“The way Tucker drives when he’s alone, and the light traffic at this time of night, he should be there in thirty minutes.”
Shadow shakes his head and quirks one side of his mouth up, “They won’t find anyone in there. It’s just all way too convenient. A few days after you and Sophia get back together and she’s here with you? No, this is definitely a diversion tactic. But, from what is the question.”
“Are you saying you think Sophia is in on this?” The surface temperature of the sun would be considered the North Pole compared to me right now.
Shadow instantly snaps his head around to look at me when he recognizes the inflection in my voice. He calmly replies, “No, Dominic. That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m sayingsomeoneis using the circumstances to their advantage, but it’s not Sophia.”
The seed of doubt has been planted and I won’t rest until I see for myself. Sophia claimed she wanted to take her bath right before all of this happened. What if she called someone–likeHarry Dick-man–to give him the green light to break in? What if she is just playing me again? Calming my mind, I take a deep breath and make my move. Taking the stairs two at a time, I quietly creep toward the master bedroom. The door is already slightly ajar, allowing me a stealthy entrance.
The lights are off except for a small reading lamp in the far corner of the bedroom. Sophia is curled up with my pillow, her face nearly buried in it, and a folded washcloth across her eyes and forehead. My heart thaws again at the sight of her asleep in my bed. Her hair was obviously wet but has begun to air dry, the smell of her body wash still lingers in the air, and her damp towel is on the floor beside the bed. She did take her bath, climbed in the bed exhausted, and is using her Dom pillow to help her rest.
When I take a step toward her, she suddenly flies out of bed and sprints to the bathroom. Concern fills me and I rush to the doorway, finding her on her knees, hunched over the commode. She looks so thin and frail in her nightgown–so much more so than just over two months ago when I shut her out of my life. Regret and guilt eat away at me for all the time we’ve been apart and thoughts of how hard it must have been on her saturate my mind.
Running cool water over a clean washcloth, I wring it out and hold it against her forehead when she stills. “Are you finished, baby?” I ask gently. She simply nods her head and begins to stand. I help her up and she moves to the sink to brush her teeth. I can’t stand it any longer. She looks like she’s about to fall over right in front of me.
“Let me carry you,” I state, but wait for her to agree since any sudden movement is likely to make her feel sick again. She doesn’t answer verbally, but she wraps one arm around my neck and I bend to hook my arm behind her knees. She lays her head on my shoulder and I pull her close to me.
“You feel so cold, baby. Do you want me to lie down with you and warm you?” Again, she only nods and I carefully place her in our bed. Quickly shedding my clothes, I crawl in the bed behind her and cocoon her with my body. My arms wrap around her, my entire upper body is flush with hers, and our legs are entwined. A shiver runs through her before I feel her becoming warmer.
“Have you been sick the whole time you’ve been up here, Sophia?” I whisper.
“Yes,” she answers weakly.
“Was today too much for you? Did I cause this?” I have to know if this is my fault. If my decision to playfully punish her, then thoroughly love her, drained her of all her energy and brought on this sickness…
“No, Dom, you didn’t cause it,” she whispers back. “Well, you kind of caused it,” she amends and my heart jumps up in my throat. “You impregnated me, so that makes it your fault,” she jokes.
Blowing out a long held breath, I really want to chastise her for that little prank. But, I know there’s no way she could’ve known how responsible I feel for wearing her out. “Are you sure it isn’t because I was too rough on you today? Or because you were too weak to endure everything?”
She rubs my arm lovingly, “I’m sure, Dom. It’s been a regular occurrence for a while now. Morning sickness my ass–it’s morning, noon, and night. There’s no rhyme or reason to it.”
“You’re going to the doctor tomorrow, Sophia. You’ve lost too much weight and I want to know that you’re healthy.” I can’t keep the concern from my voice on this. She needs to know how important her health is to me. She needs to know how importantsheis to me.
“Okay,” she agrees. The fact that my feisty little sub doesn’t argue that she needs to see a doctor alarms me.
“Do we need to go now?” The alarm at the company can wait. Tucker is more than capable of handling it without me. My first concern and responsibility is right here in my arms.
“No, I just want to sleep,” she says, the fatigue overtaking her. Within a few minutes, her breathing slows and becomes steady. Her body is warm and she seems to be resting comfortably.
Easing out of bed, I quietly grab a pair of lounging pants and walk back downstairs to find Shadow.
“Have you heard from Tucker?” I ask, running my hand through my hair and glancing back up the stairs.
“He’s there, but he’s busy securing the building. Is everything okay?” he abruptly changes the subject.
“Sophia is sick. It may just be normal morning sickness, but she’s lost too much weight. I’m taking her to the doctor tomorrow and I’m not leaving her tonight.”
“Understood. We got it,” Shadow replies just before his phone rings. “Yeah,” he answers.
After a few clipped responses, I gather that Tucker is talking to him and he’s just taking all the information in. It’s hard being on this side of the conversation with Shadow because the mountain gives nothing away. Several minutes later, he disconnects with Tucker and I wait for an update.
“No one was found and he said they combed all the floors that are assigned to your company. There was nothing taken, but your office was broken into and some papers were disheveled on your desk. After they secured the office, Dana went in and checked the papers. She said they were a contract she had printed earlier in the day and left for you to review. The pages were numbered and they’re all there. The security camera feed shows someone wearing all black, including the ski mask that covered his face and the black gloves that covered his hands.
“The strange thing, though, is when he jimmied the door to your office, he had papers in his hand. When he ran out, there were no papers. Something wasplantedin your office and only you would know what wasn’t there before. When you and Sophia finish at the doctor, we need to go through everything carefully. Whatever he left behind was worth breaking into the building and risk getting caught,” Shadow explains.
The cameras don’t capture what happens inside my office, for obvious reasons, but it’s really unfortunate in this instance.
“I need to go work off some of this pent up energy. Do me a favor and listen for Sophia. If she gets sick again, come get me. I’m concerned about her getting dehydrated.”
