“Thanks,” Sean said into the phone. “We’ll call you again from the road with disposable numbers. Neither of us are taking our phones.”

“Check.”

Thorpe ended the call, barely resisting the urge to throw his cell across the room and smash it into pieces. Instead, he locked the device into one of his desk drawers so only Axel could access it, then looked at his rival for Callie’s affection and his new partner in her retrieval. “I want to get to Callie as quickly as we can. I won’t rest again until I see her.”

“I feel the same. Let’s go.”

* * *

DAWN had inched up over the horizon a few hours ago, and they were in the armpit of Texas, somewhere between Dallas and Amarillo. Mile after mile of boring highway rolled by with nothing but small Texas towns to see, and the drive seemed interminable. He and Sean had passed the hours with a fast-food breakfast sandwich, several cups of coffee, and absolute silence. Yesterday’s clothes felt gritty and stiff. But none of that mattered now. Thorpe could only pray that no one had recognized Callie and that she remained out of harm’s way.

Beside him, Sean’s eyes drooped like he still had a tinge of an Ambien hangover. But he continued to stare at the road as if it would somehow bring Callie back to him.

“If you want to sleep, go ahead. I got it,” Thorpe said, breaking the tense hush.

Sean shook his dark head. “I’ve been on stakeouts in the past and had to go two or three days without much sleep, so I’ve been more tired.”

He should probably just shut up, but they’d lost all radio reception some time ago, unless one counted the classic country twang station, which he didn’t. To say the drive was stressful and boring was as obvious as calling the sky blue.

“Your sleep deprivation isn’t going to help us find her any faster,” Thorpe pointed out.

“Right now, I’m not sure I could nod off for any reason. We’ve got hours, maybe days, before we catch up to Callie. If I closed my eyes now, I’d just dwell on how disturbed I am that she believes I’m out to kill her.”

“What else did you expect her to think after she realized you lied?”

“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?”