Callum (Blue Halo Book 7)

Callum’s eyes moved over the information on his computer. Candace Holder gave birth to identical twin girls on December fourth at the Community Regional Medical Center. Fiona and Olivia Holder.

He clicked over to a news article dated a week later. Candy Holder was found dead in an alley due to an overdose, and her babies were declared missing.

Callum ran his hands through his hair.

Fiona was a twin.

God. To find out so late in life would be like a kick in the damn gut. What kind of life had that sister led? How had she come to the point where she’d not only found Fiona but felt the need to impersonate her? Stalk her?

If Fiona had kept her name, maybe Olivia had kept hers too. He could ask Fiona’s mother if she knew any of Candy’s other friends, but there was another route he wanted to try first.

His fingers returned to the keyboard, moving quickly. He spent the next hour hacking into government systems he had no business hacking into, but hell, when it came to Fiona and her safety, he’d do whatever it goddamn took.

When he finally found it, he leaned back in his chair.

On the same day Fiona was left on Edna and Mark Lock’s doorstep, a baby by the name of Olivia, no last name, was placed in government care. She became Olivia Cohls, and she remained in foster care, moving from home to home until she aged out.

He kept digging and found a police report for what looked like her first misdemeanor for possession. The photo popped up—and he blew out a long breath. She had the same eyes as Fiona, but that was where the similarities ended. The woman was thinner, like she’d used too many drugs in her life. Her hair was bleach-blond, and she wore a pound of makeup.

He dug up a few more misdemeanor charges. Drunk driving. Vandalism. Resisting arrest. And in each photo, she looked the same, just older, her makeup a bit heavier.

Fuck.

Footsteps sounded down the hall moments before Tyler appeared in his doorway. “Hey, I just came to tell you—” He stopped when his gaze hit Callum, his brows tugging together. “You okay?”

“No.” He couldn’t lie to his friend if he tried.

Tyler came farther into the room. “This about the woman who’s been stalking Fiona?”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “It’s her biological twin sister.”

Tyler frowned, and Callum gave his friend the CliffsNotes version.

He looked as shocked as Callum felt. “Whoa.”

Callum almost laughed. “Yeah, my thoughts too. I found all this information, but I can’t find a current address.”

Tyler was just opening his mouth to say something when Callum’s phone went off. He looked down—and cursed when he saw it was the silent alarm to his house.

He shot to his feet and grabbed his keys, calling Fiona as he ran out of the office. When she didn’t answer, he cursed and tried again.

Tyler followed closely behind. It wasn’t until Callum slid behind the wheel of his car that she finally returned his calls.

“Are you okay?”

“Kasey was stabbed!” Her voice was panicked, her words high-pitched.

Callum stepped hard on the gas. “What happened?”

“She was banging on the door, and I saw she was bleeding, so I opened it. Then someone shot her with a dart and attacked me.” Every word rushed into the next.

He took a hard right, his gaze shooting to Tyler in the rearview mirror. “Are you hurt?”

“No. I ran into your office and found your gun. When I pointed it at her, she ran away, but Kasey’s not opening her eyes, and her chest is barely moving! I’ve called the paramedics but…God, what if they’re too late? What if she’s lost too much blood?”

“Do you still have the gun?”

“Yes.”

Good. She had something to use to protect herself if the person returned. He pressed his foot to the floor, pushing the car as fast as it could go.

When he arrived minutes later, the ambulance was pulling up, too. His gut clenched at what he saw—Fiona, on her knees on his front porch, face pale and a trickle of blood running down her head.

His hands fisted as he climbed out of the car and ran toward her. She was hunched over Kasey’s body, crimson soaking through her fingers as she pressed at the wound.

He lowered beside her. “Fiona—”

“I can’t move my hands—there’s too much blood.”

He touched her wrists. “Paramedics are here.”

On cue, the paramedics dropped beside Kasey. He pulled Fiona up and away, grabbing the pistol from beside her as he did and handing it to Tyler.

Fiona’s hands shook and her breath heaved. “It was her.”

Callum cupped her cheek. “Who?”

“The woman who looks like me. She wore a balaclava again, but her eyes…they were my eyes.”

Fuck. He tugged her into his chest, not caring about the blood that soaked his shirt, just the need to hold and soothe his woman.

“You’re okay,” he said quietly, for his own damn benefit as much as hers.

“I’m okay,” she repeated, her voice muffled against his chest.

“Excuse me, ma’am, are you hurt?”

Callum’s gaze caught on the bruise and small cut just visible in her hairline. The reason for the blood on her face.

“Yes.”

“No.”

They both answered at the same time.

Callum’s fingers tightened on her arms. “Let them check that your head’s okay, Fi.”

