His to Take (Wicked Lovers #9)(30)
Author: Shayla Black

“Of course it is! My situation was different because I voluntarily changed identities, but the result was the same. Lots of new towns, new lives, new . . . everything.” Callie shrugged. “The important thing is stopping these guys so you can be you again, whoever that ends up being.”

Digesting those words, Bailey chewed on her lip. Callie understood what she was going through probably better than anyone else; she’d cut through all the emotion and gone straight for the heart of the matter. She’d given what sounded like good advice.

“Yeah. Me.” Whoever that was. “If I’m that girl, I don’t know anything.”

“At least not that you remember now.” Callie sent her a soft expression of sympathy. “Give yourself a break. Everything is happening quickly. You can’t expect to just snap your fingers and accept that homegrown terrorists are out to get you, that your family may not have been your biological relations at all, and that people you have virtually no memory of may have given birth to you.”

“You got that right.” She didn’t see the humor in this situation, but she tried to smile. It was either that or cry again. Besides, Callie understanding her plight was somehow really reassuring.

Bailey hadn’t experienced a lot of empathy growing up. Her father had often been distant, her mother flighty. Sometimes, she’d felt like a stranger in her home and wondered why she was so different than her parents, why they had nothing in common.

Maybe now she knew.

“It’s equally hard, I imagine, to know that you lost a biological family you don’t even remember to the same violence hunting you now. I remember my dad and my sister really well, obviously. But to have them gone in an instant and still have to elude killers in the middle of my shock and sadness, to find safety . . . It took me a long time to feel as if I’d grieved properly. Longer still before I finally believed I could start looking forward, rather than back.”

“I can imagine.” And Bailey had a terrible suspicion that her own life could be one giant mirror of Callie’s years on the run if she couldn’t direct these dangerous killers away from her. But how?

“Don’t forget, though. You have an advantage,” Callie added. “I had no one for years, not until I came to Dallas and met Thorpe.”

The woman turned to glance at her former boss and . . . whatever else the man was to her. He met her gaze with a reassuring nod before turning back to the men’s conversation.

A flicker of regret crossed Callie’s face. “Even when I came to Thorpe, I didn’t tell him who I was. I didn’t trust anyone. Eventually, he figured it out, but I’ll always wonder if my life would have been . . . I don’t know, easier? Fuller? Less terrifying, maybe, if I’d opened up sooner. Sean came along about four years later. Same story. They had to pry everything out of me.”

“And now you’re with them both?” Bailey blurted the question. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

“It’s fine.” Callie grinned with a little wince mixed in. “Our relationship isn’t conventional, but it works for us. Thorpe and I tend to butt heads. Sean is the calming influence we both need.”

“The referee?”

“Something like that. I love them both so much and I’ll be forever grateful that they fought to save me.” Callie leveled her with a serious stare. “Joaquin is fighting to save you. I’m not suggesting you should fall in love with him or anything, but you have someone on your side already. Be grateful. It can make a huge difference.”

“Ultimately, I have to get myself out of this mess.”

“You do, but fighting this alone is over your head, just like it was over mine. We’re talking about terrorists and killers. Me trying to do everything without help cost me a lot of years of misery, not to mention that I’m damn lucky to be alive. Sometimes, helping yourself is figuring out who might stand beside you and make your world a safer place.” Callie glanced at Joaquin.

Bailey mulled the woman’s words, then glanced at her captor. Or was he her savior? She really didn’t know anymore.

Suddenly, Sean rose. “I’ll see what I can find.” Then he looked Callie’s way. “I’ll be right back, lovely.”

She smiled. “I’ll be here.”

“Why don’t you go eat something?” He frowned at her, concern settling over his face.

“I will.” When he sent her a skeptical glare, Callie grinned. “I promise.”

With a squeeze of Bailey’s hand, she strolled back to Thorpe and settled beside him. He curled her against his side and held her close.