Theirs to Cherish

Chapter Fifteen

LATE that afternoon, Sean wandered into the galley in search of Callie. His world righted on its axis when he spotted her near the sink, gulping down water. A smile slid across his face that was probably sappier than hell, but he didn’t even know the right words to describe how beautiful she was to him with the tangled gloss of her hair spilling down her back and her lithe form silhouetted under his once-pristine dress shirt.

He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “I can’t get enough of you, lovely.”

But he was certainly trying. After their first go-round in the bed, he and Thorpe had rested with her between them. They’d all drifted off, and Sean had awakened to a nose full of Callie and a cock harder than stone. She’d welcomed him with open arms, her kisses so clinging and poignant. It hadn’t taken Thorpe very long to join in, availing himself of her mouth while Sean drowned in her pussy and took for himself an orgasm like the one he’d allowed Thorpe to give her. He’d given her several more for the sheer pleasure of it.

Every touch she’d bestowed on him felt infused with her love. He’d never wanted that devotion from another woman. But like everything else with Callie, she was simply different. She filled some void in him he hadn’t known was missing.

She set down the bottle of water, then turned in his arms with a little smile. “Well, you bought a year’s worth of condoms and you did warn me . . . Not that you’ll hear me complain.”

“I hope not.” He gripped her hip and settled a kiss on her swollen lips. “Are you all right?”

She sent him a saucy grin with blue eyes dancing mischievously. “The sex isn’t exactly scarring me for life, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Good to know, but no. Let’s start at the beginning. Why did you run from Dominion without talking to me? Or to Thorpe? I hate that you felt that you couldn’t trust me.”

“You lied, Sean.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she cut him off. “I know what you’re going to say. It was your job. You weren’t untruthful about your feelings. I get all that. Just understand that I thought you might be an assassin or something. And if that was the case, I certainly wasn’t going to give you the opportunity to shoot me while I was busy asking why you knew my true identity and had a gun. And I refused to put Thorpe at risk by running to him for help.”

Arguing with that logic would get him nowhere. She’d kept herself alive by being cautious. And walking away from everyone who’d ever mattered. He was going to have to break that last habit. Maybe when he’d begun having feelings for her, he should have come clean. Or maybe she would have just run sooner. It was all moot now. They were finally getting everything out on the table. He wanted to clear it so they could stop the danger to her and have a future.

“I know. But I can’t have you running off again. I don’t think my heart can take it, lovely.”

She cupped his cheek and frowned. “Sean, think about what you’re saying. Hell, what you’re doing. By your own admission, you’ve been married to your job for the last decade. I can’t let you give that up for me. It’s your career. Your future.”

“No, you are. Make no mistake. I won’t give you up. If you don’t love me and want to leave, I can’t stop you. But I refuse to walk away from you because my boss might be pissed off. I won’t abandon you when you’ve got danger breathing down your neck. Someone wants you dead.”

“Yeah, and I don’t know who or how to stop it. The best thing I can do for you is give you all the time and love possible, then quietly leave. If you’ll say I gave you the slip and let me have a head start—”

“Do you not love me?” he cut in.

“I do, Sean. More than I can even tell you.” She gripped his face in her hands, her eyes tearing up. “But the day my family was murdered and I ran, I gave up my future. I didn’t really understand at the time, but I can’t argue with the facts.”

She pressed the softest, saddest kiss on his lips—meaning it as the beginning of her good-bye.

Sean refused to let that stand.

He jerked back. “I’m not going to stop fighting for you.”

Tears swam in her eyes. “I think you should. You’ve already given me an incredible gift with your love. I don’t get involved with people. It may not seem like much, but it’s very scary for me to tell you that I love you. I’m saying it because it’s true and important to me that you know. I don’t even have the words to tell you how touched I am that you’ve risked so much to help me. Or that you let Thorpe share this time with us. Why? You hated him back in Dallas.”

The last few days had been a blur, and he’d been so tired sometimes and stressed that he didn’t always know his name. But he was totally clear on this answer. “Because you love him. His experience and control lets you feel safe. You’ve known him for so long that trust is easy.” He shrugged. “Besides, having someone help me watch your back has been beneficial. And having another pair of hands to spank your ass when you get out of line has come in handy, too.”

Sean tried to pass the last line off as a joke, but Callie wasn’t smiling. “I’ve loved him for a long time. Please don’t think that means I love you any less. And I want you to know that no matter what happens with Thorpe or the future, it won’t change how I feel about you.”

