That Summer Night (Callaways #6) (19 page)

He arched an eyebrow. "How could I do that?"

She met his gaze. "By telling Hal about us."

"He doesn't know?"

"Not about that part of my life, no. I'd prefer to keep it that way."

She'd just handed him the power to hurt her the way she'd hurt him, but he would never do that, because then he'd be like her. "Your secret is safe with me."

Relief registered in her eyes. "Thank you."

"But I need to know a few more things. Is there anyone at Abbott, besides your husband, who didn't like Robert?"

She thought for a moment. "I saw Robert a month or so ago. I was visiting Hal, and I ran into Robert in the lobby. He was really angry. He said he'd had a bad meeting with one of the attorneys, Karl Straitt."

"Did he say what the meeting was about?"

"No, but he was furious. He said he wasn't going to let them destroy what he'd worked so long to achieve. I had no idea what he was talking about."

"Did you ask Hal about it?"

"I did mention it. That's when he told me that Robert was screwing up, and that they might have to terminate his grants. I told Hal that would destroy Robert, that his work was his life. Hal said it wasn't up to him. That they might not have a choice."

"It seems to me that Hal would have loved to get rid of Robert. What man wants to have his fiancée's ex working in his company?"

"We were all friends, Reid. Before Hal and I got together."

He shook his head in amazement. "Next time you pick someone to hook up with, try choosing someone who isn't a friend or a relative. It might be less messy."

She stiffened. "There's not going to be a next time. Hal and I are forever."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"I think you should go, Reid."

"I think I should, too."

As he stood up, Shayla returned to the room, giving them both a wary look.

"Everything all right?" she asked, obviously sensing the tension between them.

"Perfect," he said.

"Are you done?"

"Yeah, Lisa and I are done," he said, knowing that was finally true. He gave Lisa one last look. "Goodbye."

She stared back at him, a mix of emotion in her eyes. "You won't forget what you promised?"

"I never forget a promise, and I never break one." He turned back to Shayla. "Let's go."

* * *

"So what did you promise Lisa?" Shayla asked as they got back into Reid's truck. She was a little irritated by the fact that he'd promised Lisa anything. Hadn't the woman broken his heart, destroyed his life, messed up his family?

Reid shot her a look as he started the engine. "Are you pissed about something?"

"Yeah. I'm pissed you made her a promise when you can't do the same for me."

"I promised her I wouldn't tell her boyfriend about our past."

"Oh." She settled back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest. "I guess that makes sense. She doesn't deserve it though."

"I didn't do it for her. I just have no interest in being involved in her life in any way."

"Good. Because seeing her again today reminded me that she's a bitch."

"She doesn't seem to like you too much either," he drawled.

She glanced over at him. "What did she say?"

"That you're in love with Robert and that you had been waiting for his marriage to end to make your move."

"That is ridiculous. I told you before I have no romantic interest in your brother. I don't understand why no one believes that," she said in frustration.

"I believe it." He turned his head to look at her. "Because you don't lie."

Her heart was touched by his words. "No, I don't. Thank you."

He shrugged. "Just calling it like I see it, Doc."

"So did Lisa give you any information that might be helpful?"

"She told me that Robert's job was in real jeopardy, that he was screwing up, making mistakes. Hal said they might have to fire him. Apparently, he also had some argument with one of the attorneys, Karl Straitt. Do you know him?"

"No, but I didn't really know anyone at Abbott."

"Robert was definitely in some sort of battle with his company. And I have to believe that his disappearance has something to do with that battle."

"But why would he go into hiding? Why would he feel he was in danger?"

"That I don't know." He paused. "One other thing I thought was interesting. Lisa told me that Hal asked her to get in touch with you. He thought Robert would contact you, which leads me to wonder if the people at Abbott think Robert might have shared some information with you."

"Information that they thought might be at my apartment?"

"When they couldn't find it in his office—maybe."

