by Elle, Leen
"Sophie, if I'm going to keep you safe, I need to know the truth. I need to know why you're with Max and Luke, and I need you to be honest with me." His voice was hard. "I know you haven't forgiven me for not telling you my past, but I can't apologize for who I am."
"I never asked you to apologize for you're background. You can't change that, but I can't change the fact that I feel betrayed. The reason I'm with Max is...complicated."
"I'm trying to be here for you, but you're being very difficult." He closed his eyes and bowed his head. "There is a reason...a reason I left that life. It's a long story, and I'm not ready to tell you just yet. When I am, I will tell you. I promise you that, so please trust me."
She didn't trust him. She'd be lying if she said that she did. He'd messed with her too much for it to be easy to believe in him again. However, she wanted to believe in him. Like always, she wished that she could have faith in his promises. It was that wish that gave her hope.
"I can't tell you everything. There's something I need from Max, and I have to steal it from him." Sophie knew his first argument before he could voice it. "It has to be me who steals it, not you or Luke. It's my mission, so I'm going to take the risks."
"Does Diana Apell have anything to do with this?"
Sophie hesitated for a moment. "Yes," she finally answered. "I'm still figuring out the details, but the mission shouldn't take long. I'm planning to return home after I get my target."
"You want to go back there?" His voice was shocked.
"Right now, what I want and need are the same thing. Max's home is like a prison, but I need this next clue." She paused, watching him carefully. "You think I'm insane, right?"
"There are a thousand names I could call you right now, and insane would only be one of them." His voice was strained. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into. If I had known..."
"Your input wouldn't have changed anything. Even if you'd demanded I'd stay here, I would've gone."
"This target is that important?"
"I was that pissed at you, and that driven to succeed."
Robert sighed heavily. He didn't seem the least bit relieved at her answer. "The questions will start tomorrow. Rylan's captured the attention for now, but you can't escape the kids forever. With him like this, leaving them will be twice as cruel."
Sophie's heart felt like it broke a little inside. He was just stating the truth, but it was so much harsher hearing it aloud. Thinking about leaving Rylan while he was injured made her feel sick. She was needed here more than ever, but Max wouldn't give her more than one night away.
"We also don't know if Max was behind the shooting. I can't guarantee your safety with him." Robert turned to look at her, and his eyes were burning with fear. She'd never seen him like this before.
"I knew it would be dangerous going into this mission. I don't need to be protected. Maybe instead of me having faith in you, it's time for you to trust me."
"How can you be so stupid?" Robert whispered. "Seriously, he could kill you, Sophie."
"I want this to be over." She replied with a confident tone. "I want to be done with this world so much that I'd do anything."
"You're planning to leave us again?" Robert's shock was evident on his face.
"I can't do anything for you or Luke. The chains linking you to Cleo and Max aren't something I can erase. However, the kids aren't the same as you. If I give Cleo what she wants, then she'll give me back my identity. If I play my cards right, I could give the kids back their identities too. They could go to school, make friends...they could actually live life. The plans' a work in progress, but..."
Sophie was cut off Robert moving towards her. He closed the distance in seconds, leaning into her and capturing her lips with his.
She was too stunned to react, but he kissed her with purpose. This wasn't an accident, or act to fool someone else. In many ways, it was another promise.
He kissed her until she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, but still she didn't want to let him go. She knew it was wrong to kiss him. Out of all the people in the world to love, he was the absolute worst. He was selfish, manipulative, insincere, and cruel. He'd played with her since day one, and he had heartbreaker written across his face.
Even with all of these thoughts racing through her head, her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. It was as if her heart were reminding her brain that she couldn't rationalize her way out of loving him. If this was love that she was feeling after all.
When he pulled back, his eyes searched her own. "I'm not going to apologize."
She felt like it was wrong to feel this happy with Rylan in so much pain, but for a moment she cracked a smile. "I didn't ask you to."
As she watched him, her momentary happiness turned to sadness. She hated crying in front of people, but he'd just shoved his way into her heart. Now that she'd passed through the numb-phase, she felt herself crumbling back into an emotional wreck.
His kiss had woken her up, but not solved anything. Guilt overwhelmed her as she thought of how everyone in the house was hurting, and how wrong it was for her to feel the least bit happy at a time like this.
Tears began to slip down her face. Robert was there to capture the first few with his hands, but the rest were two fast for him to brush away. He instinctively pulled her to him, hugging her as close as he could.
