Page 48 of Callen's Captive
Chapter Ten
KATE
Kate read through the WSSO’s notes on the shifters they’d identified as the leaders of the Pack #DP71, otherwise known as “Black pack”. She guessed DP stood for Devil’s Peak, the closest town to the pack, but had no idea about the seventy-one. More than likely, it was a logically assigned number based on all the shifter packs the WSSO had identified and targeted for termination.
She had skimmed through the documents before leaving them for Callen to read. His pack was being targeted. He’d be leaving her soon, to warn or fight alongside them, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could or should do to stop him.
He had to go where he was needed. Except she realized she needed him, too. Not to help her strategize against the WSSO. Her brain was already overflowing with ideas of how to attack them next. What she needed from Callen was something basic, something she hadn’t known was missing from her life until he’d inserted himself in it. Friendship, camaraderie, maybe even love.
More than likely she was simply being sentimental or needy after visiting Janie’s grave, but every time she thought of Callen leaving, she felt empty inside. Her mouth grew dry, she flexed her hands, and she couldn’t focus on how to handle the WSSO.
“Kate,” he called from the back room, his tone agitated.
Kate sat on the stool in the front office, staring out the broken window, watching the storm clouds heading their way. A cool breeze poured through the office, bringing some relief from the heat. As the clouds grew black, so did her mood. A part of her, the selfish part that didn’t want to lose Callen, welcomed the rain, knowing it would delay his departure.
“Kate?” The swivel stool squeaked as he turned her toward him. His hand remained on her shoulder longer than necessary, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. There wouldn’t be any touching soon enough.
“I heard you,” she said. “I was watching the storm.”
“Hell,” he said as he peered out at the torrential downpour. He was eager to leave, as she knew he would be the moment he saw what was in those papers.
“I won’t be here when you get back,” she said. His hand withdrew. Instantly, she felt the loss of his warmth. “I saw the papers,” she explained, before he could ask. She inhaled deeply and then plastered on a huge smile, one that would let him leave with a clean conscience. Callen had promised her that he’d stay, but that was before he knew his pack was in trouble.
“I don’t want to leave you here,” he said.
The sudden burst of rain striking the roof made her jump. “You have to help them.” Crying wasn’t an option, not when lives were in danger. He had to go.
A large, warm hand cupped her cheek, guiding her head back until her eyes met his. “Come with me.”
“If I’d left a few days ago, when you first offered, then I wouldn’t have been here to hack their servers and discover their plans against your pack. I need to be here for the next scheme, and the one after, and the one—”
“When does it end?” he asked, a low growl riding his words. The yellow in his eyes turned exceedingly bright. Callen was angry at what the WSSO was doing, and he had every right to be.
“I don’t know,” she answered, honestly. “I guess when they no longer exist.”
“They’ll be another to replace them. That’s how the world works. Defeat one evil, three more take its place.”
“Then I have my work cut out for me, don’t I?”
Another growl, louder this time as he cupped her face with both hands now, forcing her to face him. She hadn’t given any thought to when she’d be finished attacking the WSSO, but truth be told, she hadn’t thought about what a life with Callen might be like either. Whatever it entailed, it would be good, really good, because it would be with Callen. A house, maybe kids someday. It was a foolish fantasy, of finally having a family of her own, one with Callen. He couldn’t see past the fact that she was human. And yet she couldn’t see herself with anyone else.
His thumb cleared the tears that had escaped her eyes. She hadn’t meant to cry. She swiped at the tears, until he kissed her, pulling her back into that fantasy, the one where he didn’t leave her, didn’t care that she was human, and wouldn’t condemn her for the crimes she committed.
The unexpected plink of raindrops on the desk where she’d been reading startled her. She broke the kiss to gather up the papers.
“Come on,” he said softly, as he took her hand and led her to the cot. He placed his back to the wall, pulling her between his legs until she leaned back against his chest. When he rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her, she melted into the safety and love of all that was Callen. They sat there, saying nothing as they watched the rain fall. Heaven.
“I love listening to the rain,” he said in a low voice, that made her snuggle back against him. “To the utter power behind it, the soothing rhythm. It’s a symphony found only in nature. Each rainstorm carries a story of life and death, beginnings and endings, and no two are ever the same. Yet when one storm ends, it’s not an ending. If you wait long enough, another storm rolls through, sometimes more powerful than the last. You never know when, but you know it will come, often when you least expect it. We never worry about that small fact, because it’s a part of life.”
“I know you’re leaving, Callen, that you have to go back,” she said as she put her hand on his arm, desperately trying to memorize the feel of him against her.
“Come with me, Kate,” he whispered in her ear. His very voice, the low seductive timbre of it, almost had her saying ‘yes.’
“Callen—”
“I want you. God, more than anything, I want you, my Kate, but I have to go back.”
He wanted her? She wasn’t hearing him right, was she? No, this was his guilt talking. He had to leave, so he was throwing her a bone, so to speak, something to make her feel good about herself, to make up for the fact that he was breaking his promise.
