“Ky said it might’ve been random. A coincidence.” Sophie didn’t look away, but there was a pleading note in her quiet tone. “It could’ve happened to anyone’s car.”
Ah, hell. “I don’t think so.”
Her shoulders slumped slightly. “Why?”
He hadn’t wanted to say this out loud. Not ever. But it was the truth and maybe they both needed to hear it. “I’m a negative influence in your life, Sophie. There hasn’t been anything about me in your days that made your life better.”
“That’s not true.” And there was the snap, the hard edge, the defensive tone she always took on his behalf. She’d done it since high school, even to her father.
“It’s very possible that your association to Hope’s Crossing Kennels, to me and Rojas and Cruz, made you a target.” There it was. He hated even mentioning Rojas or Cruz in that statement because the kennels and everything that happened in conjunction with them were his accountability. But Rojas and Cruz had been neck-deep in the altercations over the last year and they took the onus of the situation as a team. “You’re an integral part of this place and the most accessible.”
“So someone is trying to get to you through me. Possibly.” There was a bitterness in her tone. “Don’t you think Ky will track them down? Or maybe the one thing with my car was a warning and there isn’t more coming. Nothing happened last night. You stomped through my house and scared me out of my mind while you did it and there was no one there.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Sophie hadn’t ever doubted him before, not ever. He’d been an idiot not to recognize the strain she’d been under after the explosion and then losing her job. Sophie’s way of handling adversity was to push forward, head down, and keep going until she came out on the other end.
He couldn’t let her do that this time.
“We need to be careful. This isn’t the sort of situation where reacting will be enough.” Forte hardened his tone. “If we let down our guard, the next time something happens, we won’t be able to save you.”
“I don’t need saving.” Sophie shot the denial back. “My entire life is in limbo. I can’t stay like this, not doing anything but waiting to see if maybe something will happen to me. I have bills to pay and I’m supposed to have a career to continue. I need to—”
“Stop and think about whether you want to keep going with blinders on.” He figured now was a better time than any to talk about her life. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed over the last couple of years. I’ve watched you go along with what you should do and then save your spare time for the real things that make you smile. Those things don’t have to be just hobbies. If you were so happy with your career and doing everything your family said you should do, why were you always here? You’re so good at helping other people realize their dreams. You’re allowed to make some of your own happen.”
She was staring at him, her lips parted. She’d probably been ready to fire back some hot retort. But instead, tears were welling up in her eyes and her lower lip had a barely perceptible tremor.
Shit.
He shot out of his chair as she struggled to get her leg under her. Coming around the table he wrapped his arms around her. “No, Sophie, I’m sorry.”
She shook her head but didn’t try to break free. She slumped into his hold instead, soundlessly sobbing.
He sat down in the chair she’d been using, pulling her across his lap. Once she was balanced, he tucked her head under his chin. “Just hang in there with me a little longer. Let me make sure there really isn’t any more danger, then you can do what you need to do. I’ll help you if you let me.”
But wasn’t this what she was refusing in the first place? She didn’t want his help, especially when it involved saving her when she didn’t believe she needed saving.
“I just keep thinking it’s a bad nightmare, that there’s some mistake,” Sophie whispered against his throat.
He tightened his arms around her. He was going to hell in a hand basket because having her in his arms felt too damned good. He wanted to make everything better, kiss away her tears, and drive every fear out of her head in ways he absolutely shouldn’t be thinking about doing.
“I need you to recognize the very real danger, Sophie.” He craned his neck so he could see her face. Her cheeks were flushed and wet with tears. It tore up the inside of his chest. “Help me keep you safe so you have a life to go on with after this is over.”
She didn’t say anything immediately. There was a despair in her dark chocolate eyes he’d do anything to banish. He didn’t know how. He only knew he needed to keep her alive so she could decide what happiness was for her.
After a moment her gaze dropped to his lips and a different, darker blush colored her cheeks as she turned her face away. “I’ll get some work done updating my résumé in your office while you handle classes today.”
There she went, taking refuge in practical next steps. He didn’t argue.
“Can I ask a favor?” Her voice was soft, and she shifted her weight in her lap.
He did his best to keep his hands in safe places, but his response to her was becoming obvious even through his jeans. So he let his arms fall away so she could get to her feet. “Ask.”
“Can Haydn hang out with me while you’re teaching the classes?”
He chuckled and stood. “Yeah, I’ll bring him in for you.”
She and Haydn could rest together and keep each other company. He was glad she’d have the big dog’s presence through the day. In a way, she’d be safer with Haydn than she would be with him.
Because he shouldn’t want Sophie the way he did. But hell, he’d never listened to what he should and shouldn’t do.
Chapter Nine
Let me down!” Sophie’s whisper was actually pretty loud. “Brandon Forte, you let me down. What do you think my neighbors are going to tell my family when they get back? Because they are so going to see this.”
Good. Forte grinned. Okay, so maybe insisting on carrying Sophie up the stairs to her apartment wasn’t the most conventional way to do things. But he liked the feel of her in his arms, and this was one of the least dangerous ways he could indulge in having her close.
