Page 78 of Stolen Voices
Thankfully, the paramedics arrived when they did. It might have looked like I was holding it together, but I wasn’t.
When she panicked and begged me not to let her go, I knew I never would. The wall I had put between us came crumbling down.
Callie is not just my client. She’s so much more. She’s everything.
Myeverything.
My phone buzzes beside me, and I slide it open to find a text from Hudson. Anger fizzles beneath my skin. He has a lot of fucking explaining to do.
Hudson: How’s the flight?
Eli: Good. Thank you for letting me use the jet.
Hudson: Anytime. I had Reenie arrange a rental in your name.
Eli: Good thinking. I’m mad at you. You have some serious explaining to do.
Hudson: *Laughing emoji* About?
Eli: About Callie and what’s been going on.
Hudson: Oh. I had suspicions. Nothing concrete, and I certainly didn’t think someone was trying to kill her.
Suspicions. I mull his words over for a minute. He at least had an idea and kept me in the dark.
Eli: Why didn’t you tell me? Is this why you really wanted me watching Callie?
Hudson: That’s not a conversation we can have over text.
What the fuck does that mean? My anger grows hotter at his dodgy answers. What isn’t he telling me? We tell each other everything.
Did you tell him you’ve had feelings for Callie for the last two years?I huff at my phone.
Callie moans beside me at my movement.
“Sorry, princess,” I whisper against the crown of her head as I adjust her, making her more comfortable.
As much as Callie’s fighting it, her body needs rest to heal. I’m pretty sure the physical, and emotional, toll she experienced today hasn’t sunk in yet. I wish she would take something stronger to ease her pain, but she’s stubborn as hell.
It’s one of the many things I like about Callie. She pushes back when I act like a bossy asshole. The fire in her, the defiance… It’s all so fucking hot. She’s stronger than I gave her credit for.
Eli: Fair enough. I have some shit we need to discuss anyway.
Hudson: It’s morning here, so whenever. How’s our girl doing?
Our girl? I don’t fucking think so. She might not be mine yet, but she will be.
I was so close to kissing her this afternoon. The way her deep brown eyes burned, she wanted to kiss me, too. If she hadn’t cried out in pain, closing the last inch between us, I’m not sure I would have ever stopped kissing her.
There is this magnetic pull between me and Callie, and I’m done denying it.
We haven’t kissed yet, and I’m already so fucking down bad for this woman that the codes I’ve lived by are meaningless words to me now. Even though I’m about to jump into the deep end, Hudson’s right, there are just some conversations that need to be had in person. This is one of them. He needs to know I’m about to throw my entire career out the window for her.
I won’t go one second of one day keeping my feelings for Callie a secret, and after yesterday, I could give a fuck about the consequences. I almost lost her forever and I won’t let that happen again.
Eli: Sleeping. Did you know about Malibu?
Hudson: Malibu??
