“Are you all right?” he asked Hazel.

  “Yes, thanks to you.” She rose up on her toes and kissed him, quick and grateful.

  “You’re welcome.” Nothing felt better than that.

  Facing the redhead, he said, “The police are going to want to talk to you.”

  “Why? They’re doing me a favor taking him away.”

  “You’re his wife. You can provide information they’ll need to prosecute him and testify against him if you want to.”

  “How long will he be in jail?”

  She was obviously worried he’d get out and come after her.

  “If he gets convicted of murder, he’ll be in prison for the rest of his life. What’s your name?”

  “Tina Jansen.”

  “What can you tell police about Nate Blurge’s murder?”

  “Plenty. He flirted with me the same way that nice man tonight did and ended up dead. Billy wasn’t home when Nate was killed and Billy bragged about getting rid of him. He even threatened me that he’d kill every man I flirted with.”

  “Your testimony will only help. I can assure you he’ll be put away for a long time.” Callum couldn’t believe that some killers talked about what they had done.

  Tina smiled big. “Good riddance. I can finally divorce him without worrying he’ll kill me, too.”

  Callum didn’t doubt that. He was glad the man would be off the streets, but he still had one more problem to take care of before he could be assured of Hazel’s safety.

  * * *

  Most of the police had gone and the bar had returned to its usual business. Hazel couldn’t wait to get out of her disguise. She went to the bathroom before she and Callum would go home. Finishing up, she washed her hands at the sink. They could retrieve Evie soon. When she lifted her head, she saw Carolyn’s reflection in the mirror and she had a gun.

  Seriously? Hazel’s disbelief buffered the slight gasp of shock and fear.

  The same night? “How did you know we were here?”

  “Easy. I knew you were looking for that Blurge man’s killer and Patsy told me you were going to be here one of these nights.”

  Damn that assistant.

  “If you don’t come quietly, I’ll shoot you. It’s what I’ve dreamed of doing ever since you left my restaurant. I knew I could never make it without a chef like you and I knew I’d have a hard time replacing you.”

  “Carolyn, you don’t have to do this. I told you I was sorry. I never meant for any of that to happen.”

  “It’s too late for all of that. I thought I could forgive you but I can’t. Now get moving.”

  Hazel hesitated. If she went with this crazy woman, she would probably end up dead before morning. She had to find a way to alert Callum.

  Callum.

  What would this do to him? And what about Evie?

  More determined than ever, Hazel started toward the bathroom exit. Carolyn jabbed her gun against Hazel’s ribs, concealing the gun with the oversized sweatshirt she wore.

  Would anyone find an oversized sweatshirt odd? Arizona was hot, but it was early spring and nighttime, when it got colder.

  Outside the bathroom, Hazel stalled. Just as she suspected, Callum stood where he could see the bathroom. And he spotted her right away.

  “Get going!” Carolyn jabbed her and forced her to hurry to the back door, which had been propped open to allow airflow.

  They passed the kitchen entrance, where heat poured out through the narrow doorway along with the sounds of frying food and workers having a lighthearted night.

  Hazel dared not look back to see where Callum was. Carolyn forced her through the back door, and to Hazel’s horror, she had her SUV parked right outside and the driver’s side door was open. Carolyn had planned to make Hazel drive, presumably with a gun pointed at her in case she tried to escape or attract attention.

  Did a dive bar like this have cameras? Not likely.

  Hazel knew she had to do something. She could not get in that vehicle before Callum caught up to them.

  Relying—desperately—on what she had heard about self-defense, she dropped all her weight straight down. Carolyn wasn’t a big woman. Hazel felt her former boss stumble and rake at her clothes, to no avail. She stepped back to maintain her balance. It was enough for Hazel to scramble away, looking for cover.

  She didn’t have to panic long. Callum emerged from the back door, smacking Carolyn’s head with the butt of his pistol, and she fell like a rag doll. He kicked her gun away and rushed over to Hazel.

  “Are you all right?” He was breathless and his eyes were wild with fear.

  She just grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him hard once. “Yes. I am, Callum. I love you.” She kissed him hard again and then stopped herself.

  What had she said? The words had tumbled out.

  Heat hardened his eyes from frantic concern. Was the tension sexual—or maybe loving? But it appeared only for an instant.

  “Go inside and get the police,” he said.

  She did as he asked. But as she ran into the bar and to the front, the glow of warmth she had seen in him crept into her in a different way. He’d caught the feeling and shut it off.

  He wasn’t ready for this, for her to have blurted out words of love.

  Outside, she found the officers and told them about Carolyn. They instructed her to wait. She’d have to give a statement and so would Callum.

  She would rather call a cab and go get Evie, go home and forget any of this ever happened. She needed Evie more than ever. But she’d have to wait.

  Chapter 15

  Callum woke late the next morning. Having to give statements on two criminal incidents had taken time. He reached over to feel for Hazel and then remembered she had insisted on sleeping in her own room. He’d had a bad feeling about that the previous night, but the hour had been so late and both of them so tired he hadn’t argued.

