Gone Phishing

by Bowes, K T

  Sophia groaned at the sight of Edgar’s motorbike parked on the drive. “I don’t need this,” she complained as Dane pulled her out of the passenger seat. “You go in without me; pretend you lost me between the departure gate and the plane.”

  Dane laughed and pushed her up the stairs, keeping his palms in the small of her back. “It’s all good now,” he said, his tone confident. “We sorted it out. Unless Edgar wants to keep having online sex with a compulsive liar, things will settle down.”

  Sophia stopped and turned on the stairs. “You’re kidding me?” she said, her mouth open in disgust.

  Dane rolled his eyes. “Tried to stop ya looking, babe. But would you trust me? Nope.”

  Sophia waited behind Dane while he used his key to open the front door. She tried to suppress her gag reflex, so she didn’t vomit in her mouth at her father’s keyboard antics, stepping through the doorway with her hand gripping Dane’s sleeve. At his abrupt halt, she peered around him, seeing her father already standing.

  “I’m so sick of you!” Edgar snapped and lurched for Dane, catching him around the neck and pushing him backwards into Sophia. Her head hit the door frame and she felt the breath leave her lungs. Edgar cut a pathetic adversary compared to Dane’s stepfather and the teenager drove a practiced fist into the older man’s gut, robbing him of forward motion and forcing him to bend double on the spot.

  “Touch me again and I’ll kill you!” Dane threatened, wiping blood from his lip where he bit his tongue. He turned and dragged Sophia into his side, alarmed by her waxen complexion. When she raised a hand to the back of her head, he pushed her forward and inspected the bruise. “No blood,” he whispered with relief, glaring at Bob as his former protector dragged Edgar back by the arm.

  “This isn’t the way!” Ellen wailed, her hands pressed over her mouth. “This isn’t their doing, Edgar; it’s your own stupid fault.”

  Edgar wrenched his elbow free of Bob’s grip and Sophia watched her father battle emotions of despair and fury in equal measure. “Melody’s gone!” he growled. “Because of you!” He pointed at Dane, focussing all his aggression on the teenager. “You stay away from my daughter,” he spluttered. “You’re dirt, do you hear me? Dirt!”

  “Stop it!” Sophia turned her face into Dane’s side and willed the splitting headache to subside. “Just stop,” she pleaded.

  “What’s happened to Melody?” She heard Dane’s voice rumble through his pectoral muscles and closed her eyes against the pain, running her free hand over the lump pushing through her scalp.

  “I’ve told you, her name isn’t Melody,” Bob insisted, reiterating an argument which seemed to bore him. Maybe he’d said it numerous times already. “You weren’t the only one she stung, Edgar. One guy paid her thirty grand thinking she’d secured a property for them to buy together. She’s good, Edgar, really good.”

  Dane gaped, his eyes widening in surprise. “Tahlia catfished more guys?” His voice sounded strained and Sophia peeked out from under his arm.

  Bob shook his head and shrugged. “Yeah, too many. The husband cheated five women last year out of two hundred grand between them. Nice way to earn a living if you can get it.”

  “No.” Dane shook his head. “We saw her husband, Paul something. I showed him Melody Foxhall’s Facebook profile and he acted devastated.” His confusion tightened his arm around Sophia’s shoulders and she rubbed her nose against his shirt. “This isn’t making any sense.” She felt his body shift and the contours of his skeletal structure alter against hers, locking her into place against his hip. “Her husband’s a surgeon.”

  Bob laughed. The sound seemed to reverberate around the room and echo in Sophia’s head, a cruel, sarcastic noise like nails on a blackboard. She focussed on it, a weird feeling beginning in the back of her head and creeping along her spine and into her legs. Bob swore, a terrible word not usually heard on his lips. “He wasn’t an effing surgeon!” he snorted, the sound nasal and filled with disgust. “The cops tried to intercept him on the way to hospital for his own surgery; some problem with his gallbladder. Wish I could go private for mine. They were in it together, Edgar.” Bob sighed. “A husband and wife team. It seems he disappeared last year for a few months with one of his women but when the money ran out, he went home. Why won’t you listen? She didn’t love you, man; she wasn’t even real!”

