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“Why are you here, Jacob?”
He sighs and rakes a hand through his hair. “You’re on the FBI radar, Soph. I had to warn you.”
I bare my teeth in a too-bright smile. “How do you know? You’re not FBI. Not officially.”
“No. But I’ve got friends who’re asking questions about your father.”
Ah. The actual point of his presence. That’s new. When we dated, prying out his real motives was a full-time job.
“Thought we covered that a while ago.”
He approaches me, coming close enough to brush his fingers against my elbow. A touch meant to either ground me or remind me about our once upon a time a year back. It does both.
Memories slam into me. Moments we spent together and the promises whispered like secrets, along with my disappointment when he revealed his plan to leave for the police academy.
“You’re shaking,” he says, his voice too tender.
“It’s adrenaline.” I cross my arms. “Not nostalgia.”
His eyes flicker. “I know you, Sophia. You wouldn’t protect a man like Vincent unless…”
“Unless what?” I cut in, my tone sharper as I navigate around him, hitting a block tower over and sending it tumbling to the floor in the process. “Unless I’m like him?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Don’t do this.” My voice drops low. “Don’t come here with your badge and your ‘concern.’ You didn’t show up for me. You showed up for them.”
His jaw tightens. “I never stopped caring…”
I shake my head. “You just decided your badge mattered more than my mother rotting in a psych ward. More than me disappearing into nothing.”
He flinches, and his gaze rakes over me, heated with…desire? Pity? Control? All three, maybe. “You look…” Jacob hesitates, “different.”
“I clean up well, I guess.”
His lips twitch, and he presses his mouth into a line. He does that when he has something to say and he’s trying to hold back. Though he usually keeps his thoughts to himself, I wait anyway. He only nods toward the hallway. “They’re going to push harder. The FBI. You’re…vulnerable.”
“I’m not my father,” I hiss. “Don’t forget that.”
And still, his eyes linger. “Be careful, Soph.” His voice drops an octave. “There’s a storm coming.”
My stomach tightens, but I lift my chin. “Let it come.”
With that, he turns away and marches out the door. I take a calming breath, and my fingers drift to my chest. I want to believe Jacob’s warning is just his fearmongering, but if the FBI are on my trail, something darker might be watching too.
Enzo.
He’s found me before, and if he wants to, he can do so again. Would he want to?
I square my shoulders and gather my bag. Each step clicks against the tile like a countdown.
Vincent’s legacy might be clawing at the edges of my peace, but I won’t let that threat steal this safe world I built from crayons and construction paper.
My life now is as slow, boring, and amazing as I want it to be.
Sophia
Close to an hour later, I pull into the parking lot of the big hospital. My feet know where to go, so I don’t hesitate as I snatch the flowers I picked up on the way.
