Page 59 of Reid

Jack followed his gaze. “Good man, he loves his sister.”

Reid nodded. “He’s the best man I know, always has been.”

Jack swung his gaze back to Reid, assessing him before he shook his head and walked away. “Let me know about the time off.”

“Will do.”

Reid watched as Jack reached Clay and stopped to thank him, saying a few words Reid couldn’t hear. Clay looked up and straight at Reid before he nodded. Jack moved away and then it was just him and Clay.

He moved down the hall and Reid did the same until they stopped a few feet apart. This had never been them; they’d been best friends, brothers, since they were young boys. To have this tension between them now and it stung knowing he was the one who’d caused the rift.

Reid broke the silence. “How is she?”

“She seems okay, but she needs rest.”

“My keys are in my locker. The code is Mom’s birthday.”

Clay observed him for a moment. “Will you be there?”

Reid shook his head. “No, I have things to do here. You can stay as long as you need.”

Clay looked pained as he assessed him. “You should have stayed clear.”

Reid swallowed the self-recriminations. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“You call her sunshine,” Clay stated.

“Because she is. Callie encompasses it, her smile, her light, her laugh, just her.”

“You love her.”

“Never thought it would happen to me, but yes. She’s the other half of my soul. I would die for her.”

Clay nodded again, but he looked heat-sick as he looked down at his boots. “Then you know why I can’t let you hurt her.”

Reid hated his friend saying the words, hated even more that he agreed. If this were the other way around, he’d do the same thing.

“Yes.” The single word was the hardest he’d ever said, and it gutted him more than any bullet ever could, leaving his chest an empty cavern where his broken heart sat.

“I’ll take her home.”

Clay reached out and squeezed his shoulder and Reid knew he took no pleasure in it. Clay was merely looking out for Callie as he should have done.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It had been three weeks since Callie had returned to her apartment in London. While she was glad she was safe, her heart hurt as if it had been ripped open. Every room reminded her of why she preferred Reid’s place. Her bedroom had been completely redecorated, but she still slept in the spare room, the thought of sleeping in the room where Tina had lost her life was too much for her.

She had nightmares most nights, but she’d learned to hide them from Clay who refused to leave and hovered over her. She knew he loved her, but she was about ready to kill him. He watched her every move with an expression of guilt riding him as he waited for her to fall apart and sometimes, she did, but it happened less and less as the days went on.

The counsellor that Pax had recommended had helped, and she was now seeing him every two weeks after her initial three sessions in the first week after the attack. Though it was less about the kidnapping and more about who had instigated it which had shaken her to her core. To know a woman she trusted, cared for even, had harboured such malice towards her had been difficult to assimilate in her brain.

Sophia would now be held on remand until the trial next year. She had stated she’d been the person on the roof and had worked completely alone. The men at Eidolon weren’t entirely convinced but so far, the evidence suggested she was telling the truth.

Claude had alibis for when she was attacked, and nothing had come to light to suggest he had any idea that Sophia felt as she had.

Then there was the elephant in the room, the one she tried to forget, to block from her waking mind. Her Reid, the man she loved, had walked away from her. Without a single word, he’d completely ghosted her. No explanation, not even an excuse, nothing at all. She’d tried everything to get him to speak with her, but at each turn, she’d failed. He wouldn’t take her calls so she’d demanded Clay take her to Eidolon or she would walk.

Her brother had reluctantly agreed, however, when she arrived she was told by a sheepish Lopez that Reid had gone overseas. Clay had held her while she cried and then he’d brought her home so she could get on with her life. The threat to her was over, and she could resume her life, such as it was.