Page 44 of Callum
Stacey laughed, but there was no humor. “No. She’s insecure, she barely passed her SATs, and she’s a fake kind of beautiful. She needs to put in the work. You don’t.”
Fiona wasn’t sure she agreed. She was average at best. “I’ve never seen her that way, but we can agree to disagree. I should be getting to bed though.” Her cold, empty bed.
“Okay, keep me updated on both Callum and the text stuff.”
“Of course. Thanks for calling and checking in. Have a good night, Stace.”
“You too.”
She quickly brushed her teeth before switching off the lights and slipping between the sheets. God, they felt cold. Callum had been a big heater, making the entire bed warm even when she wasn’t touching him.
She was just about to roll over when her phone vibrated on the side table. She grabbed it and smiled when she saw the text.
Callum: I’m missing having you in my arms. Sleep well, honey.
Her heart thrashed against her ribs. So it wasn’t just her.
Fiona: I miss you too. Good night, Callum. x
She was about to set the phone down when it rang in her hands—only it wasn’t Callum. Her smile slipped.
Really?Freddiewas calling her? Argh.
She canceled the call, then did what she should have done long ago and blocked his number.
Good. Done. She wouldn’t be hearing from the cheating scumbag again. Whatever he and her sister decided to do with their lives was on them.
When the phone was back on her nightstand, she flicked off the bedside lamp and snuggled into her blankets.
When the phone dinged with a message a couple minutes later, she groaned. God, if that was Freddie, messaging from another number—
Unknown number: You pretend to be all innocent, but I see what you’re doing. Stop! He’s mine, and I will go to any length to make sure it stays that way.
She clicked out of the message and dropped it to her bedside table like it had burned her. Suddenly, she was glad Callum was looking into it for her. Because there was something different about that message. Even though her name wasn’t mentioned, it felt more…personal.
It took too long for her to feel warm after that, and even longer for her to drift to sleep.
She was finally at that phase between asleep and awake when a noise from somewhere in the house had her eyes fluttering. A shadow stretching into the hallway from the living room made her eyes shoot open wide. She jackknifed into a sitting position, heart pounding against her ribs as she reached for her phone and, on instinct, called Callum. He answered on the second ring, and he sounded completely awake.
“Fiona, are you okay?”
“I think someone’s in my house.”
CHAPTER15
Callum’s fingers were tight around the wheel as he took a hard right. Fiona only lived a few streets away, but it felt too damn far. Someone was in her house? Who? Why?
Another right, this time onto her street. The second he reached her driveway, he slammed his foot on the brake and grabbed his pistol.
The front door opened before he reached the porch.
“I told you to lock yourself in the bathroom,” he growled, not feeling capable of soft or gentle right now.
“Iwasin the bathroom, but I didn’t hear anyone, and when your car screeched to a stop, I came out.”
Fuck. The person could have been waiting for her. He pushed that to the back of his mind as he stepped forward and cupped her cheek. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. And she did look okay too. Damn, she was brave. He entered the house, then stopped and listened. For heartbeats that weren’t supposed to be there. Breathing or movement.
