Calum’s Contact Read online

  It didn’t work out that way. He had been badly injured instead. They all had been badly injured.

  She hated even the reminder of all the nightmare scenarios she’d thought of during the time that he’d been under. Terk had done everything he could to keep her informed, all she wanted was to be there at Calum’s side while somehow protecting Little Calum from this harsh reality as well.

  She hadn’t wanted to subject her son to sitting at his father’s bedside for hours, on and on till the end, not knowing if Cal would even wake up. She wondered whether Cal would have come to her, when he woke up after all this, or would use it as yet another excuse to avoid her.

  Maybe she owed the kidnappers a thank you for that. Because, now that she was here, she was in a better place. She and Cal and Little Calum were all in a better place, and no way in hell was she leaving without giving it a second chance. It seemed odd to think along those lines, but one had to do what one had to do.

  She thought back to the kidnapping, remembering how terrified Little Calum had been and how she’d worked to keep him calm. Thankfully the kidnappers hadn’t been physically cruel as much as mentally cruel. She hadn’t thought hurting her and her son had been in the plan, just that they were the means to an end. And, as such, she wondered if something she might have heard would make more sense now.

  As she lay here quietly, she focused, only remembering that discussion about Sean and how Calum would hate it and how Sean had been waiting for it a long time. At least she had remembered that and had told Terk and Cal, but surely she could remember more, wishing she had asked a few more questions of her kidnappers.

  Just then Little Calum woke up, staring at her groggily, with sleepy eyes. “I’m hungry.”

  She winced at that. “Well, that’s a good sign. I will go find us some food.”

  “No.” His arms clutched her tighter. He was frightened.

  “Ah,” she murmured, “well, how about we get Daddy to bring you some food?”

  Immediately he raised his head, his eyes wide. “Daddy here?”

  She smiled and whispered, “Yes, sweetie. Daddy is here.”

  He immediately pushed himself upright and looked around.

  “Let me call him.” She grabbed her phone and sent him a text, since she didn’t know what Calum was doing. It wasn’t but moments later when the door opened, and Cal stepped inside. Little Calum took one look at his daddy and burst into tears, holding out his arms.

  Calum took several strong strides toward him, grabbed him up in his arms, and held him tight. “It’s okay, buddy. You’re okay. Everything is okay.”

  But Little Calum wasn’t to be appeased. He wouldn’t let go of his father’s arms. She gave Cal a look, affirming how much he was needed. Cal just nodded and held the little boy close. The sheen of tears in her husband’s eyes brought on the tears in her own.

  Why the hell he ever thought leaving us behind was a good idea is beyond me. She knew she had to put those thoughts out of her head for now and to backtrack very quickly. She needed to be in the present. “Any chance of a shower?”

  He nodded. “Absolutely, and we need to get some food for you guys.”

  At that, Little Calum pulled his head back and smiled up at his father eagerly. “Food, Daddy, food.”

  “I got this.” He nodded. “Mommy can have a shower, and we can surely work something out.”

  “On our own?” Little Calum asked, clearly excited. Part of him wanted to scramble down, out of his father’s arms, but the other part wouldn’t let him. He didn’t want to, not just yet.

  Mariana let them be and escaped to the bathroom. There, she stood for a moment, her arms wrapped around her chest. She had to find a way to make this work; she had to. Ensuring that her child felt safe was important to her. Beyond important. They couldn’t keep going as they had been; that had led them straight to the exit door of splitting for good. But now? Now she felt like they had been given a second chance.

  She hopped into the shower, where nobody could hear her softly sobbing, and she let the tears roll. By the time she stepped out, she figured she’d wasted enough time and quickly got dressed in the same clothes she had been kidnapped in. They would need clothes and other belongings too. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she looked over at Cal, and the sight of him holding Little Calum turned up the heat on all her emotions. The two of them looked up and smiled, so delighted with each other.

  “We need to get some clothes for him too,” she noted, “and a few other things, toiletries, maybe some vitamins.”