Sean smoothed back her hair and met her with a smile. “Thank you, lovely. I needed to hear that. I wish it sounded less like you intend to leave me. You have such a big heart to give. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“You made it impossible not to fall in love with you. I’ve never felt this way, as if you came into my life . . . and supported me so perfectly. Suddenly, the ground under me felt solid. I wasn’t lonely or lost anymore. I was afraid to trust you. I’ve wanted to give you everything I could in return, but I didn’t know how to get past my fear. And now, I don’t ever want to let go.”

“Then don’t. Share your mind and heart with me. Give me your trust and honesty. You’ve been alive, but you haven’t really lived, Callie. I want to help you do that and be with you every step of the way.”

Callie hesitated for a long moment, looking up at him like he was her everything. “If you’re really not going to save yourself and let me go—”

“I’ve made myself clear.” He shook his head.

“Then I’m yours.” Callie threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his neck. “I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”

Sean’s heart swelled. He could have never guessed that this case would change not just his workaholic ways, but show him all he’d been missing. Callie had awakened him to love.

“Be prepared to grow old with me,” he murmured in her ear. “I swear I’ll keep you safe so we can have that future together.”

“I’d love that more than anything. And I’ll try every day to make you happy.”

Sean caressed her silky hair and her velvet cheek. “As will I. But I don’t want you to be crushed if Thorpe doesn’t stay with us. He loves you, too, but he’s quite resistant to the ‘picket fence.’”

“I know.” Callie tried to shrug as if it didn’t matter, but Sean knew better. “I never expected him to want me, much less stay. I mean, he probably opened a BDSM club because it was a great way to meet like-minded women and play with a different one every night.”

“I don’t know why he opened Dominion. He definitely wants you, but he’s kept his distance because he’s just a man with his own insecurities. And you have the power to hurt him.”

“Me? He’s ignored me for the last two years. When he first cut me off, I missed him so much, it was like physical pain. Then I wondered if subconsciously I wanted his love so badly because my relationship with my father had been so fucked up and now he was dead or something else stupid and Freudian like that. But then it didn’t take long to realize the feelings were totally different. That I just . . . wanted Thorpe. You’re right that he’s always made me feel safe.” Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she swiped them away. “Sorry. Crying to you about Thorpe seems insensitive. Trust me, I’m more thrilled to have your love than I can ever express.”

Sean kissed her forehead. He could feel her pain and uncertainty just standing close to her. Exhaustion played a role, sure. But there was more. “I don’t want your gratitude. I’ll love you, regardless. I want you to know that, if Thorpe doesn’t stay, I’m going to use this time to learn what he gives you and try to provide it. We’ll manage, all right?”

Even more tears fell. “You’re the best man I’ve ever met. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”

Sean kissed her reverently. She pressed her lips to his in a gesture that worshipped and communed. She clung to him. In that moment, he had no doubt whatsoever that he had her heart and that he’d made the right choices, difficult though they’d been.

“That question intimates that you think you deserved the last nine years. You didn’t. You’ve had a bad lot, but you’ve still kept a kind heart. Watching you smile, working to earn your trembling trust, always trying to guess what unpredictable mess you’ll get up to next . . . it made me appreciate you. Besides, you’re damn sexy.”

“Ditto in double for you.” She winked his way, then leaned in, resting her head on his chest.

Sean wrapped his arms around her and just felt her heart beat against his for a long, silent second. He didn’t expect their near future to be full of peace, but he drank in this moment when most was right with his world.

“You know, I should be more put out with you.” She sighed. “A houseboat? Really?”

He chuckled. “I had to be sure you weren’t going to get away from me, and I can’t watch you twenty-four seven. Since you don’t swim, bringing you out on the lake was the next best thing. In the middle of the week with winter closing in, I think we may be the only boaters out here.”

“Sneaky.” She said it almost like a compliment. “But I guessed that after the computer in the pizza box.”

“I liked that myself.” He grinned. “But if you want to talk about sneaky . . . what was in my wine?”

“Ambien.”

Callie was the only woman he knew who could wince and flash a smile at the same time and somehow make it look adorable.

“Minx.” He shook his head. “Don’t do it again or I’ll have to paddle your ass but good.”

