Page 90 of Protecting You
So, he chose clothes that fit the part of a fiancé who wanted to make a good impression.
His phone buzzed with a text, and he glanced at it on his way to the checkout counter. It was from Alyssa, an image. He clicked on it and froze.
It was the woman who’d been photographed with Ghazi.
Another text came through.
Is this her?
Yes! How did you do that so fast?
She added a littlehahato his text, then responded with,
I got skills, baby.
A second later, she added…
Michael helped. :) I’m looking into her.
After he paid for the clothes, he headed to a discount department store, where he picked out a pair of black dress shoes that would probably last the duration of the party—though not much longer—socks, and a few more casual things to tide him over for the next few days.
Callan was at the cash register when his phone rang. The Agency had activated his old number on the new phone, so it could be anyone.
He snatched it, relieved to see it wasn’t Alyssa. It was Hannah.
He signed the credit card machine and took his things, thanking the clerk. On his way to the door, he answered the call. “Hey, sis.”
“Thank God you answered.”
He froze. “What’s wrong? Is it Peri?”
“Not Peri. It’s Dad. He had a heart attack.”
* * *
Callan pushedthrough the door at the emergency room and rushed to the woman behind the desk. “My father was brought in. Hank…Henry Templeton.”
“I think he’s been moved already.” She peered at a computer screen. “Yes, up to cardiology.”
Callan had texted Alyssa from the car, sitting at a stoplight.
My dad had a heart attack. On my way to the hospital. Get an Uber to the hotel and check in, and I’ll meet you there.
She’d texted back,
Which hospital?
Just finish what you’re doing and get some dinner. I’ll see you soon.
Not that Callan wouldn’t love for her to be by his side, but that would cause too many problems.
She’d shared a lot of her life with him, but he’d kept the most important thing about himself a secret.
He needed to remedy that. Even if nothing but friendship came of his relationship with Alyssa, she deserved to know the truth about him.
He was heading toward the room a nurse had told him was his dad’s when his sister stepped into the hallway.
Hannah took after their paternal grandmother with her curly brown hair and brown eyes. Like Nana, she was petite, a foot shorter than Callan. Despite having the same last name and living in a tiny town, people who knew both of them rarely guessed they were brother and sister.
