Page 128 of Wicked Duty
“Of course I want to meet your family.”
“Really?” The edge of hope in Callum’s voice stops me.
He’s actually been thinking hard about this, hasn’t he?
“Callum, I love you. They could be serial killers, and I’d still want to meet the people who brought you into the world?—”
My phone rings, loud and obtrusive.
Callum reaches for it. “Here, I’ll turn it off.”
“No. Let me have it.” I sit up, heaving a breath.
Callum grunts and lowers the phone into my palm.
“It’s the DA calling.” I nearly fumble the thing. For the moment, I’d forgotten all about Viktor Roguilin and my plans to still testify.
But a middle-of-the-night phone call from the DA? That can’t be good news.
Heart stuttering, I answer the call and hold the phone to my ear. I mostly nod and utter one, “Uh-huh.” The call’s over as quickly as it began.
I drop the phone, staring at Callum with wide eyes.
“What did she want?”
“They no longer need me to testify because…Viktor Roguilin’s dead. Someone shot him in the head.”
Suspicion writhes in my gut. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Callum gives me a devious smile and tosses my phone out of the way. Based on his demeanor, I suspect my boyfriend not only knew but played a vital role in Viktor’s demise.
Maybe it’s wrong, but I can’t claim to be sorry either. The world is a better place without that man.
“What can I say?” Callum kisses my dimple. “I’ll always protect you.”
“Because you’re my bodyguard?” I tease.
“That, and because I love you.”
I melt into him so he can show me exactly how much.
Epilogue
The man sits in the passenger seat on a smoky, industrial back road, checking his phone for the umpteenth time.
Two in the morning.The bastards are late.
If they don’t pull up in the next thirty seconds, tough luck. One of the benefits of his position is never needing to wait around on some asshole to show.
“We’re too old for this shit.” His driver, Tom, flicks open a Zippo, the tiny orange flame a beacon in the night as he lights the cigar. The scent of clove and tobacco wafts across the misty evening.
The man laughs, shaking his head. “That’s for damn sure. But I can’t trust the young ones with this sort of thing yet.”
Smoke curls through the interior and out the open window, momentarily blotting his view of the stars. Stupid things were never half as bright in the city. The yearning that thought provokes means it’s probably past time to hand over the reins. His son’s grown now. Strong. Still gaining his footing, but maybe over the next year, he could steadily increase his role in the business. “He’s got a new wife. Might as well let him enjoy that stage while he can.”
Tom slants him a grin. “You’re soft on that boy, Boss.”
“Maybe so.” He twists the thick wedding band around his finger. “But if you tell anyone, I’ll shoot you.”
