“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 f**king 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.”