“Perhaps, but that’s her call. Not yours.” My hand tightened around the phone. “Does North know you want to fuck his little sister? I imagine he’d be interested to see the recorded footage. It’s rather enlightening, even without the sound.”
I gritted my teeth. He’d been watching. Darius had likely called him the second I walked into Zero Crow. “Why is your lapdog here?”
Darius didn’t react to the insult and continued to shuffle his cards.
“Keeping an eye on things.”
I grunted. “Why?” He wouldn’t send one of his most loyal men to the James’ to keep an eye on things for no reason.
Callum chuckled. “Do I need a reason? It’s my bar. Does North know his little sister is living in your cabin?”
“They’re moving tomorrow.” The words scraped my throat. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like her hold on me, and now the kid had one on me too. How I wanted to lock them away in my cabin and throw away the key. And that was even more of a reason why they had to go.
There was a rustle over the phone as if he had shifted in his leather chair. “So they are. I’m sure more luxurious than your derelict cabin in the middle of the woods.”
His casual, cocky tone raised all kinds of red flags, and it was like an army of red ants were marching down my spine. He knew where they were moving? Yeah, she worked for him, so maybe she’d told Brin and Brin told Callum. But why did he care? Why was he interested in Macayla? Or was he trying to find out why I gave a shit about Macayla?
Callum wasn’t one to have idle conversation just for the hell of it. Especially with the man who nearly killed him, and would’ve if Saint hadn’t been there, so there was a reason he was asking. What I didn’t like was that Jaeg hadn’t known where she was moving either, and Macayla had tensed when Addie mentioned it.
“They’ll be much more comfortable. I’ve had Darius stock the fridge and…”
The rest of his words became a blur. It was as if the words had yanked the pin on a grenade, and my insides were going to explode with the slightest movement.
My hand tightened around the cell phone, and the rigid plastic groaned under the pressure. I didn’t lose my shit very often, but there was a tsunami in my bloodstream.
Callum’s. She and the kid were moving into Callum’s? His fuckin’ farm? Where they had illegal fights under the goddamn stables. Where his men often hid when they needed to lay low for a while. Men who had no morals except loyalty to the James’. Where his psycho brother had lived.
No way in hell were they moving into Callum’s farmhouse. Fuck no.
Jackson wasn’t going to be anywhere near that shit. I knew Callum would never touch Macayla, but I didn’t trust a single one of his men. No way were they living on a crime lord’s property while I was still breathing fuckin’ air.
“Does Macayla know what you do for a living? What she’s exposing her kid to?”
“Nothing illegal goes on at the farm, and her brother trusts me. Unlike you.”
North trusted him because Callum saved his life. “That’s not happening,” I managed to get past my constricted throat.
“She means something to you,” Callum said. “The question is why does a stone-cold killer care about a girl he just met? Unless, of course, you’ve met her before.”
I flexed my jaw. North obviously hadn’t told him. “She’s North’s sister.”
“No,” Callum drawled. He paused, and I heard the clink as if he was dropping ice into a crystal glass. “It’s more than that.”
It was. It was a fuck of a lot more.
“They’re staying in the cabin,” I ground out and tossed the cell onto the table.
Darius watched me, one forearm casually resting on the table as he leaned back, looking relaxed. But it was his other hand under the table that made me suspect a gun was taped to the underside.
“Nothing touches her.”
He gave a barely distinguishable nod. I might not like Darius, but he was just as dangerous as me, and nothing would deter him from ensuring that.
I abruptly rose to my feet, scanning the bar for Macayla. I found her standing at the bar with her back to me while Brin placed several pitchers of beer on the tray in front of her.
Christ, I had to get out of here. I tore my eyes away from her and walked out of the bar.
Macayla