The mischief on her face was like a flirtation all its own. By all rights, he should at least need a good shower and a decent meal before he wanted to fuck her again. But no. He was already contemplating whether the kitchen counters were the right height to spread her legs and plow between them.

“If that’s supposed to be a deterrent, it’s not working,” she whispered.

Sean laughed out loud. This was something else he loved about Callie—her playful side. He’d been so damn serious for so damn long. Not much to joke about fighting crime on a federal level, but somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten to stop and smell the roses. Callie’s life had been far more dangerous and stressful than his own, but she still found ways to smile. He admired her grit and intelligence. If his grandparents were still with him, they would have loved her.

“You know we’re going to have to talk about everything, don’t you? The night your family was killed, anything you can remember that might be relevant? Who came after you as you moved around—anything that might help us pinpoint who wants you dead.”

“Yes,” Thorpe said, entering the kitchen wearing only a pair of trousers and looking freshly showered. “As much as I’ve enjoyed being distracted by your beautiful body and the incredible sex, now we have to tiptoe through your past.”

THORPE sidled closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Then he tipped her chin up to him so he could look into her eyes. “I always hoped I’d get to ask you questions so I could truly understand you, pet. But not in circumstances like this.”

Callie ached to ask why he’d never told her that he knew her true identity. But she couldn’t, not anymore than she could be greedy and demand more from him if he wasn’t prepared to give it. Besides, it was more important to focus on whoever was chasing her. She might not be able to stop them, but finding out who it was would definitely help her evade trouble in the future. Thorpe wasn’t going to suddenly and magically fall in forever love with her. Contrary to what Sean thought, Thorpe wanted her; he worried about her. He cared. And that was it.

“I’ve thought about that night over and over. Everything seemed normal until I heard the gunshots downstairs. I thought my dad was in bed, so I was just about to sneak out the window and meet Holden.”

Thorpe actually growled. “I’m going to find out where that prick is now and repay him for what he did to you.”

He was such a protector, and it was one of the things that drew her. He’d always been ready to tear the head off anyone who hurt her. When he was around, it was so easy to trust that he had everything absolutely under control. Sean reminded her that there was tenderness in the world. He’d made her believe that she mattered to someone. He was her pillar of strength. And her tomorrow.

“Actually, I think justice is being served.” Sean grinned.

She sent back a wobbly smile. “I agree.”

“You know?” His blue eyes glinted with surprise.

“I’ve tried to look him up every now and then, when I could make my way to a public computer at a library so that nothing could be traced back to me. I really do think he got his just rewards.” She faced Thorpe. “His parents moved to Kentucky about six months after he bailed on me. Within a few months, he’d gotten some girl pregnant. She had no money and a really mean father. They got married not too long after that, and I’m pretty sure it was at the business end of her daddy’s rifle. After three kids and seven years, she left him and took everything they had. He was too stupid to hold down a job, so he robbed a convenience store with a handgun. He’s all locked up. He was always pretty, so I’m betting he’s really popular in prison.”

Thorpe seemed to turn that story over in his mind. “I wish I could have gutted him myself, but we have bigger fish to fry now. Let’s go back to the night your father and sister were killed. Is there any way Holden could have been involved?”

Callie shook her head before Thorpe had even finished the sentence. “He’s far too dumb to be that stealthy. He wasn’t violent, just greedy. I know now that he was more interested in my family’s money than in me. He always wanted whatever he didn’t have to work for. If he had broken into our house with a gun, he wouldn’t have shot my family, taken a swipe at me, then fled. He would have stayed to rip off whatever he could. He got caught at the robbery because the cashier, who looked like a female sumo wrestler, decided that she wasn’t going to take his shit and tackled him. She pinned him down and called the cops. Besides, that night . . . witnesses placed him a few streets over, and there’s no way he could have done all the shooting, then beat me back to his car without being winded or having blood splatters.”

“What about his friends? Would any of them have helped?” Sean asked.

She shook her head. “He didn’t have any guy friends anymore. He’d slept with all of their girlfriends or sisters at some point. He was universally regarded as a douche.”

“And you liked him why?” Thorpe looked like he was grinding his teeth.

“He was cute and had really pretty eyes. When you’re sixteen, that’s important.” She shrugged.

“Did he sleep with your sister?” Sean asked.