  “That’s fine,” Calum replied. “We can arrange all that.”

  She nodded and looked over at her son. “I thought you and Daddy would already be looking for food.”

  “He said we had to wait for you.” Little Calum rubbed his eyes. She dressed quickly.

  “Dear God, why did I ever think we needed to separate?” Calum asked, his voice a bit off, as he watched her.

  She gave him a hard stare, as she stepped into her shoes. “I don’t know, but I was thinking the same thing in the bathroom just now. You better not be considering a repeat.”

  With emotions choking him, Calum just shook his head but didn’t say any more.

  “Let’s go find some food,” she added.

  Cal nodded, and, swinging his son in his arms, he led the way out the bedroom door.

  Mariana walked down the hall and into the main common area to hear a sudden silence all around them. She smiled nervously. “So I am Mariana, Cal’s secret. The one I’m guessing everyone knows about.”

  The others chuckled, as Tasha immediately walked over and held out her hand. “Not really, we’re all kind of in the same boat these days. I’m Tasha.” Her tone was kind. “Now, to set the record straight, some of use knew that he had been married at some point in the past but didn’t know that he had a family now.”

  “Yeah,” Mariana replied, “I was really hoping it wouldn’t end up breaking completely off for good, but it was looming large and looking inevitable, before all this trouble started.”

  “Well, hopefully now that you’ve been reunited, you can work it out,” Tasha stated firmly. Looking at Little Calum, she reached over and gently touched his cheek. “Who is this adorable little guy?” she asked.

  “That little fella is Calum Jr.,” Mariana replied, amusement in her voice.

  “That’ll get a little confusing.” Damon chuckled, as he walked over. “Hey, big guy. You got the same name as your daddy, huh?”

  Little Calum nodded but stayed quiet and content in Calum’s strong arms. Mariana watched the interaction, knowing it would take him a bit of time. Not too long, as he was incredibly outgoing, but it would take a bit to get comfortable with all these strangers, especially due to the kidnapping. “We generally call him Little Calum.”

  “Food!” Little Calum cried out joyously, as he spotted the table. She laughed, and they walked over to have a look. Mariana smiled as she watched her son studying the contents of the table with interest.

  “We may not have a whole lot of kid-friendly food here,” Damon noted.

  “We can do toast,” Tasha suggested immediately. “We don’t have any cereal though.”

  “Toast would be fine,” Mariana replied. “Do you have any peanut butter?”

  “Oh, yeah, Wade practically lives on it.” Tasha looked toward Sophia. “We’ve got plenty.”

  So, with Tasha’s help, they quickly got a meal going. Mariana knew that once Little Calum started looking for food, he got hungry very quickly, and his temper didn’t allow for much patience in the matter. He would need food and fast. And, sure enough, by the time the toast was ready, he was starting to whine.

  In a way, food was the weakness of this clan. Cal and Little Calum both got grumpy about food. As soon as Mariana got some toast in her son’s mouth, he shut up and just kept eating. The others laughed. Wade walked over, smiled at Little Calum, and joked about the peanut butter. He was uncertain if the little guy recognized him or if he could even sort out the rescuers from the kidnappers in his memory.

  “You know what? … We really have to change our living arrangements,” Wade noted quietly.

  “I get that this is no place for a kid.” She nodded. “But, if you’re thinking about stuffing us away in some safe house,” she began, her gaze laser focused, openly glaring at them, “alone, … you better think again.” She made absolutely no apologies for the hard edge in her voice.

  Wade stared at her in surprise and then gave her a nod. “Got it. I see you’re in the same boat as the rest of the women.”

  “Well, I doubt that any of us would appreciate being summarily lumped together with such limited knowledge, but, if what you mean is that we share the same position of wanting to stay close, then, yes, you are correct,” Mariana confirmed. “I would never presume to speak for the others, but I definitely will speak for myself. We’ve done without Cal for a long time, with only occasional random visits, and that will stop now.”

  Calum opened his mouth and then frowned and didn’t say anything, as she nodded.

