Cody Walker's Woman

Keira sat across from Ryan Callahan and watched him covertly as they ate in silence. From time to time she glanced from him to Cody, standing by the kitchen sink, and back again. She thought it was just habit, at first; always wanting to know what made people tick. But then it came to her. You’re trying to see what Mandy sees in him, she told herself with a shock of revelation. To figure out why Mandy would choose him—or any man—over Cody.

She couldn’t see it.

Oh, Ryan Callahan was physically intimidating, she’d give him that. But no more so than Cody, whose strength she’d experienced firsthand. And Callahan had impressed her earlier with his ability to move as quietly as a jungle cat. But Cody had great stealth, too. He’d slipped silently across the bedroom of the shack that first night, with her kidnappers in the next room, to pry open the window for their escape.

And whereas Callahan was saturnine and displayed a cynic’s view of the world, Cody was golden-haired with an unexpected grin that lit up his face and made you want to smile, too. Somehow you just knew the world was a better place when Cody smiled. No, she thought, Mandy must see her husband differently than I do. She had to, if she was willing to kill her best friend—to kill Cody—to protect him.

Callahan stood abruptly, the chair rasping across the floor, breaking Keira’s train of thought. He went to the stove to refill his plate. He offered the pot to Keira first, but she shook her head. She was nearly full and still had some left in her bowl. Cody allowed Callahan to add half of what remained in the pot to his plate. Then Callahan scraped out the last of the stew, placed the pot in the sink and ran water in it.

He didn’t come back to the table, but stood next to Cody and asked as he ate, “What time do you think McKinnon will get back?”

Cody looked at his watch. “It’s just over two hours to the agency’s safe house in Casper—say two and a quarter. Figure another hour to get your family settled in and squared away, and a couple of hours back. Five and a half hours at the least. My guess is somewhere between three and four.” He looked at Callahan. “About the same time the backup team will be done at your house.”

“You’re sure the safe house is safe?”

“There are no guarantees in this world,” Cody said with a level stare. “You know that. But I know the agents who run that safe house. Even stayed there once on an op. You’re going to have to trust some people unless you decide to hole up in a cave somewhere.”

“Fair enough.”

Cody resumed eating and said, “I told Keira while you were sleeping we need to head to where we at least have internet access. We can’t do much of anything here.”

“I won’t be much help in that investigation,” Callahan said. “Steve was my only link to the new militia, and he’s dead. Unless we can figure out what his last words mean or what that key opens...”

His face expressed his frustration at not knowing as well as his desire to do something. Keira knew he wasn’t the kind of man to sit patiently on the sidelines while others ran the football. But at this point there wasn’t a lot he could do.

“I don’t even know who else might be a member locally,” he growled. “For all I know, one or more of my deputies might be involved. The militia is that insidious.”

“That’s why I’m leaving McKinnon with you,” Cody said. He held up his hand as Callahan started to protest. “It’s not open for debate. We can’t afford to have anything happen to you. Not if we ever solve Tressler’s murder and want to bring his killer or killers to justice. You’ll need to testify.”

That silenced Callahan. Keira could tell he wasn’t happy about it, believed he could take care of himself now that he didn’t have to worry about his family. But a man who always calculated the odds, as she’d already realized Callahan did, knew that he couldn’t always be on guard, knew that he’d have to sleep sometimes.

“He’ll need a cover story to stay with you,” Cody said. “And you’ll need an explanation for why Mandy and the kids are gone.”

“I’ll come up with something,” Callahan said. “Don’t worry.” Finished eating, he turned to wash his plate and the pot in the sink. He stacked them neatly on the dish rack, and Keira thought with a tiny inward smile how incongruous he looked doing mundane kitchen chores. When Cody followed suit, her smile grew. Neither man even thought of leaving KP—kitchen patrol—for her to do, and a good thing, too.