Page 54 of Love on the Run

There was a short silence.Then Ty said in a very quiet, tight voice, “Are you implying that I’m on Foster’s payroll?”

“Not implying so much as outright accusing,” said Callie. “But yes.”

Ty sputtered for a second.“So let me get this straight. I come out here to help one of my best friends, because from what he told me, you’re causing this Foster a hell of a lot of trouble, and getting Jake into it too, and now I’m the bad guy?”

“Listen,” Callie snapped back, just as furious.“If you know anything, you should know I have no reason to trust anyone right now.”

“You trust Jake.”

“He saved my life.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Maybe,” came the unwilling admission from the bedroom. “Or maybe it just means you know who his friends are. How do I know you’re really Jake’s friend Ty?”

“Ask me something, then.”

“What the hell can I ask? I just met him a few days ago.”

“Then you’ll just have to trust me.”

“Not likely.”

“Alright.” Ty tried to think. His eyes fell on the kitchen refrigerator, with all the pictures from Jake’s family. “Hey, is his freezer still full of Girl Scout cookies?”

“Yeah” The reply came out with a laugh.

“Is Bruiser in there with you?”

“Yeah,” she repeated, now with a warning in her tone.

“Bruiser,” Ty called. “Come here, boy.” After a pause, the dog emerged from the dark room. He went willingly toward the man, and licked his outstretched palm. Ty petted the dog, and let himself be seen from the bedroom door. “Nowdo you trust me?”

Callie saw the man step into view, accompanied by the dog. He was clearly the same guy as the one in the photo. He was on the tall side, and definitely not the type to be scared of little Callie. Bruiser liked him, and the dog was smart enough to know friend from enemy. She hoped. “I believe you’re Tyler Holt,” Callie begrudgingly warned him. “But I’m not letting go of my knife.”

“You are definitely Jake’s kind of girl,” Ty muttered to himself. He held up his gun in a gesture of surrender, his finger conspicuously off the trigger. “Can I come in?”

Callie stood up. “I guess you’d better. Do you have a phone?”

No tears, no hysteria. Right to the point. This was a tough woman. “Yes, I have my cell.”

“I left mine in the loft. Batteries are probably dead anyway. Do you have Jake’s number?”

“Yes,” he handed her the phone, well aware this was a test, just as Bruiser’s greeting was a test. Callie didn’t trust him yet, not by a long shot.

Callie turned the phone on, scanning down the contacts for Jake’s number. The amount of people called “Officer” in the contacts was reassuring, but she kept her eyes on Ty as she dialed Jake’s number. The phone kept ringing, but Jake didn’t answer it.

“Damn,” she muttered.

“No answer?”

“No,” she paused. “If you were working for Mal, you’d have knocked me out by now. And you haven’t. Sorry.”

“I get it,” said Ty. “I can’t pretend that there aren’t plenty of corrupt cops around.”

“Was it you who tried the front door?”

Ty shook his head. “There’s someone else out there. I’m guessing two men, but maybe three. I was trying not to be seen, so I parked a little further out and walked the rest of the way. I got a bad feeling halfway up the drive.”

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