  Now, with a clear head, he realized all of the adrenaline and his baggage with Annabel had taken their toll.

  Hoping against hope, he flung the covers off and went across the hall. The room was immaculate. No trace of Hazel. The bed was made and all her things, and Evie’s, were gone.

  He ran his hand through his hair. He needed his sister.

  After quickly showering, he raced to Marlowe’s office, pacing outside until the worker she had a meeting with left. Then he went inside and closed the door.

  “I heard you captured two criminals in one night. Nice going, brother.”

  “I need to tell you something.” He could not believe he was going to do this.

  He paced her office, one side to the other, three times.

  “Okay, you’re worrying me,” Marlowe said.

  He stopped and put his hands on the back of one of the chairs facing her desk and looked at her, still struggling with how to begin.

  She angled her head. “This whole...” she twirled her pen a few times “...weak man thing isn’t the twin I grew up with.”

  Callum lowered his head with a sigh. She had a way of reaching him he could never explain to anyone. He lifted his head. “There’s something I haven’t told almost anyone.”

  Marlowe lifted her eyebrows. “Go on. Don’t stop now.”

  She knew him so well. He would have stopped, in this fragile state. Pushing off the chair, he straightened. “Annabel and I didn’t break up.”

  Marlowe didn’t move or blink. She just waited.

  “She died.”

  His sister’s mouth formed an O on an indrawn breath. “You lied?”

  “I’m sorry.” He opened his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Stop being so weak. What happened?” she demanded.

  Lowering his arms and taking a chair, he explained everything, the witness and Annabel’s pregnancy—and her death.

  “We knew all of that, Callum. What happened?”

  “I was protecting a witness and was in court a lot. The drug cartel must have had me followed and the leader sent someone to assassinate her. I wasn’t there to protect her.”

  Marlowe took several seconds to absorb that and, Callum knew, piece together what he hadn’t said.

  “Oh, Cal.” She shook her head gently, full of empathy. And then she grew stern. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t.” He had no way of explaining.

  As it turned out, he didn’t have to. His sister knew him like no other. “You blamed yourself but because you met Hazel, you can face it now.”

  Well, that he hadn’t expected. His sister knew how to get to the point, but that was...he would have thought harsh but he checked himself. Her honesty, like Hazel’s, showed him not only the brutality of the truth but also the healing power of facing it.

  “Tell you what.” Marlowe leaned back in her big leather executive chair. “I’ll tell the family, and you go get this woman who’s done you so much good.”

  Callum felt his insides twist with warning. “What? No. It’s not like that.”

  Marlowe picked up a pen from the desk and dropped it in exasperation. “It’s not? Look at you. Listen to yourself. You just told me that meeting Hazel has brought you here, confessing something huge that you kept from your own family.”

  He hadn’t thought how his inability to deal with Annabel’s death would affect his siblings. He hadn’t cared about his parents all that much. They were always too involved with Colton Oil. And other than with Marlowe, he wasn’t the type of brother to bleed out his soul to everyone. But Marlowe...

  “I should have told you,” he said. “You’re right.” He ran his fingers through his hair, disconcerted.

  “Stop,” Marlowe said. “Just stop.”

  He looked at her, not sure of her meaning.

  “You should have told me, but I understand why you didn’t. I know you like you know me. We are tough emotionally, and smart and strong. But we can be stubborn, Cal.”

  “I know, but—”

  “What I want you to hear from me—and you better listen—is you have met a beautiful and wonderful woman who won’t put up with your baggage if you can’t handle it.”

  Nothing like putting it bluntly. He also liked the handling connotation. Baggage. Handles.

  He laughed, deeply and from his core. “Marlowe, I love you.”

  “Go get that girl, you fool.” She smiled and laughed softly in return. “There’s no escaping it. Take it from one who knows.”

  She’d gotten involved with Bowie Robertson, the president of Robertson Renewable Energy Company, Colton Oil’s rival. She’d gotten pregnant and ended up falling in love. Callum still couldn’t tell she was pregnant. She looked great.

  Resigned to the fact that she was probably right, he stood from the chair.

  “Hey,” Marlowe said.

  He met her teasing eyes.

  “Do you love her?”

  He recalled Hazel blurting she loved him and how that had made him feel. Confused. Scared. Weak, as his sister would say.

  “Yes.”

  * * *

  Both let down by Callum’s brusque attitude and exceedingly excited to see Evie again, Hazel walked up to her brother’s house. Owen opened the door before she got there and Evie bounded out.

  “Mommy!”

  Immense joy burst in Hazel. She crouched as Evie ran to her and took her into her arms. “Hi, Evie. I missed you so much.”

  “I missed you, too, Mommy.”

  Hazel kissed her cheek several times, making Evie laugh. Then she stood up.

  Evie looked toward the street. “Where’s Cal-em?”

  “He couldn’t make it.” Seeing Evie’s crestfallen face, Hazel felt a pang of guilt for not bringing Callum with her. She’d figured a clean break would be best for her daughter.

  “But he said he would.”

