Page 57 of Fatal Mistake
The rustling sound played once again.
“What’s that noise?” she asked.
“It’s the sound of your phone rubbing against your pocket as you ran from Keeler.” He pressed the button on his computer and the noise stopped.
“Is that the end of the recording?”
“No.”
“I want to hear it all.”
Cal seemed to mull it over, but finally nodded. “I’ll skip past the running noises.”
He fast-forwarded the audio. She closed her eyes again, and the sound of the massive explosion tore through the speakers.
She could almost feel the ground rumbling under her chair, and she jumped. Cal took her hand, and she clasped his with an iron grip that likely had him wincing, but she didn’t look to see.
All sounds ceased until the blast from a single gunshot broke the quiet. The sharp report and rumbling explosion fired off her senses, bringing back the fear as she ran from Oren, and the pain of a bullet piercing her stomach.
She gasped. Cal’s other hand came over hers, giving her the strength to keep her eyes closed and continue to listen.
She remembered falling at a snail’s pace, as if time had slowed. Hitting the ground and the earthy scent of the forest floor rising up to meet her. Fear raced over her that Oren would come closer and finish her off, and she’d tried to lift her phone in her hand to call for help, but couldn’t raise her arm. She’d thought she would die all alone in the woods with no one to comfort her, to find her, and she wouldn’t have the chance to say good-bye to June and her friends.
She’d been alone. All alone.
“No!” Her voice cried out on the recording, full of the panic now threatening to take her down.
She whipped her eyes open and jerked her hand free to wrap her arms around her stomach. Cal reached for the mute button on his computer, but the sound of footsteps pounding over the ground came through the speakers.
“Let it play,” she said, and soon heard Cal radio for help. Then a much quieter sound of him telling her that he was there for her, and he would get her through this.
The anguish washed away, and her heart soared at his kindness, his help. Tears that she’d held back the last few days flowed down her cheeks, and she didn’t try to stop them. “I felt so alone, but you came. Like you promised.”
He scooted his chair closer and with a gentle thumb brushed away her tears. “I know this has been hard on you, but I promise to be here for you every step of the way until this is resolved.”
She threw caution to the wind and stood to tug him to his feet. She wrapped her arms around the neck of this strapping man who’d flown in on a helicopter to save her life. He drew her close and held her tightly with one arm while cradling the back of her head with the other.
She rested her cheek on his broad chest and closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of his solid strength. The inky night came back again. She was lying on the ground with Cal standing above her in his tactical gear looking fierce and intimidating while at the same time anger mixed with sorrow in his gaze.
But now?
She leaned back and peered up at him. His warmth, compassion, and—dare she think—caring displayed in his expression filled her to a depth that erased all of her worries and fears of not ever getting over the shooting and being whole again. Sure, she thought the optimism was for this moment only, but she’d take the little bit that God offered right now.
Cal gently touched her cheek as if he thought she was fragile and needed to be treated with kid gloves. She smiled up at him, and he returned it with a shy, almost uneasy one of his own.
Her heart started thumping wildly. She’d really connected with him on a level far beyond anything she’d felt for a man, even Nolan, and they’d been engaged to marry.
The man holding her was no longer the fierce, powerful warrior who’d flown in on his chopper, who’d covered her body with his. He was the man to whom she owed her life, and the man who, despite his controlling tendencies, had wormed his way into her heart, and she knew clinging to him for the moment was the right thing to do.
Problem was, she didn’t know if the stress of the situation was influencing her feelings or if she really did care about him. Sure, he was attracted to her, too. But his actions now could just be him doing his job. After all, he’d said he wasn’t looking for a relationship, and she’d best remember that if she didn’t want to get hurt.
Chapter 18
Cal stood across the table from Tara and opened the five cardboard boxes in front of him. Something had shifted between him and Tara a moment ago, and his mind had shifted along with it, moving to all the possibilities a relationship might bring. A wife, family, companionship. The easing of the ache in his gut that a simple smile from Tara brought.
If Shane hadn’t delivered the evidence boxes and broken in on them, Cal didn’t know what he might have done other than hold Tara tighter and kiss her until they were both breathless. He needed to figure out why she succeeded where no other woman had, unsettling him and making him forget his job, but to help keep his focus on the job, he’d asked Shane to sit in with them as she reviewed the evidence.
“That’s a lot of boxes.” Tara laughed nervously.
