Shadows and Light: The Complete Series, page 67
Ludis held his gun stretched out in front of him, his shoulders shaking with fury. Calista stood only a few feet away from Ludis clutching a branch in her hand like a baseball bat. For a moment, neither of them noticed Adam.
“Drop the stick, Calista,” Ludis roared, his fury edging on madness.
Great. A stick against a fucking gun. Adam swallowed the bile in his throat.
“Enough, Ludis. It’s over. You don’t have to hurt her.” Adam took an angry step forward. Calista’s breathing came in short, raspy breaths. She was scared shitless, but he was damn proud of her for holding her ground.
“Calista, are you all right?”
“Peachy,” she hissed, never taking her eyes off Ludis.
He took another step, but stopped dead when Ludis fired off a shot, clipping a chunk from the top of the branch.
“You bastard! You could have hit her.”
“I said drop the fucking stick. The next one will be between your eyes, Calista.”
The branch hit the ground. Ludis pivoted and shot a glare at Adam. “Your turn, dear nephew,” he growled and yanked Calista by her bandaged elbow hard against his chest.
“Adam, don’t … ”
Ludis slammed his arm around Calista’s throat and squeezed. He backed further away from Adam, dragging Calista with him. She tripped on something in the dark and almost fell, but he hauled her back up by the throat.
“Damn it. Let her go! You’re choking her.”
“I said drop the gun or I’ll snap her pretty little neck.”
Pure, undiluted hatred made his head spin. “You win,” he said, lowering his gun to the ground. “Let her go.”
“Remove the clip and toss it into the bushes.”
Adam weighed his options. He still had a knife and a small caliber gun in an ankle holster. Chances of reaching either in time were slim to none.
He quickly removed the clip and hurled both pieces into the night. Dread overwhelmed him, but he kept his face bland as he faced his uncle. He had only one card left to play and it was going to be a hell of a play. Somehow, he had to reason with a cold-hearted killer.
“It’s over, Ludis. Just let her go.” He took a couple steps toward them.
“Give me the fucking disk first.”
“I never even knew the disk existed until two days ago and I don’t have it now. Don’t make it worse. Just let Calista go and disappear. It’s your only chance to live past the night.” With his hands in the air, he took another step closer. “All I want is Calista.”
Ludis’s body trembled, his features distorted with sheer hatred. “And allow you to have everything? Fuck that.”
Fear pulsed through Adam. As if in slow motion, he watched Ludis’s finger close in on the trigger. Making himself move, he dropped to the ground. At the same time, Calista shot an elbow hard into Ludis’s bandaged shoulder. He let out an animalistic howl and stumbled backward.
Adam reached for his second gun and yanked it free. But as he brought it up, he saw Calista had the limb back in her hands. With the skill of a seasoned baseball player, she swung it at Ludis’s head, connecting wood to skin right above his right eye. An instant later, Ludis dropped to the ground, out cold.
“Calista,” Adam let out in a hoarse whisper as he stumbled to his feet. He didn’t even know he moved, but she was in his arms, clutching his neck in a death hold. With his arm around her waist, he leaned down and pressed two fingers against the pulse at Ludis’s neck.
“Is he dead?”
“No. The bastard is still breathing.” He released her, pulled off his belt and secured Ludis’s arms behind his back. He then took Calista back into his arms. “It’s over, sweetheart. I got you.”
His heart drummed between his ears and he clung to Calista with everything he had in him. Then his lips found hers, and for the first time in years, he allowed the world to slip into oblivion.
Desire slammed into him along with something new and wild. He took everything she offered as the overwhelming fear and desperation he carried with him drained from his body.
Adam broke the kiss and ran his hands down her arms then back up. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
Calista placed her hands over his. “My head hit a branch. It hurts a little but it’s just a bump.”
Twisting her so he could see the back of her head, he ran a gentle hand down her hair until he felt a large lump below her left ear. It was too dark to see the damage, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped.
“Did you lose consciousness?”
“Yes, but not from the tree that got in the way of my head. Whatever was on the cloth he held over my mouth knocked me out for a couple minutes. I came to on the trail by the cliff. I’m a little nauseous but fine.”
“I heard a scream.”
Calista covered his mouth with hers, silencing him. The tenderness of the kiss knocked him off balance. She broke away and met his gaze.
“I tried to get away and he yanked me back by my hair. I got free, but when I ran, he fired a shot over my head.” She picked up the fallen limb. “That’s when I picked up the stick and you know the rest.”
Adam drew her back into his arms, holding her so tightly, there wasn’t an inch separating them. “I thought … God, Calista.”
A sob burned in the back of his throat and he couldn’t find the words. Instead, he cradled her head against his chest as tears blurred his vision.
“I can’t lose you, Calista. You understand?” He reached for her hand and placed it against his heart. “You feel the beats?”
She nodded.
“One beat is for Anna, the other one is all you.” He wrapped his fingers through her hair. Bringing his head down so it rested on hers, he choked out, “I’m nothing without you.”
Several male voices and the glaring beam of flashlights erupted from the trees. Before he could get another word out, several law enforcement officers surrounded them. Adam tucked his arms under her legs and lifted her against him. He stepped over the still unconscious Ludis and headed back across the small clearing.
