″Sleep well?” he asks.
″Yeah. What time did you get relief?”
″Cillian was here about midnight. Left just a half-hour ago.”
″Any creepers around last night?”
Scotty shakes his head, a sympathetic look on his face. I don’t need his pity, I just want my stalker gone. Callum promised to keep me safe, but I need more than a promise. I need the person tormenting me to be gone.
Haven’t I experienced enough trauma? Why does the universe need to throw one more crappy turn of events at me? Sure, I had guards, like I was some type of important government person or a well-known celebrity. But that doesn’t settle well with me. I am used to protecting myself. I’ve never expected or wanted anyone to do it for me.
I sit at the breakfast nook, opening the Kindle App on my phone to distract my mind and read while I enjoy my coffee.
Usually, I chat with Scotty, but I’ve been wanting to read a lot more lately, so he hangs out in the living room while we wait for Callum to show up
I manage to get two chapters in, right before the female main character is about to receive oral. A month ago, this kind of scene would have made me cringe, but now I welcome the idea without a second thought.
My desire to taste Cal when he came was a clear indicator of that. It’s a huge sign that I’m healing.
Callum knocks on the door, pulling me from my book. Scotty climbs from the couch and answers the door. That’s another thing I miss. Answering my own door. I lock my phone and shove it into the back pocket of my jeans as I stand.
Cal strides in. The fact he knocked is mostly a facade. At this point, Cal could walk in and out of my home as he pleases and Scotty wouldn’t stop him. The show is merely to make me feel like I have a guest.
I pause for a moment, letting that thought sink in.
I smile at Callum as he kisses my forehead.
″Hey,” I say softly. “How was your meeting?”
He mumbles under his breath, waving a hand in dismissal. His pinky has a red mark that catches my eye. Grabbing his wrist, I bring his hand to my face inspecting it. At first, I had thought it was a pen mark. Now I see the familiar pattern of dried blood. Cal steps back, shoving his hand into the sleeve of his suit jacket.
There’s no cuts on his hands that I could see and based on his reaction to me noticing, the only explanation is that the dried blood isn’t his.
I wave to the sink where a dishtowel is folded and hanging off the edge of the counter. “You can clean up there. Or use the bathroom.”
″Haley,” Callum says. My name comes out of him as an exasperated sigh.
I haven’t indicated that I was irritated, or even upset, so his reaction confuses me. “What?” I ask. “It’s not sanitary to leave someone else’s blood on you.”
″You shouldn’t have seen it.”
″But I did. It’s not a big deal. Just wash yourself up, Cal.”
″It isn’t a big deal?”
I shrug, crossing my arms over my chest. Cal most likely hurt someone today. Maybe even killed them. It should bother me, but it doesn’t. He’s been honest with me for the past little while, and even called himself a monster. He may have hidden who he is and what he does in the beginning, but I understand why.
He also doesn’t include me on the ins and out of business. But, then again, I don’t include him in my daily tasks at work, either. “It’s not.”
He blinks a few times before saying, “you’re not like other women.”
″So I’ve heard.”
He heads for the sink to wash his hands and I lean against the island as I wait. ”What are we doing about the stalker? What’s the plan to catch him, Cal?”
″Whenever he comes back, we’ll catch him. Until then, you’re safe, love.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “That’s not very proactive.”