My Soul For You

by Morgana Phoenix

  Katie shook her head. “I don’t understand. If they were accidents…”

  “The authorities ruled them as accidents, or suicides,” he answered her unfinished question. “And at first glance that was exactly what each incident appeared to be. But we dug into several of the cases and followed the thread to the charity and thus Christian Towle. But Christian Towle was dead and dead men don’t murder people,” Mr. O’Reilly gave her a humorless grin. “So we dug deeper, uncovering an entire network of crimes, everything from human smuggling to drug trafficking. Simon has been steadily getting richer off the blood of his victims, which he has been selecting from the gala draw. That’s how we were able to pinpoint all of this to him. People would win their wish and live for a few months, just enough time for people to forget before meeting some untimely death. Unfortunately, he wasn’t killing all of them. Some he was giving the illusion of dying in some freak accident, but he was selling them off to smugglers in foreign countries while their families mourned their deaths here.”

  “That’s horrible,” Katie gasped.

  Mr. O’Reilly nodded. “We’ve been trying to get Simon out of hiding, but we had nothing linking him to the smuggling ring, except the gala and that wasn’t concrete enough. It’s why we leaked the information about the list.”

  Katie swallowed. “Simon mentioned the list. He thought Kaleb had it.”

  “That’s because that’s what we wanted him to think.” He shot a glance towards his son, who was standing ramrod straight by the door. “The only way we could draw him out was if he thought he was in danger of getting caught. We captured a few of his shipments to show we really did have a list and were making our way down it. Then let it leak that Kaleb had the list—”

  “Why would you do that?” Katie blurted. “You put him in danger. He could have been killed!”

  A spark twinkled behind Mr. O’Reilly’s eyes, something that made her feel like he was quietly laughing at her.

  “Kaleb is one of my best,” he said evenly. “It’s why I chose him for the task. I knew he would complete the mission without incident. However,” his smile slipped. “We were not expecting you.”

  “Simon said he only came after me to get back at Kaleb,” she murmured.

  Mr. O’Reilly nodded. “It never should have happened. Kaleb knows better than to involve civilians in a bust like this, but there was no way to remove you once Simon had you in his sights, not without jeopardizing the entire mission. So we did what we could. We had twenty-four hour surveillance on you, monitoring your movement and prepared to move in the moment it looked like you were in danger.”

  “You put my friends and family in danger,” she said slowly.

  Mr. O’Reilly nodded, it was slow and grim. “Yes, and I apologize for that.”

  “That’s it?” She laughed bitterly. “You apologize?”

  “We just had to wait him out,” Mr. O’Reilly explained. “It was only a matter of time before he would realize Kaleb didn’t have the list and move in to dispose of the two of you and we would have him. We had to let Simon believe you were together.”

  Katie tried to laugh, but the sound lodged in her throat. “He wasn’t the only one stupid enough to believe that,” she mumbled and ignored the sharp jerk of Kaleb’s head from the corner of her eye.

  “We needed for him to get his hands dirty,” his father went on, having not heard or ignoring Katie’s comment. “Up until last night, we had nothing on him but heresy. Now we have a confession and a criminal behind bars.”

  “What if you hadn’t made it in time?” Katie muttered. “What if … how did you even know where we were?”

  “We’ve been closely monitoring his homes,” he answered simply. “Plus Kaleb did his part, of course.” He reached across the table and set his warm hands over Katie’s cold ones. “You were never in any danger, Katie.”

  Furious, she yanked her hand free.

  “You used me,” she said slowly. “I was your bait to catch this … psycho. You put my life and the lives of everyone I love in danger. My home was monitored and I was watched and my…” She tried to suck in air, but it was useless. Her anger was just too white hot. “Intimate moments of my life were captured and … and…”

  “The pictures have been destroyed,” Mr. O’Reilly assured her. “All of it. Kaleb made sure of it. He was also the only one to see them.”

  But even as relief took claim of a small part of her, fury was still lashing through her.

  “And what about Ashlee? She almost died, because I couldn’t tell her to be careful.”

  “Miss Lambert will be compensated for her injuries, as will you—”

  “Compensated?” Katie slammed her fists into the table. “She almost died!” she practically screamed. “There isn’t enough money in the world—”

  “Katie, please,” Mr. O’Reilly reasoned. “You need to see the bigger picture. We put away one of the biggest smuggling lords north of the boarder. Do you have any idea how many lives you helped save?”

  Still breathing hard, Katie glowered at him. “I had a gun pointed at me and I was lied to by someone I thought I could trust. Don’t tell me to see the bigger picture.”

  Mr. O’Reilly put his hands up, trying to calm her. “I understand you’re upset—”

  “Upset?” she snarled through her teeth as she lunged to her feet. “This isn’t upset. This is seriously and severely fucking pissed off!”

  “Katie, please—”

  “And you!” She rounded on Kaleb. “You knew! All this time when I was scared out of my damn mind that I would lose my family, you knew who was responsible. You knew what we were facing. And what’s worse, you egged him on. You goaded him! Then, you looked me straight in the eye and you lied. You lied to me!” she was breathing hard, half from shouting, half from trying not to cry. “You played me! I trusted you and you … you asshole!”