  Sophia felt the floor tip and list and wasted valuable time working out why. Several options dashed through her brain before she realised the earthquake started inside her. Then she gave up reasoning and slid down Dane’s legs, feeling his hands grappling for purchase under her arms. The last thing she remembered was the sound of Edgar sobbing like someone just died.

  Chapter 44

  Motherly Love

  Sophia stirred and waited a moment, enjoying the final seconds as sleep drifted out of reach. Opening her eyes, she saw carpet and wondered why she’d slept on the floor. She flexed her left arm and panicked, unable to move. An icy sensation seeped through the back of her head and chilled her spine.

  “Hold still.” Dane’s voice held a fearful edge and Sophia saw his hand come within range as he knelt beside her. The sound of Edgar’s sobbing filled the room like background music. Sophia tried to sit up, finding her left arm trapped alongside her body and her right arm bent at the elbow, cradling her cheek. “I put you in the recovery position with an ice pack on your head,” Dane said, his voice calmer. His face appeared next to hers and she fought tiredness to give him a smile. “You fainted,” he whispered. “Can’t decide if it’s the bang to the head which caused it or stress.”

  Sophia groaned in answer and laid her cheek on the carpet, running her hand over the lump at the back of her head and dislodging the cold pack. The bump ached, but the pain felt external and the fogginess in her head started to clear. “Hurts,” she said.

  “I know, babe.” Dane pushed her fringe back with careful fingers and stroked her cheek. “Do you feel better or should I let them call an ambulance?”

  “No ambulance.” Sophia closed her eyes and ran a mental check of the rest of her body. “I think I’m okay.”

  Dane replaced the cold pack and Sophia hissed at the discomfort. “Tell me when you want to get up,” he said. “Just take a minute.” He settled next to her on his knees, one hand holding the pack against her head and the other stroking her fingers. Sophia lay for a while, contemplating getting up and listening to the sound of Edgar being comforted by Bob. Ellen’s slippers moved in and out of her field of vision a few times and she listened to Dane refusing an ambulance.

  “What’s wrong with Edgar?” she asked, rubbing her nose with her right hand and pushing herself up. Dane helped her into a sitting position, placing his body behind hers so she could lean on him.

  “He’s got a sore eye.” No humour filtered through Dane’s words but she knew him well enough to sense it. Edgar sat on the sofa with another ice pack being held to his left eye by Bob and his body shuddered with frightening lack of control.

  “Why?” Sophia raised her hand again to touch the lump and Dane pulled it away.

  “Leave it alone.” He inhaled and she watched him lick his lips. “He took a shot at me after I put you in the recovery position so I helped him sit down.” Dane’s jaw flexed against his cheek. “What do you remember?”

  Sophia sighed and leaned the side of her head against his chest. “Something about other men and the husband not being a surgeon. That’s about all really.”

  Dane jerked his head upwards. “Do you recall the part where Bob said some idiot gave the fake Melody thirty grand to set up home?”

  Sophia thought for a minute as realisation followed the memory into her mind. “Not Edgar. Please don’t tell me he gave her that money.”

  Dane slipped a steadying arm around her. The stiffness of his body answered her question. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Guy’s a dick.”

  Sophia slumped against him with a groan, smelling his familiar scent and breathing in safety. �
��We can get it back from her, can’t we? Melody told the cops before she flew to see us.” Her eyes studied the adults in the room; Bob patting Edgar’s back and Ellen pacing. Back and forth she went, back and forth like a paint roller, her slippered feet squeaking on the tiles of the lobby.

  Dane shook his head. “Sorry, babe. Bob sent the cops round and they arrived an hour after we left. They’d gone; took the kids out of school and disappeared. Her husband played a blinder. I thought he got upset about Tahlia and Edgar but it was just to make us feel sorry for him. We should’ve called the cops right then, but his antics blindsided us. We thought we walked out on a marital but actually they packed up and left minutes later.”

  “But she came after us.” Sophia heaved out a sigh and closed her eyes. “Why do that?”

  “To make sure we got out of there as fast as we could. She knew how you’d react. You weren’t gonna sit in the garden and wait for her to pack a bag, were you? We left like she intended but it also bought her husband a few extra minutes to grab their gear. We walked away in disgust but we didn’t call the cops, did we?”

  Sophia shook her head in disgust. “We were so played.”

