Second Chance Hero (24 page)

She looked at the photos again and tried to picture the man at the stop sign across from her house. They might be the same person. Maybe.
 

Riley opened a manila folder and handed her a birth certificate. Hers.

She looked at him and then back at the notarized paper in question. His warm hand brushed hers again as he flipped the paper over.
 

Secrets can be dangerous. She’s not who she thinks she is.

She read the words again and then again trying to make sense of them. When they blurred, her legs gave out. One minute she was standing looking at the note, the next she was falling.
 

Somehow though, Riley was there, his hands gently guiding her to one of two chairs at the table. She didn’t fight. Didn’t try to pull away. Just sat and stared at the photo of the woman she didn’t know. At the birth certificate. At all of it. With the whoosh, whoosh, whoosh of her heartbeat thudding in her ears.
 

“Are you okay?”

Okay? Not even close. She laughed only the sound was bitter and defeated. “This isn’t happening. It can’t be.”

And then she picked up the phone to get some answers.

As she dialed a long distance number, Riley realized this wasn’t just a story. Honestly, it never had been. Callah in person had the power to rock his world. Her centerfold curves could easily make him forget the danger she might be in.
 

She touched the photo with her hand. She still bit her nails. Strange he even remembered that.
 

“Daddy. Call me. It’s an emergency.”

She hung up the phone and put her head in her hands. He thought she said something about sending the National Guard after all but he couldn’t quite make out her words.

Part of him—an ancient part he’d almost forgotten—wanted to take her in his arms and make her forget everything he’d just shown her. She might push him away, but it was almost worth the risk.

Instead he watched and waited. When she picked up the birth certificate, he knew they needed to talk. She didn’t look all that interested in conversation, but this whole thing was making him itchy. Something bad was going on here.
 

Forget establishing distance or staying objective.

“Listen, why don’t you grab some stuff and come with me? Just until we figure this whole mess out.”

She laughed again, sounding every bit as bitter as before. “Until we figure this whole mess out? We?” She shook her head. “I’m going to be fine. And you’re going to leave. Now.”

“I’m just the messenger, Callah. Someone sent me this package. I don’t know what’s going on, but you don’t need to deal with it alone. Some guy's out there watching you every time you go out, and that worries me.”

“Oh come on, Riley. This is Burkette. Middle of the afternoon, soccer mom central, Burkette. How much danger could I possibly be in?”

He started to point out the message on the back of the birth certificate just in case she’d missed the whole secrets-can-be-dangerous part, but he lost his chance when someone knocked at the door. They both jumped.

“You expecting company?” He glanced at her, then at the door.

She shook her head. “You’ve got me scared of shadows, Riley. This is crazy.”

Before he had a chance to respond, she started toward the door. She’d barely moved forward when they both saw the man in the window.

The man from the photos.

Riley didn’t think, didn’t give himself time to process any of it. That itchy feeling got a hell of a lot worse, and he knew what they had to do. “Let's go, Callah. Bring your cell phone. Call you father. Call the police. Whatever, but we need to leave. Now.”

Callah looked at him then back to her front door where the dog walker stood calling her name. “Miss Crenshaw. I need to talk to you.”

Riley saw the indecision on her face.

He took the cell phone off his belt and handed it to her. “Here Callah. It’s yours. Just come with me now. If I’m overreacting, I can handle that. It’s on me. But what if I’m not? Something’s going on here. Something bigger than you. Bigger than me. Come with me now. You know me. But you don’t know him. Come on.”

Callah looked at the door then back at Riley. He was wrong. She knew the boy he’d been, but she didn’t know the man he’d become. Not at all.
 

Her front door rattled as the dog walker knocked again. Through the curtains her eyes met his. She’d seen eyes like his before. They were the eyes of a made-for-TV-movie serial killer.
 

She grabbed her purse and took off running.

A few seconds later she was buckled in the front seat of Riley’s beat up blue Ford F-150 listening to George Straitt sing about Ex’s in Texas.

One quick glance behind her and she knew she’d made the right decision. The dog walker stood in her back yard watching them drive away. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought he held a gun in his hand.

A gun. Dear God. What was going on?
 

She wiped her damp palms on her lap and closed her eyes as she tried to make sense of it all. But it was pointless. Another attempt to call her father met with the same frustrating result as before. He wasn’t in and no one in the office was picking up.

For once she was truly on her own just like she insisted she wanted. Only Riley was there to help. Life’s little joke on her.

“I think we can rest assured your friend back there wasn’t here to chitchat. You sure you don’t know anything about that picture?”

She hated the suspicion in his voice as much as she hated the shake in hers. Her heart pounded hard and heavy, her calf trembled when she flexed her foot and her knees felt a lot like Jell-o.

“I don’t know anything.” She swallowed the rest of what she wanted to say to his stupid question. What was she even doing in this truck with him? “Maybe we should go to the police. Surely they can help.”

Riley tossed the folder in her lap. “Take a look in there again, Princess. The police are part of this. At least some of them are.”

He’d called her princess all those years before. At first in derision, but then…Callah pushed the thoughts away. She wanted to throw the folder he’d tossed at her out the window. Instead, morbid curiosity drove her to open it again. To look at the photos and the birth certificate.
 

She’s not who she thinks she is.

They squealed onto a gravel road, hit a bump and Callah grabbed the folder to keep it from falling.

She didn’t like its contents, but they were the only clues she had right now to ever figuring this whole mess out.

Ten minutes later Riley slammed the garage door opener as they pulled into a drive. How in the hell had he become anyone’s rescuer?
 
