Page 76 of Nobody's Girl

Ivo was alerted by the strain in Penn’s voice. “What is it?”

“Ivo…Grant Christo is one of Tamara Rutland’s lovers. They’re in business together.”

Icy cold shock. “What?”

Penn drew in a long breath. “Ivo…I was fucking Tamara Rutland. I didn’t know about her connection to Sofia, I swear, until Sofia told me about Tamara’s mother. Then I knew. Tamara killed Willa. She’s psychotic, Ivo, truly and she hates Sofia. She also knows that I…was with you and Sofia.”

“And she’s in business with Grant Christo?” Ivo felt sick. “And he has my beautiful girl? God, Penn. Desiree told me he was a twisted fuck.”

“He is. If he has Sofia…”

“Please, Penn, get sober and get to JFK. I’m getting the first flight I can. Please…Penn, I have a terrible feeling about this.”

Penn sounded as if he were fully sober now. “I’m on it, Ivo. Listen, Tamara and Grant have a club, Le Petite Mort…if they were going to hide someone, it’ll be there. When you get here, if I haven’t called you, go straight there and I’ll meet you. We’ll get her back, brother, I swear we will.”

Sofia woke as the plane landed. At first, she forgot where she was, then looking around, her eyes widened when she saw Grant beside her instead of Ivo.

Then she remembered. God. That terrible moment when she’d seen that photograph. Ivo, her beloved, trustworthy, gorgeous Ivo kissing Tamara. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt and after printing out all of those copies, she had been like a whirling dervish, plastering them to her mood boards, then finding that one photo online of the family. Fucking, fucking Tamara…

Sofia had sobbed out her rage as she packed her possessions into her backpack and ran out of the apartment. Her eyes were so swollen with tears that when she ran into Grant and he gently guided her into a cab, she just let it happen. And now she was back in the one place she swore she would never go back to.

She felt Grant take her hand. “Hey, sleepy.” She tried to smile at him but if she were honest, she felt a little nauseous, and the way he was looking at her…

“Grant, I shouldn’t have gotten on this plane. God,” she sat up and rubbed her face. “What was I thinking?”

“Listen, it’s okay.” Grant’s voice was smooth, persuasive. “We’ll get you to a hotel and then you can call Ivo, or whoever you want.”

Something was off about his smile. “Maybe I should call him from the airport.”

Grant shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“From what you told me, Ivo fucking your step-sister isn’t something you want to talk about in public.”

Sofia gave a shocked gasp as his words hit home. “I saw them kissing…once, in a photograph...”

“You really think it’s a coincidence? Come on now, Sofia, you’re young but you’re not naïve.”

Sofia didn’t say any more until they were passing through passport control. Her legs wobbled and Grant took her elbow. “Let’s get some coffee and some breakfast inside of you.”

Sofia let him steer her out of the airport and into a cab. As they pulled away, she saw a familiar face. “Hey! There’s Penn…hey, stop the cab.”

“Don’t stop the cab,” Grant ordered the driver and Sofia gaped at him

“No, wait, he’s a friend…stop!” She began to panic but Grant out his hand over her mouth. His eyes were cold.

“He is not your friend, Sofia. He’s been sleeping with your step-sister. I’ve seen him at a club, an S&M club, and he’s been fucking her for months. He is not your friend, okay? Now, listen to me, I’m going to take you somewhere safe, where you can eat, rest and gather your thoughts. Then we’ll go from there, okay?”

There was an icy determination in his eyes and suddenly Sofia felt very afraid. “Grant…where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere we can talk.”

And that’s all he would say for the rest of the journey. The cab drove into the heart of the city and pulled up in an alleyway. “Thanks, Dwayne.” Grant handed over a bunch of notes and the driver nodded, silent and watchful. He didn’t look at Sofia.

Grant helped Sofia out of the cab. “Come with me.” He walked to a door, half hidden behind some dumpsters and opened it. Sofia hesitated, peering into the darkness within.