He pitched his voice a bit louder than conversational tone. “They’re going to say your apartment complex doesn’t have elevators and you live on the second floor. No one wants you putting more stress on your ankle trying to limp up the stairs, and you don’t want people to see you sit on the steps and slide your butt up one step at a time.”
That earned him a light thwack across the shoulder, but Sophie quit squirming.
It’d been a long afternoon, and Forte had been in a fairly good mood. Raul Sa had turned out to be a dog handler on par with some of the better men Forte had worked with in the past. The man had gotten along well with two of the dogs, though Forte had a feeling one was a better match than the other. They’d have Sa take each of the dogs out again tomorrow for separate working sessions to confirm.
Forte had found Sophie cooking dinner, on her feet again, though she’d sworn she’d been sitting just before he’d arrived. He was going to need to think about a supplemental grocery run if Sophie was going to be hanging out at the kennels more in the next few days. They usually did a lot of ordering out for delivery.
Of course, he wasn’t going to say no to homemade meals by Sophie more often. He just might need to increase his cardio. Portion control was harder with her cooking than it was with delivery.
Once he reached the landing, he set Sophie down slowly so she had time to establish her balance. She was light in his arms, supple. And the warmth of her lingered on his hands.
“We are going to need to come to an agreement as to when my ankle is healed enough to take the stairs myself.” Sophie pulled her keys out of her pocket. They were attached to a Revolution lanyard. One thing Gary and Greg taught in their self-defense classes was to make sure house keys were easily accessible. A person was vulnerable if their attention was c
entered on rooting around in a purse or backpack for keys. “You can’t keep picking me up whenever you feel I can’t make it on my own.”
“Oh, but I plan to anyway.” She’d done it for him, figuratively speaking, more times than he could count, and she might not even know it.
Color rushed into Sophie’s cheeks. It’d been happening more frequently recently, and he was ridiculously proud to have caused it most of those times.
She handed him her keys and stood aside. He gave her a smile, glad she was acknowledging his caution, even if she still wasn’t sold on the necessity. Then he turned his attention to her entryway and started the process of clearing her apartment. As soon as he opened the door, they both turned serious. Her apartment was freezing, and the opening of the front door created a cross breeze, meaning there was another aperture open somewhere in the apartment.
A deadly kind of calm fell over Forte as he gave Haydn the order to proceed, then followed with his firearm ready. Adrenaline flowed through him, and long years of training and combat experience kicked in. He extended his senses to catch any hint of danger. It was about more than sight. Scent, sound, vibrations coming from the floor up through the soles of his feet, and more could tell him what he needed to make sure they all survived. Gently, he guided Sophie into the “safe” corner. There was definitely something wrong, and he wouldn’t leave her vulnerable in the entryway.
Sophie’s new cat came out from under the breakfast table. It was fluffed back up to twice its size, walking on stiff legs with its fur standing on end like it was hooked up permanently to a Van de Graaff generator. It stared at Forte, then Haydn, for a second before rushing directly past them to climb up Sophie’s jeans.
Haydn took a few steps forward and froze, his stance rigid and his head up. His weight was balanced forward evenly on both his good leg and the prosthetic. His ears had swiveled forward to catch every sound, and his attention was on the bedroom.
There was someone in the apartment.
Whoever it was remained out of sight. For the moment.
Walking into an ambush situation was never advisable. But Forte needed to determine whether it was one or more, then flush the bastard—or bastards—out.
If it’d been Sophie coming home by herself, they’d have been ready to catch her in the parking lot if she’d backed out of the apartment and run. Or they’d planned to be certain they caught her in here, before she had a chance to get away.
The thought of her coming home alone to this made his gut twist and burn. How dare they violate her home?
Forte considered his options. Sending Haydn in ahead was safer, but Haydn was still learning to use his prosthetic. None of his physical therapy had included any of the standard bite work or attack exercises. Haydn had no way of knowing yet how his lack of a left forepaw was going to change the way he could move in those instances. If they were armed, and Forte assumed they were, they’d shoot Haydn in a moment of lost momentum.
Could he risk his partner’s life that way?
It was a reality of working dogs.
But Forte wouldn’t send a soldier unprepared, and he wouldn’t send in Haydn, either.
“Bewaken.” He indicated Sophie with his left hand, fully extended, and issued the command so softly it was practically subvocal. But Haydn would hear him and guard Sophie while he advanced.
Keeping his firearm up, Forte established his cone of fire and advanced on the bedroom door. He walked heel-toe to keep the barrel level and kept his movement smooth, even, and as quiet as possible. Anyone hiding would strain to assess his position by sound at the least. His approach took him in an arching path to give him as much sight into the room as possible.
Suddenly, gunfire rang out in the silence. One shot.
Forte dove for the nearest cover at the corner of Sophie’s couch. “Sophie, get down! Call nine-one-one!”
A figure dressed in dark clothes darted from one side of Sophie’s room to her window. The man turned and took another shot, forcing Forte back to cover, and then he was out.