  “I know, honey.” She took her daughter’s hand and walked to her brother.

  “She’s a great kid. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

  She hugged Owen. “Where’s Jessica?”

  “She went to work. She said to tell you hello and thanks for convincing her to have kids. I’d like to thank you, too.”

  Hazel smiled, loving Evie’s effect on them. “I didn’t know you wanted them.”

  “I wasn’t sure until now.” He messed up the top of Evie’s hair, which she wore down today. “You come back anytime, okay?”

  “Okay!”

  “Thank you so much, Owen. I owe you big for watching her.”

  “I’m just glad you caught that killer. We were scared for you. And your ex-boss.” He shook his head with raised eyebrows. “That’s so wild.”

  “Yeah. I still can’t believe it. She was always so friendly.”

  “I guess everybody has their breaking point.”

  Even if Hazel ran into hard times like that, she didn’t think she would ever break to the point of attempted murder. “I think I’d have to be on my deathbed before I broke.”

  “Yes, and normal people wouldn’t murder anybody.”

  “No.” She looked down at Evie. “Well, what do you think, kiddo? Should we go home?”

  “Okay. Will Cal-em be there?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Her brother eyed her in question. “I thought you two had something going.”

  She had to be careful what she said in front of Evie. She couldn’t be sure what Callum would do, now that she was safe.

  “It’s still too early to tell.”

  “That’s not how it looked to me,” Owen said. “I’ve never seen you glow like you did with him nearby.”

  She’d been glowing? She had not been aware of that.

  “Why didn’t he come with you today?” Owen asked.

  “I left early. I didn’t wake him,” she said neutrally. “We better get going. I’ve got a lot of meals to cook.”

  “Don’t let a good man go because of what Ed did to you,” Owen said. “And don’t hold it against Callum for being rich. He isn’t the same as Ed.”

  “I know, Owen.” She might as well tell him all of it, Evie, too. “He has issues of his own. His pregnant girlfriend died in an accident. A drug dealer did it to get revenge on Callum for him protecting a witness during his trial. He hasn’t gotten over her yet.”

  “All he needs is someone like you to know he has a soft place to land.”

  She was a soft place to land? Not if being with Evie all the time made him think of the baby he had lost. And not if he held back with Hazel and never let his feelings grow with her. She wanted more than that and Evie deserved more than that.

  * * *

  When Hazel arrived back at her little apartment above the bakery, she did not expect to see Callum’s rental parked in the back.

  “Cal-em’s here!” Evie exclaimed.

  Hazel parked and walked around to get Evie out of her car seat. She fidgeted and swung her tiny feet, anxious to get out of the SUV. Since she had been riding in Callum’s vehicles, the Mercedes’ mirror had been repaired.

  She freed Evie, who climbed out of the SUV and ran toward the stairs. Hazel followed, wondering why Callum was here. She saw him get out of the truck as they approached. Evie veered away from the stairs.

  “Evie!” Callum crouched and wrapped his arms around her as she crashed into him.

  “You said you were gonna come get me,” Evie said, small arms looping around his neck as she leaned back to look at his face.

  “I’m sorry. That’s why I’m here now.” He looked at Hazel.

  She saw pure adoration for Evie’s sweet charm.

  “And I also came to have a word with your mother.”

  Evie glanced back at Hazel.

  “Let’s go inside.” Hazel walked to the stairs and Callum carried Evie up them. Inside, she felt she no longer belonged in this tiny place. She still wasn’t sure she would be comfortable living in a mansion with all of Callum’s family, or if she would get used to having so much money—that was, if he did love her.

  He put Evie down and told her to go find them a good movie. She trotted to the living room.

  Hazel faced Callum, prepared for anything. He was gentleman enough to make sure he talked to her personally about any decisions he had made.

  He took her hands in his. “This last month with you has been more than eye-opening, Hazel.”

  “For me, as well.”

  “First I want to start off by saying I am nothing like Evie’s father. I don’t run from difficult situations or circumstances.”

  “I know that about you.” He would face her and break things off ethically and with integrity.

  “I’m rich like he was, probably richer, because of my family.”

  She nodded, lowering her eyes.

  “But I have never lied to you, nor will I ever.”

  She returned her gaze to him. This was beginning to sound like he had no intention of breaking things off between them. Hope flared and her heart began to pound with responding emotion.

  “You helped me through dealing with Annabel’s death. And talking to my sister today made me realize that even though it’s only been a month, I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  She couldn’t believe her ears.

  “That’s why...” He got down on one knee and then let go of her hands to dig into his pocket.

  No way. He wasn’t...

  He pulled out a ring box. “Now, I don’t want you to feel rushed.” He looked up at her and opened the box to reveal a sapphire and diamond ring. The sapphires were about a karat between them and surrounded by smaller diamonds. A man with his money could have gotten her something gaudy and blatantly expensive. But he knew her. He knew she wouldn’t have appreciated anything like that.

  “You pick the date, but will you marry me?”

  Tears stung her eyes. This was the happiest day of her life! “When did you...”

 

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