“No big deal. We’re just gonna ditch the truck,” he said trying to ease the worry on her face.

“Why? Riley, I think if I can just get in touch with my dad….”

Maybe she needed to be worried. “Well, you go right ahead on thinking, Callah. And while you’re at it, think about this. They don’t send assassins to execute the homecoming queen. You’re in trouble, and I’m not willing to wait around to see how this plays out.”

He opened the door and waited for her to follow him. For all her protesting, she sure was moving fast. “So, you got someone you should call? Check in with? A friendly witness protection Marshall or DEA agent?”

The scowl crossing her face said she didn’t appreciate the humor. “I swear to God, Riley, if this is some elaborate hoax to get a story….”

Riley put his hands on her shoulders and tried to ignore the instant attraction searing through him. Just like always, one touch and he was a goner where she was concerned.
 

“Listen, Callah. I know this sucks. I know it seems unbelievable. But it’s not. This isn’t about me being a reporter. It’s about you being in danger. Maybe your dad can help. I don’t know. I do know I can get you away from here until we know for sure what’s going on. And I’ve got a call I can make that might straighten all this out. But I need you to trust me. Okay?”

She looked away, refusing to say she trusted him and damn if that didn’t hurt his feelings, which was absolutely crazy. She’d be a fool to trust him.

Finally, she met his eyes. “I’m here, Riley, and you’re all I’ve got. So let’s do whatever it is you’ve got in mind.”

What he had in mind right then was kissing that troubled look right off her face, but he doubted very seriously she meant whatever he had in mind. Besides, they didn’t have time. The man outside her house probably wasn’t working alone. It wouldn’t take him long to figure out where they’d gone.
 

He released her shoulders and stepped back. “It sucks you got stuck with me for hero duty.”

She almost smiled, and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing. Might as well confirm her fears.

“You’d probably like to hear all about how I’ve reformed since we were kids. No luck. If anything I’m worse. These days I’m an alcoholic, do-nothing reporter, black sheep of the family who takes pride in the fact that my siblings are so good because they’re trying to make up for how bad I’ve been. But I can get you out of here. And that’s what matters.”

He’d shocked her silent. She blinked three times fast, took a deep breath, opened her sweet mouth, closed it. Then finally asked her question.

It wasn’t the one he expected.

“You’re an alcoholic?”

Je-sus. Had she even heard him?

“Honey, I’m an everything a-holic. But for the record, I’ve been sober two years. Why? You scared?”

She swallowed, met his eyes with the most even, most sincere look he’d seen in…well, maybe forever. “Yeah, Riley, I’m scared. But I’m not afraid of you. You just might be the most honest person I’ve ever met in my life. You always have been.”

Well, crap. He wasn’t going to fool her. Not now. Not ever. She’d probably hate him by the end of the day.

“Princess, there’s nothing honest about a man like me. Even when we’re telling you the truth, it’s a lie. It all boils down to one thing. It’s the same one thing it’s been since the beginning of time. Don’t you forget it.”

With that he turned away, picked up the phone and made a call that just might get them out of this mess. He pushed auto dial, waited for the message and keyed in the seven-digit code to let his secret agent hero-boy brother know he’d be calling back. Then he dialed the office.

Two rings later his boss and mentor picked up. “Yo, Mack. I’ve got a major lead on that story we were discussing. Any visitors stop by?”

“Hey. Listen, we’re in the middle of a legal situation. I’ll have to get back to you.” The phone clicked in his ear, and Riley’s adrenaline started pumping again.

Okay. Question answered. Law enforcement visitors were on the scene. He’d better get a move on before they showed up on his front doorstep.
 

While he was at it, he’d get that frown off Callah’s face. That ought to be fun.

Callah needed comfort food in a big, big way. Cherries Garcia. Dove extra dark chocolate. She’d even settle for a fat-free Chips-A-Hoy.

A deranged lunatic had chased her out of her home. And she’d left with a deranged lunatic of a different kind. That was the only thing that explained the food in his pantry.

She grabbed the box of plain, crunchy granola bars he shoved toward her and threw them in a blue travel bag.
 

“You don’t have chocolate?”

He looked at her like she was the crazy one. “Listen, Princess, it’s close to a hundred degrees out there. The last thing in the world you want is messy chocolate. Here, throw some of this water in there, too.”

She grabbed the six-pack of water he’d pointed to and watched him walk away. All these years and his butt still looked too good to be real. He was right. This sucked. He disappeared around the corner, and she breathed deeply for the first time since jumping in his truck.

“Yo, Princess, come in here a minute.”

No way. Huh uh. He sounded far too big bad wolf.

He peered back around the corner, this time shirtless, and her breath fell away as if she’d never caught it.

“Come on, Callah. You can’t wear that dress where we’re going.”

Callah looked down at her sundress and back at him. Oh yes, she could. She was not following him into that bedroom. Not after what she’d felt when he put his hands on her shoulders. No way.

“I’ll be fine.”

He met her eyes for a silent five seconds before finally shrugging. “Suit yourself. Bring the bag in here, though. I’ve got a few things to add.”

He undid the top button on his pants before turning, and she thought she might just dissolve into a puddle right there on the spot.

Nope. She wasn’t following him. No way. Too bad she’d eaten the last Hershey’s miniature she kept as emergency backup in her purse.
 

God, this was crazy. What was she doing lusting after Riley Sorenson? Her entire life could possibly be built on a lie, a strange man with a gun had chased them out of her house, her father wasn’t answering his phone. Lust should be the last thing on her mind.