“No.” He snagged the back of her neck and dragged her against him. The kiss was quick and brutal and left Callie feeling like the worst kind of voyeur. James stepped back, easily evading Carrigan’s left hook. “You and me, lovely, we’re not fucking finished. Not by a long shot.” Then he turned around and walked away.
Callie stared after him, unable to believe what just happened. “Did he just—”
“I’m going to kill him.”
She grabbed Carrigan’s arm. “Let’s go. I don’t want him to suddenly change his mind.” Though the look on his face made her think he wouldn’t. Obviously things between him and Carrigan were significantly more complicated than the woman had let on.
After a slight hesitation, she nodded and let Callie lead her through the door. The room wasn’t a bedroom. It looked sort of like a study, but the shelves were mostly empty, and the few pieces of furniture all had a light coating of dust across them. She moved immediately to the window and pushed it open. “It’s only a short drop to the garage roof.” When no one answered, she turned to find Carrigan holding a book, frowning at it. “What?”
“Nothing.” She shut the book. “I’m bringing this with me.”
It would make it more difficult to maneuver with her carrying something, but Callie didn’t point that out. Whatever that book was, the other woman thought it important enough to set her lamp aside and tuck it against her chest. She motioned to the window. “The coast looks clear, but there’s no way to know what we’re walking into.”
“Anything’s better than staying here.”
“Then let’s not waste any more time.” Callie sat on the windowsill and shifted one of her legs outside. She waited for one breathless moment, but only the distant caw of a crow answered her. So far, so good. She set her lamp on the floor, climbed the rest of the way out, and dropped the few feet onto the garage roof.
Instantly, she crouched down, trying to minimize the chance of someone seeing a human-shaped shadow where it shouldn’t be. The yard below her was as empty as the street beyond it, but she couldn’t afford to assume that the Hallorans had no guards set up. He’d be a fool to assume there wasn’t the potential for attack. No, they were there. Somewhere.
Carrigan joined her on the roof with a light thud. She looked to Callie, obviously willing to follow her lead. It felt strange after the woman had basically ripped her a new one on two different occasions, but she didn’t hesitate to shuffle along the roofline, keeping as low as she could. The pitch was steep, but the newish roof gave them plenty of traction. She aimed for the part of the slant closest to the ground—and furthest away from the bright floodlights positioned strategically around the back. They’d have to brave those to get to the street, and even then it was a long ten blocks to territory that wasn’t owned by the Hallorans—not including skirting the warehouses surrounding the highway.
One step at a time.
“You hear about the entertainment boss has scheduled for tomorrow?”
She froze on the edge of the roof, tucked up against the body of the house. God, how hadn’t she noticed the man standing down in the shadows, the bright red spot of his cigarette burning in the darkness? A second ember rose. A second man. Damn it.
“Pretty girls. Almost a shame.”
The first man laughed, the harsh hack of a longtime smoker. “Only a shame if he doesn’t share.” He kept laughing, joined by the other speaker.
Callie looked over at Carrigan, but she couldn’t see anything beyond the pale shape of the woman’s face. Did she feel as sick as Callie did hearing that? Because, right now, she was torn between the urge to descend on these two monsters like an avenging Valkyrie, and the need to expel the meager contents of her stomach.
She managed to resist both impulses.
They needed to get out of here alive. That meant not attacking anyone unless there was no other choice. And throwing up was for the weak. If she got out of this, there would be plenty of time to be sick. Right now, she had to hold it together.
So she waited and tried very hard not to listen to all the things Halloran had planned to do to them. It was cold comfort to know that Brendan—and apparently Ricky—came by his monstrous side honestly. Sins of the father and