The Enforcer - Kelli Callahan Page 0,57

and forcing him down.

“Alright buddy I’ve got a couple of questions for you,” Kenton says, and Callaghan glowers up at us.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing setting buildings on fires and strangling innocent women?” I snap before Kenton can say anything.

“She’s not innocent,” the man spits.

“What do you mean?” Kenton asks, and I hear Noah step closer.

“She betrayed everything that we stood for,” he sneers, shaking his head. “She had to pay. She had to pay for what she cost us.”

“What she cost us?” I echo. “What do you mean?”

“Michael had plans.”

“How do you know Michael?” Noah wonders.

“He’s my brother,” Callaghan scowls.

“How is that possible?” Noah asks. “She would have known―”

“Because my brother protects me from people who would harm me,” he whispers. “He kept us apart to make sure that she couldn’t touch us, and nothing could ever come between us. But then, that little slut did just that. Michael’s gone. She runs off with Paul Bunyan here,” he snarls nodding at me. “If it weren’t for her, we’d all be together now. We’d be a family just like we were supposed to be.” Callaghan leans forward and wipes his bloody mouth on his knees.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I demand, full of irritation and not entirely sure that this man is insane.

“Michael is my half-brother. He is the strong one. He always took care of me. But then he went away because of her. He says he needs my help to get payback. He heard that she’s running around with men, going wild. Ruining, his name and his legacy,” Callaghan scowls, “still living in his house with that selfish teenage daughter that never appreciated anything that Michael did for her.”

I grit my teeth together, my fist tightening at my sides, ready to land my first blow. I’m jealous that Noah got to get a few punches in before me.

“I had to teach her a lesson, didn’t I? She hurt the best man I’ve ever known. So now she needs to burn.”

“Did you set fire to her house and his apartment?” Kenton asks, gesturing to me, and Callaghan nods.

“And you followed me to North Dakota?” Noah asks.

“Yeah, I did,” he whispers.

“How the hell did you know how to tap phones,” I ask.

“Michael has a lot of connections― resources. I didn’t have to do much, just follow orders. It’s easy to do what you’re told. Especially when you’re following someone as great as my brother,” Callaghan says.

“And then what were you going to do after she was gone?” I wonder.

“We will start our lives together as a family.” Callaghan stares up at me as if he is in disbelief that I haven’t connected the pieces of his lunatic plan.

“Unbelievable,” I say, shaking my head and turning away. “So, the ex-mayor was behind it the whole time?” I ask Noah, who nods.

“Domestic violence and a man’s bitter need to control.”

Chapter Twenty

Diana

I feel panicky. My heart beating painfully inside my chest. Why would you say all those wonderful things and then just leave like that? Sniffling and wiping tears from my face. I walk to the bathroom mirror and dab at my make.

It doesn’t make any sense. He’s not the type to lead me on and then, let me fall flat on my face. I just took a nap. I fell asleep in his arms. Is that so wrong? Feeling the panic well up within me. I twist my shirt between my fingers. I hear the door click open behind me, and I whirl around.

There, standing in front of me is the man I love more than I’ve ever loved anyone.

“Jake,” I shout, racing toward him barreling into his chest as he stumbles backward in surprise, my body rocking him hard.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks,

“No, I’m not okay,” I gasp. “How could I possibly be okay when I woke up and you were gone, especially at a time like this with everything going on right now. How could you do that to me?” I sob into his shoulder as he slides his hands into my hair clutching me close to him.

“It’s alright,” he whispers. “Everything’s okay.”

“Where did you go?” I cry.

“I had to go take care of a couple of things.”

“Like what?” I demand,

“Like catching a killer.”

“Are you serious?” I demand. “How is that possible; what did you do?”

“We went to a cabin in the woods and found him there.”

“A cabin. What?” I ask, wondering what I missed during the course of a nap.

“I’ll explain later,” he