Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

C allie’s gaze shifted from her lap to the hospital hallway.

It was busy. And the noise of people moving and talking was loud. Aspen’s body heat penetrated her side. Her friend didn’t need to be here…hell, she didn’t either…but she wanted to know that Hamish would be okay. And when he was, she wanted to know what had happened to him.

Her nails bit into her thigh, her feet itching to get up and ask someone for information. It would be pointless. She wasn’t family, so they wouldn’t tell her anything. Exactly why Eastern was on his way. Well, one of the reasons.

Her gaze lifted to Lock. He was pacing and he looked nervous. Probably because he’d thought the stalker was Hamish, and if it wasn’t, that left them with no suspects.

“You okay, Cal?”

She turned to look at Aspen. “I’m worried about Hamish.”

“He’s going to be all right,” Aspen said quietly.

“You don’t know that. He stopped breathing.” If another person died because of their connection to her…

No . Hamish wasn’t going to die. He’d be fine.

“Yes, he did stop breathing. But now he’s here, in the best hands.” She tightened her fingers around Callie’s arm. “Thank God he was in that class, and we were able to get him help.”

Trust Aspen to see the positive. And she was kind of right. It was lucky that he’d been in her class. If he’d been anywhere else, he might not have gotten any help at all.

A shudder rolled through her.

Aspen slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Stop worrying.”

“I don’t want another person to die because of—”

“Don’t finish that sentence. None of this is because of you. Not Lucian. Not whatever’s happened to Oscar—which I still wish you’d told me about. And not Hamish.”

She laid her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

Aspen rested her head on Callie’s. “I’m always here for you.”

She was, and Callie knew exactly how lucky she was to have her. Her gaze caught Lock’s. He’d stopped pacing and was watching her. He was always watching her. She was lucky to have all the people she had in her life.

She didn’t realize she was digging her nails into her thigh again until Lock sat on the other side of her and covered her hand with his own.

His lips grazed her ear. “It’ll be okay.”

Just those three words did so much to ease her anxiety.

She didn’t know how long they waited, watching the doors. It was only when Eastern stepped inside the hospital with a deputy behind him that Callie straightened.

Lock rose and talked to his brother in a hushed voice. Eastern’s body language gave nothing away, and a few seconds later, he headed down the hall and Lock sat back down.

“We weren’t the only ones who called him,” he said quietly.

Her stomach dropped. “You mean—”

“The hospital called.”

So it was likely a criminal case, and Hamish wasn’t just sick.

She nodded quickly like that news didn’t devastate her, when really, it felt like the walls were closing in.

Hold it together, Callie. Don’t make this about you.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and a woman stepped inside. She was older, with short gray hair and lines beside her eyes. But it was the expression on her face that had Callie frowning…she looked worried and scared.

The woman stepped up to the counter. “My son, Hamish Evergreen, is here.”

Callie shifted to the edge of her seat. Hamish’s mother.

The nurse typed a few things on the computer before turning back to the woman. “The doctor will be out to talk to you soon.”

“No! I need to see someone now . My baby is in there. I need—”

A doctor approached the nurses’ station. “Mrs. Evergreen?”

Eastern and the deputy followed close behind him.

Hamish’s mother rushed toward them, but they spoke too quietly for Callie to hear what they were saying. It was only when the mother started crying and the doctor led her down the hall that Callie’s stomach dropped.

Hamish wasn’t okay.

Emotion clogged her throat, but she swallowed it down.

When Eastern headed over to them, she, Lock, Callie, and Aspen stood.

“What’s going on?” Lock asked, arm around her waist.

Eastern shifted his attention to the hall, then back to them. “There’s a possibility this is connected to what happened to Lucian and Oscar.”

Callie tried to calm her fear. “What do you mean, ‘a possibility?’”

Eastern met her gaze. “They found GHB in his system.”

“What’s that?” Aspen asked.

“It’s a drug commonly linked to date rape. But when it’s used in a high dosage—”

“It’s lethal,” Lock finished.

“Yes.” Eastern ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s a flavorless liquid, so easy to slip into someone’s drink.”

The fine hairs on Callie’s arms stood on end. “So, whoever drugged him got close to him just before class.”

Eastern frowned. “Maybe. There’s also the possibility he takes it himself. In small doses, it induces euphoria and relaxation. Maybe the stress of being questioned caused him to overdose. His mother insisted he doesn’t take drugs, though.”

Callie’s finger dug into her palm. “How much did he consume?”

“Enough to put him in a coma.”

Her jaw dropped. Oh God .

“We need to find out where he was before the class,” Lock said.

Eastern turned to his brother. “We know where he was. He was getting a drink with his mother at Sugar and Spice, but she said they didn’t talk to anyone else. I need to talk to Sadie and her grandmother and see if they remember who else was in the café.” His gaze shifted to Callie before returning to Lock. “There’s something else.”

“What?” Lock asked, voice low and dangerous.

“We found Oscar’s body.”

