Page 88 of Home of the Brave

To say that hanging out at Sophie’s apartment was awkward is an understatement. Here I was with a woman who had lost out to me not once but three times. She had every reason in the world to hate me—I’d be tempted to hate me—and that was before we showed up at her door bringing danger.

But Sophie turned out to be one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. She did everything to make me feel at home while I was practically crawling out of my skin waiting for Code to come back safe. Sophie had tried calling her brother after Code left, but she went straight to voicemail. She looked devastated as she left him a message in a breezy voice, asking him to call her back, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Excellent acting on her part.

I could see why her brother might break the law to make her happy. Not that I was condoning what he did. The guy was a psycho out to ruin my life. But as Sophie bustled around her kitchen looking for a can of sweetened condensed milk for the Vietnamese coffee she wanted to make because it was ‘fancy’ she kept up a steady stream of conversation with a soft smile on her face. Only once did I see her hand tremble as she poured the milk into the coffee cups.

“Sophie,” I said as I took one of the mugs, “I’m so sorry we had to meet this way. I can’t imagine what you must be thinking right now.”

Sophie’s smile faded as her eyes filled with tears. “Just that you must think I’m terrible person and that Russell is worse.” She laughed nervously. “Not that I expect you to believe me, but growing up, he was my hero. He was good. As much as he shielded me from bullies, I know he was being bullied, too. But he never complained to me about it. He didn’t want to upset me.” She wiped away a tear threatening to roll down her cheek. “I know you’ll never forgive him for this, and I don’t blame you.” She shook her head as she looked down into her coffee. “But he was coming from a good place.”

Her eyes snapped back up to mine. “Sorry. That must sound like⁠—”

“Like a loving sister defending her brother,” I finished for her. I reached out and grabbed her hand. “When this is over…” I started. “Whatever happens, I’d like to try and help you.”

“Help…me?”

“Yes. I do have some pull with a couple of directors. I could get you in front of them, for lunch. Something casual, where they could get to know you.”

“You’d do that for me?” A tear fell into her coffee.

“I would, yes.” I felt my cheeks heat. “I feel like I owe you something after taking three roles that should have gone to you. I meant it when I said you shouldn’t give up on your dreams, Sophie.” A thought came to me. “Do you have a demo reel?”

“Of course.”

“Can I see it?”

She nearly choked on her coffee. “You want to see my demo reel?”

“I do.” I smiled. “Show me what you’ve got. Maybe I could give you some pointers.”

“That would be amazing.” Sophie set her coffee down and went over to her kitchen table. She grabbed her laptop and brought it back to the counter. “It’s only about two minutes long.”

“That’s a perfect length,” I told her. “Directors look at hundreds of clips and you’ve got to catch their attention within the first few seconds.”

Sophie queued up the video and hit play.

Two minutes later, I realized exactly why her brother would blackmail me.