She sucked in a shuddering breath, her gaze skirting to Kasey, who was being loaded into an ambulance. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

Fiona watched the water in the shower run from red to clear as the blood on her hands washed away. Kasey’s blood. She still didn’t know if the other woman was okay. Had Kasey only been hurt as a way to get Fiona to open the door?

Of course she had. Fiona didn’t need to hear the story from the woman’s mouth to know that. And the guilt of that sat so heavy on her chest it was like an immoveable weight.

She scrubbed at her hands, attacking the dried blood under her nails.

Once the paramedics had cleared the bump on her head as superficial, she’d spoken to the police and described her attacker as best she could, knowing she’d sounded crazy. She hadn’t stuck around as Callum had spoken to the officers. She’d needed to get away. Wash the damn blood off her hands.

When the blood refused to budge, she scrubbed harder, the flesh on her fingers aching at the action.

A knock on the door sounded, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes?”

“Fi? You okay?”

She swallowed, forcing her lungs to accept air they felt too damn tight to let in. “Yes. I’ll be out in a second.”

There was a small beat of silence before Callum responded. “Okay, honey. Shout out if you need anything.”

She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. Then she closed her eyes and let the water fall over her, hitting her skin like small drops of fire on icy flesh. She’d made the water as hot as she could, needing the heat to help her feel clean. She remained under the stream until her skin was red and her fingers wrinkled. Then, finally, she stepped out and wrapped herself in a large towel.

She couldn’t get those eyes out of her head. So similar to hers but so filled with hate. Why? What had she ever done to warrant such rage?

Swallowing, she stepped out of the bathroom to find Callum by the window, phone to his ear. His gaze met hers, and his eyes…they seared her. Her brush with danger had probably scared him. He didn’t have to say it out loud for her to know.

Quickly, she pulled on some panties, a bra, some leggings, and an oversized tee. She was just sitting on the edge of the bed when Callum ended the call and sat beside her. Then he surprised her by lifting her from the mattress and pulling her onto his lap so she was sitting sideways. Gently, as if he was scared he’d hurt her, he grazed her forehead with his lips.

“How are you feeling?”

“My head’s fine, just another headache.” It wasn’t exactly what he was asking, but it was easier than trying to make sense of the mess that was her thoughts. “Who was that on the phone?”

His jaw clenched. Yeah, he saw right through her.

The hand around her waist moved below the material, and his fingers touched bare skin. “Tyler. He followed the paramedics to the hospital. He was in the hall when Kasey woke and spoke to the police. He heard her recount everything.”

“She’s okay then?”

“She lost some blood, but she’s stable.”

The air ran out of her in a rush. Thank God.

His gaze moved between her eyes. “Kasey was coming over to talk to me. She’d just reached my porch when someone stabbed her from the side.”

His thumb swept up and down Fiona’s ribs.

“My best guess,” he continued, “is the woman saw me leave and was either waiting for you to come out or looking for a way in. Kasey gave her that opportunity.”

She shook her head. “I feel terrible.”

“It’s not your fault.”

She studied his eyes before asking the question she needed to ask. “Did you find any information on her?”

Something passed over his face, giving her an answer before he spoke.

“Yes.” The way his eyes darkened almost made her not want to know. “Her name is Olivia Cohls, and she’s your twin.”

Fiona nodded, a slow, trying-to-take-it-in nod. Callum’s fingers tightened on her ribs. She’d known as much, but hearing it confirmed…it made it so much more devastating. “Identical?”

“I saw a few photos of her and, apart from her eyes, she didn’t look much like you, but that could be because of the bleached hair and the ton of makeup.”

“You saw photos?”

He paused before saying, “Mug shots.”

Her heart dropped. So she had an identical sister who was a criminal.

“Olivia grew up in foster care,” he said slowly. “She was bounced around the system until she aged out. She was charged with a few misdemeanors, but as of a few months ago, I haven’t been able to find any more information on her.”

Fiona’s mind raced, piecing the information together. “Maybe she got left with another family, but unlike my parents, they didn’t take her in?”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

A tightness seized her chest before she whispered, “That could have been me.”

“What?”

“My mother leaving me with my parents was no doubt random. So, me having the life I lived rather than growing up in the system was completely by chance. As simple as her grabbing me to leave with Edna instead of Olivia.” Her next breath was more of a gasp of air. “That’s probably why Olivia’s doing this. She found out about me. Knows I got a better life. And now hates me for it.”

The realization was like a kick in the gut. Could she even blame the other woman for that? Maybe she’d hate her twin too, if the situation was reversed? “If I’d grown up like her and realized what she’d been given and I hadn’t, I could be doing exactly the same thing.”

He shook his head. “You wouldn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know you.”

She held his gaze for a full five seconds, letting the intensity in that look anchor her. Then she dipped her head to his chest. “You always have all the right words, Callum.”

But even though he said the right things, she wasn’t sure she believed him.