"I swore I would never do this again." He whispered into her hair.
"I'm sorry." She replied, trying to control herself without success. "I'm sorry, I just need you right now. I'll be fine it a few minutes...just give me a few minutes."
"If this is what you need, I'll be here for as long as you want."
His words sent chill-bumps up her arms. She'd heard Luke say the same thing so many times in the past, but it had never made her feel this way. Sometimes it wasn't saying the right thing, but having the right person say the right thing that mattered the most.
"Why are you so supportive all of a sudden?" Sophie asked, hoping she could joke away her tears.
"It's you, darling. Probably because it's you."
"That makes absolutely no sense. I'm not that special at all. Trust me."
He hugged her even tighter. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're a thousand times more important to me than I'd ever let you know."
She laughed through her tears, even though her heart was still heavy. "I doubt it."
"You probably don't know this, but you're sort of my white knight." His voice was serious.
Sophie smiled, shaking her head in disbelief. "You might not realize this, but you're the one holding me right now."
His arms tightened around her again, and he sighed. "I wonder if that's really the case."
He let her continue to cry in his arms for what seemed like an eternity.
Only after she felt like she would never be able to cry more, did she speak again.
"Hey, Robert?" She whispered to him, her eyes closed. "Thank you for being here."
"No problem." He whispered back, and she felt like he was smiling. "No problem at all."
They remained together until the sun had risen. The moment the light outside the window signaled a new day, they both knew it was time to pull themselves together again.
The night was over, but the rest of the battle had just begun.
* * *
Leaving was hard. If she'd had a choice, Sophie would've been unable to leave Rylan.
However, she knew what her task was, and what she was expected to do. Now that she felt like she had a purpose, she was confident that her mission would wrap up smoothly.
Her family needed her, so she had no choice but to do the best she could to retrieve the letter.
Unlike before, she didn't leave without goodbyes. She left a short note explaining to Gwyn and Teddy that she'd be back soon, and squeezed Rylan's hand tightly in farewell.
Rylan hadn't looked alive when she'd first been allowed to see him. The doctor would be monitoring him for as long as it took for hi
m to wake up, but it was a weak reassurance given how sickly the boy looked. It was like all life and color had drained out of his face.
It'd felt like she'd literally had to drag herself away from him. It took all she had not to break down by his side.
Her last farewell wasn't as hard as the others. Robert understood what she was doing, even if he thought she was insane.
He'd walked her out to the front porch, and listened to her explain her new plan. Throughout her explanation he hadn't said a word, and when she finished he'd pulled her into his arms.
"This is me trusting you right now, with everything I have. You have two days to find the letter. If you're not back after that, I'm coming to find you."
"Two days is not enough time." She'd argued. "You're going to have to trust me more than that."
"It's not that I don't trust you, darling. I just have more faith in Max's cruelty." His eyes had been hard. "Two days." He'd reminded her.
"Fine." She'd smiled softly. "Considering I'm an amazing thief, it shouldn't be that hard to pull off."
"You really need to stop hanging out with me." He'd smiled back at her. "My arrogance is rubbing off on you."
"Bye, Rob." She'd whispered, leaning up to kiss his cheek. It was a strange reaction to have, and the feeling of kissing him was still unnatural. However, she didn't regret it.
Now, as she headed towards Max's home in the car Cleo had provided for her, Sophie replayed the mornings events in her mind.
She felt like she was grasping at the last straws of happiness she would feel for a long time. Once under Max's reign, she would be isolated from everything. If Rylan got worse, or better, or if something else happened, she would not know.
Sophie had only been humoring Robert when she'd agreed to his two day plan. There was no way she would have enough time to find the letter in 48 hours, but he needed to think she could.
All of her doubt and guilt that had been flowing through her had to be smothered by the time she reached Max's residence. She hadn't been in contact with Luke since last night, so she had no idea what to be expecting upon her return. Max could not see her weakness.
The drive took less time than she remembered, partly because she was flying down the highway, but also because she was distracted by her thoughts.
Once on Max's property, Sophie noticed something was off. The security gates which were supposed to be locked and guarded were empty. All the gates were open, and Sophie didn't see another soul for the duration of the ride to his house.
The situation only grew more eerie when she entered his mansion, which was also unlocked and empty. The house was normally silent, but there was no sign of another human being around. Even Max's fleet of cars had disappeared from outside.