Forte almost lunged but checked his forward motion. He risked a glance back to make sure Sophie was okay. She was crouching exactly where he’d left her, and Haydn was still on guard. Then he approached the door at an angle to see as much of the room as possible. There could be a second person waiting in the room.
He entered cautiously and cleared Sophie’s bedroom first, wincing at the way her belongings had been tossed. The floor was covered in her clothes and stuff from her dresser.
By the time he got to the window, there was no sign of her intruder. He’d figured he’d be too late, but it would’ve been potentially deadly if he’d gone straight after the man. Too many times, a fellow soldier or dog had gotten overexcited in the chase and gone into a room after a target before clearing the room. When a second or third hostile proved to be in the room, waiting, the result had been tragic.
And if Forte were taken down, who would protect Sophie?
Speaking of Sophie, he could hear her on the phone, giving her name and address. The police would be on-site soon.
Forte picked his way carefully through Sophie’s bedroom, back to the door. Sophie had shrunken as far as she could into the corner, her face pale and eyes wide. She had her phone clutched in her hand like a lifeline but otherwise looked to be keeping her shit together. He gave her a nod and the tension eased through her shoulders.
It was the best he could do in the moment.
Haydn watched him, intense and ready to respond. Forte left him where he was for the time being and instead looked at the cat.
The thing was curled up on Sophie’s shoulder, sleek and normal looking. No puffed fur.
Wasn’t that interesting?
Cat and dog notwithstanding, Forte took the time to clear the bathroom and the rest of the apartment for nasty surprises before returning to the front door to stand with Sophie. She’d calmed and regained some normal tone in her complexion, standing just inside the door enough so she wasn’t exposed to any additional threats coming up from outside. But her eyes were still wild and her knuckles were showing white as she continued to grip her phone.
“Whoever it was is gone now. The apartment is clear.” He watched her carefully to be sure she heard him.
Sophie met his gaze, eyes wide, and nodded once. “You were right.”
“Yes.” It wasn’t an I-told-you-so. It was just the state of things. His suspicions were confirmed. “Thank you for believing in me long enough to be sure this didn’t go as badly as it could’ve.”
She paled again, and he cursed himself. He was going to win the Asshole of the Year award for his conversational skills.
“The point is, it didn’t happen. They didn’t get you.” He tried to put every ounce of reassurance he could manage into his words. “And I’m going to be with you until we make sure whoever it is can’t come close to you ever again.”
“Promise.” The word came out in a whisper so low he almost didn’t hear her.
“I promise, Sophie. I’ll be with you.”
Sirens came into hearing range, slowly getting louder as they approached. Good. If the hostile had remained in the vicinity, he might leave the area completely. As much as Forte wanted to chase him down, Sophie was his first priority, and he wasn’t leaving her until the police arrived. He’d just promised her.
“I wanted it to be an accident. Random. Some insane mistake.” Sophie was cuddling her new cat, and the little beast didn’t look like it planned to go anywhere.
No time like the present to test the cat to see if it could handle proximity.
Forte left the door open, but closed the distance between him and Sophie. The cat watched him with bright blue eyes and hissed when he approached. But then it held on to Sophie’s shoulder for dear life as Sophie rushed Forte, wrapping her arms around his torso.
Her slight form was nothing to take into his arms, but the impact of her trust in him rocked him back on his heels. His chest expanded painfully as he held her to
him, indescribably grateful she was okay.
Every what if and what could have been flashed through his brain in a split second. None of them were fit for civilized people. But then, he couldn’t be considered civilized. Not really. Not anymore. Sophie, warm and alive in his arms, was his final reminder of the good things in this world.
“Shh. It’s okay. I’m here.” He hoped those were the right words to say. Mostly, he hoped he was giving her the comfort she needed because he could not tell her she was safe yet. Instead, he settled his arms around her, cat and all.
Sophie continued to hug him, her hands taking up handfuls of his shirt. She buried her face in his chest and shuddered. “What was he going to do with me if I’d come home alone?”
“Don’t know.” And he’d already thought of any number of things. Every one of those possibilities burned a new whole in his chest as his rage built. “But this isn’t good. We’re going to have to take steps.”
The sirens had come to a stop. Footsteps approached.
When Ky hit the landing at a run, Forte acknowledged him with a lift of his chin. Ky took in the open door and Sophie clinging to Forte, then turned to signal to his partner.
“Anyone hurt?” Ky asked as he approached, scanning the interior of the apartment.
“Not to my knowledge.” Forte hadn’t tracked where the one bullet had landed. He only knew it hadn’t hit any of them. “Two shots fired. I did not discharge my weapon.”
After retiring from active duty, he hadn’t given up old habits. He did carry concealed, and he had a license to carry firearms in the state of Pennsylvania to do it legally. All the trainers at Hope’s Crossing Kennels did.
Ky nodded in response. “You want to call in your dog?”
Forte complied. Haydn returned to his side readily.
Ky and his partner followed their own procedure, clearing the apartment and assessing the situation. Finally, Ky let Forte move Sophie farther into the apartment. Once he had Sophie settled on the couch with her foot elevated and a mug of tea in her hands, Forte stepped outside to have a chat with Ky.
Absolute Trust Page 10