“You and your former fake accent can go eat shit. I took my collar off, so you have no business touching me.”

“That’s not precisely how it works, Callie, and you know it,” Thorpe murmured in her ear.

She turned her head to the man she’d once trusted and loved above all others. “You’re on his side now? I never imagined that you’d be gullible enough to fall for his lines, too.”

Behind her, Thorpe leaned around to look at Sean. “There won’t be any reasoning with her in the next ten minutes.”

Sean grunted. “Or in the next millennium, I imagine. This isn’t a smart place to talk.”

“Good point.”

“Stay with her. I’ll bring the car.”

She could all but feel Thorpe smile. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t go anywhere.”

Callie’s jaw dropped. When the hell had they gotten so chummy? And why did Thorpe trust the liar?

With her head still reeling, Sean jogged off. She struggled against Thorpe’s grip, holding out hope that another taxi would zoom by. But even if she was lucky enough for that, she didn’t think she could outrun him with her foot smarting.

“Why are you helping that rat?” She’d always believed that Thorpe would be on her side, and knowing otherwise felt as if someone had pried her heart from her chest with a crowbar. “He wants to see me in prison.”

“Sean wants to protect you, pet. Just like I do. Don’t look at me like that,” he demanded. “You didn’t ask any questions before you jumped to conclusions. You just ran away. And you were dead wrong.”

“He fooled you like he fooled me.”

“If he’d wanted to arrest you, he could have done it anytime over the last seven months,” Thorpe reasoned. “He could have brought in a small army of agents and let them haul you out. I wouldn’t have been able to stop them. If you think he’s in an all-fired hurry to lock you up and throw away the key, ask yourself why he hasn’t already done it.”

Callie tried. There was logic in what Thorpe was saying, but she’d been running for so long. Her flight response was so ingrained. Panic still pumped through her system. The thought niggled in the back of her head . . . What if Thorpe was wrong?

“Pet.” His low voice soothed. “Think about it.”

“Then why didn’t he tell me he was some sort of agent?”

“Because you would have run immediately if you’d discovered he was FBI. We all know that, especially Sean. You don’t trust well, Callie, and we understand the reasons. But things are going to change now. Neither of us will ever risk you. If we haven’t turned you in for two million dollars yet, we’re not likely to.”

Headlights bobbed up the worn alley before a silver Jeep she didn’t recognize stopped beside them. Sean stuck his head out the window. “Someone already called the police. They’re two blocks over. Get in.”

As Callie’s blood ran cold, Thorpe cursed and shoved her toward the vehicle. She dug in her heels.

“Callie!” Thorpe growled. “Get in the fucking car.”

She probably stood a better chance of eluding the local police than the FBI. She might be able to convince the Vegas PD that she was the victim of some random attack in this alley. It was possible they’d release her before they figured out who she was, and she’d be long gone before the truth hit them.

But that would leave Thorpe . . . where? In jail? And what about Sean? If he really wasn’t trying to turn her in for the cash or a pat on the back at work . . . The implications were staggering. Would the police think the guys had kidnapped her or something? What if they couldn’t get away? What if she couldn’t? A million thoughts raced through her head, and she couldn’t quite grasp any of them. On the one hand, she’d relied on herself for so long, she didn’t really know how to relinquish her control. On the other hand, as Thorpe had pointed out, they hadn’t given her up or let anyone haul her away, so why would they start now?

Crap, she wasn’t sure what to do.

“Trust me, Callie,” Sean stared at her through the driver’s side window. He held out one hand to her, his earnest expression willing her to believe him. “Whatever you think, I swear that I’m not here now because of my job. I would do anything to keep you safe.”

His words made her melt a little more than they should. Gawd, she wanted to believe him so badly. If she was wrong and she climbed into that SUV, it could mean the end of her freedom. She hadn’t managed to elude capture for this long because she made decisions with her heart.

A shout from Glitter Girls’ parking lot had her head zipping around and her gaze trying to penetrate the dark and distance. Thorpe, however, just lost his patience.

With a grunt, he picked her up, yanked open the door to the backseat, and tossed her in. She braced herself on the leather bench, scrambling to the far side of the SUV as Thorpe jumped in and slammed the door.

Callie didn’t like any of this—too sudden, no time to think. She didn’t run off with other people. She’d managed to escape the fateful night her family had been killed and she was still alive today because she’d stayed one step ahead of the cops and killers after her. She wasn’t about to drag Thorpe through the mud. And she was still on the fence about whether to believe Sean.

Lunging for the passenger door on the far side of the car, Callie grabbed the handle, preparing to tumble out into the chilly November evening again and dash the distance to . . . somewhere. Wherever Thorpe and Sean weren’t.

Sean merely locked the doors to the car, killed the headlights, then rocketed into the night. At the first corner, he flipped on the headlights again and merged into traffic, blending in with every other car chasing Lady Luck on the Vegas streets.

“Are you insane?” she shrieked at Thorpe. “Do you understand what will happen if the authorities find out that you’re knowingly aiding a fugitive’s escape? It was one thing when you could say I lied to you. Then you could have been the victim. Then you wouldn’t have gone to jail.” She glared at Sean in the driver’s seat. “And if you’re not going to arrest me, do you realize that you could lose your job? What the hell are you two doing?”

“You want to take this one?” Sean looked at his new “pal” in the rearview mirror. “I need to make sure we’re not being followed and try to decide where we can go from here.”

“With pleasure.”