Sophie tried to tell herself this wasn't that strange. Luke had said that Max occasionally changed his residences, sometimes going to the beach or mountains for a change of scenery. He was never gone for long, but since his staff was carefully selected from the best of the best, he took them with him as he traveled.
If this was the reason behind the empty house, there was only one problem. Why was everything unlocked? This was Max's main residence, so most of his precious pieces of art would be located here.
It simply didn't make sense that he would abandon this place.
She reached for her cell phone and dialed Luke's number.
As she suspected, he didn't answer. She searched the East Wing, but he wasn't there either. His room looked like he hadn't returned since last night.
After pausing for a long moment in the hallway, Sophie found herself glancing at the security camera facing her. An idea popped into her head, and she grinned suddenly.
For whatever reason, Max was gone, this was her chance to find the letter. Robert had provided her with a case of flash drives which he'd sworn would take down any system. He reserved them for the most difficult missions, and generously lent them to her.
She raced towards the security room, where she assumed all of his cameras were connected. The room was twice the size of Slavsky's, and it took her three times longer than usual to figure out how to hack the system. He had a tricky operation set up, but it wasn't impenetrable.
The moment she assured herself that all the cameras were down, she hurriedly made her way to Max's study.
Searching his office was also difficult. Every cabinet and drawer was locked, and picking each took at least fifteen minutes. Robert had barely taught her the basics of picking locks, and she struggled to hurry through the task.
The results of her search were only disappointing. Nothing she found resembled the letter, or anything else that could be incriminating. Her last hope was the personal drawer attached to his desk, which she'd had to pick three locks to break into. It too had been empty.
The moment she realized she'd failed, Sophie collapsed into Max's office chair. It was a bitter realization that made her come to terms with the thought that the letter might not still exist. It had been a possibility since day one, but hope had led her to believe she might find it here.
She still had the rest of the home to search, but she doubted he would keep the letter anywhere but here. Despite knowing that, she knew she still had to try.
Before continuing the search, she closed her eyes momentarily.
She hadn't slept all night long, and had barely eaten anything for breakfast. Her body was fatigued and her mind was dizzy.
The sound of something clicking beside of her caused her eyes to shoot open.
Her breath caught as she noticed a figure moving at her side She froze in place, her eyes widening in fear.
She turned her head slightly, to better see the person standing beside of her.
Instead of a person, she found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
We'd thought we knew all the players in the game. However, a new complication was just around the corner.
"FBI, Agent Marshall. Hands in the air, where I can see them."
The man who had just announced himself spoke with stern confidence.
Sophie felt her body turn cold as she realized what kind of situation she was in.
On the bright side, the gun being pointed at her wasn't being held by one of Max's men. On the other hand, it belonged to someone just as dangerous.
What are the police doing here? She thought as she carefully lifted her hands as he'd demanded.
"Trespassing?" The agent asked as he moved to the other side of the desk where she could see him. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, with a serious frown and black eyes that were emotionless. His buzzed head made him look like he was just out of the army.
"I could be asking you the same question." Sophie leaned forward in the chair, making sure she didn't move too quickly. This agent wouldn't kill her, but if she didn't play her cards right, he could have her arrested. "I work for Max, this house's owner."
"It doesn't seem that way." The agent motioned to the opened drawers which he'd probably watched her pick open one by one.
Sophie knew she was walking on dangerous ground, and she attempted to backtrack. "Don't you need a warrant to search someone's house?"
"Fortunately, not in this case. Max gave my team permission to search the place. We have cause to believe he's involved in some very dangerous criminal activity."
Sophie smirked in response. So that's why Max wasn't here. He'd opened his home so that the police could search it as they pleased. His message couldn't have been clearer. There was nothing to find here, and anything he had to hide would be impossible to uncover.
"Let me guess, you're not having much luck finding evidence?" She replied sarcastically.
"I was beginning to think so." The agent lowered his gun, his lips curling into a menacing grin. "Then, I came upon you."
Now it was Sophie's turn to frown. He was right to think he'd caught her. Max had made it clear that he wouldn't come to her rescue. She doubted finding out that she'd been searching his hou
se would help her case.
"I'm here on business for him. Max told me he had a letter he needed delivered by today. You wouldn't have confiscated anything like that would you?"
"No, in fact, we haven't confiscated anything." The agent's eyes narrowed. "It turns out every piece of art Max owns here also has legitimate confirmation of purchase."
"I can't imagine why they wouldn't." She answered.
Agent Marshall sat down on Max's desk, still facing her. His eyes were deadly serious, though he was still casually smiling.