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“We have a guy who can help,” Bowie said. “But you’ll have to do as he says. He’s kind of a control freak, but he’s good at keeping people safe. Will you let him help you?” What choice did she have? If she kept trying to run from her ex on her own, he’d eventually catch up to them and take Sadie from her. Rose couldn’t let that happen, not after they had come this far.
“I’ll accept his help,” she breathed.
“Thank you,” Savage said. “How about you go pick up your daughter and come on back to our place for dinner? We can call Thorne and get everything set up. He’ll meet you at our house and take you and Sadie someplace safe while Bowie and I investigate your ex.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for this,” Rose admitted. “I’m so grateful that you will help me.”
“I don’t need payment, Rose. You and Sadie staying safe is payment enough. Thorne is a good guy and I’d trust him with my life. You’ll be in good hands,” Savage said.
“Word of warning though,” Bowie said, “he’s a bit rough around the edges. He’s all bark and no bite though. Just keep that in mind when you meet him tonight.”
“Will do,” she agreed. “I’ll pick up Sadie from my friend’s place and meet you back here in about an hour. Does that work?” Rose asked.
“Yep, and then we can head back to our house. I’ll let Dallas know that we’ll have two more for dinner,” Savage said.
“I don’t want to put you or your wife out,” she said.
“Not at all,” Bowie soothed. “We have a boatload of kids. Two more mouths to feed won’t be a problem.” She liked hearing that Savage had a family and kids. She had always thought about her cousin as a loner, but she liked seeing him this way—settled down and happy.
“I’m glad that you found happiness,” Rose said to Savage. “I’m sorry that we weren’t in each other’s lives more.”
“Well, we couldn’t make our fathers get along. And although I tried, I couldn’t make your father like me. We’ll make up for lost time now, Rose,” Savage assured. “You’ll find your happiness too, honey, I promise.” Rose nodded and turned to leave.
“I’ll hold you to that promise, Savage,” she whispered to herself on her way out of the bar. She just hoped that it was a promise that he’d be able to keep.
Thorne
Victor Thorne gotthe call from Savage that he had a gig for him, and he wanted to tell his club’s Prez, no, but he also knew that was something he just couldn’t do. He had just worked a double shift and he was dog tired.
Since going undercover to root out the trafficking rings in the area, he was burning the candle at both ends. When he joined the CIA, he had no clue how many hours a week he’d be working, and when they stuck him on undercover work, those hours doubled. He barely had time to sleep anymore and that’s what he had planned on doing for the next six hours until he had to show back up to work. He was so close to cracking the trafficking ring that he had been working for, he just needed a few more days and then, he’d have the evidence that he’d need to bring down the whole organization and put every scum bag that worked for it behind bars.
He had been doing undercover work for almost eight years now because his boss said that he had the look for it. He knew that his boss took one look at his full upper body tattoos and decided his fate. He was right, Thorne had the look and that was because he used to live that life. He used to be the criminal that he now played, and that gave him a leg up. He knew how the assholes who ran the trafficking rings thought and being able to get into their sick minds was a big part of what made him a damn good CIA agent.
His orders from Savage were that he was supposed to meet him and Bowie over at their house tonight at about six. He knew that turning down his Prez’s invitation to come over would be a huge mistake, so he agreed to be there. Apparently, Savage had a family member in trouble and his skills at hiding people away were needed.
Thorne took a quick shower and got dressed, pulling on a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Hopefully, this thing for Savage wouldn’t take too long, and then, he’d be able to catch a few hours of sleep before heading back to work in the morning.
He drove over to Savage’s house and parked behind Bowie’s pick-up. Savage walked out and met him on the front porch, which was never a good sign. It usually meant that he was going to have to talk to Thorne before they got inside and that usually involved some news that he wasn’t going to like.
“Hey Savage,” he called.
“Thanks for coming out on such short notice,” Savage said. “We have a little bit of a situation.”
“What kind of situation?” Thorne asked.
“My cousin, Rose, and her two-year-old daughter, Sadie, need to get away for a bit. Her ex is bad news, and she needs to lay low while Bowie and I look into his extracurricular business activities.”
“What kind of business activities are we talking about?” Thorne asked.
“He’s supposedly a car salesman, but according to my cousin, he’d made too much money for the number of cars that he’s selling. Rose is betting that he’s involved in a human trafficking ring, but we need time to figure it out.”
“I’m betting that will take a bit of time,” Thorne said. “Should I plan on this being a long-term thing?”
“Possibly,” Savage admitted, “is that going to be a problem?” Thorne wanted to tell Savage that it was going to be a huge problem, but he wouldn’t dare. He’d just have to figure out how to juggle his crazy work schedule and help out Savage’s cousin, at the same time.
“Not at all,” Thorne lied, “I’d be happy to help.”
“Great, because I need a place for her and her daughter tonight. She thinks that someone’s following her and if that’s the case, I can’t let her stay here with my family. I won’t put them at risk,” Savage said. Thorne didn’t blame the guy. He would have felt the same way if he had a family to protect, but he didn’t.
