“I’m Cate Marsh, a friend of Marcus Calloway. Is he there?” she asked.
“Not right now, he isn’t,” the man said.
“Do you know when he’ll be in?” Cate asked. “It’s critical I speak with him.”
“I expect he’ll be here tomorrow. Seein’ as how he’s in charge of the project,” the man paused. “Are there issues we need to address before he arrives?”
Cate’s brow knitted. “Uh, nothing that can’t wait until he can answer the phone himself.”
“You should call his cell phone,” the man said. “He usually answers on the first ring.”
“I’ve misplaced that number. Do you happen to have it?”
The man gave a soft snort. “I can forward it to your number. Wait just a minute.”
Cate held her breath as the man on the other end of the call fumbled with the phone. A moment later, a text arrived with a phone number labeled “Marcus Calloway”.
“Got it,” Cate said. “And what’s your name, sir? I’d like to let Mr. Calloway know how helpful you were.”
“Freddie Hackett,” he said.
“Thank you, Mr. Hackett. And you say Calloway’s supposed to be there tomorrow?”
“That’s my guess,” Freddie said.
“What time are you expecting him?” Cate asked.
“I don’t rightly know,” Freddie responded. A voice called to him from the background. “I gotta go, miss.”
“Thanks again,” Cate said as the line went dead.
As soon as the call ended, she got online, booked an overnight flight to London, and looked up the address on the bill of lading. She didn’t have time to reconsider. If Marcus Calloway was alive, he’d be in London tomorrow. If he was dead...well, then he wouldn’t be there, and she’d check into his dealings with the freight company.
Since the bill of lading had been hidden inside the picture frame, Cate surmised the freight shipped wasn’t something he was shipping for his position within the State Department. That meant he had something going on the side, possibly something that might not be legal. An excellent reason for a man to want to stage a disappearance. Who better to take the fall than the most likely suspect?
His wife.
Anger burned in Cate’s gut. The same gut that knew Marcus Calloway was alive.
She’d find the bastard and nail his ass to the wall before letting him get away with faking his own death and setting up his wife to go to jail for a murder she hadn’t committed. A murder that hadn’t happened at all.
Once she had her flight booked and a ride arranged to take her to the airport, she threw her passport, a change of clothes, toiletries, and her laptop into a backpack and waited outside her apartment building for her ride. While she waited, she texted her father to let him know she would be working in London and that she shouldn’t be gone for more than a week.
Her gut told her she was on the right path and that it wasn’t going to be a smooth ride.
Chapter 1
Two weeks later...
Cate sat sandwiched between Marta Hale and Draco Thornton. On the outside, she’d stopped shaking. On the inside, not so much. Having survived one kidnapping, she hadn’t expected to be kidnapped again so soon. She seriously doubted she’d ever get into another taxi alone again. Ever. She shivered at the thought.
“Hey.” Draco’s breath warmed her ear. “You okay?”
“I’m here,” she said, glad for his arm draped over her shoulders. “Just chilled.”
His arm tightened around her shoulders, pulling her closer against his side.
She let him, promising herself she wouldn’t get too used to having him around. He’d left her once before. What was to stop him from leaving again? Her heart had been bruised then. She didn’t want to feel that way again.
