This is what happens when you kill one of their own. You piss them off. You stir a killing fury.
Clark pushed her from the room. One of the uniformed cops followed them out, but the one with the rage in his gaze—he stayed inside.
Good choice.
The door shut behind them with a clang. “What the hell, Sophie? What are you doing?”
“Protecting my client.”
“Barclay.” Disgust was in the name.
“Duvato is spouting lies to you. You can’t believe anything that man says. He’s a killer, nothing more. Nothing more.”
Chapter Seven
Lex didn’t make it to the observation room. When he rounded the corner heading toward that room, he saw the ADA and Sophie locked in a heated conversation. They were in the middle of the hallway and—
“Barclay is a killer, too!” Clark blasted.
“So what, you make a deal with one devil to catch another?”
Clark turned away, seemingly about to head back into the holding room. “If necessary.”
Sophie grabbed him and jerked the guy toward her. “It’s not necessary. Daniel Duvato is scum. He’s full of lies, and I won’t let him impinge my client—”
Thunder came then, blasting hard. Lex lunged forward even as Faith drew her own weapon because he knew that blast wasn’t really thunder—it was gunfire and it had come from inside that holding room.
Before he could reach Sophie, Clark had grabbed her and pulled her away from the holding area, wrapping his arms around her as if he’d shield her.
“Sophie!” Lex reached for her and Clark looked up, his face tight and his eyes wild.
“Bastard killed one guard last night,” Clark bit out. “Not again…”
Faith and another officer kicked open the door to the holding room. They raced inside. Lex pulled Sophie toward him, making sure his body was the one protecting her. But when he looked into that holding room, Daniel Duvato wasn’t brandishing a weapon. He was on the floor, his body twitching, as blood flowed from the wound in his chest.
A dark-haired officer stood over him. “He went for my weapon,” the guy said. He didn’t take his gaze off Daniel. “I wasn’t about to end up the way prison guard Charlie Branson did. Murdered by this SOB.”
“Get a medic!” Faith yelled as she crouched near Daniel.
A medic wasn’t going to do the guy much good.
“S-Sophie…” A desperate croak that was her name—Daniel’s voice strained as he tried to call out to her in what Lex knew were the guy’s last moments.
He hoped Sophie hadn’t heard that call.
But she pushed against his chest. Her head lifted. “He wants me.”
Too bad. The guy was dying. He’d never have the chance to attack her—
Sophie pushed against Lex again. He just tightened his hold on her. More cops were swarming back there, and he wanted to get Sophie out of there.
“I have to see him.” Her voice was fierce. “I have to.”
Dammit. He let her go.
Clark had rushed back into the holding room. Lex saw that Clark had taken the gun away from the officer who’d fired—the cop was a tall fellow, a little on the thin side¸ with close-cropped brown hair. He looked pretty young, maybe in his early twenties. When Lex looked up at the fellow’s eyes, he expected to see shock. Maybe horror.
No emotion was there.
“S-Sophie…”
Daniel was still alive. Fighting to keep talking. Sophie tried to get closer to him.
Lex caught her hand in his. “That’s close enough.” Then he raised his voice. “She’s here, Daniel. Say whatever the hell it is—”
“S-sorry, Soph…” Daniel’s breath rattled in his lungs. Rattled—
Silence.
Daniel Duvato wouldn’t be a threat to anyone else ever again.
***
He watched as Sophie was led out of the police station. She kept glancing over her shoulder, looking back as if she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.
Daniel Duvato is dead. Just like I promised you.
He’d just needed to put the right amount of money into the right hand. It had been so easy. Sure, he would’ve liked to pull the trigger himself, but dead was dead.
Sophie stood on the station’s steps. Her new lover was at her side. The lover wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he tried to act all protective. Such bullshit. Sophie didn’t need anyone protecting her.
That’s what I’m here for.
He was looking out for Sophie. Protecting her, as no one else could. He wasn’t afraid to make the tough choices. Wasn’t afraid for lives to be lost. Those who hurt Sophie got exactly what they deserved.
