a room. This is a cake walk for us.”
“We need to get rid of it. All of it,” I mumbled, eyes glazed over as I stared into the safe. “Torch it all. She’s my wife, but she’s also a liability now. I’m not worried about finding her. I know that’s not the problem. The problem is getting her back. She won’t want me now.”
“She doesn’t get to make a choice,” Red said quietly. “We can’t take that risk. She’s seen enough to,” he paused, “well, it doesn’t matter because we’ll get her back, one way or another. It may not be pretty. It may not be neat, but we have to do what we need to do, right?”
I looked at Red for a long moment.
“Are you prepared for that, Cal? Are you prepared to do what we need to?”
“Don’t fucking talk to me like that,” I whispered, dropping my gaze. “We are going to do everything we can to ensure it doesn’t get to that point, do you understand me? We’re brothers, right? Thick and thin, we’ve got each other’s backs, but I promise you, I promise you I will kill you myself if you touch her. I will.”
Red’s lips pursed. I hit a nerve and I could see that in his eyes. He nodded slowly. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it, man. For both our sakes, let’s hope it doesn’t go that far. I’d rather it go as far as last time than it come to that.”
And now he’d hit a nerve with me. I pulled back and slugged Red right across his face. The blow surprised him and he flew backward, falling into the wall. Before he could right himself, I was on top of him, pulling him to his feet by his shirt.
My face was only inches from his and my clenched hands held fistfuls of his shirt. Red wrapped his hands around my wrists, but didn’t fight me. He knew better. He knew it was a fight he didn’t want to be a part of. The tension surging between us was palpable. “I won’t be able to forget you said that,” I managed to whisper through clenched teeth.
I had to force myself to look him in the eye. He was my oldest friend and colleague. Despite that, I wanted nothing more than to bloody my knuckles on his jaw. The first punch was such a tease. Finding my cooler side, I slowly released my hold on him and stepped back. Red kept his eye on me as he straightened himself, afraid I may have another go at him.
“I’m going to call Erin,” I mumbled after I caught my breath. “Get on the phone with the cabs. Find my wife.”
2006 - Olivia
I smiled when I so easily spotted Callem in the busy airport terminal. He pushed through the crowd to meet me. “Olivia, great to see you,” Callem beamed at me. We awkwardly shook hands. He leaned his chest in towards me, as if he were intending to hug before settling with a cordial hand shake.
“It’s so good to see you, too,” I responded. He looked dapper in his suit, no doubt custom made, and it was hard for me to think of him as ‘hired help’.
“How was your flight?” he asked as we headed for baggage claim.
“It was fine. My ears popped on the descent, though and they’ve never hurt so badly before,” I exclaimed dramatically. “I felt like someone was shoving a pick in my ears or something. It’s never been that bad on a flight before.”
“Have you ever flown private?”
I shook my head. “No. Just commercial.”
“Private’s where it’s at. Next time you travel, call me and we’ll just get you a flight on one of my jets. You’ll never want to step foot on another commercial plane after that.”
I smirked. “I see what you did there. Great product placement for Tate Enterprises.”
He chuckled, “You caught that, did you? I guess I’ve got to work on my delivery a little bit.”
After Callem helped me collect my suitcase, he led the way to his car. I was not at all surprised to find a sleek and shiny black Lincoln waiting for us. “So what’s this conference
“We need to get rid of it. All of it,” I mumbled, eyes glazed over as I stared into the safe. “Torch it all. She’s my wife, but she’s also a liability now. I’m not worried about finding her. I know that’s not the problem. The problem is getting her back. She won’t want me now.”
“She doesn’t get to make a choice,” Red said quietly. “We can’t take that risk. She’s seen enough to,” he paused, “well, it doesn’t matter because we’ll get her back, one way or another. It may not be pretty. It may not be neat, but we have to do what we need to do, right?”
I looked at Red for a long moment.
“Are you prepared for that, Cal? Are you prepared to do what we need to?”
“Don’t fucking talk to me like that,” I whispered, dropping my gaze. “We are going to do everything we can to ensure it doesn’t get to that point, do you understand me? We’re brothers, right? Thick and thin, we’ve got each other’s backs, but I promise you, I promise you I will kill you myself if you touch her. I will.”
Red’s lips pursed. I hit a nerve and I could see that in his eyes. He nodded slowly. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it, man. For both our sakes, let’s hope it doesn’t go that far. I’d rather it go as far as last time than it come to that.”
And now he’d hit a nerve with me. I pulled back and slugged Red right across his face. The blow surprised him and he flew backward, falling into the wall. Before he could right himself, I was on top of him, pulling him to his feet by his shirt.
My face was only inches from his and my clenched hands held fistfuls of his shirt. Red wrapped his hands around my wrists, but didn’t fight me. He knew better. He knew it was a fight he didn’t want to be a part of. The tension surging between us was palpable. “I won’t be able to forget you said that,” I managed to whisper through clenched teeth.
I had to force myself to look him in the eye. He was my oldest friend and colleague. Despite that, I wanted nothing more than to bloody my knuckles on his jaw. The first punch was such a tease. Finding my cooler side, I slowly released my hold on him and stepped back. Red kept his eye on me as he straightened himself, afraid I may have another go at him.
“I’m going to call Erin,” I mumbled after I caught my breath. “Get on the phone with the cabs. Find my wife.”
2006 - Olivia
I smiled when I so easily spotted Callem in the busy airport terminal. He pushed through the crowd to meet me. “Olivia, great to see you,” Callem beamed at me. We awkwardly shook hands. He leaned his chest in towards me, as if he were intending to hug before settling with a cordial hand shake.
“It’s so good to see you, too,” I responded. He looked dapper in his suit, no doubt custom made, and it was hard for me to think of him as ‘hired help’.
“How was your flight?” he asked as we headed for baggage claim.
“It was fine. My ears popped on the descent, though and they’ve never hurt so badly before,” I exclaimed dramatically. “I felt like someone was shoving a pick in my ears or something. It’s never been that bad on a flight before.”
“Have you ever flown private?”
I shook my head. “No. Just commercial.”
“Private’s where it’s at. Next time you travel, call me and we’ll just get you a flight on one of my jets. You’ll never want to step foot on another commercial plane after that.”
I smirked. “I see what you did there. Great product placement for Tate Enterprises.”
He chuckled, “You caught that, did you? I guess I’ve got to work on my delivery a little bit.”
After Callem helped me collect my suitcase, he led the way to his car. I was not at all surprised to find a sleek and shiny black Lincoln waiting for us. “So what’s this conference
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