  “Good choice,” she stated, “and it’s a really good time to just be quiet. We’ve agreed that, despite the best of intentions, we’ve got to do better by our son.”

  “Which is precisely why we need a solution,” said Terk. Coming up beside her, he reached down, gave her a hug. “It’s good to see you,” he murmured.

  “Did I ever say thank you for that rescue?” She gave him a wry smile.

  “No thanks needed,” he replied. “We’re sorry you wound up in that scenario in the first place.”

  “Did you catch them all?”

  “We got most of them,” he replied, “and now we need Cal here to put us in touch with the Iranian group.”

  She s
hrugged. “I assume that means a lot to you or to the larger effort, so that’s good, but, for me, I just want to know if those assholes who kidnapped us are gone.”

  “They are,” Cal stated, “and now I’m going after Sean. And the question is what to do with you while I’m away on a hunt.”

  “Well, for the moment,” she suggested, “we can just stay here. As long as the food holds out, I’ll have no problem keeping our son here and happy.” Calum hesitated, and she waved a hand in the air. “Go. Don’t waste your time arguing. The sooner we get this dealt with, the better.”

  With a bark of laughter, Terk said, “Isn’t that the truth.”

  Calum frowned and looked over at the others, perhaps hoping for backup.

  Tasha immediately shook her head. “None of that, Cal. You got to do what you got to do, … and we’ll be right here, doing what we got to do.”

  “And that includes keeping an eye on us, I suppose?” Mariana wondered if she should be offended. Yet, at the same time, the relief on Cal’s face was evident.

  “Look, Cal,” Tasha told him. “Times have changed. We’ve all been through a lot, and there is no going back, no more of this keeping our private lives separate from our work lives. We have changed, and our lives will be different. After this, several relationships will finally get the attention they deserve. Relationships that probably shouldn’t have been put on hold in the first place,” she snorted. “If we’ve learned nothing else, it should be that life is too short and too unpredictable to spend it apart from those we are meant to be with. None of us are looking to break up over this. In the meantime, you two have family here, and we will all do our best to protect it.”

  The sincerity in Tasha’s words came through, and Mariana felt the truth behind them. She needed to make this work. “I’m sorry if my words sounded rude and unappreciative, Tasha. I’m just overreacting. Cal, you go do your thing. Just make sure you come back.”

  He smiled gently at her. “Will do.” He walked over, and he kissed her hard. “Hold that thought until I get back,” he growled into her ear.

  She smiled as she watched him kiss Little Calum, happily eating, before Cal walked to the rear door. It was so hard to watch him leave, when he had only just returned to her life, and she was desperate to hold back the tears. The moment he went through the back door, she sagged into the closest kitchen chair. She knew the other women were watching her, and it was all she could do to keep from falling into the whirlwind of worry and despair again.

  When a cup of coffee promptly landed in front of her, her smile lit the room. “Now that I could really use.” She looked up at Terk, smiled, and her tone was affectionate. “You always did know what I was thinking.”

  He shrugged.

  “Well, didn’t you?”

  “Part of my charm,” he teased, with hint of a smile.

  “Well, I don’t know about charm,” she noted, “but definitely part of the scary aspect of your personality.”

  He looked at her, completely serious. “Scary, huh? Really?”

  “No, not so much. Not now,” she murmured. “I’ve gotten used to it. The same way I’ve gotten used to a lot of things that I never thought I would. Yet we could never convince Cal that this is where I needed to be.”

  “Well, having you here now is likely to affect that too,” Terk pointed out.

  She nodded. “I hope you also don’t think that I should be disappearing because this boy needs his father.”

  “But we also need everybody to stay safe, so that gives us a challenge.”

  “You’re up for it.” She waved a hand in a dismissive way. “You’ll fix it.”

  He laughed. “Glad you’re so convinced. Things are a bit of a mess right now.”

  “In many ways.” She gave him a flat look. “I never expected us to get kidnapped, but, now that it’s happened, I’m almost ready to thank them.”