Pain. Death.
Did she realize it was all for her? He hoped so. Maybe he’d visit her again. Let her show her appreciation to him. With Daniel soon to be rotting in the ground, he knew Sophie would be happy.
Would she kiss him when he went to her?
Wrap her arms around him and hold him tight?
He couldn’t wait to see just how much Sophie appreciated all he’d done for her.
***
Ethan Barclay was running toward them.
Talk about some seriously bad timing. When the guy rushed up the police station’s steps, Lex put out his hand. “You need to get the hell out of here,” he ordered.
Ethan ignored him and stared at Sophie’s too pale face. Lex didn’t like that pallor.
“What happened, Sophie?” Ethan seemed to brace himself. “Were you too late? Did Daniel talk?”
Lex glanced over his shoulder. He could practically feel eyes on them. “Daniel isn’t talking to anyone right now. Seriously, man, get the hell out of here. We’ll call you.” He started ushering Sophie down the steps.
Ethan followed.
“He’s dead,” Sophie whispered. “One of the guards—it was Griffin Hollister, the new guy—Griffin shot Daniel. Daniel was reaching for his weapon. Griffin had to defend himself.” Her words were stilted, almost as if she were speaking on some kind of autopilot, and she definitely sounded like she was channeling her inner defense attorney.
Ethan stopped following them. “Dead?”
He sounded satisfied. Lex didn’t have time to deal with his shit right then. He kept going. Lex hit the sidewalk and just hurried faster until he had Sophie safely in his car. “I’m glad he’s dead.” Her voice was quiet. “Is that wrong?”
He cranked the car and pulled away as fast as he could. “Daniel left you unconscious in a house filling with gas. He left you to die. I don’t know that there’s a whole lot right with that situation.” He risked a fast glance at Sophie and found her staring down at her hands. She’d fisted them in her lap.
“I was glad when my father was dead, too.”
He braked at a red light. “Sophie…” He just wanted to pull her into his arms.
She looked up at him. There were no tears in her eyes. No rage. Just like the guard. Maybe Sophie was in shock. Violence and death could drive a person too far.
“I should have been sorry about my mother. She hadn’t hurt me.” She bit her lip. “I think something is wrong with me,” Sophie confessed. “I don’t feel the way I should.”
The light changed. He shoved the gas pedal down against the floor board. “There isn’t a fucking thing wrong with you.”
“I should feel something. Something. A man died in front of me, and all I have is this relief… ” Her voice trailed away.
“He tried to kill you! The guy was a sadistic murderer! So what if you don’t shed tears for him?” There was nothing wrong with her. As far as he was concerned, she was everything right in his world.
But he could practically feel her slipping away from him. His right hand reached out and grabbed her left hand. Held tight. “Nothing is wrong,” he said again, needing her to believe him.
Sophie was too stiff, not responding. Okay. He needed to get them off that road and into a safe place, pronto. Luckily VJS Protection was
just minutes away. At the next intersection, he took a hard right. Horns followed him, but Lex didn’t care.
He drove faster. Lex spun into the parking garage when he finally reached his destination, and then he hauled ass up the elevator with her.
She didn’t look at him in the elevator. She didn’t seem to be looking at anything.
“Sophie.” He touched her cheek. “Don’t do this. Don’t freeze me out.”
Lex thought he saw her lower lip tremble.
“I’m no good for you,” Sophie said. “I should have handled all this on my own. You’re too close.”
Damn straight he was close, and he planned to get closer. “You think I haven’t seen this before? On the battlefield, it happened too many times.”
“I’m not on the battlefield,” Sophie whispered as she closed her eyes. “I’m not a soldier.”
“You’re in shock.”
“No, I’m—”
“You’re shutting down to protect yourself because you don’t want any more pain. Daniel Duvato was your friend, wasn’t he, Sophie? For years, he worked with Ethan, so that meant he worked with you. You knew him, and you trusted him, didn’t you?”
Her eyes were still closed.
