Dangerous Secrets: Callaghan Brothers, Book 1 (16 page)

Taryn turned around before she gave herself away, keeping her shoulders up and her pace easy as she went back into the empty garage office.   

* * *

“D
id you hear that?” Kieran asked quietly once he’d gotten back into his truck. 

“Yeah,” said a voice thru the miniscule earpiece he wore.  “Shane’s across the street.  He’s got it.”  Kieran knew better than to look.  If Ian said he was there, then he was there.

* * *

P
eeking through the window from between the promotional MOPAR poster and the Office Hours sign, Taryn breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Kieran climb back into his truck and drive away.  She put her hand on her stomach and tried to rub away the squirmy feeling that had taken up residence there.  She hated lying to Kieran.  Thank God he had been the one to drive her to the garage instead of Jake.  She never could have pulled it off otherwise. 

Steeling herself with a deep breath, she once again reminded herself of the bigger picture.  Taking a second deep breath, she entered the nearest garage bay.

Joey was very apologetic.  He said that he’d thought that the problem had just been a clogged fuel line, but when he went to flush it earlier, several parts literally exploded.  He felt awful about it, and said of course he would fix it free of charge, but that it would take a couple of days to get in all the parts he needed.

Taryn bit her lip.  She couldn’t stay even one more day, let alone a week.  The Callaghans were soaking into her, making her think – and
feel
- crazy, insane things.  She had to get out now while she still had the will to do so.  But how?

Overriding her feelings of remorse at what she was about to do, and offering a silent prayer asking for just a little more forgiveness, she placed her hand on Joey’s forearm and smiled at him.  She assured him that she understood that these things happen, that she was surprised the old car had lasted as long as it had.  She was very impressed that Joey thought he could fix it – he must be a mechanical wiz – because it all seemed so complicated to her. 

She swallowed the guilt as Joey’s face glowed.

She asked then if he had a loaner she could borrow to run some errands, saying she’d need to pick up some things if she was going to be staying in town for a while.  He eagerly offered her a used Accord, one that they kept around for just such a thing, handing over the keys gladly.

One more good man Taryn was deceiving, she thought as she exited the garage, holding the phony smile on her face.  She told herself it was necessary.  Besides, he was getting the Audi for nothing.  If nothing else, he could sell it for parts.  Plus she would make sure the gas tank was full before ditching the Accord.  It wasn’t much, but, she thought wryly, it wasn’t like she had much to offer.

She pushed all of those thoughts to the back of her mind as she went into what she called her “survival mode”.  Quelling her natural inclination to worry about everyone else, she tried to focus on what she needed to do to become invisible once again.  Unfortunately, it was something at which she had become very adept.

Her first stop was Wal-Mart, where she picked up hair dye, glasses, a new prepaid phone, a change of clothing, a box of granola bars and a six-pack of water.  She was in and out in under ten minutes.  Timing was critical.  Getting back into the Accord, she followed the signs to the interstate.

As she drove, she transferred her purchases to her pack with one hand.  The truck stop at the exit was a large one, and it was busy enough to suit her needs.  She pulled in, being extra careful not to attract any unwanted attention. 

S
hane watched as Taryn filled up the car with fuel, pulling forward into a parking spot while she went inside to pay.  He had positioned himself in such a way that all public, non-emergency exits were within his line of sight.  When several minutes went by and Taryn still hadn’t emerged, the first niggling of unease began.

Maybe she was getting coffee, or stocking up on a few items for the road, Kieran suggested when Shane quietly voiced his concerns over the hidden mic.  It sounded reasonable enough, but Kieran must have felt the same unease, because he was already en route to the truck stop. 

After waiting for what he felt was a more than reasonable amount of time, Shane could delay no longer.  With his hair tucked up under a baseball cap and dark sunglasses, he entered the store.  Just inside the door, he scanned front to back, left to right with a skilled eye.  There was no sign of her.

Muttering curses under his breath, he began a path through the convenience store, walking a perpendicular path along the aisles so he could see easily down each one as he passed.  She was small enough to be hidden by the shelving and large displays, after all.  But as he exhausted each section, the bad feeling in his gut grew.

