"I didn’t mean it," I explain calmly. "What you heard earlier."
"Then why did you say it?"
Goddamn. Her direct manner is fucking disarming. And she probably doesn’t even know.
Averting my gaze from hers, I run my fingers through my hair in slight frustration before I look at her again. "I was angry, okay?"
"With me?"
"Yeah."
"Because I went to the basement?"
"Because you didn’t go back up when I told you to."
She returns my gaze for another moment before she lowers it and nods.
"Jules will stay with you tonight so you’re not alone when I… have work to do in the basement later."What an exceedingly charming term for what will start in an hour.
She kneads her fingers and chews on her lower lip but doesn’t respond.
"Sophie?"
"Okay," she finally says without looking at me.
Sighing, I nod. "Fine. Then let’s get inside." But before I can get out of the car, her soft voice stops me.
"Cole?"
I turn to her again and am immediately captured by the amber-brown of her eyes. "Yes?"
"You won’t tell me what you’re doing down there, am I right?"
I shake my head. "No."
She fixes me with her gaze as if she could find the answer to her question in my eyes. The certainty that she can’t is the only thing that keeps me calm. I don’t want her to know what’s going on down in my basement. That’s a world a girl like her should never see.
Yes, Jules is well aware of how I make my money. And I absolutely hate it, but it was inevitable that she found out. With Sophie, though, I want to do it right. I have no idea why I want to protect her from the pitch-black abysses of my life and this world, but I can’t bring myself to drag her into it. It feels wrong. Like I’d taint her with this, and that is the last thing I want to do. She’s so pure and innocent and always seems to believe in the good in people. For her, this world is just one big adventure, and I’ll be damned if I’m the one to take away that illusion.
When we reach the upper floor, Jules runs toward us and literally throws herself at Sophie. I head straight for the kitchen and pour myself a large glass of Jack Daniel’s, emptying it in one go.
"We were worried about you," Jules says urgently behind me before adding something that I don’t understand.
After I put down the tumbler, I turn around. "Jules, can we talk for a moment?"
She looks from Sophie to me and then back again.
"I have to use the bathroom anyway," Sophie declares, breaking free from Jules’s grip.
"What is it?" Jules wants to know after the bathroom door closes behind Sophie. "Did she tell you why she ran away?"
"Yes," I answer in a hushed voice. "She overheard us talking about her."
"Shit." She grimaces ruefully. "I guess we screwed that up pretty bad, huh?"
"Yeah," I agree with a sigh. "I have to go downstairs. Can you stay with her tonight so she’s not alone?"
Jules nods. "Yes. But I have to get out early tomorrow. So make sure you’re not completely wasted, will you?"
