“I didn’t picture you being so indecisive when it came to chess,” she razzed.
Blayze took his eyes off the board and shot her a look. “Maybe I’m distracted.”
Sophia wanted to take credit for that, but she knew there was too much on his mind to make assumptions. Heck, not two minutes went by whereshewasn’t reminding herself she’d have to miss the event tonight. “I wonder if Roman will catch any fish out there,” she said.
Blayze’s eyes stayed fixed on the same spot. “Yeah.”
From the sight of the pantry, they wouldn’t go hungry if he didn’t. The large assortment of pasta, rice, and soups could feed a family for weeks. She rested her chin in her hands and sighed. Dang, Blayze was handsome. If she relayed that fact to him in Spanish, would he know? “What are you thinking about, Mr.Guapo?” she asked.
“I’m thinking that…” His face turned hard, nearly tortured.
She watched him as the moment lapsed on, somehow knowing exactly what he would say: That becoming romantically involved was a mistake. It’d been written on his face all day. Since they met, actually. She just hadn’t wanted to admit it.
A hot flash of panic sparked in her chest. “Strike that,” she blurted. “Tell me about your father. Your parents divorced when you were young. And unlike your mom, he remarried, right?”
His brow smoothed, the distraction seeming to do its job. Tension melted from his brow and chin. He moved the knight he held and leaned back into the chair. “My dad was partly my incentive to go into the Navy, but…” a rueful smile pulled at one corner of his lips, “not in agoodway. I lost respect for him after he cheated on my mom. I’m sure the guy had—or has— a lot of good traits. In fact, I know he does. But the one thing that stood out most, the one thing Ihated, was the weakness I saw.”
Sophia draped an elbow over her lifted knee, watching as Blayze shook his head, his blue eyes thoughtful. She felt herself lean in, anxious to receive another morsel of who he was. Of what’d shaped a man like him.
“He’d made a promise to my mom. And she was an amazing woman. I mean, she had her faults like the rest of us, but… she was closer to perfect than anyone I’ve known.” Moisture welled up in his eyes. The slightest glisten. When he blinked, it was already gone. “I couldn’t respect a man who was so weak in the flesh like he was. Chasing one woman after the next. Mainly, his secretaries. It turned me off to white-collared living and made me want to do something with my life that…provedI was strong. Strong enough to do anything I set my mind to.”
Sophia wouldn’t admit it then, but she’d researched this BUD/S training she’d heard everyone talk about. In fact, the physical and mental requirements to become a SEAL were so rigorous, of those tough enough to attempt it, less than ten percent achieved it. She dropped her eyes to the board, looking blindly over the pieces as another question came to mind. “Do you think your dad’s faithful to his wife now?”
“Yes,” he said. “I think he’s realized he’s lucky to have Barbara. She’s good to him. They seem happy from what I can tell. I’m just glad Jazmin didn’t choose a man like that. I’d have had to kick his trash.”
She laughed, sensing he was only half joking about that.
“I get the impression that your parents had a good relationship,” he said.
Sophia nodded, smiled. “The best. He used to march into the kitchen after work, whisk her away from the stovetop to dance. He’d twirl her around the island, bring a hand to her back, then dip her low and kiss her.” Nowshewas the one tearing up. “They were very much in love.” She sensed the upset coming back to her now. That sick knot in her gut that grew horns each time she considered the senselessness of her death.
“I’m sorry this happened to you and your father,” Blayze said. His jaw tightened as he held her gaze. “We’re going to stop this guy before he can do any more harm, I can promise you that.”
But could he?Could Blayze actually make a promise so bold?
He cleared his throat and motioned to the board. “Looks like someone is stalling,” he teased.
She dropped her gaze. “I’m not very good at this game. I get too impatient. I hate having to think so many steps ahead.”
Blayze nodded. “Yeah, but it’s the only way to win. And you can’t just be thinking about what getsyouahead. That’s a fatal error in war. You’ve got to figure out what gets theother guyahead. See things from their perspective. If you’re only focused on your own game, you’re bound to get blindsided.”
She shivered, checking the wall clock as a knock came to the back patio door. The iPad resting beside the chess board showed the footage captured by each camera spread throughout the property. One look at the back porch said it was Roman out there. A fishing pole erect in one hand, a bucket gripped in the other.
Blayze hurried over to the door to open it.
“We’re eating fish tonight,” Roman announced proudly. “I got some real beauties.”
Blayze helped Roman find his way around the kitchen while Sophia considered the event she was missing. In twenty-five minutes on the dot, Michelle would step up to the pulpit and deliver a speech in Sophia’s stead. No worries, she assured herself. Michelle would do an excellent job. And hopefully soon, all of this would be over.
When she couldn’t imagine what an end would look like, Sophia forced her eyes on something higher. Sometimes, only God knew how to set things right. The truth of that struck her, had her nodding her head in acceptance. And with that, Sophia closed her eyes and offered the few words she could muster in her heart.Please help us get through this.
Chapter 13
Blayze wasn’t sure how he’d managed, but the entire day had gone by, and he’d avoided a confrontation with Sophia. Last night, when he’d realized what a bad idea it’d be to get involved with her romantically, Blayze had worried there might be an ugly exchange ahead.
But after a peaceful day of playing chess, frying fish, and even walking around the pond (a compromise he’d made for keeping her trapped the rest of the day), Blayze settled into his bed in the loft without so much as an incident. Aside from his activities with Sophia, he’d kept an eye on the surveillance, collected reports about fraud crimes that crossed the District Attorney’s desk before his wife’s death, and organized a team to cross check the names with the guest list from the Maraddo Motel. There had to be an overlap somewhere.
Blayze had worried there’d be an incident of some sort at tonight’s event. Some act of violence to further deter Sophia from showing her face. And while they didn’t have exact details of how the evening went—something Sophia was anxiously awaiting—they’d received confirmation that the event had been incident free.