One of the men wearing an F.B.I. vest approached him. “Adam Blake?”
“Yes.”
“You need to come with us.”
Adam shoved past him and approached the trail. The man followed, grabbing Adam’s arm.
Adam turned and glared at him. “First, I take care of her. Got it?”
This time the man let him go.
Calista placed a hand on his cheek. “I can walk. Seriously, I’m fine, Adam.”
He slowed his pace. “I like carrying you. Besides, I’m not letting you out of my sight until a doctor checks out the lump on your head.”
“Why did the agent act like he was arresting you?”
Adam couldn’t find the words to answer her question. Instead he used all his energy to work his way back down the trail. Lifting her over the wall, he gently set her back on her feet onto the patio. Noah and Jared stood a few feet away with several law enforcement officers.
Jared cleared his throat. “You said call everyone. If there were any other way …”
“It’s okay, Jared. You did the right thing.” He broke eye contact with his brother and wrapped an arm around Calista. “She was the priority.”
She stepped away from him. “Adam, what’s going on?”
He swallowed a sob that burned the back of his throat. Pulling her back into his arms, he held her as his mind raced to find the right words. No matter how he said it, it was going to tear them apart.
“The agents are not here just to take Ludis into custody.”
“I don’t understand. You said it was over. We found the tape and Ludis can’t hurt you anymore. What else is there?” With each sentence, the panic in her voice grew.
“Calista, I haven’t had a chance to view what’s on the disk, but Ludis went to extremes to get his hands on it.” When she tried to interrupt, he held up his hand. “It has to be something of great value. Even before he showed up here, I had planned to turn everything over to my brother, Mac, who works with the F.B.I.”
“But that doesn’t have anything to do … ”
“You do understand what it means for me to turn the disk over, right?” He took a step back, keeping his hands on her waist.
Calista slowly shook her head as everything became clear. Adam tugged her closer and tried to calm his voice. “I was a federal agent who five years ago faked my own death.”
She took in a shaky breath as her eyes darted to the men standing near Jared and Noah. “No, Adam, damn it, we can just leave. Now!”
“I pretended I was kidnapped by insurgents. The military sent men into the area to rescue me.”
Calista dropped her arms and stepped back. “But you were protecting Rina and Anna. You didn’t profit from pretending to be dead, right?”
“It’s still fraud, sweetheart. I have a lot to answer for.”
“Did your brothers turn you in?”
Adam raked both hands over his face and met her glare. “Of course not. This was my idea to expose Ludis.”
“And what happens to you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve pissed off a lot of people.”
“People don’t serve time for pissing someone off.”
“Yeah, in this case, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
Tears swam in her eyes and spilled over on her cheeks. “But you’re a father. Anna needs you … I need you.”
Adam took in a deep breath and looked away. “Jared and Jennie will have custody of Anna. I hope you will still be part of her life.”
A hard fist hit him in the chest, then another and another. Adam captured her hands, eased her back into his arms, and held her while she sobbed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pete’s Diner, Sunday morning, four months later.
The small bell over the door of the diner dinged and Mary and Thomas McNeil strolled through the door. Calista dropped the pen on top of the sheet of paper on the counter and planted a smile on her face. As much as she had come to love the McNeils, sometimes it just hurt to be with them. A glance into Thomas’s cobalt eyes could bring Calista to tears because she saw so much of Adam in him.
Before she could get out a hello, Adam’s father wrapped her in a bear hug. “How are two of my favorite ladies doing?” he asked, releasing her and picking up Anna.
Anna wrapped both arms around her grandfather’s neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “We’re going to the zoo. I’m all ready.”
“I thought you invited us to breakfast,” Thomas said, sitting Anna back on her feet. He reached inside his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of construction paper. “The zoo invitation mentioned breakfast.”
Anna hugged Mary then pointed to the round table in the corner. “That is your table. Eat fast. The animals are out in the morning. If we don’t hurry, they may all be taking a nap.”
Pete’s rough voice bellowed from the kitchen. “Keep your socks on, young lady,” he said, opening the kitchen door. He balanced four plates in his hands. Setting two plates down next to Calista, he carried the others over to the table. He waited until Anna hugged Mary before lifting her onto the stool next to Calista. He handed her a fork. “Eat.”
Calista took a moment to study Adam’s family. Anna took two bites of her breakfast, bounced off the stool, and helped Pete hand out glasses of orange juice around the table. She had been in high gear ever since she woke up. For a four-year-old, a trip to the zoo was a big deal.
Over the last several weeks, Jared, Jennie, and Calista had established a routine that seemed to work well for Anna. During the week, Anna lived with Jennie and Jared. Calista would pick her up from daycare on Friday and keep her until Sunday when the family would all get together for some kind of outing.
It had been more than four months since the night she watched Adam cuffed and placed in a F.B.I. vehicle. Calista forced herself to stop crying at a drop of a hat. Tears were just messy, burned the back of her throat, and didn’t do a damn bit of good.
