Page 94 of Callen's Captive
Chapter Nineteen
KATE
“Are you sure about this?” Callen asked as he held his hand near Blade, ready to catch him if he stumbled or fell.
Blade was standing and dragging one foot then the other, a few inches at a time.
“Baby steps,” Kate said, and both shifters looked at her. “I didn’t mean literally, though it seems appropriate. I meant you should take it easy and don’t push yourself.”
It had taken four days, but they’d finally arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Callen had just set Blade down.
“I don’t want her to see me being carried in.”
“She’ll know you’re injured,” Callen said.
“Of course, she will, but do you think she’ll be more worried if I’m walking slowly or arrive on your back?”
Callen shrugged. “I’m not sure what women think these days.”
“Real smooth, bear.”
Blade thrust an elbow into Callen’s ribs. “Bear, huh?”
“Shut it,” Callen said as his face returned to his mask of non-emotion. He’d had a lot of practice over the last few days. Despite all of Blade’s efforts to broker a truce between them, she and Callen hadn’t spoken much, only over issues regarding safety and bedding down at night. It had been the longest four days of her life.
Here she had to go and ruin it by using her nickname for him.Stupid, stupid, stupid.
The door to the warehouse flew open. Standing in the doorway was a blue-eyed woman with curly blonde hair and the biggest smile Kate had ever seen. The pictures Kate had seen in the WSSO’s profile didn’t do Anna justice. Then again, that was the old Anna, the one being tormented and threatened by the WSSO. This woman, the one who launched herself at Blade with so much force she literally knocked him into Callen, looked so full of life compared to the one in the photos.
Callen, who had been intentionally standing behind Blade to catch him, absorbed the force of Anna’s hug. Both shifters remained upright, but Anna’s smile quickly dimmed when she realized Callen was essentially holding Blade up.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her concern immediate. She really loved him.
Kate looked at Callen, who schooled his features and kept them trained straight ahead. She wanted what Anna and Blade had. She missed her Callen.
“Let’s take this inside,” Callen said, handing Blade off to Anna.
Blade swung an arm around Anna’s neck, sneaking in a few kisses along her neck in between focusing on walking.
“Stop that,” Anna whispered, a second before she turned her head over her shoulder. “Hi, I’m Anna.”
“We’ve met,” Kate said, with a slight smile. “Sort of.”
Anna stopped, her face lighting up. “Katy?”
“It’s Kate,” Callen corrected.
“Katy’s fine too,” Kate said, smiling at both Anna’s excitement and how Callen had corrected her. He knew she didn’t like to be called ‘Katy’. He was still watching out for her, even over something minor. “Nice to finally meet you in person, Anna. It’s been a long time.”
“Oh my God. . . Katy! I so want to hug you right now, but it appears my mate has injured himself.”
“Not his fault. Blade was trying to protect me at the time.” She wasn’t sure how to explain everything that had happened, and she didn’t want to throw Callen under the bus since he hadn’t recognized Blade at the time.
“Callen sliced me up and broke my back,” Blade said.
So much for not throwing Callen under the bus. Anna didn’t even so much as glare at Callen though. That was curious.
“What’s this, three times now, Callen?” Anna asked, as if nearly killing Blade were a normal occurrence around here.