Callie let her eyes slide shut. “I don’t know.” She drew in a deep breath and forced herself to face them again. “Right after school started that year, I came home from cheerleading practice early one day and found Holden there with Charlotte, supposedly waiting for me. She looked flushed, and he seemed winded. They told me they’d just come in from outside. The temperature was still hot. I wanted to believe them. Knowing what I know now about Holden, I’m sure he tried to seduce her.”

The guys exchanged a glance, and a gong of foreboding rang in her stomach.

“What? Spit it out. What do you know?”

Sean sighed. “According to Charlotte’s autopsy record, she was nine weeks pregnant when she died.”

A wave of incredulity overcame Callie. Tears stung her eyes. She had a hard time breathing. In some ways, she was too shocked to be anything but numb. But as if she couldn’t stop the march of time and emotions, a blade of betrayal stabbed her right in the heart.

“Then it had to be Holden. I knew she had a crush on him. I won’t ask what he was thinking; I know. He must have laughed at taking the virginity of two sisters. But what the hell was Charlotte thinking?”

Thorpe shrugged. “That she would be important to him, perhaps. Come here, pet.”

When he tried to pull her into his arms, Callie resisted and twisted away. “Don’t. Not now.”

“We’re not Holden.” Thorpe’s gray eyes looked like thunderclouds under the scowl of his dark brows.

“She just needs time,” Sean argued. “It’s a lot for her to take in.”

Callie shot him a grateful look as she wrapped her arms around her waist and tried to absorb the fact that she’d been deceived by the sister she’d loved. But Charlotte had always been a difficult child, always lashing out as if punishing the world for taking her mother. She’d always required more love than any one person could give.

“In retrospect, I should have realized that she’d be vulnerable to someone with a smooth tongue like Holden. But I didn’t want to imagine that either of them would do that to me.” She sighed raggedly, trying to cycle past the blow that probably shouldn’t have been a blow at all. But the revelation, even all these years later, was still like a bomb going off inside her. “I think I knew about two hours after we ran away from my house that I’d made a huge mistake with him, but I was in shock and terrified.”

“Of course,” Sean soothed, but he didn’t try to touch her. He only made himself available in case she wanted the support. Bless him.

But she wasn’t ready.

“Is there any chance that Holden and your father argued about Charlotte’s pregnancy?” Thorpe asked. “That Holden shot him, then maybe he and your sister wrestled over the gun?”

“No. There were no voices in the house, just gunshots. My father was a quiet man, and he might not have raised his voice with Holden if he’d known about Charlotte’s pregnancy, but Holden would have yelled. He was rebellious and wanted to be heard. And heaven knows that Charlotte would have put in more than her two cents. Neither one of them could shut up. Besides, he wouldn’t have been smart enough to wipe the gun clean and plant it in my room to frame me.”

“The crime scene reports make the whole event sound methodical. Professional,” Sean said in agreement. “Whoever did this knew exactly what they were about.”

“They came to kill. There were no struggles or scenes. As far as I know, they didn’t try to extort money from my dad or rob the place. He had millions worth of art in the house and an underground safe with a lot of cash in his office.”

“Whoever killed him blasted their way into the safe,” Sean confirmed. “But the cash was still there, as well as the art.”

“Whoever did this wanted something specific.” Thorpe crossed his arms over his chest, visibly restraining the urge to hit something since he couldn’t find the someone who deserved it.

“I can’t imagine what.” Callie shrugged.

“And no one else had an ax to grind with your father?”

She’d really tried to figure it out, and of course she didn’t know everything about her father, but . . . “The only possibility I can think of is a woman. After my mother’s death, Dad didn’t date or really get involved. He kept a mistress in a loft by his office downtown. About twice a week, he’d disappear for a few hours. He’d get cranky when he moved one out and had to find another. That happened about every six months, as soon as one got comfortable enough to want more out of the relationship than baubles and sex. I overheard him once on the phone. He told whoever she was that she wasn’t his first mistress and wouldn’t be the last. The woman moved out the next day. But that was at least three or four months before his murder. He had a new mistress by then, I’m sure.”

“This wasn’t a crime of passion,” Sean pointed out. “It was a surgical strike.”

“Any greedy family members you’re aware of?” Thorpe asked.

“Dad was an only child. Mom was an orphan. So no. I’m not supposed to know that I have an illegitimate older half brother. He’s definitely bitter, but last I heard, he had two kids and sold cars for a living. Why would he wait into his twenties, then decide to come after his father? If he’s pissed about missing out on the money, why resort to murder rather than blackmail? He wasn’t mentioned in my dad’s will.”

