Page 90 of Callum
“I know. I screwed up. I’m sorry.”
He tugged her into his arms and held her close. He needed to keep this woman safe. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
CHAPTER28
Callum pushed his body to the limit, his feet pounding the pavement in a fast, even rhythm, air rushing through his lungs. He’d always been a good runner. And he enjoyed it. The freedom it gave you. The way it blurred the world and the problems within it.
Liam was at Callum’s house with Fiona. He’d needed to get out and move. The run certainly wasn’t what it used to be, though. Before Project Arma, he’d been able to exhaust himself, mind and body. Push himself so hard that he could numb his thoughts.
Now, it felt so much fucking harder, and his problems so much heavier.
He loved Fiona. The emotion had snuck up on him. Hit him in the damn chest while he’d been busy getting to know her. He welcomed it…but the danger that surrounded her scared him.
He rounded a corner onto his street, spotting Liam’s car halfway down in front of his house.
Fiona was officially on lockdown. Where she was, he or someone from his team would be. He’d made a mistake not sticking someone on her twenty-four-seven earlier. He wasn’t making that mistake again, not when Olivia and Freddie were still out there. She was still getting those damn texts too, which were likely Olivia. He was leaning toward just blocking the damn number.
Too many possible threats coming from too many directions.
When he entered his house, Liam was standing by the window, arms crossed.
Callum closed the door. “Everything okay?”
Liam took a moment before dragging his gaze to Callum. “She’s okay. Went up to the bedroom to lie down.”
He slid his shoes off and crossed the room to stand beside his friend. “You thinking about how quiet it’s been, too?”
“Yeah,” Liam agreed. “Calm before the storm?”
Fuck, he hoped not. “All the pieces are telling us she wants to take over Fiona’s life. Hide from the people who are after her.”
“The perfect out,” Liam said quietly. “Which would mean, she’d need Fiona—”
“Gone.” Dead. It would be the only way to assume her life. Callum’s insides rolled at the thought.
Liam finally turned to look at Callum. “You want me to stay?”
“Nah. I’ll call if I need you. Thanks for coming over while I got out for a run.”
“Hope it helped.”
When his friend left, he closed and locked the door, then alarmed the house. The alarm was more for his team. If it went off, they’d be alerted.
He grabbed some water from the fridge and downed half the bottle before moving upstairs. He wasn’t sure if he was expecting Fiona to be asleep or just resting, but she was doing neither of those things. Instead, she sat cross-legged on the center of the bed. An open book sat to her right, but it looked like she’d deserted it. Instead, photos and printed information were spread around her. It was everything Callum had been able to find on her birth mother and twin sister that he’d printed off for Fiona.
She ran a finger over her mother’s face, like she was trying to become familiar with someone she’d never met.
“She missed out on raising a hell of a woman,” he said quietly.
Fiona’s gaze swung up. “Mom said I looked only a day or two old when I was left at their front door. And I can’t help but think that she never even tried. To get clean. To be the mother Olivia and I needed her to be.”
He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “Your mother was an addict. From what I found, it looks like she had no family. No one to lean on or to help her get clean. In leaving you at a friend’s home, she probably thought she was doing her best by you.”
She stared at the photo of her twin sister. “I’m not sure it was best for Olivia.” She shook her head. “Since we found out about her, I’ve just been feeling so guilty. Like I somehowtookthe better life.”
Callum cupped her cheek. “Hey. Look at me, Fiona.” It took a beat, but she finally did. “You got the better life, there’s no questioning that. But that was by chance. You had no hand in that, you didn’ttakeanything. And I said it before, but I’ll say it again, if situations were reversed, you would not be doing what she’s doing.”
“How do you know? I’ve had privilege and safety and love. She’s had none of that.”