  The hurt in Kaleb’s eyes was worse than anything she’d ever felt spearing through her, but she closed it off.

  “Kaleb was working under my orders,” Mr. O’Reilly said. “You were being monitored too closely. He couldn’t risk jeopardizing the case by telling you anything. He had to play his part. He had to make Simon believe—”

  That only seemed to sing through her with a whole new surge of pain.

  “Well, congratulations,” she hissed as a tear slid down her cheek. “You played your part beautifully. Even I was convinced. You should get a fucking Oscar.”

  She marched to the door and threw it open before either of them could stop her. Then she stormed out without a single glance in his direction.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “No fair! Your life is so much more exciting than mine!” Ashlee whined. “You’re like that chick that solves mysteries in that book.”

  “Nancy Drew?” Katie supplied, biting back a grin.

  Ashlee waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, sure. So tell me what happened next.”

  Katie shrugged. “Nothing. I left. Aunt Hannah came and picked me up and I went home.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then what, what?”

  Ashlee narrowed her eyes. “Well, have you talked to him since?”

  “No!” Katie said a little too loudly. “God, Ash, he almost got you killed.”

  “Uh, no, I’m pretty sure that was the giant, black SUV.” She kicked Katie with her good leg, the one not wrapped in a bright, pink cast.

  “Hey! Ow!”

  “Stop being a baby!” Ashlee scowled. “You need to talk to him. It’s been like a week.”

  Katie smacked her knee. “I don’t want to.”

  Ashlee raised an eyebrow. “Because you’re a coward?”

  “No! Because I really loved him and he lied to me.”

  “For a very good reason!” Ashlee stressed. “He was trying to save lives. Heroes are hot, Katie! We like heroes.”

  Katie rolled her eyes, more to stop the tears than annoyance. “What if it was all an act? What if I was nothing but a case
?” She picked at the comforter. “I’d die if he tells me—”

  “You won’t die.” Ashlee took her hand gently. “Because we’ll kill him first. Larson will help.”

  Katie gave a weak laugh. “How is Larson?”

  She hadn’t seen her friend since the night she’d been kidnapped. Something deep inside her told her the relationship she’d always shared with Larson would need time to repair itself. Too much had been said and the wounds were too fresh.

  “Amazing!” Ashlee said at once. “He’s been here every day, bringing me cookies. I think I might marry him.”

  Despite the ache in her heart, Katie smiled at the happiness on her friend’s face. “I’m glad you guys worked things out.”

  Ashlee shrugged. “Yeah, but enough about Larson, we need to get you and Kaleb back together.”

  Katie left a little after that, not really in the mood to talk about Kaleb; because she knew that if she started, she’d never stop and that would lead to crying and she didn’t want to cry anymore.

  Her aunt looked up when Katie walked into the shop. She didn’t miss the look of apprehension that fluttered past the other woman’s face before it was poorly masked behind a cheery smile.

  “Hey!” she said, a little too loudly. “How was your talk with Ashlee?”

  Wary, Katie untied her scarf and eyed her aunt. “Good. Everything okay?”

  Her aunt nodded. “Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Because you look like you just got caught smuggling crack.”

  Her aunt giggled nervously. “No, just really glad to see you home safely.”

  Still studying her warily, Katie started towards the back. She made her way upstairs. Halfway to the top, her phone beeped.

  She pulled it from her pocket, thankful the assholes that had kidnapped her had left the phone inside the car they’d abandoned in Kaleb’s parking area because she still had a two year contract with the company. Plus, all her stuff was saved on it.

  Her gut sank when she read the message.

  “We need to talk, Katie. Please.”

  It was from Kaleb, and while her heart fluttered and her fingers twitched to respond, she stuffed the thing back into her pocket and hurried the rest of the way into the apartment.

  It wasn’t his first text message to her. It wasn’t even his second. He had called and texted her every hour for a week. And she had ignored every one of them.

  “We really do need to talk, Katie.”

  Turning the corner towards her room, Katie wasn’t expecting the voice. She shrieked and spun around.

  Kaleb rose off the sofa, hands in the air. “It’s just me.”

  “What … how…” She glanced towards the stairway, all the pieces falling together. “She is so dead!”

  “Hey, it’s not your aunt’s fault. I asked her if I could wait for you.”

  She ignored this and glowered at him. “What are you doing here?”

  He lowered his hands. “I needed to see you.”

  “Why?” She yanked open her coat violently. “Need to use me to solve another case?”

  “No, because I miss you.”

  Her struggle to remove her coat faltered and she quickly kicked herself. “You lied to me and you used me! I don’t even know which of that is worse.”

  “No,” he said again. “I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. You were always watched—”

  “Not always!” she snapped at him. “You could have found a way. You could…” she broke off, breathing hard. “The night of the gala, why did you really come up to the penthouse with me? Was it because you wanted to be with me, or because … because you were doing your job making sure I didn’t get killed?”

