Page 19 of Reid

The small elevator went silent for a beat, and she knew unsaid words and meaningful looks were being exchanged.

“Come on, guys, don’t do that. Just spit it out,” she snapped.

“Sorry, sunshine, this isn’t about you. It’s a team matter,” Reid said with somewhat of a smile in his voice. When she looked up though it wasn’t there, his face was impassive.

“Oh,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

The rest of the ride was silent. The doors opened and Mitch moved out ahead of her as Reid guided her beside him with Liam behind. It seemed like overkill to her, but she shrugged it off. She needed a hot bath, food, and then lots of sleep in that order.

Mitch, who already had her keys, opened the door. As she went to follow him inside, Reid held her back. “Let him check it out.”

She sighed, feeling suddenly irritable with everything.

“Reid, get her out of here,” Mitch called.

The warning and cadence had the hair on her neck standing on end. She didn’t have time to process it though because before she knew what was happening, she was being ushered down the hall between Liam and Reid, their big bodies hiding her from anyone watching.

In seconds they were in the car with Reid pushing her head down onto the back seat as Liam drove like a bat out of hell away from her home.

Chapter Seven

“Talk to me, Mitch,” Reid demanded as Liam drove them out of Kensington and north towards Shepherd’s Bush.

“We have a single white female dead on Callie’s bed. Looks like her throat has been slit. I’ve called it in and will wait for the police.”

Reid felt his blood run cold. “Do we have an ID?”

“Possibly the housekeeper but the scene is pretty gruesome so I can’t be sure. My guess is we missed this guy by minutes because the body is warm.”

Reid looked down at Callie who was tucked under his arm now they were safe, her eyes looking worried and unsure. “Copy that. Call me as soon as you know more.”

“Will do.”

“Oh, Mitch, what about Bono?” He kept his eyes on Callie as he spoke.

“No sign of him but no sign he’s dead either. As soon as I can, I’ll have a look around.”

“Thanks.”

Reid hung up and Liam caught his eye in the mirror, having picked up on a lot of what wasn’t said.

“Reid.”

He glanced at the pale and scared woman and wanted nothing more than to tear apart the fucker that was terrorising her. Having spent the last two weeks protecting her and getting to know her, he was finding it increasingly difficult to hold back the feelings she evoked in him.

She was sweet and kind and looked out for the younger models on the circuit. She worked fucking harder than most people he knew and never complained about it, the long hours, or the restrictions on her life, and always made time to thank the hair, make-up, and catering crews.

Everyone loved her and he could see why. She was one of a kind and everything in him told him to stay away and yet he’d been about to kiss her when Liam interrupted earlier. Nothing had seemed to matter except the feel of her soft lips on his, her warm body against his. The way her hair felt when it tickled his cheek, not even his oldest friendship with Clay had mattered in that moment.

He had wanted to kill Liam but half of him had been glad of the interrupted kiss. It would end badly, probably with her hurt and his friendship in tatters. Reid couldn’t give her what she needed. He would never promise her the world when he didn’t know if he had it in him to give it.

Deep down he’d always wondered if he was more like his father than he wanted to be. He had left his mom and sisters just as his father had, chasing his own dreams and happiness before putting them first. Reid was selfish, but he respected and liked Callie far too much to offer her the world and she deserved nothing less.

“Reid?”

He shook his head and looked at her as she touched his chest, holding on to his shirt in her hands as if it were a lifeline. He had no clue how to explain what had happened when he didn’t know the full story but as she looked at him with an open expression of complete trust, he knew he couldn’t lie either.

He took her face in his one hand and kept the other arm anchored around her shoulders so she wouldn’t freak out. “Someone has been in your apartment and a woman was found dead on your bed.” He watched the blood drain from her face, but she kept her composure.