The door opens and a man who looks like the older version of my brother is standing before us. His eyes first dart to Tucker and Shadow, most likely because of their size, before moving to Dom and then to me. Recognition settles across his features and his mouth drops open in surprise. Several heartbeats pass before he breathes again, which is ironic since I am considering using my safe word,heartbeat, with Dom right now.
“Sophia? Is it really you?” he asks, his voice strained with emotion. His eyes glisten with moisture and I question if I’m just seeing things.
“Yes, Mr. Vasco, she is Sophia,” Dominic answers for me. “We apologize for showing up unannounced like this. We have some things we need to discuss with you that can only be said in person.”
He steps back to allow us room to enter and extends his arm into the house, “Come in, come in. Everyone have a seat. Make yourself at home.”
As I walk by him, the thought occurs to me that I don’t know what to call him.Dad? Manuel?Dom sits on the couch and I take the seat next to him. Tucker sits in a high-backed wing chair while Shadow walks around, making himself at home, and looking through all the pictures. He’s the only one who doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. I wonder if the real reason is because he has a faster reaction time to danger if he’s standing rather than sitting.
My father takes a seat in his recliner and his eyes remain fixed on me. “Sophia, you are beautiful,” he says emphatically but sincerely.
“Thank you,” I reply. “We really should do introductions so you know who everyone is.”
“Absolutely,” Dominic says. “I’m Dominic Powers.” Dominic rises and extends his arm to shake hands. “This is Nick Tucker, my head of security,” Tucker and my father exchange nods, “And this is Shadow.”
Everyone stops to look at Shadow, who is still roaming slowly around the room, examining every decoration as if he is committing it to memory. “How are you?” he asks, not missing a beat.
“Your name is Shadow?” Manuel asks.
“Yep,” Shadow replies, not offering to elaborate or clarify.
“Mr. Vasco, I realize it’s been a number of years since you’ve seen Sophia, but we have urgent matters to talk about. I don’t want to be rude, but we need to focus on some questions we have for you,” Dominic takes charge of the conversation. “It could be a matter of life or death for Sophia.”
“Of course. If I can help her, I will,” Manuel replies, concern laces his voice and fear sweeps across his eyes.
Dominic sits on the loveseat across from me and I feel the loss of his strength at my side. I trust him, though, so I know it was with a purpose in mind.
“Sir, do you have frequent contact with your son, Shawn?” Dominic asks.
“No, not for some time now,” Manuel says solemnly. “No matter what I said, I couldn’t keep him from the wrong people.”
“So you didn’t pay his bond to get him out of jail?” Dominic asks
“What? No, I didn’t pay any bond for him. What was he in jail for?”
“He’s in a lot of trouble, Mr. Vasco,” Dominic starts.
“Call me Manuel, please.”
Dominic smiles and nods in reply. “Do you know Harrison Dictman?”
Manuel’s face contorts in disgust, “Yes, I know the bastard. Are you saying Shawn is in league withHarrison?”
“Shawn is in a lot of trouble, Manuel. He’s facing serious prison time and Harrison has made sure the evidence temporarily disappeared until he gets what he wants. He’s using it to control Shawn, and by extension, Sophia,” Dominic pauses as Manuel’s head jerks to me.
“What? How is he controlling Sophia?”
“He sent Sophia to work for me with an agenda to destroy me and my company, using the evidence against Shawn as leverage against her. He filed a fake sexual harassment lawsuit in Sophia’s name and has had his lawyer demanding millions of dollars to keep it out of the media. When Sophia refused to help him, he beat her so badly she ended up in the hospital.
“He’s after her again. Shawn called Sophia and asked her to meet him here in Austin for dinner last night so they could reconcile. When we arrived, Shawn was there, but he left Sophia alone with Harrison. Harrison’s issues with me go way back. To be blunt, I need to know what your involvement with him is and if you play a part in any of this.”
Manuel is shocked speechless for a moment. His mouth drops open and he prepares to speak a couple of times before anything actually comes out. “Hell, no, I’m not part of any of this! Why would I want to hurt my own daughter like that? If Shawn were here, I would kick his ass for being part of this! After everything we did to get Harrison out of Sophia’s life and all the trouble he’s caused our family, I can’t believe Shawn would side with him!”
“What do you mean what you did to get Harrison out of my life?” I ask, dumbfounded at his statement.
Dominic must see the same haunted look that I see on Manuel’s face. He urges, “Tell us, Manuel. Help us understand. We know you have ties to the drug cartel. There have already been two attempts on my life and one of them could’ve killed Sophia, too. We need to know everything.”
Manuel scrubs his hand over his face, his hand rests over his mouth, and his eyes are downcast. It’s obviously a painful memory and he’s preparing himself for reliving it.