“Then he turned on you and shattered that trust.”
“It’s not safe to trust anyone,” she said, her voice husky.
“It’s safe to trust me, sweetheart. I won’t let you down.” He leaned over her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I swear it.”
Her eyes fluttered open. She gazed at him, her expression stark. “He was my friend, before he tried to kill me.”
“And it was your friend that you saw on that floor, bleeding out, wasn’t it?” The elevator had stopped. He heard the doors open behind him, but Lex didn’t move. “It was your friend telling you he was sorry as he lay dying.”
He heard her breath hitch. “We spent holidays together. Summers…one year, he tried to surf down in Miami and no matter what he did, Daniel just couldn’t stand on that surfboard. He crashed about a dozen times before he gave up.”
Daniel Duvato had been a twisted, cold-blooded killer. Once, though, he’d been something more.
“You don’t have to shut yourself off,” Lex told her. “Sweetheart, I’m right here.”
Her gaze searched his.
He could read her so well right then. It was almost as if she thought that if she let her emotions out, she’d never be able to control them again. “I’ll take care of you.”
Sophie pulled in a deep breath. “I—”
“Lex.”
That was Chance’s voice. Coming from right behind him. Lex turned and saw that Chance Valentine stood on the edge of the elevator. Chance had thrown out a hand to stop the elevator doors from closing again. Chance’s dark eyes swept over Lex—and Sophie. “We need to talk,” Chance said flatly.
He didn’t want to talk with Chance right then. He wanted to stay with Sophie. She needed him and—
“There’s intel you don’t know,” Chance said. “We need to talk. Now.” His face was hard.
Sophie pushed against Lex. “If this is intel about me, then shouldn’t I be in this little meeting?”
And, just like that, Lex had lost her. He could practically see Sophie putting her walls back in place. How many years had she done that? Tried to block herself off from others? She was wrong about herself not feeling. Actually, Lex thought she might feel too much.
“Of course,” Chance said, inclining his head toward her. “Why don’t you both just come into my office…”
Lex didn’t want to go in there. He wanted Sophie in his office where they could be alone. Hell, he hadn’t even thought that Chance would be in at VJS. He’d just known the place was close, and he’d wanted it to be a safe haven for Sophie.
Sophie slipped by Lex. He shook his head and followed her. Chance led their little group, taking them down the narrow hallway, past their receptionist, and into Chance’s office. The guy had a killer view—a view very similar to Lex’s own. Big windows looked out over DC, showing them the capital’s skyline.
“You were both on scene when Daniel Duvato died,” Chance began as soon as Lex shut the door.
Lex’s brows shot up in surprise. His buddy had sure learned that news fast.
Chance’s lips quirked, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ve got friends down at the station.” He motioned to the chair near his desk. “Sophie, why don’t you have a seat?”
She slipped into the chair. Crossed her legs. Lex’s gaze dipped to her heels, then slid back to her face.
Don’t lock yourself away, Sophie.
Lex didn’t sit, but he did march closer to her. He propped his shoulders against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited.
“Your stalker told you that he’d kill Daniel Duvato,” Chance said. Lex had fully briefed Chance and Dev on everything that bastard had said to her. “And now Daniel is on his way to the morgue.”
“He attacked an officer who’d been assigned to guard him. The officer fired in self-defense.” Her words were too calm. “That’s not my stalker. That’s just life.” She shook her head. “And death. Maybe Daniel had a death wish. Maybe he thought he was invincible. I don’t know, but, yes, he’s gone now.”
Chance glanced over at Lex. “Did you talk to the guard?” He looked back at his desk, picked up a notepad, and said, “Griffin Hollister?”
“There wasn’t time for a chat,” Lex said, wondering where this was going. “The ADA had him and the cops were swarming. My priority was to get Sophie out of there.”
Sophie shifted in her seat. “Daniel killed a guard last night. Griffin told us all that he wasn’t about to wind up the same way. Perhaps he was a little trigger happy, but given the circumstances—”
“You knew Griffin,” Chance cut in. “Didn’t you, Sophie?”
