Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

J agger

Bella was late.

No, I hadn’t tried to call her. I’d given her space, which was what she said she needed. More. Fucking. Space.

Meanwhile, I was ready to burn down the entire town in order to find her.

I’d been pacing the floor, my mind drifting to the worst possibilities. Had something happened to her?

The moment the door was thrown open, utter relief flooded through me.

“What the hell is it with this town?” Bella huffed as soon as she walked inside the front door of the cabin. She walked toward the kitchen with a pie in her hand, grumbling the entire time.

“Not sure what you mean.”

“I mean some of the people are amazing, but not all of them.” She’d returned to the room, her entire body as tense as mine.

All I’d thought about the couple of hours she’d been gone was how to protect her. I’d even put in a call to an old contact, an act I considered one of desperation.

Or a telling moment I was in extreme danger.

I’d broken the one rule I’d given myself after leaving my last job: never to contact my handler again. There was far too much bad blood, but my instincts were telling me that Bella’s trouble would soon find her. Since she was still using her old phone, the asshole could have found a way to track her. Or, he might be cunning enough to know she’d use a different name. He had to know her story in that she’d grown up in foster care. What kid who had been didn’t want to learn about why they were given up in the first place?

My contact had yet to return my call and there was no guarantee he would. I wasn’t well liked in the organization I’d worked for. Maybe because I hadn’t managed to remain a killing drone like they’d wanted.

Or maybe it was because the man had been a sore loser given I’d won our physical altercation.

As Xena ran toward her, Cally following, Bella took a few seconds to greet both, her voice changing from the anger I’d heard seconds later. “I missed you guys too.” She was smiling, but I sensed she was not only experiencing fury but also deep concern.

What the hell had occurred?

“Mama. We played out in the snow,” Cally said, her little voice excited. “Jagger threw snowballs.”

Bella gave me an appreciative nod. “He did? That’s wonderful. Do you mind heading up to your room with that furball of yours? Just for a little while.”

“Okay, Mommy. Jagger said you’re going out tonight.”

I shook my head and chuckled. Kids couldn’t be trusted with anything.

“Well, I guess we’ll see about that. Scoot, baby girl.”

Cally huffed exactly like her mother did when she was frustrated. “O-tay. No fair.”

Bella waited until Cally was almost all the way up the stairs before approaching. “Going out, huh? I think Cally will like that.”

“Not with Cally and don’t think you’re getting away from your outburst. What happened?”

She sighed and took off her jacket, tossing it over the back of the couch. “It seems the sheriff in your little town doesn’t like me too much.”

“What the hell did he say?” I immediately bristled. If that motherfucker did anything to her, I wouldn’t care he had the law on his side.

“He acted as if I didn’t belong in this town, telling me that in no uncertain terms. He also acts as if he knows about my life in Baltimore. How is that possible? Oh, who am I kidding. My guess is the smear tactic has already started. Today Joel sent an anonymous threat.”

I tried to relax, but with Sheriff Young, I wouldn’t put anything past him. “The sheriff is using his hatred of me against you, and remember, your name was on the local news. He’s an asshole.”

“You’re right. He hates you. He called you a monster.”

I was.

The words almost left my mouth. “Don’t mind him. He doesn’t like anyone since his wife ran off with the mailman.”

At least her face brightened. “You’re kidding me.”

“No. It was the local week’s gossip when I arrived in town.” Which wasn’t a lie. What I didn’t decide to share with her was that since the mailman had ended up dead only a couple of weeks later, the gossip had gone off the rails. The mailman had died of a heart attack. Some believed it was because of rough sex while others had been certain the guy had been poisoned.

By the sheriff himself.

At least it had taken scrutinizing eyes off the Fox brothers’ arrival in town for a little while.

Did I think Adam Young was capable of murder? You bet. But I’d learned in my years of traveling the world that every single person had a button that if pushed would drive them to doing bad things.

“Well, he made it clear I should leave.”

“Are you?”

She finally relaxed enough that her smile wasn’t forced. “For me to know and you to find out.”

