“You told them everything?”
“I did. I asked them not to say anything to Jaimie, though, not unless she brings up the subject.”
“And what did you all decide?”
Caleb hesitated. “Well, ah, well, we decided it’s just, you know, it’s just one of those things.”
Lissa narrowed her eyes. “One of what things?”
“Well, we thought for a while that maybe she was coming down with something.”
“Thank you for that medical diagnosis, Doctor Strangelove.”
“Hey. What’d I do?”
“That guy you had protecting Jaimie.”
“Zach Castelianos. What about him?”
“What kind of guy is he?”
“The best. I told you that, remember? At The Agency, and now. Did I tell you he has his own company? Shadow Inc. ”
“No,” Lissa said, and made a mental note. “Clever name.”
“Anyway, he’s what I said. The best. And he sure as hell proved it. He kept Jaimie safe, got the goods on her stalker and… Why?”
“Have you seen him lately?”
“Matter of fact, I have. He called me a couple of days ago and asked me to meet him for a drink.”
“And?”
Caleb shrugged. “And, we had a drink.”
“Do you often meet him for drinks?”
“No. I was kind of surprised that he set it up. Hand me that comb, will you? There’s a knot in this gelding’s mane.”
“Did he have a reason?”
“He didn’t say. Funny thing was, I had the feeling he wanted to ask me something. Maybe talk to me about something.” Caleb brought the heavy metal comb slowly through the horse’s mane. “He was in a weird mood. Quiet. Like he was there, but not there. Smiled on cue. Spoke on cue. Kind of like Jaimie’s been, you know?”
Lissa knew.
Now, absolutely, she knew.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah.” Caleb chuckled. “I tried to pay him. I said, at least let me cover your expenses for what you did for Jaimie.”
“And?”
“And, he damn near decked me. After I calmed him down, we had this strange conversation. He asked me how she was, if she was OK, if she was happy…”
Lissa looked at Caleb’s face. It was like watching a light go on in a dark room.
“Oh, man,” he said.