‘Never,’ he assured her. ‘I’d only have to jump in and save you.’
‘I’d save myself,’ she insisted, lifting her chin.
‘And how would you do that?’
‘I’d do it somehow,’ she assured him stubbornly.
Somehow wouldn’t help her with Howard Blake. ‘I do need you to do something for me,’ he revealed as they started to walk back.
‘Tell me.’
‘The best way to show Blake he can’t hurt you, let alone destroy your brothers and me, as he seems to think he can, is by making sure we win those matches and raise more money than even Howard Blake can dream of for our charities.’
‘You’re cutting me out,’ she said with affront, having read the subtext behind his words. ‘You can’t do this alone. Cesar—what are you going to do?’
‘It’s better that you don’t know. That no one knows.’
‘Don’t you trust me?’
She was hurt when he didn’t answer right away, but his mind was made up. Keeping Sofia safe, saving her brothers and even a country from the spite of Howard Blake, was more important than explanations. ‘Be the best you can be,’ he advised. ‘That’s your revenge when it comes to Howard Blake.’
There were tears in her eyes, he realised when he turned to look at Sofia. She had guts but a tender underbelly, reminding him that emotions did matter, whether he liked it or not. ‘Don’t worry about Blake. I’ll deal with him, so he never hurts anyone else. And when this is over,’ he added in an attempt to turn her mind from the dark side to something lighter, ‘I’ll commission a portrait of the winning team.’
For a moment he thought his offer had missed the mark. In fairness, contemplating the evil of a man like Blake then switching to the prospect of the quiet contemplation involved when Sofia picked up her brush and paints was quite a stretch, but one Sofia had to make if she was ever to sleep easily again.
He should have known she was equal to the task.
‘The winning team had better not be Nero Caracas and the Assassins,’ she said, smiling in a way that touched him somewhere deep. ‘I don’t have enough black paint.’
It had been good to walk back to the ranch house with Cesar with some ease at last between them. It made her hopeful that other things could change for the better.
But now, back in her room, without the beauty of the countryside surrounding her, she had started to worry again—primarily about Cesar. His promise to ‘handle things’. What did that mean? If Cesar could deal with Howard Blake help without putting himself at risk, that was one thing, but she had never intended him to do this on his own.
Getting ready for dinner involved showering before changing into clean jeans and a casual top for the promised barbecue. Staring at her reflection in the mirror above the sink, she craved the chance for them to continue getting to know each other outside sex. They’d made a small start down by the river, but would he take things further? It took two to form a relationship, and Cesar’s wishes were one thing determination alone couldn’t influence.
Cesar hosted the barbecue. He got on so well with her brothers. Jess and Olivia came straight over to welcome her. ‘Okay?’ Jess asked. ‘Nothing aching too much?’
Only my heart, she thought, smiling. ‘I’m fine.’
Olivia came up with some startling news. ‘I’ve seen the looks that pass between you and my brother. Jess and I have been talking, and you don’t need to tell us that Howard Blake set you up. Jess knows everything about my run-in with Blake, so if you need allies, look no further.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Take my advice,’ Olivia continued. ‘First find the mole.’
‘The mole?’ Sofia frowned.
‘Someone filmed me secretly. I don’t know if you heard about the tape?’ Olivia pressed. ‘Anyway, it was explicit,’ she continued, sparing Sofia the need to answer, ‘and somehow it found its way to Howard Blake. That someone is almost certainly the same person who supplied the dates and details you couldn’t. Someone helped Blake doctor that article. I know it wasn’t you, and it most certainly wasn’t me.’
An unseen enemy was one to fear the most. Fear tightened around Sofia’s heart. She drew a deep breath, and pushed it aside. ‘Do you have any suspects in mind?’
‘I do,’ Olivia confirmed, ‘but I can’t prove anything yet. We’ll speak again,’ she promised.
Sofia’s mind was spinning as Olivia moved away. Cesar’s sister had left her with more questions than answers. Cesar’s bottomless resources would open many doors, but now Sofia wished she hadn’t asked him for help. The thought of putting Cesar in danger was the worst nightmare imaginable. She had to put things right. Quite how she was going to do that, she had no idea yet. Olivia only proved that caution must be her watchword.
‘I thought it was me you wanted to talk to, not my sister,’ Cesar remarked dryly as he loaded Sofia’s plate with food.
‘Steady. Am I not allowed to speak to your sister? No more food,’ she insisted, laughing as he continued to stack it on her plate. ‘You’re not feeding my brothers.’