  A heavy knock on the front door made her jump and Sophia narrowed her eyes and watched Ellen spring to turn the handle and greet the visitor.

  Sophia’s mother stepped over the threshold, her eyes already seeking her daughter. She kicked off her heels next to the doormat and padded through to the lounge, her quick brain weighing up Edgar’s distress, Bob’s ineffectual attempt to comfort him and her daughter slumped on the floor next to Dane. Sophia tensed and held her breath. “Let’s get you to the emergency room,” Sally stated, bending to take Sophia’s arm.

  “Piss off!” Dane pushed her hand away and encircled Sophia with his arms.

  “You don’t wanna mess with me, kid,” she replied, unfazed by Dane’s resistance. “I’m taking my daughter and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  Dane’s grip increased, crushing Sophia against him like a ragdoll. His desire to keep her safe in the face of Sal’s wrath made her love him even more. The headache radiated down the back of her neck and she sighed, struggling to kneel and then stand. “Leave me alone!” She shoved at Sal’s outstretched hands and leaned on Dane’s shoulder. He pushed her upright and then sprang to his feet. Sophia braced her hands on her knees and faced the floor to avoid looking at Sally, noticing a hole in Dane’s sock and his big toe peeking out. “I need to lie down.” She reached for his hand and let him lead her to the bedroom.

  “You can’t let them go in there together!” Sal sounded horrified and Sophia heard her footsteps padding behind them. Dane turned, keeping Sophia’s arm tucked in the crook of his elbow.

  “Go away!” he said with force. “You lost the right to judge us a long time ago!”

  “Don’t be rude to her, Dane,” Sophia begged in a whisper and he acknowledged it, not questioning her plea. He nodded and slammed the door in Sal’s face with his heel.

  Sophia sank onto the bed, her actions slow and deliberate. “I’m tired,” she said, feeling the tender spot on the back of her skull and yawning.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” Dane pulled her to her feet and held her upright, cradling her against his chest. “You can’t sleep after a head injury; it’s dangerous.”

  “How do you know this stuff?” she grumbled. “I can sleep if I want.”

  “I did a first aid course last year to get the extra credits, don’t you remember?” He kissed the top of her head and inhaled. “And Pete made my mum need an ambulance enough times to know the drill.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Not your fault.” Dane linked his arms beneath Sophia’s armpits and held her upright. “Talk. How bad is the pain?”

  “It feels better.” She rubbed her nose on the front of his shirt. “I’m tired, hungry and fed up of the adults in my life. I just fainted and it’s maybe a combination of all those factors. Let me sit; I promise not to sleep.”

  They sat on the bed next to each other and Sophia shook her head, wincing at the pain. “I can’t believe Edgar gave her all that money! You read the messages; I don’t understand why we didn’t know.”

  “You mean why I didn’t see it.” Dane sounded crestfallen and he peered at the floor, examining the hole in his sock. “I got a hole in my sock,” he said, as though excusing his negligence.

  “I saw. And no, I’m not blaming you, Dane. We knew they spoke on the phone. My stupid, stupid father must’ve got a loan and transferred the money. What’s wrong with him?”

  Dane ran a hand through his hair, leaving the waves standing up on his head. “Lovesick idiot,” he said by way of a decent reason. “I know the feeling.”

  Sophia sighed and stared covetously at her pillows banked up against the headboard. “Can we have a little lie down?” she begged. “Just for a tiny minute.”

  Dane scooted back so his firm stomach formed a platform and tapped it, inviting Sophia to lie on him. “Fine, but you need to keep talking,” he insisted. “No sleeping.”

  “Okay.” She snuggled on her side and gave a sigh of satisfaction, Dane’s steady breathing moving her head in a regular motion. He stroked her cheek and the steady, repetitive movement of his hand passing her right ear dulled the sound of Edgar still sobbing in the lounge.

  “Stupid bugger,” Dane whispered. “You just can’t help some people.”

  Sophia clung to wakefulness, not liking the way Dane’s stroke turned to a pat when she didn’t answer one of his questions. His calming tone sounded soporific and she lost the battle, feeling herself sucked into a welcome black hole. He jumped as the creaky board made its warning squeak outside the door and Sophia groaned and pushed her face harder into his stomach, wanting to reclaim the elusive peace calling her name. “Come in!” Dane called as a knock sounded on the bedroom door.

