Borrowed Souls (Soul Charmer #1)(65)

She nodded. Nate didn’t scare her anymore, but the thought of stepping out of line with Ford sure as shit did.

“Good.”

The sense of finality in his voice spurred Callie back into the moment. Thank God. “I still have a couple days before this all happens.” That reedy quality had left her vocal cords.

“You got photographic memory, baby?”

It was her turn to scowl. “No.”

“Didn’t think so. You can’t take a cheat sheet to the job with you. Memorize that shit, and be ready. The boss gave you a specific schedule when you agreed to cover for Joshy boy. Don’t fuck it up.”

As if it were so simple to not botch the job, not get her brother killed, and not ruin her life completely. Breaking into a building that not only had security, but also housed actual police officers—when the biggest score in her life was three outfits from a department store—would be super easy. The urge to puke spiked her stomach again.

“Anything else?” She regretted asking as soon as the words left her lips.

He reached toward his belt, and she spun on her back heel and headed toward the apartment. His laughter followed her, but she didn’t look back.





—— CHAPTER SIXTEEN ——

“That dipshit from the other night is parked outside.” Derek’s first words upon arriving that afternoon were far from sweet nothings.

Callie sighed. “I know. He’s been out there for hours.” Derek reached for the door he’d closed moments ago, but paused when she added, “I think he’s trying to remind me of my obligations to Ford.”

“I don’t like it.” The hard set of his lips rivaled the cut of his jaw in severity.

“I’m not particularly pleased about it, either, but he has my brother. So chill.”

“It’s not just that. They shouldn’t be using you for anything.”

She’d had the same thought. Repeatedly. Coming from someone else, though, it was irritating. She’d already spent most of the day being told what she should and shouldn’t do. Derek’s remark, no matter how well intentioned, wasn’t needed or welcomed. “Am I not capable?” she snapped.

“Whoa.” He took a step backward. “You’re fucking smart. You know I think you’re an asset.”

“An asset? You out to use me, too?”

“No. Fuck no.” Derek’s voice rose with each word. “It isn’t like that, and you know it.”

Her mental armor was thin and dented. “Do I? What is it like then?”

“You can’t expect me to be okay with Ford forcing you to interact with that guy.”

The urge to ask for his reasoning burned, but going down that road required a towering emotional stockpile. Hers was depleted. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He didn’t trust her quickly deflating anger. She couldn’t blame him.

Callie shook her head to dislodge her ire instead of making another fear martini. “If you’re really just worried about me, then yeah. Okay.”

“I am.” He nodded. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing for him?”

“For whom?” She wasn’t supposed to answer, but her fuse was nearly burnt out. Talking could help. Confiding secrets to one mostly trusted person was different than exposing the truth to daylight.

His pacing was going to wear a small circle into the carpet near the window. “Ford.”

At least he was playing along. Callie certainly wouldn’t have been up for this kind of bullshit. “Don’t you want to talk about what you learned this morning instead?” The reply a clear sign to back off.

He inclined his head toward her. The miniscule movement put her under scrutiny enough to make her arms itch. “More souls gone MIA, not really any big news. And I wouldn’t have asked about Ford if I didn’t want to know.”

Her forearm was red and angry where she’d scratched too hard. Distractions were failing her, and deep down, she wanted to tell him everything. “Knowing about Ford complicates everything,” she said, and it was the truth.

“Do I look like I’m scared of a little drama?” His arms hung loosely at his sides and earnestness wrinkled between his brows.

She dropped onto the couch and beckoned him to join her. “It’s more than drama. This is bigger than catty coworkers talking behind each other’s backs. There are big consequences involved if I fuck up.”

“He’s got your brother, yeah?” His nostrils flared in the same way they had before he’d broken a guy’s nose.

She sucked her bottom lip to avoid giving voice to the quaking feelings hungry to escape. The cushion beneath her dipped to the left when Derek sat next to her. Oddly that off-kilter motion made her steady enough to nod.

Derek curled his fingers into fists and released them a few times. Silence packed with truth and fear stretched between them. “I’m not going to let him hurt you or yours. Got me?”

“But why? You haven’t known me very long.” What was wrong with her? Insecurity was bad enough, but caring for Derek made her strip it bare.

“I want to know you more, and that’s enough. I don’t connect with people often. You and me? We connect. I like that.”

“My brother, though. You can’t know about it. Or about Ford or—”