Page 66 of Shadows Relived
A man stepped into the room, backlit by the hallway beyond. Late forties, maybe early fifties. Trimsuit, dark hair, hands tucked into his coal pockets like this was a casual visit.
“Well,” he said, smiling without warmth. “The infamous Meaghan Harrington.”
She simply stared at him, saying nothing.
“To be honest, I expected a little more of a fight from you,” he went on, circling her like a vulture. “After all, you did give my men quite the chase in the woods around that cabin.”
“Trust me,” she hissed. “There’s plenty of fight left. Cut these zip-ties, and you’ll find out just how much.”
He chuckled as he clasped his hands behind his back and shook his head. “I would imagine you’re right, but you see, I don’t have the time to find out. After all, you’re merely a pawn. I want the one who forced me to place you on the board.”
She took a slow breath but remained quiet. Let him prattle on. He might just reveal what she needed to know.
“You see, I know what your father did. He got greedy, ran some deals of his own using my company’s name, and well, I created the trail with your name on it to let him know what would happen if he didn’t give me the money back.”
She narrowed her eyes, processing his words. “So you’re the one who set me up? Not my father?”
He shrugged. “Only to get your father’s attention. If anyone goes looking, then everything will fall to you, his punishment for cheating my system.”
Her jaw clenched. “You know you won’t make it out of this alive, right? Callen will find me, and you won’t like it when he does.
The man chuckled. “Oh, dear lady, I’m counting on it.”
CHAPTER 24
CALLEN’S WORLDNARROWED TO those three words. They took her. Everything else—the grit in the air, the metallic sting of blood, even the senator’s sharp inhale—faded into static behind the roaring in his ears.
The other two looked like shit, Elvis bleeding from the temple, Gage looking like someone beat the shit out of him. He knew they gave their all. It just wasn’t enough.
Behind the others, two more SUVs pulled up, and Sage and Abbie stepped out into the humid night. He heard the senator leave his vehicle, but didn’t have time to worry about him.
He closed the distance between Elvis and Gage in three strides, grabbing Elvis by the arm before he could stumble further. “Who took her? When? How did it happen?”
“Two vehicles ambushed us,” Elvis rasped, clearly in pain. “Boxed us in. Black Suburban and some panel van. Alabama plates. They were well-coordinated, Callen. Ran us down like we were nothing.”
Gage coughed behind him, a sharp wince on his face. “We fought. I swear to God, Callen. We fought until we dropped, but there were too many, and they out-gunned us.”
Callen’s fists clenched as panic coursed through every fiber of his being. “And Meaghan?”
“Held her own,” Gage’s jaw ticked. “Kicked like hell, screamed like hell. But they still got her. There were just too many of the bastards.”
The senator shoved his way between them, spinning on Callen. “This is what your protection looks like? I told you to bring her to D.C. for this very reason. They took my daughter because of you!”
Narrowing his eyes, Callen took a step toward the man, his voice a low, rumbling growl. “You want to point fingers? Maybe start with the man who shook hands with the devils who took her and thought the house of cards you built wouldn’t collapse around you. This is your mess, Harrington. You just didn’t expect it to touch your family. People like you never think of anyone but themselves, and now Meaghan’s paying the price for it.”
The senator flushed, hand tightening into a fist. “You’ve always been a screwup. This is just another instance to prove I’ve always been right about you. You’re not a soldier. You’re a bloody mercenary.”
“No, what I am is someone who has to come in and clean up after fuck-ups like you.”
“Enough!” Elvis barked, his voice like gravel ground through a blender. “This isn’t helping, and we’re wasting time. You want to throw punches, then do it later. But right now, Meaghan’s out there, probably scared out ofher mind, and we’re still standing here twiddling our thumbs.”
Callen exhaled through his nose, long and hard, reining it in. Elvis was right. He could kick the senator’s ass later. Right now, he needed to find Meaghan and get her back to safety. “What do we know?”
Elvis nodded once. “That’s better. And Dane’s already got the gears in motion. He’s sending Hawk and Grim to meet us, and we’ve got Sage and Abbie.”
Just then the two redheads stepped up, Sage’s hands in her pockets. “We picked up your SUV in Live Oak and were heading home when we got the call.”
“Don’t worry, Callen,” Abbie said. “We’ll get your girl back.”
