Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
R inging pulled Lock from dead asleep to awake and alert in an instant.
His eyes flashed open to see the top of Callie’s head as she lay on his chest, the sheets tangled around them.
He could answer the call, but then he’d have to get up, something he did not want to do.
The phone silenced but immediately started up again.
Shit. That meant it was important.
Carefully, he slipped out from under her, almost groaning when she made a sexy moan and cuddled into the pillow.
Jesus Christ , if this wasn’t important, the asshole would get an earful. He tugged on jeans, grabbed his cell, and snuck out of the room.
Eastern’s name flashed on the screen. His brother would only call this early if he had information. Information about Lucian? Had he found the killer?
He didn’t answer the call until he was outside on the back porch. “Eastern.”
“Hey. Sorry to call so early.”
“What’s going on?”
“Oscar didn’t show up to his shift at the gas station this morning.”
A muscle in Lock’s jaw tensed. “What time was he supposed to start?”
“Four.”
Lock pulled the phone down. Seven. Shit. “I assume you made sure he didn’t just sleep in.”
“We’re at his house now. The front door was left ajar and the lock’s broken. No one’s here but it looks like there was…an altercation.”
“What do you mean, an altercation?”
“The coffee table legs are broken like someone fell onto it. There’s other broken shit on the floor.” Wind blew over the line. “He lives in a pretty remote part of town, so we’re going to check the mountains around his place in case he ran on foot, but I’m not sure how long that will take us.”
“Lucian shoves Callie and ends up dead. Oscar attacks her and goes missing.” Lock wrapped his fingers around the porch railing. “He’s watching her.”
“It definitely seems that way.”
“You said Hamish didn’t have an alibi for the night Lucian was killed?”
“Correct. And up until this point, I thought maybe it was him.”
“But you don’t think that anymore?”
“Oscar doesn’t seem like a great athlete, but I still think he’d beat Hamish in a fight.”
“Hamish is tall and broad—”
“He’s also awkward. Doesn’t really seem like someone who’d win a fight against another guy who’s awake and alert.”
It was true. But there were also too many reasons it made sense for this to be Hamish. “I don’t want you to discount him.”
“We’re keeping an eye on him. In the meantime, stick close to Callie.”
“Was planning on it.”
“I’ll let you know when we have an update on Oscar.”
“Appreciate it.”
When Lock stepped back inside, it was to see both Jesse and Antwan standing in the kitchen.
“We overheard. Oscar’s missing.” Jesse pushed off the counter. “This asshole’s escalating.”
“Correct.”
“Who’s Hamish?” Antwan asked.
“He was the guy Lucian and Oscar were pushing around that day you got to town, outside Callie’s studio. He does a lot of her classes and has shown a…romantic interest in her.”
Antwan’s eyes narrowed.
“It might not be him though,” Lock added. “I’m not sure he’s capable of what this guy’s doing.”
“What do you need from us?” Jesse asked.
“Remain aware of your surroundings. Check the house while you’re home. And if I can’t be with Callie—”
“We’re there,” Antwan cut in, nodding.
“Thank you.” He squeezed Antwan’s shoulder as he passed, grateful to have them here during this difficult time.
When he returned to the bedroom, it was to see Callie’s eyes still closed, her chest moving up and down evenly beneath the sheet. She hadn’t moved an inch since he’d left, and she looked like a damn angel.
He crossed the room and perched on the bed beside her, grazing a lock of hair from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear.
Her eyes scrunched before sliding open, her green gaze meeting his.
“Hey, beautiful.”
The corners of her lips tugged up. “Hey, yourself. You’re awake.”
“I am.”
The smile on her lips faltered. Fuck. Had he given himself away or was she just too good at reading him?
She pushed up into a sitting position. “What is it?”
He didn’t want to tell her. He wanted her to feel safe, like nothing and no one could touch her, but he also couldn’t hide this from her. “Lucian’s brother, Oscar, never showed up for work this morning.”
She frowned, her gaze shifting between his eyes.
“And it looks like there was an altercation in his house,” Lock finished.
She nodded quickly. Too quickly. “First Lucian after he shoved me, then Oscar after he attacked me. This basically confirms it’s my stalker.”
Lock’s back teeth ground together. “It looks that way. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You don’t need to be sorry. I just…I hope he’s okay. He was a jerk, but I don’t want someone else dying because of me.”
“Hey. Even if the worst-case scenario eventuates, and they do find a body, it is not because of you. It’s because of him, the asshole who won’t leave you alone.”
“But if—”
“No,” he cut in. “You didn’t ask for any of this. Not the notes. The attention. The fucking watching you.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right. He must have been watching me!” She straightened. “Wait, when I was driving to my dad’s yesterday, I thought someone might have been following me.”
“Did you get a license plate?”
Disappointment dulled her eyes. “No. Sorry. It was a gray BMW though.”
“I’ll let Eastern know.”
She touched a hand to her stomach. “I feel sick.”
He hated this. All of it. “I’m not leaving your side. Okay?”
“I have classes to teach. I can’t just sit around the house.”
“I’ll join your classes.”
Her head tilted, a small smile curving her lips. “I’m teaching two Pilates and a mat yoga class this morning. Then I’m doing my own workout.”
“I’m due for a good workout.”
“You’re going to do four hours of Pilates and yoga this morning?”
“Sounds like it.”
The smile widened before it slipped again. “Thank you for looking after me.”
“You don’t need to thank me. I will always look after you.”
Callie said goodbye as the last client left the studio.
Two classes down, one to go.
She turned back to see Lock standing with his arms crossed.
Why didn’t he look tired? Not even a little bit. Her classes were hard. They were known for being hard. What was he, made of steel? He’d just done an intermediate reformer Pilates class followed by an advanced class, and he hadn’t even broken a sweat. Surely his glutes were on fire?