Pacing, Thorpe speared Sean with a glance. “And the bureau has no other suspects?”

“We’ve combed phone records and financial transactions. Nothing suspicious. Your father didn’t keep tight security, much less video surveillance, so that’s a dead end. The staff we interviewed were either gone or asleep when it happened. Their hands were all tested for gunpowder residue and came up clean. They were openly weeping when they realized your father was dead. It’s not impossible one of them was guilty, but again, wouldn’t they have stolen something if they’d gone to the trouble of killing him?”

“They loved him.” Callie shook her head. “They had been with him for decades, in most cases. He didn’t part with our nanny until Charlotte turned thirteen. Most of our classmates didn’t have a nanny much past ten. And the only reason Dad let Frances go was because she had to take care of her elderly mother. One thing about my father, when he loved someone, he was as loyal as the day was long.”

Sean scrubbed a hand down his face and joined Thorpe, pacing in the small galley. They bumped shoulders and grunted a nonverbal apology at one another. “We’ve got to be missing something. Let’s try looking at this from a different angle. Tell us what made you bypass Logan’s contact at the Vegas airport.”

“That was really weird. I had my disguise, just in case. I know security in airports can be ridiculously high-tech, so I was all ready. I changed on the plane. Since I was last off, no one noticed. I stopped in the bathroom to check myself and found a red pull-along someone had shoved in the trash can because one of the wheels was stuck. But it disguised my duffel, so I swiped it. I was ready to meet Elijah. Logan had shown me a picture of him before putting me on the plane. I had his number, too.” She shrugged, remembering that day. “When I hit baggage claim, the first thing I noticed was some big guy in a uniform. I drifted toward the smoking area and watched him through a window. Imagine my shock when I realized that he was flashing a picture of me—taken in the New Orleans airport just a few hours earlier.”

“And you panicked,” Thorpe guessed.

“Hell yeah! Instead of waiting around, I left. I was worried this guy would figure out the connection between me, Logan, and Elijah, and hunt us down. I didn’t want to make the guy’s life harder since I knew he had a wife and kids.”

“So you went into the city with the idea of getting a job as a stripper?” Thorpe raised a brow at her.

Boy, for a man who’d seen a lot of nudity at Dominion, he was acting like it was a big freaking deal that she’d taken half her clothes off for a few dollars.

“Mitchell Thorpe . . .” She put her fists on her hips.

He grabbed her arm. “Watch your tone, pet. I have no problem putting you over my knee again. If your ass isn’t sore enough yet for you to mind your manners, I can fix that.”

A fact she was beginning to know well. “I’m just saying that I’ve worn bikinis with less material to Dominion pool parties, and you didn’t have a spaz then.”

“No, I just watched you like a hungry dog all afternoon, then went back to my room and jacked off. But I digress.”

Seriously? Callie blinked at him. She hadn’t guessed that he had more than a fleeting thought about her sexually in the last two years.

“The amount of clothing isn’t the issue,” he continued. “It’s the intent. You meant to arouse other men with what I considered mine. I know Sean felt the same.”

“Exactly, lovely. You could wear a skimpy bathing suit at such a party, and if you meant it for us, I would probably smile. And get into a fight with any asshole who thinks he’s going to lure you away. But a striptease for money for all those strangers . . .” Sean gnashed his teeth.

Had they gone to the same caveman school? Apparently so. They’d both graduated with honors, too. “Look, I didn’t have a lot of money, so I had to get to the city and find work fast. I had to secure a place to live, buy food, and make enough money for a bus ticket out of town. It wasn’t like I hopped on that stage as a big ‘fuck off’ to either of you.”

They exchanged a glance. It was clear that neither of them liked the direction of this conversation. Thorpe bristled, crossing his arms over his chest to glare down at her with a gaze that promised hell later.

Callie melted back in one of the galley’s chairs, biting her lip. She’d pushed the Dom in him too far. Best if she shut up and picked her battles. If she was smart, she’d change the subject now and distract him. “Don’t you want to talk about the man in uniform at the airport?”

Sean rolled his shoulders, as if trying to shrug off tension. “He didn’t look familiar?”

“No.” She shook her head, grateful to him for the return to business. “Just the uniform. It looked military . . . but it didn’t exactly seem standard issue.” She tried to picture what was different in her head, but drew a blank. “Something was off. The color, maybe?”

