Stripping Callum (Last Hangman MC Book 6)(60)

“As she was trying to start the car, it was making a buzzing noise. It wasn’t that strange, her car had been having troubles so I didn’t really pay much attention to it. When she tried again, the buzzing was louder and suddenly the car went up in flames. The inside was a blazing inferno that trapped Alina and Billy inside. I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to, but I couldn’t help them. It killed me to watch them burn alive. To know what they were going through was because of me being unable to stay away from her and pursue her.

“When I met Nancy, those phone calls started again. They were a warning that someone was still watching me in the background and aware of what I was doing and who I was seeing. I wanted to put distance between Nancy and me, but I couldn’t. I knew she needed me. Fortunately, nothing happened to her.

“The same thing happened when I f*cked Lewis. Phone calls every other day. They were silent threats so I had nothing to go by and at that point, Jase wasn’t a cop anymore so I couldn’t ask him to trace the calls. The cops wouldn’t have helped anyway. The same thing is going on with you, except those phone calls. I haven’t received any since Lewis but you’ve got the notes.” I sigh.

“That man is seriously f*cked up. Why would someone do that?” she says, dumbfounded.

“Because he’s clearly deranged. If he couldn’t have Alina, neither could I.”

“Why wait for four or five years?”

“To make sure I’d suffer as much as he did? I’m not sure. I never got to talk with him. Nor do I want to. If I ever see him, he’s dead,” I say through gritted teeth.

“I’m sorry he’s been causing you so much heartache.” She kisses my shoulder, wrapping her small arms around me.

“Do you get now why I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to still be together?”

“Fuck that. He’s not going to stop his quest of making you suffer even if you dump me, so get that out of your mind.”

“I’m just trying to protect you.” I blow out a breath.

“And clearly you’re doing it the wrong way.”

“Maybe. Why aren’t you scared out of your mind?” I look at her.

“Because I know you won’t let anything happen to Elijah and me.”

“Fuck, woman.” I wrap my arms around her and lean back into the couch.

“What?” She chuckles softly.

“Too real.” I kiss her head.

“Badass Callum can’t handle some realness?”

“He can, but he’s at his limit. If I keep at it, my balls are going to drop off, and I’ll grow a vagina.”

“You’re such a dick.” She punches my ribs, and I flinch. “What?”

“I was shot not that long ago. Go easy on me.”

“Sorry, big baby.” She snorts and kisses me. “You done trying to push me away?”

“Do I really have a say in that matter?”

“Fuck no. It was a rhetorical question.”

“Figured.” I kiss her deeply. “You’re one of a kind.”

“I know, I’m f*cking awesome!”

“And so humble.”

“You’re a bit awesome too.”

“Finally you acknowledge it.”

“Don’t be so cocky about it.”

“You and my cock.” I chuckle and carry her upstairs. Life is good right in this moment, even with the enormous Damocles sword hanging over our heads. This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

Bella is a lot stronger than I gave her credit for. She can hold her own and reacts better than I do in a situation like this. The way she had to live her life, pregnant and on her own, has strengthened her and taught her how to deal with the unexpected. She’s not afraid of danger when I wish she would pack up and leave so that she’s far away from me. But then, I wouldn’t be able to protect her, which wouldn’t solve the issue at hand.





Annabella

Knowing what Callum has been through with Alina and Billy gives me a better understanding of everything now. The way he’s acting, the way he’s trying to push me away since I’ve started receiving the threats. It all falls into place, and I don’t blame him. It’s his very own f*cked up coping mechanism to push someone away before something bad can happen to them because of him, or so he thinks.

He won’t understand that the one who started all of this is Alina. I’m not trying to blame everything on her, but she’s the one who dumped that psycho and went to Callum. She didn’t have to do that, even though the man is pretty irresistible.

Had she not gone to Callum, none of this would be going on and she’d probably still be alive. Man, that sounds harsh coming from me. Either way, trying to make Callum understand that it’s not his fault is like trying to tell a kid on Halloween that he can’t eat all of his candy. It’s impossible!

Yes, the shit storm is following Callum, but he’s not the one creating the problems. I just hope he’ll understand that before it’s too late.

The note that I got today scared the shit out of me. More so for Callum and Elijah than for myself. I don’t want either of them to go through any length of pain. I’d rather suffer for them than have them hurt. I don’t think Callum expected me to stay this calm. I’ve had time to adjust to getting those threats, they were scaring me in the beginning, but I’ve learned to enjoy the moment and hope for the best. Which is what the other girls from the MC seem to be doing. They aren’t letting the bad guys put a shadow over their lives anymore.