“I understand logically. How many dirtbags have hunted her in the past, right? Her wariness has probably saved her more than once.” A pained frown consumed the other man’s face, full of deep lines and silent restraint. Callie’s belief that Sean was capable of hurting her was clearly shredding his guts. “But I wouldn’t tell Callie that I loved her if I’d just planned on ending her.”

Mackenzie’s tone asked why the girl couldn’t see that. The man might have spewed a lot of crap in the past, but unfortunately Thorpe had no doubt his feelings were genuine.

“Or turning her in for the money?”

“Never.”

“When did she become more than a case to you?” Thorpe wasn’t interested in having a touchy-feely conversation, but it would both fill the long drive and tell him how much he could trust the guy.

Sean shrugged. “I think before I even met her. Callie was never a name in a file for me. From the moment this case came my way, I wanted to understand what made her tick. I kept thinking how damn hard it would be to lose your mother as a little girl, then so violently lose everyone else you loved before really growing up.”

“And then have to run for your life and be forced to leave everyone you came to care about again and again.”

“Yeah.” Sean stewed for a minute. “Her circumstances hit me hard. I didn’t know my parents too well, but my grandparents raised me. When they died . . .” He let out a long breath. “That was damn hard. They taught me how to love and the value of family. Anyway, I felt for Callie. But the moment I met her . . . fuck, I knew I was toast.”

Thorpe gripped the steering wheel tighter, stunned by Sean’s simple honesty. He understood closeness and love. Thorpe had been avoiding those for so many years, he’d forgotten what it was like to truly let anyone inside his heart—until Callie had bulldozed his protective walls and dug her way in without even knowing it. She’d quickly taken root, a weed he couldn’t bring himself to pull. If he managed to find her, could he open enough to be the man, the lover, she needed?

According to most people in his past, he didn’t have a prayer in hell.

“Right away, I could see that she’d been alone for too long. She isn’t meant to be,” Sean pointed out, his tone almost a challenge, as if he was willing to fight until Thorpe agreed.

But there was nothing to argue about. “You’re right.”

Sean relaxed. “Callie yearns for more.”

“She does. She’s afraid to connect with anyone, but her heart is too big not to share. Despite that bratty attitude she flashes, she’s most content when she’s making others happy.”

If they could help Callie understand that they both simply wanted her safe, maybe she would come home. But that wouldn’t make her whole. The girl needed the firm hand of a tender master to guide her through life and love. She was probably better off without him, but Thorpe knew that if he didn’t get over his shit and try to assume that role, Sean certainly would. If the man succeeded, Callie could be lost to him forever.

The sun beat down through the back window. The remnants of the coffee tasted like cold sawdust. His stomach coiled into tight knots. Since he doubted he could be what she needed but he didn’t want to live without her, where did that leave him? Fucked.

“I see her desire to please others,” Sean agreed. “But to survive, the clever little kitten has developed some sharp claws.” The fond smile on Sean’s face made Thorpe both appreciate the man more and want to rip his entrails out with jealousy. “Callie will fight when she thinks it’s necessary.”

“Every time. But in the last four years, I’ve watched her blossom. When she first came to me, she didn’t smile, wouldn’t talk, lied about everything. The fucking sadness on her face . . . I knew she was in some sort of trouble. It was damn hard, but I didn’t push or pry.”

“When did you figure out who Callie really was?”

Thorpe sent him a skeptical glare. “And admit to knowingly harboring a fugitive so you have a reason to arrest me? Not happening.”

Sean tossed his hands in the air. “If I’d wanted to arrest you for that, I could have done it back in Dallas. And if I trumped up a charge and threw you in jail, Callie would never forgive me. As much as I hate to say it, I need your help to find her.”

Pretty speech, but that didn’t mean Thorpe trusted the fed. “What happens when we do?”

“You mean who gets the girl? That’s up to Callie.” Sean sighed. “She loves us both.”

Another truth. The even uglier truth was that he’d never fought for her. For years, Thorpe had denied how much he cared, pretended that he knew nothing about her feelings. Why would the girl ever choose a divorced man fifteen years her senior who’d only ever rebuffed her over the hot, young agent who couldn’t wait to tell her that he loved her?

“Wouldn’t your superiors frown on you for getting involved with a ‘person of interest’?” Thorpe asked. It was a weak argument, but the best he had.

The truth was, if Callie loved and trusted a man, she would always stand beside him. Funny how clearly Thorpe could see that if he’d acknowledged the feelings they shared and proven that she could trust him with her identity, Callie would still be at Dominion. She would never have run off before talking through the issues or intentionally leave him broken.

He might be too jaded to give Callie the devotion she deserved, but that didn’t make Mackenzie good for her, either. He was just another brand of wrong, as far as Thorpe could tell.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, but I won’t let anything happen to her,” the fed vowed, sending him a challenging stare. “I’ve answered your question. You answer mine.”

“All right. I figured out who she was a couple of years back. Ultimately, it’s her eyes.”

Sean nodded. “They’re so blue, you can’t miss them. It’s one reason she’s worn colored contacts more often than not for years. So why did you let her stay once you realized who she was?”

“You think I should have tossed her out when she needed someone to protect her? Fuck, no.”

“In your shoes, I would have made the same choice. It’s good that she’s got someone else in her corner,” he admitted. “How long have you been in love with her?”

Thorpe tried hard not to grit his teeth. “Can we skip this chat?”

“You started it,” Sean reminded.

“And you turned it around to interrogate me quickly enough.”

Sean sat back with a grin. “Occupational hazard.”

