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“Señor.” The man positioned the chair in front of him, and Callum was relieved to see it was gunmetal grey and not some weird colour, like pink. “Can I help you with anything else?” He eyed the bullet-damaged leg, but his face didn’t even flicker with shock or curiosity.
Callum handed him the leg. “Can you get rid of this?”
“Of course.”
“I need clothes,” Callum said. “In fact, my whole team will need everything. Clothes, toiletries, shoes—the works.”
“If you could supply me with measurements and preferences, I’d be happy to supply your team with a basic closet.”
Callum pulled out his wallet and took out five hundred dollars. “That’s for you.”
The man’s eyebrows arched slightly. He took the money with a gracious nod.
“There will be fifteen hundred more when we leave. As long as there are no questions asked, and if anyone comes looking for us, they don’t find us.”
The man’s eyes hardened. “The privacy of our guests is paramount in this hotel.”
“Then we have an agreement.”
“A pleasure. Please call with your team’s details.”
“I will.”
The guy nodded and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
“I wish I could hire ten guys like the concierge here,” he told Lake. “He does as he’s told, he’s discreet and he doesn’t talk back.”
Lake snorted, which could have been his version of a laugh. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m calling in your contacts—apart from that, I’ll need to get back to you with the details. Can you ask them to stay on standby?”
“Already done.”
“When I get back to the office, there will be no personal time for anybody ever again. Don’t fight me on this. I’m serious. I’m fed up with rushing into the chaos of our staff’s lives without proper planning and preparation. This would never have happened in the service.”
“And you wouldn’t have made the money you’re making now there, either.”
Lake’s words cut through Callum. He remembered Joe’s emotionless recounting of Ed’s last minutes. Money sure as hell wasn’t all it was cut out to be.
“I need to go,” Callum said.
“Stay in touch.” The line went dead.
Callum tossed the phone onto the bed beside him, pulled the chair over and heaved his body into it. He needed a shower.
And then he needed to face his team.
In a wheelchair and powerless to help them.
He wondered what he’d see on their faces when they realised that their boss had turned from an asset into a hindrance. He bet it was nothing he’d want to see. Sometimes, on dark days, he wished the roadside bomb that had ruined his life had taken more than his legs. He wished it had taken all of him.
With a push of the wheels, he headed for the bathroom.
Chapter 25
They were lying naked in bed, in the room Joe hadn’t even glanced at before he’d taken Julia. It hadn’t been lovemaking. It had been something far more primal. Something he didn’t quite understand, but had desperately needed.
Julia was lying on her stomach, her face on his chest, her arm across his abdomen. Joe trailed his fingertips down the smooth, creamy skin of her spine, to the luscious curve of her behind.
