“So you’re keeping her here until, what? The police figure out who attacked her?”
Honestly, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. All I could think about while I paced outside Sofia’s hospital room was how close she’d come to dying. How scary it was holding her limp body in my arms. The terror I felt before her breath brushed my cheek.
“I don’t know,” I concede. “But, Knight. I have to do something. I keep seeing that asshole standing over her with that fucking pillow, pinning her down, her legs were fucking?—”
Shit.
Adrenaline surges at the memory. My hand clenches around my mug, dangerously close to shattering it. “If keeping her here means she’ll be safe, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Silence fills the kitchen as we stare at each other across the counter.
Knight takes his glass over to the sink and sets it inside. Then he turns and asks, “Have you talked about it yet? What happened before?”
My gut twists. “Not yet. With Sofia staying here, I’m sure we’ll have to. But I didn’t want to bring it up while she was at the hospital. And by the time she got settled in yesterday, she was exhausted. She’s been sleeping on and off ever since.”
Knight gives me a long look. “Have you forgiven her, then?”
I glance out the kitchen window, my gaze moving across the neighboring buildings and beyond them, Central Park, freshly dusted with snow. “Forgiven? I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
I stare out the window for another few seconds, trying to unravel my tangled thoughts. Then I turn back to him. “When I first found out Sofia stole my mother’s jewelry, I couldn’t believe it. But once I realized she was guilty, I was so angry with her. Hurt. I felt like she used me.”
“Of course,” Knight says. “I think anyone would feel that way.”
“And then the way she just left,” I add, “without even trying to explain, to apologize…”
“Did you ever ask her?”
“Not right away. I mean, I couldn’t. She was being held at a detention center, and I wasn’t allowed to see her. And I was so pissed at her. But maybe a month later, after she was released, I went to her apartment. She was already gone. Her mom wouldn’t talk to me. Just told me to leave.”
“And that was it?”
“I enlisted not long after. Once I got to basic, I tried to forget her. I was still angry, you know?” At Knight’s responding nod, I continue. “Over time, I started to understand why she did it.With college expenses looming, and financial aid not covering all of it… she must have thought it was her best option. I don’t think it’s okay. Obviously. But now… I get why she did it.”
Knight’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it out to look at it. “Dan’s having an issue with one of the dogs. I need to get into the office to help.”
Knight heads up the canine services division of Fox & Falcon, which means he’s the one our handlers go to if there’s a problem. “Is everything okay?”
He nods. “Yeah, it’s fine. Dan took Cooper to Central Park for a walk, and apparently Cooper sniffed out a college kid selling drugs. Now the police are involved, and Dan just wants me there for backup.”
“Well, at least Cooper’s doing his job, right?”
“True.” Knight grins. “But I don’t think a drug bust is what Dan had in mind when he took Cooper for a walk this morning.” He pockets his phone again. “Will I see you in the office today? Or will you stay here to be with Sofia?”
“I’ll be in a little later. Once I make sure she’s all set here. And?—”
A soft rustle draws my attention.
Knight and I both spin towards the entrance to the kitchen in unison.
“I’m sorry,” Sofia blurts from the doorway. Her hair is still all messy from sleep. She’s wearing an old SUNY Albany T-shirt and faded gray leggings, and her feet are bare. The bruises on her face turned purple sometime during the night, a gruesome reminder of her brutal attack. “I didn’t realize you had someone…”
She starts backing up slowly. “Sorry for interrupting. I’ll just go back in the bedroom. Maybe you can let me know when it’s okay to get something to eat.”
Knight gives her an appraising look. But just like the white knight we always tease him about being, he flashes her a warm smile and says, “No need to leave. You’re not interrupting anything.”
Then he crosses the kitchen and holds his hand out to her. “You’re Sofia, obviously. I’m Knight. Nice to meet you.”
