“Don’t. Finish. That. Sentence. She’s had no one to truly rely on for too long. I’m going to change that.”
“If you’re caught, you’ll go to prison with her.”
Shock pinged through him. Axel had figured out Callie’s identity.
Thorpe narrowed his eyes and gave the big guy his most menacing snarl. “What are you implying?”
“Hey . . . whoa. Nothing, man. Reading Kirkpatrick’s documents tonight made it obvious who Callie really is. Blew the f**k out of my mind. But I figured you knew, too.” At Thorpe’s sharp nod, Axel went on. “Her behavior all this time makes sense now. How long have you known?”
“Almost two years.” Since that fateful December night when he’d finally put his hands and his eyes on the bullet wound that had carved a little nick out of her left hip—and confirmed all his worst fears. “You’d better not be counting that big bounty on her head.”
Axel looked almost hurt. “The idea of Callie shooting anyone, much less her own family, especially for money, is preposterous. I’d never stab either of you in the back for a buck.”
“I hope you’re not f**king with me. I’d hate to have to end you and dispose of your corpse at the bottom of a lake in the middle of nowhere.”
Axel snorted. “I won’t give you a reason to plot my murder. Is that what you have in mind for his fate?”
Thorpe followed the other man’s stare down to Sean, still all but passed out. “I’m considering my options, but I’m not ruling anything out.”
“If you don’t do something with him, he’s going to blab.”
“True. And I’ve got to remove him from Callie’s path for good. She needs to know that she’s safe, no matter where we go.”
“You’re in love with her?”
He figured that Axel was about the only one who hadn’t guessed before now. “I’m surprised Lance didn’t let you in on that. He’s apparently amused. And Xander just feels sorry for me.”
Being in Callie’s room when it felt so utterly devoid of the woman herself was killing him. Her touch was here and her scent lingered. Thorpe paced, but pain seeped into his chest. Every moment felt like torture, and it was f**king hard just to breathe. How would he close his eyes and sleep without knowing where she’d gone? How would he be able to face tomorrow without any idea if she was safe?
“There’s nothing funny about love when it goes to shit.” Axel sighed heavily.
Thorpe knew the guy had a story, but he had to focus on Callie now. “Will you help me or not?”
“Absolutely. You’ve squeezed me out of more binds than I can count. If you need me, I’m solid. Just give me a few days to get all the paperwork in order. Focus on finding her.”
“Yeah. Question is, where do we start?”
“Well, it’s not like we can file a missing person’s report . . .”
“No. And someone else was the last to see her before she bolted,” Thorpe pointed out.
They both looked down at Sean.
“I’ll make coffee. Good luck waking Sleeping Beauty,” Axel drawled.
With a nod, Thorpe sat on the edge of the bed. “While you’re at it, check in with your guys again . . . just in case they have anything new.”
“On it.” Axel sauntered to the door, then paused. “I won’t give up, either. We’ll do everything we can.”
It wouldn’t be easy. Callie had vanished into thin air many times over the years. She’d learned how to evade law enforcement, how to disguise herself well, how to connect herself with people who weren’t all that friendly with the authorities.
But she didn’t know how to escape a man willing to fight dirty and give anything to have her back. She’d soon learn that he’d never give up.
With a sour curl to his lips, he gave Sean a hearty shove. The man grunted, smacked his tongue in his mouth, then rolled away and resumed snoring.
Thorpe eyed him with annoyance. This shit had been going on entirely too long. He should have listened to his gut as soon as Kirkpatrick walked in the club and threw the bastard out.
Sighing, he dragged Sean to the edge of the bed and slung the man over his shoulder, fireman style. The f**ker groaned and jerked, half awake and flailing.