  Sophia kept her eyes closed and heard soft footsteps. A hand tested her temperature with a cool palm against her forehead. “She shouldn’t sleep.” Ellen sounded concerned and Sophia opened her eyes.

  “I’m not. I’m waiting for the headache to pass.” She sighed. “Why did you call Sally? That wasn’t nice.”

  “She’s your mother. You’re hurt and Edgar’s a mess. He wants to talk to you.”

  Sophia glanced up at the kind woman who’d been part of her life from the start. The gentle eyes looked conflicted and her face expression strained. “Where’s Sal?” Sophia demanded.

  “Gone.” Ellen swallowed and ran a finger under her eye; her stress tell. “Will you speak to Edgar? He’s desperate.”

  “I don’t know; I know nothing anymore.” Sophia closed her eyes and pressed her face into Dane’s stomach, causing him to grunt in discomfort. She looked up as the door clicked closed behind Ellen. “Tell me what to do, Dane,” she begged. She scooted onto his legs and curled into a ball, her face pressed into his neck. His gentle palm stroked her back and the ice pack fell onto the sheets.

  “I dunno, babe,” he whispered into her hair. “It’s your call.”

  Chapter 45

  Strange Choices

  Dane sat outside on the hall floor while Edgar spoke with Sophia. The teenager no longer trusted a man he’d liked for almost two years. He listened to the steady rumble of male and female voices and sent Sophia his unconditional love telepathically through the closed door. She felt it but made her peculiar decision, anyway. Edgar sat on the end of her bed and she clasped her arms around bent knees to avoid all physical contact with him. He craved it like oxygen; too little, too late.

  “I should’ve listened.” His chest hitched with grief as he uttered the words; the closest thing to an apology he’d offered.

  “Yes,” Sophia answered, not keen to put him out of his misery. “You should.”

  “I thought she loved me.” Edgar ran a hand over his face, beard growth creating a scratchy sound against his palm. “I felt so lonely after Sal left and Melody sounded sincere.” He swallowed and closed his raw, puffy eyes.
“Melody, Tahlia, whatever her name is.”

  Sophia sighed and put a hand up to the back of her head, feeling the lump with gentle, probing motions. “For what it’s worth, her husband conned me too. I believed every word from of his mouth. I guess we went hunting for a victim and he acted to fit the profile. So we let him be one.” She shrugged and Edgar nodded.

  “Bob said she’s got two boys. I knew she had one, but we didn’t talk about the kids, really.”

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “Forgive me for not being surprised. I’m sure the breast pictures and panting got in the way.”

  Edgar opened his mouth and closed it again. He shifted on the bed in acute discomfort and Sophia watched him with less compassion than a total stranger in pain might evoke. Her heart felt numb, beating in physicality but dead to sense of emotion. “I’m in a mess, Soph.” Edgar’s voice wobbled and she inhaled and listened to his list of woes, doubtful she’d ever love him again.

  Dane looked up as Edgar emerged from the bedroom. His eyes looked dry and his expression a little happier; very different from the wreckage Bob led through the doorway twenty minutes earlier. Edgar reached out for Sophia as she followed and she moved backwards away from his embrace. “See you at home,” he said, ignoring Dane and walking away. The teenagers stood and watched his retreating back, his spine bent and cowed beneath multiple anxieties.

  “You’re going home with him?” Dane asked and Sophia nodded, her eyes cold and dead.

  “There are good reasons,” she replied, her voice softening at the confusion in his face. “This is me trying not to run away anymore.” Her smile looked forced and Dane knitted his brow and took two steps towards her. Their bodies touched as he raised his arms, waiting for her to rebuff him as she did Edgar. “Hold me,” she asked, looking up into Dane’s eyes, her soul pleading for understanding and help.

  “Always,” he whispered, pulling her close. He lifted her under her arms and pressed her slender frame along his body, raining kisses on her cheek. Sophia lifted her legs and clasped them around his waist, fixing her arms behind his head. She drew comfort from the solidity of Dane’s body and the infectious confidence he exuded. It seeped into her bones and soothed her. “Want me to help you pack?” he asked.