At the back of the store, Shane paused.  He was sure she hadn’t slipped out – he’d kept careful watch - which meant that she had to be in the ladies restroom; it was the only logical conclusion.  Not quite desperate enough to enter that forbidden area yet, he made up his mind to return to the front of the store.  He checked his watch.  It hadn’t been that long, really.  He’d give her another five minutes.

Shane rounded the corner and felt something collide against his chest.  Glancing down, he saw the form of a young girl.  She had dark red hair, cut unevenly and hanging in poker-straight jagged spikes that framed her pale face.  Her eyes – an unnatural aquamarine – glared at him, framed in thick black liner that ended in scrolls beneath her eyes like some kind of Egyptian hieroglyph.  Piercings adorned the entire length of her ears, her nose, and her lips. 

Shane extended his hand down toward the black-clad figure to help her up, but she swatted it away.  He muttered a quick apology, while continuing to scan the store, so the brief look of terror on her face didn’t immediately register.  The girl pulled herself up and stomped away without saying a word, but the vicious scowl on her face pretty much said it all.  Shane shook his head.  He’d never understood the whole Goth thing.  She might have been a pretty girl under all that makeup and attitude, but who could tell?

Still, he found his gaze drawn back to the retreating figure several times as he kept watch for Taryn.  There was something oddly familiar about the sway of her hips, more womanly than he would have expected from such a young girl.  Like the tumblers on a lock, freeze-frame images started clicking in his head.  The familiar way she’d tilted her face to look up at him.  The edges of white gauzy material barely visible, sticking out from beneath the black leather fingerless glove of her right hand.  The bottom edge of a silver Celtic cross beneath the black lace choker. 
Son of a bitch
!

Shane dashed to the front of the store, looking left and right.  The Accord was still where she’d left it, but there was no sign of Taryn anywhere.  He sprinted across the parking lot, looking for a smudge of black against the big rigs constantly entering and exiting the stop.  It was like searching for a needle in a constantly moving haystack.

* * *

T
aryn crouched low behind a monstrous black pickup backed into the parking space toward the rear of the building, gasping for breath from a combination of fear and barely controlled anger at her own stupidity.  She’d run smack dab in to Shane! 

Even with the hat and shades she recognized him immediately.  Men like the Callaghans were just not that common.  Was it a coincidence that he just happened to be here in this particular convenience store at this particular moment?  Not a chance in hell. 

She cursed under her breath.  Jake had known she was going to leave all along.  He’d sent his brothers to ...  She paused, not knowing exactly how to finish that thought.  Just why had Jake sent his brothers after her? 

He had a protective streak a mile wide.  Maybe he just wanted to make sure she got safely on her way and wasn’t going to hole up in the woods somewhere.  Or maybe he was hoping that Shane, definitely the sweet-talker of the lot, could conveniently run into her and convince her to stay in town for a little while longer. 

But the little voice in her head – the one that had kept her alive for the last ten years – suggested another possibility.  Maybe somehow – against all probability – they had figured out who she really was.  How they would have done that, she couldn’t fathom, but she did know that there was a lot more to the Callaghan brothers than met the eye.  It was the way they moved, silent and graceful with complete economy of motion.  The way each of them held an air of supreme confidence without arrogance, like they knew they were simply the best, period.  The way they seemed to communicate with each other without a single spoken word.  It reminded her of the secret service agents she’d seen whenever her father had a meeting with the President.

Had they somehow discovered her true identity?  She had to at least consider the possibility.  Even if they didn’t know specifics, they might, at the very least, suspect that there was something “off” about her unusual behavior. 

The more important question was, what side did that put them on?  Everything inside her told her they were good men, but could she take that chance?  While her heart screamed “Yes!”, her more logical head disagreed.  At this point, her head was a lot more reliable than her heart, which currently resembled little more than a shredded mess. 

Her mind worked frantically.  She could not afford to make a decision based on emotion right now.  The most important thing was to get out of this situation and
then
she could think about this calmly and rationally.   