“Were they BDUs?” Sean asked.

Callie frowned. “What?”

“Camo,” Thorpe supplied.

“No. They were a pale blue.”

Sean scowled. “Like the Coast Guard? Pale blue shirts with navy pants?”

“No. Both the coat and pants were the same color. More of a pale grayish blue. And they were dressier, for sure. Almost formal. The coat had patches and medals and stuff.”

“You mean insignia?” He looked amused.

“Yes. Lots of chevron stripes and braided rope and crap.”

“Did you recognize any of it?”

Callie held up her hands. “When would I have had time to study military uniforms?”

“Point taken.” Sean scowled. “Did he wear a hat?”

“Yeah. One of those beret things. It looks funny on a guy built like the side of a mountain. He thought he was a real badass, too. I could tell.”

“Did you overhear him give his name or rank or branch of service?”

“No, he didn’t say any of that. He told people that he was meeting his girlfriend, but that she hadn’t come off the flight. A few people remembered seeing me get on, so he knew I’d been on the plane. He had old ladies searching the bathroom. When some dude headed for the smoking lounge, I slipped out with my bag and caught a cab. You know the rest.”

“And you’ve never seen that uniform before?” Thorpe asked.

Callie paused, scanning her memory. “No, I think I have. But it seems like it’s been forever ago. I just can’t place it.”

Now that she remembered it, she flipped back through memories, years, locations. Not since she’d arrived at Dominion. Not while she’d been running before then. At home. With her father.

“Wait! A man came.” Her heart pounded. “To our house. Not long before the murders.” The memory sharpened, coming into clear focus. “An older man—not like the young guy from the airport. But I think they wore the same uniform. My father took him into his office. They argued. I remember it because Dad almost never raised his voice. He did that day. When I asked him about it later, he just said the man was pressing for a political donation and didn’t want to take no for an answer. I let it go.”

Sean frowned. “Did you ever see the older man in the uniform again?”

“No. My father was largely a recluse. He met with very few people, especially at the house. When I was a kid, the only person who came over with any regularity was some sort of medical researcher, Doctor . . . Aslanov, I think.” Callie frowned. “But he stopped coming around when I was ten or so.”

Sean searched around for a piece of paper and jotted some notes. “Yes, I know who he is. Doctor Aslanov researched cancer. I know your father funded quite a bit of his work for about five years.”

“Yeah. Like he thought it would bring my mother back.”

Thorpe came closer then and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry, pet.”

About her mother? Yes, she was, too. He seemed very sorry about Holden and Charlotte, as well. They both did. She drew in their sweet empathy.

Callie softened in his arms, and Sean joined them. They cocooned her in warmth and acceptance. Love. She kissed them each briefly, then backed away. They still had work to do.

“I think it’s fair to say that the man who came to your house in uniform didn’t drop in on your dad for a political donation,” Sean said. “Any guesses about why he was really there?”

“None. I didn’t get involved in Dad’s stuff. I was a typical teenager, too wrapped up in my own.”

“So . . . if we don’t know who visited your house in uniform and we don’t know what he wanted, let’s talk about what the police found at the crime scene after the murders.”

“You said my home was ransacked?” Callie frowned and wrapped her arms around herself. “I remember that big, gorgeous house like it was yesterday. Double grand staircases with white marble, wrought iron railings, and so much natural light. The house always seemed so . . . pristine. It was a reflection of my mother, and Dad never changed it. I can’t imagine it torn apart.”

“I saw the pictures,” Sean said softly. “They didn’t have a lot of time in the house before the police arrived, but they searched in every nook and cranny, every drawer, closet, and niche.”

That shocked Callie. “They had to have worked fast in over sixteen thousand square feet.”

“Sounds like they knew the layout of the house,” Thorpe surmised.

She shrugged. “It was public record. Architectural Digest had done a spread on the house about a year prior. It showed the floor plan.”

Sean sighed. “I’m looking for logic. Why would anyone come in, kill the occupants of the house, then tear it apart to take one item?”

“I don’t think anything had been stolen. What did they actually take?” She searched her memory for all the treasures her father had in his possession. As a man who’d come from enormous wealth and had a talent for growing it, he’d had some priceless treasures. But if the killers hadn’t taken any of the art or the cash, what had they sought?