“Good. I have a feeling our time is short. Did you already pack up everything in your room and put your belongings in the car?”

“I did.”

“That makes two of us. Carry on.”

Thorpe nodded at him, then turned to her with a Dom glower so menacing she found herself inching back until the car door ensured that she had nowhere else to go.

Callie gulped. “What? I-I took care of myself. I couldn’t very well expect the two of you to—”

“Be reasonably concerned human beings who wanted to keep you happy and safe? Talk to the two men who will always put your welfare above everything else?”

Damn it, he was determined to make her feel somewhere between stupid and irresponsible. “Sean was a liar. How was I supposed to know he wouldn’t turn me in?”

“I’m sorry for the subterfuge, lovely. But I had to create a cover to get into the club and keep everyone from getting suspicious, especially you.”

And didn’t she feel like an idiot for falling for it—and him? “Great job, Mr. Kirkpatrick. You had me fooled.”

“Mackenzie,” he corrected. “Sean Mackenzie is my real name. Here.” He passed her a little leather case. She flipped it over as he turned on the interior light.

Callie clutched the document in her hand and read it with a sense of something between OMG and holy shit. It was true. Sean Mackenzie truly was a Special Agent for the FBI. She passed his credentials back with numb fingers. He grabbed it and killed the interior light.

Then darkness settled around her, leaving her to battle her thoughts again. Holy shit finally beat out OMG as her final reaction. And anger that she’d been duped. Apparently he’d done it without much difficulty and probably even less regret.

“I guess that’s why you were able to give Axel a black eye.” What else was there to say?

“I taught hand-to-hand combat for the bureau for two years.”

Which meant that he was damn good at it. And here she’d thought he didn’t have a violent bone in his body. Callie snorted. That proved she had almost no clue about him. In fact, there were probably a thousand other facts about Sean Kirkpatrick—or Mackenzie, rather—that she didn’t know. “Who are you? Obviously, I don’t know.”

“You do.” His voice was so soft, compelling her to believe him. “Everything except my name and occupation was the real me. I never lied about how I felt.”

She wanted to believe him. But the truth was, she’d fallen for a charming smile, a fake brogue, and a whole lot of smooth lines. If his tenderness and caring had seemed like more, well . . . wasn’t that the point of winning her trust and breaking her barriers down? “Whatever.”

“It’s a lot more than ‘whatever,’ Callie. I swear to you.”

“Even if finding out that Sean wasn’t who he claimed, that doesn’t excuse you for running off without talking to me, pet,” Thorpe jumped in. “What’s your justification there?”

“I didn’t think you knew who I was, so I tried to keep you from this mess. Was I supposed to guess that you cared about me?”

She hadn’t thought it possible, but his face became even more forbidding. “Don’t you ever say that to me again. I sheltered you for four years, Callie. I tried to teach you, help you, comfort you. What part of that indicated to you that I didn’t give a shit?”

“I knew you cared as a friend, but I didn’t think you—” She tried to untangle her thoughts as he leaned across the seat toward her. “The night you . . . that it seemed like we were going to . . . you know.” She still hated thinking about that humiliating event. “Then you just walked away and never explained, never touched me again, so—”

“Because I didn’t fuck you, you imagined that I didn’t care anymore?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” She shrugged. “I might have believed that a lover would go out on a limb for me, but not merely a boss or a friend.”

“There are so many things wrong with that statement.” Thorpe cursed, shaking his head.

“Being your lover clearly didn’t give me any extra perks in the trust department,” Sean piped up from the front seat. “In fact, I think you gave me even less than Thorpe.”

“Well, yeah,” Callie defended hotly. “Everything between us was pretense and bullshit. Don’t try to convince me that I’ve wronged you.”

“He’s not telling his superiors that you’ve run or that his cover is blown because he’s trying to minimize the chances that the FBI will suddenly want you brought in.”

Maybe that was true. Even if it was, she wasn’t ready to be less angry. No, hurt. Damn it. “So I’m supposed to thank you for your kind lies? Was it difficult to get hard on command? Was fucking me a chore?”

Sean slapped his palm against the steering wheel. “That’s it. I’ve had enough. Thorpe . . .”

“On it,” he assured the other man. “We’re done with your lack of trust.”

“And your bratty mouth,” Sean added. “Don’t forget that.”

“Absolutely,” Thorpe agreed. “You will apologize this instant to both of us.”

“Like hell! You two don’t like the way I communicate. Guess what? Your style sucks, too. You lie.” She pointed at Sean, then turned her stare on Thorpe. “And you clam up.”

Thorpe grabbed her by the arm. “You’ve refused to rely on the men determined to help you.”

“I didn’t ask for help,” she pointed out.

“You’ve refused to apologize, and you’ve insulted us.”

“You insulted me, too. Because I’m going to defend myself, I’m bratty?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not the only one slinging words around here.”

“I might have lied, lovely, but I didn’t drug you,” Sean reminded darkly.

“Neither of us stripped for a room full of scum. And it was your third shift in two days?” Thorpe raised an intimidating brow at her.

A gong of foreboding resounded in her gut. Shit, they’d done their legwork. Sometimes, she lost her temper and forgot important details . . . like being at the mercy of two pissed off Doms. Of course, Thorpe probably wouldn’t punish her. In fact, he’d probably never touch her again. But he’d sure give Sean lots of craptastic ideas about how to do it effectively.

“I wasn’t enjoying myself. I was making money.”

“To skip town, right?” Thorpe’s question was sharp as a blade.