  “Both.” He crossed to her slowly, but stopping short when she jerked back. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you, Katie. Nothing was stopping me from spending the night with you.”

  A lone tear trickled down her cheek and she quickly swiped it away. “Perks of the job, huh? Free sex.”

  “Don’t!” he growled. “Don’t cheapen what we shared because you’re angry.”

  She ignore that. “If I hadn’t been there and some other girl had won? Would you have…?” She swallowed down the hurt and anger climbing up her throat.

  “No,” he said without an ounce of hesitation. “The minute I saw you that night, I just wanted to be with you. I didn’t even care why I was there in the first place. I was so lost in you.”

  She bit her lips, not wanting to believe him.

  “I have always been yours.” He took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “I love you, Katie.”

  Her gaze met his and she was rushed by the warmth and love washing off him. There was nothing but truth in everything he was telling her.

  This time, when he took a step towards her, she didn’t back away.

  “You knew your father was coming that night,” she said, studying his face.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “How? How did he know where we were or that we needed help?”

  “I gave Larson my dad’s card before he leapt out of the car and…” he gave her a crooked grin. “My jacket was bugged with GPS and audio recording.”

  She remembered how he had kept his coat on that night and the coordinate he was muttering to himself. How he was always seemingly muttering to himself. Plus the night Simon had called her and Kaleb had grabbed his jacket even though they were only going downstairs. It hadn’t seemed like a big thing then, but it made sense now why he was always wearing it. Another, more dreaded thought occurred to her.

  “The whole time?”

  Kaleb nodded. “From the beginning. Dad knew Simon would strike eventually and wanted to be prepared to intercept at a moment’s notice. Plus, Simon’s confession to all those murders is what will keep him from getting out of jail.”

  Katie’s jaw dropped. “You mean all this time … every time we … it recorded us?”

  “No!” He paused, winced. “Actually that last time at Simon’s manor … but that’s only because I didn’t get a chance to turn it off and I kind of couldn’t because…”

  “They were tracking us,” she finished, her cheeks burning. “Oh my God! That is so embarrassing!”

  “I, uh, listened to it, to make sure,” he added when she frowned at him. “You can’t hear anything. Mostly rustling of sheets. I promise.”

  It wasn’t a complete relief, but she relaxed.

  She nodded slowly. “So you’re a cop.”

  His face bunched slightly in a near grimace. “Not really. What we do has nothing to do with the police. We have more authority and better equipment. We’re more like the Canadian version of the Secret Service and FBI. No one really knows we exist though.”

  Katie shifted. “The thing with the school…?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Dad thought it would make for a good cover story; why would a student-teacher have files to his trafficking business, you know? He thought it would confuse Simon, who would no doubt run my background.”

  “You don’t have a background,” she realized.

  Kaleb drew in a deep breath. “I do…” He hesitated. “But it’s not mine. Anything pulled up about me on any database is fake and wiped clean after every case.”

  “Wow…” Katie ran her fingers back through her hair. “So basically, you don’t exist.”

  “I can’t exist,” he murmured. “I track down drug lords and kingpins. I am constantly going toe to toe with some of the world’s most dangerous people. My identity, where I live, and what I do changes with each new case. If anyone ever knew my real identity, it could be the end of me.”

  That explained why his apartment had been so sparse.

  Something about that sent a chill through her. “So you’re not Kaleb O’Reilly?”

  He dropped his face forward and stared at the spot between them. He ran his tongue over his lips and seemed to really debate his next words.

  “Jackson,” he murmured at last. He raised h
is head and his gaze met hers. “Jackson Kaleb Fry; but everyone calls me Kaleb. I’m twenty-two, not twenty-one, birthday April nineteenth, nineteen-ninety-two. In a perfect world, I want to be a farmer, or a zombie hunter. I love animals, except cats.”

  “Because you’re allergic,” she whispered, remembering him telling her that during their first dance.

  He nodded slowly. “Because I’m allergic,” he confirmed. “I have one sister. My mom died when I was five. I broke my arm when I was eight trying to climb out my bedroom window. I love Chinese food, the color blue, and the word precocious.” His lips twitched when she snorted a laugh. “I love what I do. I save lives and protect my country. It’s not glamorous and we never get any credit, but that doesn’t bother me. Each asshole we put behind bars is all the praise I need. It’s hard and the hours are long, but it’s what I want to do.” He spread his arms open at his sides in a shrug. “Now you know everything that could potentially destroy me and I’ll tell you anything else you want to know, because I don’t ever want to hide anything from you again. Aside from my job and my family, you’re the most important thing in my life and I don’t want to lose you.”

  Katie bit her lip. She eyed him warily. “I do have a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Joyce and her friends … they were really actors, right?”

  He flinched. “Well…”

  “Because I think I can overlook everything, except maybe that.”

  He expelled a lungful of air. “No, that unfortunately was real.”

  Katie hissed. “Wow, that’s tough. But I can definitely see why you drew those zombies on her wall.”

  Kaleb chuckled. “I asked my dad for a ferret, I got a stepmother instead.”