AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, baby, it is.”
Pedro smashed the burner phone in frustration. No one. Fucking no one was going to help him. Every single one of his fucking contacts were busy. The likelihood of that being true was slim. Word had somehow gotten around that anything Pedro wanted done couldn’t be done. Whether it came from Mr. Rook or Javier, Pedro didn’t care—it just had.
Well, if he couldn’t get the help he needed, it wouldn’t stop him from achieving the end goal. Maybe it was better this way. There were fewer people to fuck up the plan.
If he couldn’t trust himself to do it right, then who could he trust?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Do you really have to go?” Astrid asked as she brushed invisible lint from the shoulders of his leather jacket.
“Yeah, Comet, I do.” A determined glint had turned his milky chocolate eyes dark, like the darkest chocolate.
The past week had been blissful. She’d been able to drive her own car. Go to the store. Live the life she’d had before everything had gone to shit. Callum hadn’t been by her side all the time, as his job of protecting her was over now that the threat had gone. But he hadn’t gone back to his place. In fact, more of his things appeared at her house with every passing hour.
The trip that he’d told her about, the one he wouldn’t be a part of because of needing to protect her, had been delayed—until now. He’d received a text the previous evening advising him it was now a go. There was no reason for him not to join his team and she’d told him so while knowing it would be hard to watch him leave, knowing he could be walking into a dangerous situation.
“Do you have everything?” she asked, even though she had no idea what he needed to take with him.
“I have the necessities. Will pick up more when I get to Alliez’s office.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you there?”
A slow smile spread across Callum’s face, and her insides melted at it. “I’m good. But thank you.”
Astrid knew she had to let him go. Had to let him walk out the door, but saying goodbye was hard, especially as her feelings for him had sharpened and deepened the more time they spent together. “I, I—umm, I’ll miss you,” she blurted out when what she wanted to say was “I love you,” but she kept the words swallowed down.
Callum looked like he wanted to say something. His mouth opened and closed twice. Instead of saying something, he framed her face with his hands, lowering his head until his lips were a hairsbreadth away from hers. “I’ll miss you, too.”
Astrid only had a second to take in what he said before his mouth covered hers in a sweetest kiss. His lips moved slowly over hers, teasing her to open beneath him. Her fingers entwined in the hair at the base of his neck. Everything about this kiss felt as if it was a new beginning. A new start. As though an imaginary line had been cast and they’d crossed over to a new side. A better side.
“I really have to go.” Callum pressed a kiss against her forehead as he held her tight.
She loved it when he squeeze hugged her. It gave her the feeling of completeness and rightness that this was where she belonged.
“I know.” Determinedly, she took a step back, keeping her hands resting lightly on his chest. “Go, do your thing. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. Had she said the wrong thing? Had she pushed too hard by saying what she did? Although that didn’t seem likely, considering he’d told her he loved her too.
When he opened them again, she gasped at the sheen of tears. “No one has ever waited for me to come home from being away.”
During their time together, they hadn’t really talked about their parents. Now wasn’t the time to ask. When he got back, though, she was going to question him about it. “Now you do.”
“I do indeed.” He glanced at his watch and swore under his breath. “I really need to go.”
Astrid swallowed and blinked quickly as tears built in her eyes. She wasn’t going to break down in front of Callum. The last thing she wanted him to think before he left was that she couldn’t cope with him leaving. “Be safe.”
Callum brushed the back of his fingers down one cheek, the touch leaving a trail of warmth and craving in its wake. “Always.”
He bent and picked up his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder, and headed to the front door. Astrid followed and wiped away the stray tear that had leaked out of the corner of her eye. She gripped the door in her hand as he skipped down the stairs and climbed into his car.
They hadn’t said goodbye to each other. It hadn’t been a conscious action on her part, and she didn’t know if Callum had deliberately avoided saying it to her.
The car started with a loud roar, and she lifted her hand in a wave, receiving one in return. How long she stood in the doorway after Callum’s car had disappeared out of her line of vision, she didn’t know. But she was aware of the tears trickling down her face. This first time was the going to be the hardest. The next time wouldn’t be so bad. At least she hoped it wouldn’t.
But no way would Callum know that when he left, he took a piece of her with him.
The humidity of the jungle hit Growler, and he slapped at the bug that landed on his arm. It hadn’t been that long since he’d been on a mission, but it hadn’t taken him long to forget how unpleasant it was to wear full gear in the middle of the day.
