Tucker’s chuckle rumbles through the room, “I told them you’d say that.”
“So you haven’t agreed to this shitty plan?”
“Hell, no,” Tucker smiles, “but they are adamant about it. They say he won’t show if she’s not there, man. You know I’d never let anything happen to Sophia if there’s anything I can do about it.”
“What if there isn’t anything you can do, Tucker? What if there isn’t anything any of us can do?” I ask solemnly.
He simply nods, knowing there’s no answer that’ll satisfy me, pacify me, or ease my tension about Sophia’s presence in the office with that bastard there.
“Is there anything else I should know?” I ask, much calmer now.
“Shawn’s bail money was also traced back to Cortez. So, he hid the evidence and paid to get him out of jail. Dominic, Shawn is missing now. Our guys have been working the case in Austin and they haven’t seen him in several days. It doesn’t look good,” Tucker warns.
“Keep me posted,” I say and scrub my hand over my face. “I don’t want to worry Sophia unnecessarily. We’ll cross that bridge when we have to and not a second before. She’s been through too much already and her cramping before was exacerbated by stress.”
“Are Sophia and the baby okay?” Tucker asks, his concern evident on his face and in the inflection in his voice.
“Yeah, but there are things we need to keep an eye on to make sure they stay that way. If she knew her brother was missing, she’d insist on going Monday because she’d see the two events as being connected.”
“They may be connected, Dominic. They could very well be holding her brother as collateral to make sure she’s there. Shadow said he told you that Sophia is their primary target now. They’ve used her love for her brother against her all along.”
“That’s what worries me, Tucker. Either way–if they have her brother or if they get to her, she can’t win,” I sigh. “And I can’t let her lose.”
Rejoining the others, they instantly sense the tension rolling off both Tucker and me. They may have even heard my raised voice behind the thick, wooden door. But no one comes right out and asks us about our conversation even though the giant, crimson elephant is sitting in the middle of the room.
“Who’s hungry?” I ask, changing the subject before it’s even brought up.
“I know I am,” Tucker replies enthusiastically. “What’s on the menu?”
Mom rises from her seat and gives me herI-already-know-everything-and-you’re-in-a-shitload-of-troublelook. “Your father and I already planned our meal for tonight. Since I didn’t get to cook breakfast for everyone,” she says with a smile, “I’m cooking dinner.”
“Let me help you with that, Kayla,” Sophia says as she stands.
Mom wraps her arm around Sophia’s and the two of them walk off to the kitchen. Once they’re out of earshot, Dad wastes no time in jumping in. “That was some conversation the two of you had in there.”
“How much did you hear?” I ask, concerned that Sophia heard the part about her brother.
“We couldn’t make out any words, actually. It mostly sounded like muffled shouting when we could hear anything. But, it was enough that your mother and I would start talking to draw Sophia’s attention and try to mask it more. She knows something bad is up. So, why don’t you fill your old man in?”
Over the next thirty minutes, Tucker, Dad and I rehash the details of what was just shared with me. When the smell of the food cooking starts wafting through the room, I know dinner is almost finished and they’ll be back for us at any minute. Surprisingly, Dad agrees that Sophia needs to go to work Monday, just like she does any other day, to avoid sending up a red flag.
“Let’s go find them before they come find us,” I say as I head toward the kitchen.
Sophia’s setting the table and Mom is putting the finishing touches on the food. My feet seem have a mind of their own as they carry me straight to Sophia. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pull her in as close to me as possible. Her arms find their place around my neck as her body molds to perfectly fit mine. I know there are others in the room with us and they probably feel somewhat uncomfortable. I know they’re waiting for our public display of affection to end so we can enjoy our meal together. I also know that I’m not ready to let her go yet and she feels it, too.
Leaning my head down, I whisper softly into her ear. “Your Dom has a confession to make.”
Her muscles stiffen for a fraction of a second as a bolt of worry rushes through her before she relaxes in my embrace again.She trusts me.
“You can tell me, Dom.”
“I’m your Dom, but you own me,My Angel. My heart, my love, and my life all revolve around you now and that’ll never change. You can never leave me, Sophia.”
I can’t shake this ominous feeling that something terrible is coming. Like a barometer senses when a thunderstorm is gaining strength, the strong foreboding feeling can’t be ignored. It whispers to me, taunts me, and tells me that regardless of what I do, Sophia will be mercilessly snatched from my hands. No matter how much sense it makes to allow her to go to work as usual, my gut tells me to run away with her and let them figure this out without us. I understand we can’t tip off Cortez orHarry Dick-manto our plan, but no one else is being asked to put the love of his life in a dangerous situation. Knowing Sophia, she’ll insist on being there Monday, if for no other reason than she thinksshehas to protectme.
Squeezing me harder, she whispers back, “You’ll never lose me, Dom, I’m yours forever. I could never love anyone else after being loved by you. Why would you think that’s even possible?”
Pulling away, her confusion at my statement is obvious on her beautiful face. She searches my eyes before leaning up on her toes to pour all of her love for me into her kiss. I don’t have it in me to tell her that’s not how I meant‘leave me’and I’m breaking inside just thinking about this. Holding her face in my hands, I let her see deep into my soul through my eyes as I say the next words to her.