"You think Robert's employer conducted the break-in?" The idea was mind-boggling. Why would a multimillion dollar pharmaceutical company want to search my apartment?"

"Because of whatever they think you might have."

"And you think they would break the law to do that?"

"Oh, I don't think any executive participated directly," he said. "But at someone's orders, yes, I think that's a possibility."

Her stomach turned over. She was sickened by the idea of some stranger being in her apartment, going through her things. "I thought the trouble was over when I left Colombia. I thought everything would be normal here."

He gave her a look of empathy. "Sorry."

"Me, too. What do we do now?"

"I'll call Matt, ask him to look more closely at Hal Collins and anyone else Robert worked with at Abbott. Maybe he can link them to something."

"Do you think there were any fingerprints left behind? I worry now that we didn't call the police."

"They wouldn't have found anything," he said. "Whoever searched Robert's office and your apartment knew what they were doing. Although, I am curious if the security cameras in Robert's building captured anyone going into his office."

"I should call them back, see if they found out anything," she said. "It wouldn't look strange, right? Since I found the office in disarray, it would only make sense that I would be interested in who did it."

"Sounds logical to me. But before you do that, let me talk to Matt. He might be able to get that security footage on his own."

"Really?" she asked in surprise. "He can do that?"

Reid smiled at her. "He can do a lot more than you want to know."

"Then maybe I won't ask," she said. "Because I don't think I can take anything more right now. I feel a little overwhelmed."

"Well, you can dance it off later," he said lightly.

"That's right. We still have our dance ahead of us." She was relieved by the change of subject, but she was feeling a little close to the end of her rope.

"What time do we have to be at the wedding?"

"Around three-thirty, we have a few hours." As she finished speaking, her phone rang. "It's my sister, Nicole. Hey, Nic, what's up? Whoa! Slow down." She listened for a moment. "Okay, it's not a problem. I can be there in fifteen minutes. Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."

"Something wrong?" Reid asked when she put her phone away.

"Remember how you said we were going to stick together today?"

"Where are we going now?"

"My sister, Nicole, is getting her hair done for the wedding, and her husband, Ryan, was supposed to be back by now, but his plane got delayed. He's a commercial pilot, and she wants me to watch the kids for an hour. If you want to drop me off, I can meet you at the wedding later."

"I'll go with you."

She sent him a doubtful look. "Really? You want to babysit?"

"Unless you're not allowed to have your boyfriend over?"

She grinned. "That used to be the rule, but hopefully Nicole will make an exception this time."

"Hopefully, she will. When you used to have your boyfriends over while you babysat, did you ever make out after the kids went to bed?"

She laughed. "Not even once."

"Damn."

"I told you I wasn't a fun girl."

"Oh, I think you have some fun in you," he said with a sly smile. "You just need someone to bring it out."

And she had a feeling she wasn't going to have to go far to find a volunteer.

Chapter Fourteen

He couldn't believe he'd just volunteered to help Shayla babysit her sister's kids. He hadn't really been around kids since he was a kid. But what else was he going to do in the few hours he had in between now and the wedding?

A half dozen ideas immediately sprang to mind, all of which provided better options of what to do with his day, but none that included Shayla, and he had promised to stay close to her today. He also felt he owed her for going with him to Lisa's house. Even though she'd managed to bail on most of the conversation, he'd liked having her by his side. He couldn't remember when he'd spent so much time with a woman that didn't include sex. Although to be honest, he'd been thinking a lot about having sex with Shayla.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Shayla asked. "Because you can still just drop me off."

"No, we're a team, Doc. We stick together. Tell me about the kids we're babysitting."

"My nephew, Brandon, and his twin brother, Kyle. They're seven years old."

"These are the twins that were separated at birth and then reunited through a kidnapping?"

"Yes. You remembered."

"It's not that easy to keep your family straight, but that one stuck in my head. Tell me again what happened."

