Free Callahan's Fate by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Raine thought she might have trembled or collapsed onto the floor.
    Beside her, Snake’s words didn’t faze
Callahan. He returned the malevolent stare with an unblinking one, hard as
pavement. “Beat it,” he said.   For a
second, she thought Snake or Bull might react, but instead they slunk away,
heads down like scolded animals.   None
looked back but Raine watched them until they headed
down the sidewalk toward the beach.  
    Cal shifted his hand to the small of her
back, and they moved toward the street without a word.   Once outside, she drew a long breath of fresh
air and exhaled.    He took her hand and
moved out of the way of the other pedestrians.   “Don’t let this spook you,” he told her.
    She managed a shaky laugh. “It’s hard
not to, Callahan.   Now I feel like we
both have targets painted on our backs.”
    “We don’t.   Snake’s stoned and probably won’t remember
anyway.   C’mon, forget about it.   You wanna go back
to the beach for a while?”
    “No, it looks like it might rain again.”
It did, but besides, the trio of thugs had headed that direction.
    He shot her a glance so piercing that Raine knew she hadn’t fooled him one bit. “Okay, so how’s
about visiting the New York Aquarium?   It’s not far and I think you’d like it, unless you just want to go home
or something.”
    Raine would rather
spend more time with him, and from the grin teasing at the corners of his
mouth, he knew it. “I would like it a lot, so sure, let’s go.”
    They whiled away the rest of the
afternoon enjoying the exhibits, and the rain held off long enough so they saw
all of it, including the sea lion show.   Neither said anything more about the unpleasant encounter, and the
harmony they’d experienced on the beach returned.   Raine exclaimed
over the fish and animals, Callahan laughed at them and at her, but with such
tenderness he had her smitten by the end of the day.  
    On the train home, the easy rhythm of
the cars rocked her into a delicious drowsiness, and she rested her head
against his shoulder, afraid she’d fall asleep.   Cal seemed almost as somnolent as she felt, and they didn’t say much
until they reached her station.   He
walked her to the door, and this time, after some frantic tidying in the early
morning hours, Raine invited him to come in for a while.
    Her narrow kitchen and the tiny room
combining bedroom with living area had never seemed smaller.   Callahan filled it with his presence and
physical size.   He glanced out at her limited
view over the street below, then he turned and pulled
her into his embrace.   Cal kissed her
with an increased intensity.   His hands
strayed beneath her shirt, and he fondled her crotch through her jeans.   Raine tightened her
grip on his jacket and let her fingers trail through his hair.   When his arms tightened around her, she
shivered as a rush of pleasure swept over her.   Lord, but she wanted to make love and decided if he asked, she wouldn’t
refuse.
    After they’d kissed and caressed for a
long time, however, Cal broke free.   “Aw,
baby, I need to go,” he said. He sounded truly sorry. “You’ve got stuff to do,
and so do I.   I’ll see you tomorrow,
though, around five at the Thirty-Fourth Street subway station, right?”
    “Right, I’ll be there,” she told
him.   She ran her hands down his arms and
across his chest, wanting and needing to touch him.   “If you get things done and you’re bored,
call me. Or text me.”
    His eyes lit.   “All right, I will.   I promise.”
    Callahan brushed her mouth with another
kiss, this one too brief, and put his hand on the doorknob to leave.   “See you later, doll,” he said.
    “Bye, Cal,” she answered.
    He started through the door as she
stepped forward and touched his back.   “Wait.”
    “What is it?” He halted in place.
    “Promise me you’ll be careful,” she told
him.   The brief confrontation with Bull
and his pals brought home to her