Unmatched Wife: Not His To Claim Anymore novel Chapter 149

Chapter 149

Chapter 149

MATTHEW

“I understand,” Callahan said. “Children notice more than adults account for. I’ve worked around children in threat contexts before. The secret about doing this kind of thing in a way that seems mundane and not out of the sudden, so people do not register that something has changed–you don’t try to be invisible, you try to be unremarkable. You give them something ordinary to notice so they have no reason to look for what’s underneath it.”

“Explain that.”

“If I position myself as a man who is simply present in the school pickup area, in the library, at the park- someone who is always doing something ordinary when visible–the child will register me as background. Part of the unremarkable environment. If I try to hide entirely, children are often precisely the ones who notice the absence of something that should be there.” He paused.

“I’d recommend that I would be using a cover identity that places me in his environment with a reason to be there, and he gets used to me, just like he would, any of his teachers. The school has a maintenance contract that’s up for renewal. Or there’s a coffee vendor on the route between school and home who needs a new assistant.”

Marcus made a small sound that was his version of being impressed against his will and was trying not to show it. I did not look at Marcus, because this was something that did not concern him now and I

nded all my attention on Callahan.

do you know about the coffee vendor?” I asked.

a route walk this afternoon before coming here,” Callahan said. “Standard preparation. I don’t take sessments for situations I haven’t observed firsthand.”

d at him for a long moment.

a route walk. Had identified cover options. Had understood the specific requirements of the

well enough to develop a preliminary approach before the assignment was formally offered.

“What’s your weakness?” I asked.

He didn’t hesitate. “I’m not subtle in enclosed spaces. I’m sized for outdoor and transitional environments. If the threat presents in a confined interior location–a school classroom, a small room- my presence becomes very noticeable instead of unremarkable and that changes the entire trajectory of keeping him safe and being unremarkable to people who might be watching him, looking for a chance to take him or hurt him.”

Marcus nodded once, almost imperceptibly. He’d apparently already formed a positive assessment and was waiting for me to catch up.

“Salary expectations,” I said.

Chapter 149

He named a figure that was professional without being extortionate–the rate of someone who knew their value and didn’t need to perform it by overcharging.

“Trial period of one week,” I said. “During the assembly period specifically, because that’s the period of highest assessed risk. If you perform to standard, we discuss longer term. If at any point I determin cover is compromised or the assignment parameters have been violated, the contract ends immediately

“Agreed.”

“One more thing.” I looked at him steadily. “My son is not a job to me. He’s my son. If you are ever in a position where following my specific instructions conflicts with keeping him safe in a way that I hadn’t anticipated, you protect him first and we discuss my instructions afterward. I am hiring you to keep my son safe. That is the primary directive and it supersedes everything else.”

Something in Callahan’s expression shifted–not much, but enough. Something like a subtle nod of approval, which said, okay I might use unconventional means to keep him safe, but I will keep him safe.

“Understood,” he said. “And Alpha Morrison–I have a nephew in my custody, eight years old.” He said it simply, without apology or elaboration. “I know what I’m being hired to protect.”

I held his gaze for a moment longer.

“Wait here,” I said.

I went to the bottom of the stairs. “Theo. Can you come down for a minute?”

A pause, then the sound of small feet on the upper landing, and Theo appeared at the top of the stairs with one of Daniel’s dinosaur books under his arm. He looked at me with the expression that showed he was trying to remember if he had done something that he was not supposed to do.

“You’re not in trouble,” I said. “I just want you to meet someone.”

He came down with the book still under his arm, because Theo rarely put down things he was in the middle of. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at Marcus first–familiar, safe–and then at

Callahan.

Callahan, to his considerable credit, didn’t crouch down or adopt the exaggerated gentleness that adults often performed around children who’d been through difficult things and that Theo, I had noticed, found more unsettling than straightforward treatment. He simply stood, large and still, and let Theo look at him.

“This is Liam,” I said. “He’s going to be around for a while. Working in the area.”

Theo looked at Liam with the thorough assessment he applied to new people. “You’re very big,” he said,

“I am,” Callahan agreed, without comment on whether this was good or bad.

“Are you a bodyguard?” Theo asked.

I kept my expression neutral. Marcus made a small sound behind me.

Callahan looked at Theo for a moment. “I’m someone whose job is to pay attention to things,” he said.

Chapter 149

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And to be nearby when paying attention matters.”

Theo considered this. “That’s not a no,” he said.

“No,” Callahan agreed. “It’s not.”

Theo seemed to find this answer acceptable. He looked at me. “Is he going to be at school?”

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