“An Imperial Fabergé egg. It’s worth about . . . eighteen million dollars, give or take a few pennies. I can’t imagine someone stealing it for profit, but we’ve never seen the egg for sale, even in the most illegal channels. It doesn’t seem likely that hardened criminals would break in and kill simply to decorate their mantel.”

Callie flushed. “They didn’t take it. I did. It’s in my backpack. My backpack! Where is it? I left it in my hotel room in Vegas and—”

“We brought it with us, lovely. Take a breath. Relax,” Sean advised. “Why did you take the egg?”

“It was my mother’s. It was all I had of her.”

“It’s rare and incredibly expensive. You’ve been carting it around for nine years while living in slums?”

She sighed. “I know. But it’s not like I could have rented a safe-deposit box or anything. My consolation was that if anyone ever thought about swiping it, in those neighborhoods, they probably wouldn’t have had a clue what it was. After all, it’s one of only about six dozen to survive the Bolshevik Revolution.”

Thorpe’s eyes widened. “You had that egg in my club for four years?”

Callie nodded. “It was kind of a relief. No one was going to steal it from there. They didn’t dare come in my room or you would remove their heads from their bodies in the most unpleasant way possible.”

“That’s true,” Thorpe concurred, smiling as if pleased with himself.

It was . . . cute.

“I never imagined you took that egg,” Sean admitted. “One way the bureau tracked you was your pattern of leaving everything behind. You were reported as a missing person about a half a dozen times, so we got to know your MO. You never took personal mementos when you moved from one location to another.”

“Well, my father had so many of my mother’s photos locked away, as if he couldn’t look at them without grieving all over again. But Mom told me just before she died that the egg was mine. I probably should have left it behind, but I couldn’t.”

“Is there any chance that whoever killed your family wanted that egg?” Sean wondered aloud.

“I don’t know why they would. It’s valuable, but if they didn’t want art or money, why go after a relic? For me, it was just sentimental. That egg was her pride and joy.”

“They open up. Could there be something inside it?” Sean asked.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I’ve tried to pry it open repeatedly. I even took a screwdriver to it once and got two stitches and a tetanus shot for my trouble. It’s stuck.”

Sean gripped his chin and let out a breath. “There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. We’re onto something. It’s right here. I can’t quite figure it out yet. Why don’t we have some brunch? I’ll grab a shower. After that, we’ll hunker down and think some more.”

“Good call.” Thorpe glanced around the galley. “I hope cereal is okay. You know Callie and I don’t cook.”

“For shit’s sake, I’m sending you two to cooking school when we get out of this mess.”

“Sounds fun. I’ve always wanted to learn.” Callie smiled, then turned to Thorpe.

“Don’t count me in,” he snapped. “I’m fine just the way I am.”

Meaning he didn’t want to see her after the danger had passed? She looked away, biting her lip.

An awkward silence prevailed, and Sean sent her a sympathetic glance. Maybe she should just try to put the brakes on feeling anything for Thorpe, accept that he mostly wanted sex from her, and stop hoping for more. If Thorpe didn’t need her, then she’d do her best not to need him.

Callie opened her mouth to say she’d try to cook breakfast and invite Thorpe to jump into the lake, but a phone rang. The guys both looked at one another. It could only mean trouble. Their expressions said that.

Then Thorpe took off running for the bedroom, following the sound of the ring. Sean followed like it was a footrace. Callie trailed after them, hating the icy slide of dread in her veins.

“Axel?” Thorpe shouted into the cheap plastic phone.

A pause, followed by a grunted acknowledgment. Then a much longer pause. Then shock transformed Thorpe’s face.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he barked into the phone.

Axel answered in a way that only made Thorpe more angry. His cheeks flamed red. He clenched his fists and looked like he might grind his teeth into dust. Holy hell, she’d never seen Thorpe that pissed off.

“Keep me posted.” He stabbed a finger at the keypad to end the call, then looked up at Sean with a bleak stare.

“What?” Sean barked as he wrapped an arm around her, already trying to brace her for the news he expected would upset her.

“In the middle of the night, someone broke into Dominion. They trashed Callie’s room and my office. Axel had a hunch, so he drove by your apartment. Searched and destroyed, too. Whoever has been after you, Callie, knows we’re all gone. They’re looking for something, probably whatever they didn’t find when they killed your family. Now they’re coming for us.”