch the split lip that had curled into a grin moments ago, and take away the pain, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch him. She had no right to touch him or to think of him as a friend even. In a few days, when he had more of his strength back, she’d leave, but not before then. She owed him that much.
She had just leaned her head against the chair’s high back and closed her eyes when Callen’s hand came to rest on her thigh. He sighed heavily, as if he was finally allowing himself to fall asleep. Had anyone else had the audacity to place a hand on her like that, she would have punched him in the face.
Callen’s hand, which easily spanned her thigh, felt warm and right, reassuring even. That thought should scare the shit out of her, but it didn’t. Finally, Callen’s facial muscles relaxed as he drifted to sleep. A part of her hoped she had something to do with that serenity, even though that was a foolish thought. He’d be gone soon, and she’d be back on the run alone, without anyone to care if she had cheese to eat or a safe place to rest.
Gently, Kate placed her hand on top of his. There was such a contrast between his large black hand and her smaller white hand, shifter and human, and yet she couldn’t deny how alike they were, how well they fit together, like two puzzle pieces. When she edged her hand upward, his fingers curled around hers.
Kate held back the tears that threatened to spill onto her cheeks. Never had anyone held her with such tenderness, such strength, such unwavering trust, especially as he slept, prone and vulnerable, with only her to watch over him. For a moment, she considered what it would be like to have Callen at her side, and a reason to leave the WSSO and all this trouble behind.