She crossed the room and slipped her arms around his waist. “Are you in pain?”
He frowned at her question.
Clearly, he wasn’t.
“How are you so fit?” Part of her almost wanted to be annoyed. Or maybe not so much annoyed as offended that he didn’t find her classes challenging.
“Didn’t you know? I have gladiator genes.”
She grinned. “No wonder you and your brothers all look the same.”
“By the same, you mean I’m the better-looking and stronger one, right?”
Her grin widened, only to falter when someone walked past the glass. It was a stranger. Someone who didn’t even look their way. But every time someone appeared outside, she wondered if it was him .
Basically, she was losing her mind.
“You haven’t seen anyone suspicious today?” she asked, looking back at Lock.
He’d done a few perimeter checks, and she’d also seen his gaze moving over the glass every few minutes.
“No one,” he said quietly, fingers grazing her side. “So, yoga next?”
He was trying to distract her. All day he’d been ridiculously discreet about what he was doing, so much so that she could almost forget why he was here.
And that’s why she loved him. Or one of the reasons.
“Yes, yoga.” She turned her head and eyed her laptop on the desk. “I haven’t had a chance to check who signed up for the class yet and whether there’ll be a spot for you.”
“You’ll just have to kick someone out.”
He was joking, but she’d be tempted. “Aspen usually does this one, and I am not sending her away. I’ve barely seen her lately.”
As if her words conjured her friend up, the door opened and Aspen strolled in. Only, her friend wasn’t smiling, as usual. In fact, she almost looked scared.
Callie crossed the space to her best friend. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“I just saw Dylan.”
“What did he do?”
“Nothing. Well, I mean, he was walking out of a shop, and he saw me and wanted to talk. I didn’t want to talk to him, so I tried to walk away.”
“Tried?”
“He grabbed my arm and told me we needed to talk. I started yelling at him to leave me alone, and I think that’s why he let me go, because I became a little hysterical and people started staring.”
“What an ass .” God, ass didn’t even do him justice. “I’m so sorry.”
Lock stepped forward, anger darkening his features. “Is he still out there?”
Aspen shook her head. “He left. But God , I hate him. I don’t even care if that makes me a horrible person. I hate him and the way he makes me feel, and I hate that I can’t escape him in this small town.”
“What can I do?” Callie asked. Because she needed to do something .
Aspen closed her eyes and sucked in a long breath, as if trying to calm herself. When her eyes flicked open, she looked a bit calmer. “Give me some Zen with this yoga class, please.”
“Of course. But—”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you. Are you okay? Any more notes?”
Because they hadn’t seen a lot of each other, and Aspen had this stuff going on with Dylan, Callie hadn’t shared anything about Oscar. “Everything’s fine. And Lock’s here to make sure it stays fine.”
Aspen’s brows flickered.
Callie tugged her friend toward the mat. “Come on. Let’s get you a mat before the class starts.”
Aspen looked like she wanted to push, but instead headed over to a mat. A few seconds later, three other girls walked in. Was the fifth place booked? Usually, this class was full, but she could easily pull out a sixth mat for Lock.
She went to her laptop and pulled up her schedule…and sucked in a quick breath at the fourth name on the list. The class was full, and the last person booked was—
The door opened, and Hamish stepped in.
Lock took a step toward him, but she rushed forward and cut him off, shaking her head as she whispered, “Don’t.”
“He can’t be here,” Lock growled quietly, words only reaching Callie’s ears.
“We don’t know that he has anything to do with what’s going on, and we can’t just kick him out because it’s a possibility.”
“I sure as hell can kick him out.”
She pleaded with both her eyes and words. “Please. I believe he’s innocent. Eastern wouldn’t have released him if there was enough evidence to hold him. And I don’t want to kick him out if it’s just a maybe.”
Lock’s jaw tightened.
“Lock,” she whispered. “I don’t want to hurt him any more than he’s been hurt already.”
Because she’d seen his face when he’d been hauled into that station. Heard the pain in his voice. He had been hurting. And probably deeply embarrassed.
Lock’s chest rose on a deep inhale. “Fine. But I sit next to him.”
“Done.” She rose to her toes and kissed him before whispering against his lips, “And no glaring at him.”
That got a small smile out of him. “When do I glare?”
That was a question best left unanswered.
She turned and crossed the room toward Hamish, who was already taking his shoes off beside the last mat. “Hey, Hamish.”
He shot to his feet and started wringing his hands in front of him. “Callie. Hi. I-I hope it’s okay I’m here. I didn’t—”
“I know you didn’t. And you’re welcome to be here.”
“Okay. G-good. I…” He frowned before swaying slightly on his feet.
She touched his arm. “Hey. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just suddenly don’t feel very good.”
Was it stress-related? She looked at him closer, noticing his face was a bit pale and there were small beads of sweat on his brow. “If you’re not feeling well, you don’t have to—”
“No. I’m okay.” He shook his head. “I’m okay. I want to be here.”
A part of her wanted to insist that he sit this class out. She had a duty to care for her clients. But he might think she was trying to send him away because of what had happened. “Okay. But you let me know if you feel any worse, all right?”
He nodded.
She released his arm and turned to see Lock watching them closely. Jesus, not the most calming environment for yoga. She grabbed another mat and set it beside Hamish’s, making sure Lock wasn’t too close. The last thing she wanted was a physical altercation.
She moved to her own mat in front of the class. “Welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I—”
She stopped when Hamish swayed on his feet a second time.
Nope. He wasn’t okay. “Hamish, I think—”
He dropped to the floor.
There was a collective gasp around the room. She ran to him, but Lock got there first.
“He’s not breathing,” Lock rushed out. “Call nine-one-one!”