Promise Broken (The Callahan Series) by Mitzi Pool Bridges

allowed herself to laugh. It was a kid’s way of looking at life, not an adult’s. Cal was too young and confused to be a threat. “You haven’t found that magical place?”
    His eyes brightened. “Not yet. But I will.”
    Phyl opened the wooden gate to the dog pen. “C’mon, girls. You need to stay in here until we figure out what hurt you.”
    Obediently, they went in. She pulled the gate shut. But when she slammed the wooden lock, she let out a cry.
    “What?”
    She held up her hand.
    Cal looked at it. A long splinter was embedded in her palm. “That needs to come out.”
    “Nellie will do it.”
    “I can.”
    She gave him a skeptical look. “Are you sure?”
    “It’s just a little splinter. Wait a minute. I have tweezers in my room.”
    As she waited, she picked at the splinter, but it wouldn’t budge. Then Cal was back, needle and tweezers in hand. “Here we go,” he said just as the needle bit into her skin.
    She pulled her hand back. Closed her fist.
    Cal chuckled. “This won’t take a minute. I worked as a rescue worker on one of my jobs.”
    She opened her fist and shut her eyes.
    Her eyes popped open when he stabbed her again. “That’s it, Cal. I’ll get Nellie to do it.”
    “I’m almost there,” he said. “Once more.”
    “No.” She pulled away, unsettled by the determined look on Cal’s face. “You’re not going to jab me again.”
    “What are you, a sissy?” He pulled her arm toward him, locked it down with his own. “You can’t get away now,” he warned.
    Her heart stopped. Those were the exact words the killer had thrown at her as she fled. Out of nowhere, her heartbeat accelerated, her breath became non-existent. No. She couldn’t have a panic attack. Not here. Not now. In her peripheral vision, she saw Donovan headed their way. The look on his face had her instinctively struggling to pull away.
    “Come on, Phyl, show a little con—”
    Without warning, Donovan yanked Cal away from her, shoved him toward his room. Once. Twice. Three times, until they were at the door. “You’re fired. Get your things and get out. You have five minutes. If you’re still here after that I’ll call Dugan and have you arrested.”
    She had to stop Donovan. But her sudden need for air kept her from speaking. She couldn’t talk and breathe at the same time. Dizzy now, she held onto the wooden gate so she wouldn’t fall.
    When Cal’s door shut, Donovan stalked over to her. “Did he hurt you?”
    Stumbling to a bale of hay, she sat down. “Water,” she managed to say.
    He handed her a bottle from the small refrigerator in the barn, watched her drink.
    “What did he do to you?”
    She took a steadying breath. She wanted to stand, but she wasn’t ready yet. “Nothing.” It was true. Cal had done nothing. Even his choice of words, though ill-conceived, were harmless. Neither of them could have predicted the effect they had on her.
    Donovan gave her a disbelieving look, shook his head and left the barn, his face a mask of rage.
    She sat there trembling. She had to tell him he was wrong. But from the look on his face he wouldn’t listen. Not with her still trembling and shaken from a near-panic attack. Hell, he’d probably fire her, too, if he knew how quickly she could fall apart at a moment’s notice. Put that together with his temper, and....
    Donovan’s behavior was so out of character she wondered if she knew him at all. She’d even begun to have romantic thoughts about him. How like her. Wasn’t that what she’d done with Victor? Only when she’d found out about Victor it was too late. Maybe she wasn’t that good a judge of character after all.
    In less than two minutes Cal was back with a roll under his arm, heading for his Harley. He looked completely dejected. Damn it, he was just a kid, goofing off. She’d caused the problem, not Cal . Though her legs were a little unsteady, she ran after him. “Don’t leave, Cal. It was a misunderstanding. Donovan will