"Brandon and Kyle were kidnapped. Fortunately, they weren't hurt. Now the boys are together again, and Brandon, who is autistic, is benefitting greatly from having his brother in his life. Kyle has somehow given Brandon a link to the world. It's quite amazing to see. We're really lucky that Jessica, Kyle's mother, was willing to move to San Francisco so the kids could grow up together. If she hadn't, it could have been really difficult to make it all work out."

"You guys should have your own reality TV show."

She groaned. "Not in a million years would I want to do that. I just want to live my life, the life I've been working towards for more than a decade."

She was talking about medicine now, and he could hear the strain in her voice. "You'll get back to it."

"Do you really believe that, Reid? Or are you saying it to make me feel better?"

It was a question that deserved an honest answer. "I do believe it. But it doesn't matter what I think. You're the one who has to find a way to believe."

She nodded in understanding. "I know. But how do I get there?"

"First you walk through the door, then you take it one step at a time."

"I was a basket case just going into Robert's office last night."

"Well, I do think once Robert is safe, you'll feel differently about things."

"I hope so. I do feel like things can't go back to normal until I know he's okay. He's the missing piece. Without him, the puzzle goes unsolved." She paused for a moment, then said, "I know you must have gone through some terrible experiences. Did you ever question whether you could continue to be a soldier? I'm sure you saw far worse things than I did."

"I've had a lot of sleepless nights," he said. "But I never questioned whether or not I should be a soldier."

"Why not?"

"Because it was my duty. If I couldn't save a hundred people, maybe I could save one. And one life was worth the sacrifice."

"You're right."

"I usually am," he said lightly, wanting to lighten the shadows in her eyes.

She gave him a half-hearted smile. "I need to toughen up. I've been too idealistic, too soft."

"No, you're fine the way you are."

"How can you say that? I'm a mess right now."

"You're in the middle of a battle, but you'll come out the other side. I think being a good doctor requires a certain sense of optimism, a belief that you can win, no matter the odds."

"That's true. Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being you."

He smiled. "Well, that is the first time anyone has ever thanked me for that, Doc."

She smiled back at him. "Maybe you don't stick around long enough to hear it."

"Maybe I don't," he conceded, knowing that he had a tendency to cut and run. But with Shayla he didn't even want to think about saying goodbye.

"Turn right at the next street," Shayla said. "Nicole's house is the third one on the left."

"With the nervous woman pacing up and down the sidewalk? I figured."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Nicole said, as they got out of the truck. "You are saving my life, or at least my hair."

"It's fine. I'm happy to help," Shayla said.

Nicole shot Reid a curious look. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

"Reid Becker," he said, shaking her hand.

"Robert's brother," Shayla added. "This is my sister, Nicole."

"I hope I didn't interrupt something," Nicole said, a curious gleam in her eyes.

"You didn't," Shayla said shortly. "You should go, Nicole. You're already late."

"I should. Nice to meet you Mr. Becker."

"Reid, please, and we'll talk more at the wedding."

"Really?" Nicole said in surprise. She gave Shayla a very curious look. "I didn't realize you were bringing someone to the wedding, Shayla."

"It was a recent decision," Shayla replied. "Where are the boys?"

"They're in the living room. They shouldn't need anything for a while. I just fed them lunch. But if they're still hungry—"

"I will feed them," Shayla finished. "Not my first babysitting gig. Go."

"Call me if you have any problems." Nicole paused, giving Reid an apologetic look. "If my son ignores you or screams in horror at the sight of you, try not to take it personally. I don't know if Shayla told you—"

"She did, and I'm good," Reid said. "Don't worry about it."

As Nicole got into her car, Shayla turned to him and said, "So you do know that Nicole is going to have questions for you when you see her later tonight, right?"

"She couldn't possibly ask as many questions as you do," he said dryly.

"Ha-ha. Let's go inside." As they walked up the steps, she added, "And if you think I ask a lot of questions, wait until you meet Kyle. Brandon may not speak at all, but his brother makes up for it."