“What? Well, yes. I’d see him a few times, with other prisoners—some clients.”
“And your buddy Ethan knows him, too, right?”
Because Lex was watching Sophie so carefully, he saw the faint flutter of her lashes. “I wouldn’t know.”
She’s lying. Now Lex stood a little straighter, gaze focused and body on alert.
“When Ethan was… ah…in police custody a while back,” Chance said, “Griffin was one of his guards.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“He was. My friends at the PD told me.”
This shit is getting tangled. What had seemed like simple self-defense such a short time ago now felt a whole lot more sinister.
Sophie’s heel slowly kicked back and forth. “You’ve got some helpful friends.”
Chance tilted his head as he studied her. “It’s interesting that Daniel was at the police station today, I mean, he wasn’t being held at the station before. That’s not standard. He was brought in, though, and you were conveniently there for that little meeting this morning.”
Her heel kept swinging. “I was there because he was trying to make a deal with the ADA. He wanted to implicate my client in crimes—”
“Your client…” Chance rubbed his chin and propped his hip against the edge of the desk. The guy looked relaxed, but Lex knew that image was a lie. “You mean Ethan Barclay.”
“We all know who she means,” Lex muttered darkly.
Sophie didn’t look ruffled. Her emotions were all still locked up. “If you know everything, then why are you asking me questions?”
Lex was thinking the same thing. He also was thinking he didn’t like the way Chance was pushing Sophie. Friend or no friend, that shit was about to stop. “Chance…” His voice held a warning note.
Chance smiled. “Ethan Barclay once told me that he had friends in prison and that maybe Daniel wouldn’t survive long.” He paused. “I guess he was right about that, huh?”
Sophie slowly stood. “If you have an accusation—”
“Ethan Barclay was also at the police station today, wasn’t he?” Chance’s gaze swung t
o Lex.
Lex gave a grim nod. “Yeah, he was there.” But he’d been waiting outside. Ethan had been nowhere near Daniel when the guy was shot.
Chance cut his gaze back to Sophie. “And, conveniently, before he could roll on your client, Daniel was taken out.”
“A cop shot him—” Lex began.
“A cop that Dev has already linked to Ethan. Griffin Hollister has been going to Ethan’s club, Wicked, for the last two weeks. He’s a new regular there. And one of Ethan’s enemies has been eliminated. Ethan’s enemy…and yours, Ms. Sarantos.”
“This is ridiculous,” Sophie announced. “I don’t have to listen to you accuse my friend of taking out some kind of hit!” Sophie stood and swung toward Lex. “This is why you brought me here? I thought…” She gave a sharp, negative shake of her head. “Forget what I thought.” She strode toward the door.
Lex caught her quickly, catching her wrist in his grasp. “Wait, Sophie, just wait.” He tossed a hot glare at Chance. “So you’re telling us that Ethan Barclay arranged for that hit? He let it go down right in front of Sophie?”
“Actually, I’m wondering…” Chance’s expression tightened. “Were Sophie and Ethan in on the plan together? Because I’ve got to imagine that they both wanted Duvato dead.” Chance obviously wasn’t backing down. “And since I am such a suspicious bastard, I can’t help but think that this whole case has been a run of perfect circumstances.” He held up his hand and started counting off the circumstances. “A man breaks into Sophie’s house and he threatens Sophie. Well, after that, she just had to go to the ADA with that threat, right?”
“Stop,” Sophie said, but she didn’t look at Chance. She kept her eyes on Lex.
Chance didn’t stop. “And the ADA, well, he had to go and see Daniel Duvato. While he was there, of course, Duvato pushed for a deal. Offered to give up the goods on Ethan. We all knew that would happen, right? Considering how much Daniel hated Ethan. Easy enough to predict.”
“You can’t predict anything with Daniel,” Sophie said as she stared up at Lex. “That’s why another guard died last night and Daniel’s lawyer is in intensive care.”