Calista found solace with Anna. She needed to be around Adam’s daughter as much as Anna seemed to need her. While Anna accepted the changes in her life with the exuberance of a child, she still had moments where the loss of her parents just became too much. When Anna cried out for her mother, Calista held her close and spent a lot of time getting Anna to talk about Rina. It was important the child understood the love her mother felt for her still lived on in Anna’s heart.
While Anna’s life seemed to have settled into a nice routine, Calista’s day to day was at a dead-stop stand still. She couldn’t get out of her own way and it was Adam’s fault. He was everywhere―the diner, the grocery store, in her home. Calista couldn’t turn around without sensing him. He lived in her dreams, haunted her night with exotic images of their time together, driving her body crazy with need until she feared even falling asleep.
Her heart felt empty, a relentless ache beyond anything she ever felt before. How in the hell was she supposed to move on? It seemed so impossible.
But her time for dragging her feet was over. She had a decision to make. An opportunity of a lifetime fell in her lap and there was only a few hours left before she lost that too.
Several months ago, she sent in an audition tape and an application to teach at a small college outside of Chicago. The position would give her access to amazing performance opportunities as well as be a great teaching experience. At the same time that offer came in, one of the local high schools lost their orchestra director. The position needed to be filled and Calista could begin immediately.
The local position was perfect because she wouldn’t have to leave Anna. The job in Chicago could give her a breath of fresh air, a new perspective, and the simplest solution for the rut she was in.
Whatever position she chose, the decision had to be made today. If she didn’t notify the selection committee by six o’clock, they would offer the position to someone else.
Anna dropped her hand on Calista’s knee, pulling her out of her haze. Again, she planted a smile on her face and glanced down at the little girl.
“Please come to the zoo with me, Calista.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “It won’t be fun without you there.”
“You have six adults at your beck and call. You’re going to have a blast. I’ll be here when you get back.”
Anna climbed up onto the stool and studied Calista. Her eyes narrowed before she said, “You’re using your fake smile again. If you come with us, you won’t be so sad.” She reached for the sheet of paper in front of Calista and pointed to the name at the top of one of the two columns.
“This is my name, Anna.”
Calista nodded and tried to ease the paper from the child’s hands. Anna held on tight. “And that is Grandpa Pete’s name and Grandpa T, right?”
“That’s right.”
Anna raised her gaze to Calista. “It’s a list.”
Calista swallowed. “I have a problem to solve and it helps me figure out the answer by making a list.” The last thing she wanted was for Anna to worry about her leaving until Calista made the decision.
“And that’s Daddy’s name on the other side,” Anna said, using her finger to outline Adam’s name. “Why is he all by himself?”
The question momentarily stumped Calista. How in the heck was she supposed to answer?
Even thinking the words brought tears to the back of Calista’s eyes. Using the palm of her hand, she turned her face toward the window, and wiped her cheeks. Jared and Jennie’s car just pulled into the parking space. Taking in a cleansing breath, she pulled herself together.
“Your aunt and uncle just drove up. Don’t you think you should finish Grandpa Pete’s elephant pancake? The zoo is a big place and you’re going to need the energy for all that walking.”
Anna took a small bite and stared at her while she chewed. After swallowing, she lifted the paper and again pointed to her father’s name. “Why is daddy’s name way over here by himself?”
“This list is all the wonderful family who live close by.”
Anna studied the sheet of paper for a long time before she spoke. “So these are all the people you love.”
Calista smiled. “That’s right.”
“Does that mean you don’t love my daddy because he’s not here anymore?”
“Anna …”
“I would like to know the answer to that question too,” a deep voice murmured from behind Calista.
As Calista’s heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach, Anna shot out off her stool into her father’s arms.
“I knew you were coming home, I just knew it,” Anna cried into Adam’s shoulder.
Calista didn’t turn around. In fact, she couldn’t move. It was as if every muscle in her body stopped working. But she didn’t have to turn to know that Adam wrapped his arms around his daughter’s small body and held her as tightly as Anna held onto him.
Thomas and Mary stood from the booth. Thomas reached for Adam first, drawing him into a huge hug and kissing both his cheeks.
Jennie moved around the group, dropped into the stool next to Calista and shot her a huge smile.
“Surprise! We didn’t know if all the paperwork would make it through the different channels so we didn’t say anything.” Jennie stopped talking and studied Calista. “Take a breath,” she said, running a hand up and down Calista’s back.
She took a deep breath, but the sob in her throat kept it from reaching her lungs.
Adam’s hard frame drew close, the fabric of his sport coat brushing against the thin cotton of her t-shirt. Part of her screamed for his hands on her, but he kept them down at his side.
“Calista?”
A shiver sliced through her. Jennie reached for Anna’s plate and placed it on the table behind them. She then approached Adam and held out her arms.
“Sweetie, why don’t you finish your breakfast? Your dad needs a moment alone with Calista.”
Anna placed both of her hands on her dad’s face, drawing his attention back to her. “You’re not leaving again, are you?”
Adam hugged Anna and said, “No, baby girl. I’m not leaving.”
The answer seemed to satisfy Anna and she squirmed out of his arms. The McNeils all sat back down.