Thorpe grunted, but he felt a ghost of a smile bend his lips. He didn’t like Mackenzie, exactly, but now that the guy wasn’t pretending to be someone else, he didn’t hate the fed quite so much. “What does Callie’s file say about her that I don’t know?”

“Classified.”

“We’re back to this game? All right, when you want to ask me something about the woman today, you’ll be barking up the wrong tree.”

Sean sighed. “This mission would have been so much easier without you.”

“Callie would still be at Dominion if it wasn’t for you.”

Exasperation crossed his face. “Look, I’m not authorized to tell you anything outright . . . but I can’t stop you from guessing. As soon as you tell me how long you’ve been in love with her.”

Thorpe sent Mackenzie a speculative glance. He’d guessed that Sean wasn’t above bending the rules, but found having that confirmed helpful. And even if he was no good for Callie, Thorpe ached to fill in some of the gaps in his knowledge about the girl. “Easily over three years.” Not that it’s ever going to matter. “Happy?”

“That’s a long time to have a stiff dick, old man.”

That jibe hit a bit too close to home. “Fuck off.”

“Hey, it’s good for me. Your loss is my gain.”

“It’s not over yet,” Thorpe threatened, sadly aware that it most likely was.

Sean shrugged. “Only Callie can settle this argument. In the meantime, you want to know something in her file or not.”

Prick. “Yeah. I’ve often wondered how Callie supported herself in other cities before she came to me. Your file say anything about that?”

“Yes. She’s fallen back on the same occupation several times in several cities. Always with different names, of course. Any guesses?”

“Besides waitressing?”

“She’s done that more than once, so I’ll give you a point for that answer. But I’m thinking of something else.”

“You’re enjoying holding this over my head,” Thorpe accused.

“Yep.” With a grin, Sean shrugged. “Sue me.”

Rolling his eyes, Thorpe focused on the empty road and the sign that told him it was forty miles to the nearest town. “Callie’s great at a lot of things. She speaks fluent French, but there’s not a big calling for that here.”

“Nope.”

“She’s an organizational dynamo, and I’m sure she could do that professionally, but opening her own business would put down too many roots for her, so I’ll bet that’s not it, either.”

“I’ve searched Callie’s room more than once,” Sean admitted. “She’s extremely organized.”

“She made my sty of an office the neatest it’s ever been. She has a good head for math, too.”

“According to her grades, she was good in most of her classes.”

Thorpe smiled. “Except science, I’ll bet. I enjoy some of the shows on the Science Channel, and she occasionally curls up with me during off-hours to watch. She seems lost half the time.”

That made Mackenzie laugh. “I can picture that. Ever seen the program narrated by Morgan Freeman? I like that one.”

“Through the Wormhole? Me, too.” Thorpe turned a stare on him, shocked that they agreed on anything. In fact, they were almost getting along.

Sean cleared his throat. “Keep guessing. Another way Callie made ends meet?”

Yeah, moving on . . . Thorpe was uncomfortable with the concept of the two of them being chummy. “She’s a disaster in the kitchen. Cereal might be too tough for her, so I’m guessing she didn’t cook as a kid. And how would she have learned? I’m sure her father employed a full staff, nannies—chefs, gardeners, a personal valet—the works.”

“According to her files, yes,” Sean confirmed.

Which made one of his most precious memories of Callie all the sweeter. Thorpe smiled. “She knows how much I like Italian cream cake and tried to make it, along with a lovely dinner for my last birthday. The meal was horrific, and we both laughed. But the cake was actually pretty good.”

His words seemed to hit Sean between the eyes like a bullet. The fact that she’d tried so hard to please Thorpe clearly left him feeling out in the cold. Oddly, Thorpe understood. Every time he’d see her dress up for Sean or kneel for the fucker, it felt like a two-by-four to his gut.

“Since she never made any money cooking, I suspect Callie could earn her living either singing or dancing. She’s exceptional at both.”

“Wow, you do know her.” Sean looked somewhere between awed and annoyed. “Singing. That’s how she paid her bills more than once. In fact, during her brief stint in Nashville, an executive for a major label saw her at a bar and offered her a record deal. She made an appointment to visit his office the next day.”

“And never showed?” Thorpe guessed.

“Exactly. She skipped town overnight. I didn’t know she could dance. Her files indicate that she had dance classes, but so did my cousins. That didn’t help them.” Sean snorted.

Thorpe laughed and found himself relaxing a bit. “The last time I saw her dance was just before you came. I hosted a charity auction for wounded soldiers and their families back in March. Slave-for-a-day kind of thing. She danced onstage and worked up enthusiasm for the crowd.”

“Callie has great legs, so I’m not surprised it worked.”

“Who bought her?”

“I did.” Thorpe had been unable to watch anyone else touch her, so he’d given her the night off if she promised to spend it alone in her room. He’d spent it with someone else . . . thinking of her.

Sean’s smile faded. “I don’t like the thought that I may never see her dance.”

“I don’t like thinking that I’ll never hear about Callie’s childhood from her. The few times I tried to probe about her past—before I knew who she was, of course—she was either closemouthed or sarcastic.”

Sean shot him a speculative look. “I’m surprised you didn’t beat her ass for it.”

“I was tempted.”

The fed grunted. “So, Callie was twenty-one when she came to Dominion? What was she like?”

“She had a chip on her shoulder that warned everyone away for months. The girl only spoke to me because she had to. I’ll never forget . . . I found her crying on the back patio after she’d been there a few weeks. Callie judiciously avoided anything remotely personal with everyone. But those tears . . .” Thorpe shook his head. “I watched her for a few minutes, then I couldn’t stand it. I tried to help.”