Callie’s heart thumped. “His body?”

Eastern’s gaze returned to her, voice somber. “He was beaten to death in the woods behind his house.”

Lock’s fingers tightened around the wheel as they drove away from the hospital.

Drugged. In a coma. And Oscar was dead.

Jesus, things were going from bad to worse.

Eastern believed that Oscar being beaten to death made it less likely Hamish was the culprit and more likely a victim. Lock wasn’t convinced. Not enough to write him off anyway. Hamish could still be involved. Just because someone didn’t appear capable of something didn’t mean they weren’t. Lock had run into plenty of dangerous people during his time in the military who’d played the part of an innocent but really knew a hundred ways to kill someone.

And overdosing on a drug was something a guilty person might do.

They’d have to wait until Hamish woke up and Eastern could question him to know for certain. His brother was good at what he did, so if anyone could get to the bottom of this, it was him.

He shot a glance over at Callie. She was blaming herself for everything, and he fucking hated it.

He took a left, then a right turn.

Callie frowned. “This isn’t the way home.”

He’d been wondering when she’d realize. “We’re not going home.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Callie opened her mouth like she was going to argue, only to sigh and put her hand on his thigh. He kept driving until he reached the spot.

Callie leaned forward. “This is the lookout.”

“It is.” It was the highest point in Misty Peak. You could see almost the entire city from up here. He climbed out and circled the truck to open her door. She spotted the blanket immediately with the picnic basket and cooler bag beside it.

“You did this?” she gasped.

“Cody owed me a favor, so technically he and Harper did under my instruction. You need a break from everything.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly before seeming to breathe him in. “Thank you.”

“I’d do anything for you.” He meant that. Whatever she needed, he would find a way to give it to her.

They settled on the blanket, and he took cheese and crackers out of the cooler. There were grapes and olives. Even wine.

Callie cocked her head. “Wait, this is the stuff we ate that first night we met.”

Ah, she was putting it all together. “It is.”

Not only had they shared the tub of ice cream that night, Callie had taken out an entire board of picnic-type food to go with it from her kitchen.

“But there’s no—” She stopped when he took the tub of Biscoff ice cream from the cooler bag. Her smile was wide as she looked at him, and he fucking loved it. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Not amazing, just completely and utterly besotted with you.”

Her smile softened. “I’m kind of besotted with you too.” She eyed the ice cream. “Would it be crazy if I ate dessert first?”

He took out two spoons and set the tub between them. “I was counting on it.”

She laughed, and as they ate, they watched the sun set. Neither of them brought up the notes or the Tate brothers or Hamish. In fact, they barely spoke at all. It was like they both needed a bit of silence together.

It wasn’t until they’d finished half the food and she was lying on his chest that she asked a question that pulled them out of the bliss. “Do you miss him?”

He knew exactly who she was talking about. Even thinking about him felt like a punch in the gut. “I miss Winnie every day. But I know he’s up there with Remi and Hollie, probably blasting some music and laughing at us unlucky bastards who still have to figure out this life shit.”

She smiled as she traced a line down his chest. “Do you ever wonder how someone was able to get close enough to kill him with his training?”

“Every damn day. He was as aware of his surroundings as the rest of us. And he was a great fighter. But then, so was the guy who killed him. Maybe Winnie was so busy trying to protect Remi, he couldn’t protect himself. That was Winnie, always looking out for others.”

“I wish things had been different.”

He wished that so many times it had become a broken record inside his head. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Do you see kids in our future?”

She tensed. And he immediately regretted the question.

She rolled onto her belly to look at him, a crease between her brows. “Honestly…I don’t know. The idea of being pregnant again kind of terrifies me.”

He shifted a lock of hair from her face. “I can understand that.”

“The pregnancy loss was unexplained. There was never any indication of why it happened. If it happened again…”

The pain on her face felt like a physical blow. “I hope like hell it doesn’t. But if kids are what you want, I’ll support you through all of it, no matter what happens.”

“Do you want kids?”

“Yes.” The answer was immediate, and he wasn’t sure if maybe he should have paused or hesitated or looked like he needed time to think about it. “But I want you more. So if you can’t do that, we don’t have to try.”

She nodded, but the line between her brows remained, her eyes focused more on his chest than his face.

“Callie.”

She finally looked up.

“If our future is just you and me, then I will be the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet. Kids are something I want. But you are all I need.”

Some of the worry eased from her features. “What if one day you wake up and resent me for not giving you kids?”

“That will never happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. Because I know what it’s like to not have you, and I would always choose the other option. I would always choose you.”

A small smile touched her lips. “Okay, but you could get sick of just me.”

“Not possible.”

“I don’t know. I can be pretty annoying when I’m hungry or tired.”

“Then I’ll feed you and force you to rest.”

“Will you rest with me?”

He leaned up, hovering his lips a mere inch from hers. “I’ll hold you the entire time.” He kissed her, feeling for the first time that day like everything was going to be okay.