Hello My Angel - Sue Brown Page 0,6

“They don’t pay me enough to get a decent vehicle.”

Josh and Gil turned to look at Cal who held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I don’t pay your wages anymore.”

Cal had sold part of the security firm he had founded in Seattle, an acknowledgement that he hadn’t really been the head of CDR for a very long time. He’d left it in the capable hands of the manager, Dominic Cook. Josh had left CDR to work for the agency and Cal had followed Josh.

“You need to tell Dominic to get you a better car,” Josh said.

“Uh-huh. You tell him.”

Josh smirked at Gil. “I’m not that stupid.” He smacked Gil around the arm when Gil just raised an eyebrow.

Cal shook his head. “All those times I laughed at Dominic when he complained about you.”

“Ya shoulda listened,” Gil said. “Quit bitching and tell me what we’re doing here. Much as I hate to think Princess here is right…” he ignored Josh’s growl, “we need to be on our way back to London. We need to turn over the agency and shake out the rats until them babies are squealing.”

“Lovely analogy,” Josh murmured. “Billy said the agency is rotten to the core. There are good men out there who need us to make it right and one woman whose life depends on us.”

Cal swallowed hard and nodded. “I just needed to see for myself the house was still standing.”

“Where is everyone?” Gil asked. “I expected someone to check us out.”

“Lillian and the girls have gone to the gate house for the night. There’s no power in the house. They’ll be back tomorrow to check everything over.”

“Why did Sir Gideon only employ women?” Josh asked.

Cal gave him a sad smile. “It’s a story for another time.” He looked back up at the old house. “I’ll be back soon, old girl. You look after yourself.”

He got back in the car and Gil reversed to make the return trip to the gate. They hadn’t gotten more than a hundred yards when Cal said, “Stop!”

Gil brought the car to a halt with a screech of brakes. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to sit next to Josh.” He got out of the car and Josh scooted along the back seat so Cal could sit next to him.

“It’s not very comfortable in here,” Josh pointed out.

“I don’t care, I need to be next to you.”

Grumbling under his breath, Gil started the car again and Cal pulled Josh against him. It wasn’t very comfortable, but Josh didn’t care. He knew Cal was hurting. He rested his head on Cal’s shoulder and undid his coat and suit jacket to place a hand over Cal’s heart. It thumped steadily under his palm and Josh felt some of the tension ease away at the thump thump. He was alive and his lover was with him.

Cal brushed a kiss into Josh’s hair. “Are you okay?”

“I should be asking you that,” Josh murmured.

“I’m… not okay.” Cal’s cold hand covered Josh’s. “Too much has happened in a short space of time.”

“I know.”

Moles had been playing cat and mouse with them for weeks. They’d barely drawn breath after one death before they had to face another.

Cal held Josh closer and they traveled for a couple of miles before Gil broke the silence.

“Where do you think Chyna would have taken Weatherly?”

Cal sat up, dislodging Josh, and scrubbed a hand through his hair. The quiet moment was obviously over. “I think she’d take them to somewhere we wouldn’t expect. To the last place we’d expect her to go.”

“Where’s that?” Josh asked.

“I’ve no idea,” Cal confessed. “There’s eyes on the agency, Weatherly’s London flat, and Chyna’s home. Rick’s promised to let me know if she’s seen anywhere.”

“But she knows we’re going to look there. She’s not stupid.”

Chyna Moles was too fucking clever by half. She’d been ahead of them, not one step, but four and five steps.

“Do we even know she’s gone back to London?” Gil asked. “For all we know she could have dumped Weatherly and gotten on a plane already.”

“Or gone north,” Josh said.

“I don’t know. The police didn’t find any trace of the Golf.” Cal huffed impatiently. “We were just too slow getting the search underway.”

In a flash of a passing streetlight, Josh caught the agonized expression on Cal’s face. He grabbed Cal’s hands and held them close to him. “This is not your fault, Charlie. None of this is your fault. We didn’t know who she was.”

Cal gave him a resigned smile. “You can keep telling