“I purchased a burner phone today. You might want to think about disconnecting your old one.”

As she eyed me warily, she nodded. “I’ll think about it. Now, what did you cook up if Cally isn’t going with us? I can’t leave her alone.”

Her comment was right on cue to a knock on the door. “I took care of that. I think we need some time out of the house.”

“You? Did you hire a babysitter?”

“Something like that.” I wasn’t positive I’d done the right thing, but I’d heeded my brother’s advice. Staying cooped up in the house wasn’t good for anyone, least of all Bella. I moved toward the door. My choice in babysitters was meant to be an olive branch of sorts. It surprised me that I’d bothered. Why would I care about whether people got along and there were no hard feelings?

I opened the door and immediately glanced toward Bella. She was none too thrilled to see Zoe standing in the doorway.

Zoe immediately sensed the tension, but I encouraged her inside. “If you don’t want me here, Bella, I completely understand.”

Whether or not Bella blamed Zoe for Cally running away I wasn’t certain. I could easily tell on Bella’s face she wasn’t prepared to place her trust in anyone.

“This was a mistake.” Zoe started to head for the door. “I just want you to know how sorry I am. I was overwhelmed that night. I feel terrible.”

“No. It’s fine. Really, Zoe. It wasn’t your fault. The entire scene was chaotic, so much so I’m surprised how amazing you were keeping the other children calm. Cally is fine. She’s a tough little girl,” Bella told her. “It’s just been a few difficult days. Getting out will do me some good. Please stay.”

I could tell Zoe was relieved as she turned around. “Take your time tonight. I love kids and Cally is such a great little girl.”

“And I hope you love dogs,” Bella added. “Soon, we might have a menagerie.”

“Of course.” Zoe pulled two bags from her purse. One contained a few pieces of chocolate and the other dog bones. “I always come prepared.”

Bella seemed more at ease. “Well, Cally will have fun not being forced to be around her overprotective mother.”

“I think you’re a great mother and I’ve been around a lot of them.”

“Thanks for that. Sometimes, I just don’t know.” Bella smiled.

“Trust me,” Zoe said. “I’ve seen some real wingdings.”

Bella burst into laughter. “I bet. So, where are we going?” Her smile was more relaxed than before, the look she gave me forcing my balls to tighten almost instantly.

“Dinner and maybe a hot spot in town. Well, as hot as it can be in Danger Falls, I guess.” My answer surprised me. What did I know about hot spots? Until moving here, I hadn’t been inside anything more than a total dive in over ten years.

She glanced at me with a funny look on her face, even wrinkling her nose. “Then I guess I’ll dress up.”

I didn’t want to tell her that almost no one in town bothered to wear anything more than jeans in the winter and shorts in the summer. Maybe the testosterone-filled male inside of me wanted to see what she’d come up with. “Take your time. We’ll leave whenever you’re ready.”

“Cally’s upstairs in her room. I’ll show you the way. If you don’t mind making her dinner, that would be helpful.”

“Absolutely.”

As the two women headed up the stairs, I immediately moved into the kitchen, pulling out my phone. No message from the man I used to trust with my life. Funny how that kind of camaraderie ended when one of the two tried to kill the other. Kirk was many things, including a good friend, but when push came to shove, he’d followed orders.

Just like I’d been doing for years.

The organization had mentioned that you couldn’t trust anyone. That had been something I’d reminded myself of more times than I could count. Still, after the dust had settled and the misunderstanding was brought to light, we’d resumed our friendship and he knew he owed me.

Which was why I continued to be furious. He’d obviously forgotten we’d both left the organization in disgust after learning of their involvement with some unseemly people from other countries.

It was obvious favors meant nothing.

There was one more person I could contact, someone who had the muscle, the money, and the soldiers to start a war. He was also one of the most dangerous men in the world. If I asked for his help, I’d owe him a favor.

It would be well worth it.

I glanced toward the kitchen doorway before locating the man’s private number.

While this wasn’t a good idea, I didn’t care. I’d do anything to protect Bella.

Anything.