Page 59 of Love on the Run

“You saw Callie before they took her?”

“Yeah. She had heard those guys outside, or sensed them. Maybe Bruiser smelled something. But when I got here, she had the whole house shut up like a fallout shelter.Locks, shades, no lights, the works.” Despite his pain, he chuckled. “I thought you had to be in there. That’s why I risked getting past those clowns and shooting a window out. I got in all right, but then Callie threatened me with death and dismemberment two seconds later.”

“Shethreatenedyou?” Jake was simultaneously shocked by and proud of Callie’s actions.

“With a carving knife and your German shepherd. Was I going to argue? But Bruiser, thank God, remembered me from when I came out a couple of years ago. If he hadn’t accepted me, I’d be dog meat by now.”

“Bruiser wouldn’t have attacked you.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Bruiser was most definitely on her side. If Callie had told him to, he’d have done it, cop or not.”

“You told her you were a cop, and she still threatened you?”

“Hey, she had her reasons. She practically confiscated my phone. If your number hadn’t been there, I think she would have set Bruiser on me anyway. And cool as a queen the whole time.”

“Yes,” Jake said, almost without knowing he spoke. Queen was a good word to describe Callie. Beautiful, classy, in control even when her world was threatening to come down around her.

“She’s quite a girl,” Ty noted, looking carefully at his friend.

“She is,” Jake agreed, again almost to himself.

“You want to tell me anything?”

Jake came out of his daze all at once. “What?”

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Going on?”

“Hey, I’m bleeding to death over here. Next I have to drag a confession out of you?”

“Stop dramatizing. What confession?”

“That you’re crazy about this chick.”

“I barely know her,” Jake said, feeling strangely ashamed. Hewascrazy about Callie. But he didn’t know if the reverse was true. Better to deny it—or better to try to not drown in it. Loving people led to pain. Letting people know you loved them gave them power over you.

“Since when does that matter?”

“Look, the important thing is to find her.” Jake refused to be distracted from the immediate issue. “They must have found somewhere to hide her.”

“Foster’s not local. Likely he’s just holed up at a motel somewhere. One of the little places that take cash—or he’s using another name. But I have a description of him. And I remember what the guy who shot me looked like,” Ty said.

“There’s only a few motels in the area. I’ll call around. It’s daylight, so they can’t exactly smuggle her inside anywhere.”

“How much time do you think we have?” Ty asked, finishing the bandage job on his side.

“I don’t know. Not much. And the Feds said they’ll be here today or tomorrow. That’ll be great. Then I can lose my job, too.”

“Why? Because you were supposed to keep an eye on her?”

“I should have brought her along.” Jake slammed his hand on the counter. “Theyset the fire! I know it.”

“There you go then. If you had taken her along, they would have just come at you later. These guys weren’t fooling around.”

Jake grunted. He called the station, and told Kyle to call everyone who could serve as a deputy in the county. “Tell them to drive to my place. No questions. I’ll explain when everyone’s here.” While they waited for the back-up, Jake gave Ty the rundown on Foster’s activities.

“Callie said he took her nearly everywhere.” Jake’s eyes were troubled as he looked at his friend. “She knows a lot, Ty. Foster must have really let his guard down around her, or he just never thought she could get away from him. I talked to her, and she knows even more than she thinks she does.”

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