  He stared at her in surprise, until he realized what she meant, and slowly nodded. “It’ll take a lot to convince Cal,” Terk noted. “This will seem awfully idyllic, but it’s not reality.”

  “Of course it’s not reality,” she murmured. “Reality would be easier.”

  “You could be right. The fact of the matter is, it’s never that easy.”

  “No, it’s not,” she agreed, “and I don’t need our lives to be easy, but I do plan to make sure that, whatever happens next, we’re with him.”

  “I’ll do my best, Mariana, to make that happen,” Terk replied quietly. “I’ll do my best.”

  She knew that he meant it. They had communicated in some ways that she didn’t understand, and, because of that, she also knew who he was on the inside. His best was pretty damn good, and he didn’t say things that he didn’t mean.

  *

  “You okay, Cal?” Wade asked, as he and Damon and Cal slipped through the alleyway beyond the warehouses where their temporary headquarters were. Terk had vehicles stashed nearby, and they were taking the long way to one of them, watching for tails or street cams or drones or anything suspicious.

  “I’m fine.” Calum shrugged. “It’s just weird.”

  “Yeah, you’re not kidding. We’re all kind of in the same boat,” Wade admitted.

  “After months, years really,” Damon shared, “of keeping ourselves separate and away for the safety of others, … now here we are—in a position where we won’t really have any say in the matter anymore.”

  They were all awestruck, and really in shock. Emotions were their kryptonite.

  Hearing Damon say it out loud, Calum gave a shout of laughter. “Yeah, you guys got that impression from her too, huh?”

  “Unless you’re dead set against having her back in your life,” Wade noted, “I’ll say you’re done.”

  “That’s the impression I’ve come to as well.”

  “Unless of course you don’t want to.” Damon looked over at him.

  “What? No. … All I ever wanted was to have my family close.”

  “And yet you still came on board. Why?”

  “Because my family was killed in a terrorist bomb attack,” he stated, “and I felt like I needed to do something with the world to help rid it of more of the same.”

  “That’s understandable too,” Damon murmured.

  “But it also means that I know just what the hell is going on out there, and I don’t want to take any chances.” Calum held his body rigid, his hand fisted, protective style.

  Damon may not know every detail in Cal’s life, but he understood Cal, as did the others. They’d been a team for a long time. “We have to find a way to make this work.”

  “And then we’ll just retire after this?” Calum asked, shaking his head.

  “I can’t see that happening any time soon,” Wade replied.

  “And yet it needs to, if we all have families, kids, doesn’t it?” Damon frowned, as he looked over at the others.

  “According to Mariana, we’re supposed to set up something like Levi has,” Calum shared, “where we can have a family life and hire other people to do this kind of work.”

  “Can we though?” Wade asked drily. “Just think about it. You know what kind of work we do. Energy work is not exactly anything we can toss off on other people. But maybe we can do it in a more distant way somehow.”

  “That’s sounds absurd,” Damon pitched in.

  But now Calum rambled on and on. “What if nobody even knows that it’s us? What if we do a massive name change. Buy a compound someplace where we can defend ourselves, if need be. We can keep everyone safe, and we have to just keep everybody close,” he murmured.

  “I don’t know, Cal.” Damon paused. “Maybe I just … I don’t know. So much is going on right now that nobody can say what our future will be.”

  “Exactly.” Calum agreed. “That’s why we need to just keep going and doing what we have to do, and then we’ll figure it out.”

  “If only it were that easy.” Damon shook his head.

  “I’m hoping it’s that easy,” Cal replied. “I’m hoping that some answers are out there for us because we need them. There’s got to be something that we can do to make things a whole lot safer for the world and for ourselves.”

  “We were doing it, Calum”—Damon was on the verge of a rage—“until somebody decided that we were more dangerous than the enemy and that we needed to be taken down a notch or two. That’s the thing that really hurts,” Damon stated, trying to keep his emotions in check. “To think that our own government did this? … After all the work we’ve done and all we’ve given up? It just makes me so damn mad.”