Taryn took a deep breath to steady herself.  Shane hadn’t recognized her at first, unable to see past all the props.  She silently patted herself on the back for having the foresight to go the extra mile, thinking earlier that it was a little over-the-top.  The ridiculous get-up had bought her some valuable time.  But then he’d come tearing out of the store and she knew that he’d made the connection.  Worse, now he knew exactly what to look for.  It wasn’t like she could just blend in now.  Sometimes the old adage about hiding in plain sight was nothing more than a load of bullshit.

Crouching close to the ground, she peeked around the big tire carefully.  Shane was jogging along the section where the big 18-wheelers were parked on the other side of the lot.  She was just about to make a run for it when another truck pulled up alongside him.  Taryn cursed when she recognized Kieran.  Shane must have called him for backup.  Which meant others might be on their way, too. 

“Oh, just fuck me,” she whispered angrily. 

“Now there’s the best offer I’ve had all day,” said a deep male voice behind her.  Taryn froze, afraid to turn around.  If the depth of his voice and the size of his shadow was any indication, he was
huge
.  She briefly considered diving beneath the undercarriage of the truck and coming out the other side, but a massive hand reached down and grabbed hold of her wrist before she could move more than an inch or so.

* * *

K
ane Callaghan was tired and sore and cranky.  He’d been back in the country for less than a week and out of the hospital for less than twenty-four hours.  All he wanted was some peace, quiet, and solitude at the family compound in the mountains. He couldn’t even bring himself to hit Jake’s, and he felt more at home there than anywhere.  He deemed himself unfit for human company, at least until he got what was left of his shredded soul back together.  Jack Callaghan knew that.  For his father to call him in like this, it had to be serious.

He didn’t have all the details; his father had been very stingy with the information, probably for security reasons.  Kane didn’t take it personally.  He trusted his father and brothers implicitly.  He would know what he needed to when he needed to know it.

For now, he knew there was a woman involved, and Kane groaned at the thought.  By nature, females were overemotional and unpredictable.  Men, at least, tended to be logical.  Jack also said the woman was running scared and blind, which in Callaghan code meant she needed protection, but didn’t want it, and would be wholly uncooperative.  To Kane, that translated into “huge pain in the ass”.  Helping someone was one thing.  Doing it against their will and without their knowledge was something else entirely.  He wondered vaguely if he had any more tranq darts left in his personal stash.

On top of all this, some punk teen was hiding behind his truck.  Probably a thief, maybe a druggie looking for a quick buck to score.  He didn’t need this shit, he thought as he scanned the lot and spotted Shane, obviously searching through the parked rigs on the other side.  Which meant he’d lost the package already.  Great.

“You want to tell me what you’re doing by my truck?” he demanded. 

“Package in transit,” Shane’s voice spoke softly through the tiny earpiece he wore.  Yeah, no shit, thought Kane as Kieran appeared, too. 

“Re-wrapped.  Think Elvira, but cute.”  Kane blinked, looking down at the kid again.  No, not a kid.  A small woman.  It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

“Crimson hair, lots of piercings, rocking the Goth look,” Shane added.

Yep, this was his package.  Well, wasn’t this just his fucking lucky day?

* * *

H
is voice resonated through her like a rumble of thunder, rattling her teeth.  She looked up at him and her mouth immediately went dry.  He
was
huge, and powerfully built.  It was impossible to make out his features; his face was shadowed by the cowboy hat he wore, and the sun was directly behind him, making him little more than a big dark spot to her squinting eyes.

Taryn stuttered for a moment, feeling the power of his stare.  The man turned his head, looked around, then back down at her.  Had she been able to see his face, she suspected she would have seen a frown creasing it.  She heard it clearly enough in his voice, though. 

“You running from someone, darlin’?” 

Taryn didn’t trust herself to speak.  The man terrified her.  He was easily twice her size and his grip was like iron.  If she moved the wrong way her wrist would snap.  She didn’t have a lot of options.  Maybe she could play on his sympathy a little, do the helpless female thing.  The thought was abhorrent to her, but nothing brilliant was leaping into her head at that moment.  She gave him a slight nod.