Page 63 of Deeper

Callen

I’ve never been so careless with a job in my life. I’m not in a business where I can take things as they come. There are serious consequences if I fuck up while I’m working. Consequences that could have me locked up in a jail cell for life.

Rylan’s sudden appearance at the house caught me off guard. I was sloppy. Way too many variables were left not taken care of, liable to point evidence back my way. It took hours to sterilize the crime scene, wipe Rylan’s prints, and contaminate anything that could have had our DNA on it. I barely made it to Lighthouse Point Park with enough time to stage the body.

I make big money for the shit I do, and fucking up is not an option in my line of work.

What’s worse? This girl fucked with my job, and my brain is still more focused on her than the possibility of an error on my part at the crime scene.

I’ve texted. I’ve called. I’ve paced the fucking floor of my RV, but she still hasn’t called me back.

She showed up while I was killing a man, didn’t freak the fuck out, and has now gone completely missing in action.

Fuck waiting around. I have questions, and only Rylan can give me answers. I slam the door to my place as I exit and get into my truck.

Come out, come out, wherever you are, Rylan. I’m coming for you.

After about ten minutes of research, I find the address I need. I drive by her house, but her car isn’t there. Five more minutes of research, and I have Tatum’s address. I do a drive-by, but Rylan isn’t there either.

My next place probably should have been the first place I looked, and the hair on the back of my neck rises as I think about her there with someone else. The club. Rylan spends a lot of time there, but until this very second, the thought never occurred to me that she might spend time there with other men.

My foot sinks down heavier on the gas.

Minutes later, I pull into the parking lot of the club. Rylan was here the other day before she followed me. Both thoughts fuck with my head. I was trailed by an amateur and never even had a suspicion that someone was onto me while I cased Sebastian. I need to be a fuck-ton more vigilant from now on. It hits me how crazy I was to let her leave the scene of the crime the other night. I recognize how stupid it is that I haven’t killed her yet, especially as she avoids me. I’m searching for the only loose end I’ve ever left, and keeping her quiet isn’t what’s on my mind.

Rylan’s car is in the lot.

Inside, I’m a predator on the hunt for prey. It isn’t going to be pretty if I find her here in a room with someone else. This place is ours. I want her experiences here to be with me, no one else, which is completely fucked up since she has never once staked a claim on me or me on her.

Still, I survey the dark building, and my heart slows a little when I see her alone at a table. Good, I won’t have to kill anyone for touching her.

Her head turns, and she locks eyes with me. My pulse picks back up. I continue in her direction, and her lips part as I get closer. It’s clear she’s surprised to see me. I’ve never been one to chase, but here I am.

I sit at her table, scooting the stool next to her even closer. “Is your phone dead?” The irritation in my voice is evident.

“No,” she answers simply, flicking her eyes away from me in indifference.

“So, you were just deliberately ignoring me then?”

“It didn’t work very well because here you are.”

“We need to talk, Little Bird.”

“We don’t.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. We do need to fucking talk. Not only because last night was fucking crazy, but also because I’ve never left a witness alive before. Yet here she sits, stubborn as fuck and holding all of my secrets.

“Let’s go back to my place. We can’t talk here.” I look around at all the people.

“Then, it’s good that we’re here because I don’t want to talk.”

My aggravation grows. “Fucking Christ, woman. Could you be any more difficult?”

A few members turn at my outburst.

“I could be a lot more compliant if you were interested in something other than talking.”

“That’s how you want to handle this? You just want to fuck away the things we obviously need to discuss. The real world doesn’t work like that, Rylan. Fucking you here in this club today won’t make last night not have happened.”

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