And she knew Sophie. Okay, maybe he did have evidence. But she knew her friend would have a damn good reason for doing it.
“Sophie isn’t a thief.”
“Ria—”
She held up a hand and, surprisingly, he quietened. That was a shocker. Doms didn’t always take well to someone else instructing them. Martin certainly hadn’t.
She pushed him out of her mind.
“If she took the money, she had a good reason.”
“She could have all the reasons in the world, sweetheart, doesn’t mean she’s not a thief,” he told her gently.
Fuck. Shit. He was right. And that pissed her off. Because, in the eyes of the law, Sophie would be in the wrong, no matter the reasons. Stealing was stealing.
But Ria didn’t see the world in black and white. And she wasn’t above bending a few laws for a good cause. Her moral code was slightly off. People would say it was because of her upbringing. And she’d guess they’d be right. But even outside of that life, she knew that sometimes the law had to be skirted for a greater good. Not that she’d ever stolen anything. But maybe if she were starving or had a family to feed or . . . she was aware Sophie had none of those excuses.
She glanced back at Sophie. Ajax had her feet up on a few stacked-up pillows. Her hair lay sprawled around her head, and she stared up at the big Dom with a look of such sorrow and longing that Ria felt her stomach tighten painfully.
Shit. If Ajax turned away from Sophie in disgust, it would kill her. It was more than obvious in that moment how she felt for their boss. And that could be messy. Real messy.
“Soph, is it true?” She couldn’t wait any longer to ask her.
Ajax threw her a quelling look over his shoulder. “She just fainted. Can’t this wait?”
She flinched at the reprimand in his voice, feeling like a complete bitch. And the worst sort of friend. How had she not known that Sophie had been so desperate for money?
Sophie looked at Ajax again then swallowed heavily and closed her eyes. Her guilt was written all over her face, and Ria took in a sharp breath. Then she turned to Connor.
“Whatever she took, I’ll pay back.” She didn’t know how; she wasn’t exactly rolling in money. But she’d find a way.
“What? Ria, no.” Sophie attempted to sit but Ajax placed his large hand gently on the middle of her chest.
“Don’t move. You just fainted.”
“I’m fine,” Sophie protested. “Let me sit up. I can’t have this conversation lying down.”
“Stay down until I give you permission to rise.”
Sophie gaped up at Ajax, clearly unused to the strict tone of his voice. Ria had more experience with that tone. But Soph always followed the rules. She didn’t rock the boat.
“Are you in pain anywhere? Do you feel ill? Any dots in front of your eyes?” Ajax fired the questions at her. He sat facing her on the bed, his shoulders tense.
“Ajax, I’m fine.”
He snorted. “Honey, you are anything but fine. You’ve got a huge bruise covering one side of your face, you can’t even see out of that eye, your arm is in a sling, and, apparently, you’ve been stealing from the club for weeks.”
“Weeks?” Ria asked, feeling ill. “It wasn’t a one-time thing?” How much had Sophie stolen? And how the fuck was she going to pay it back?
“I wouldn’t have been called in for just a one-off thing,” Connor told her.
Called in?
“Who are you?”
“He’s a private investigator and security expert,” Ajax answered. “Roarke hired him when he realized money was going missing.”
“There weren’t enough cameras, and what the club did have, weren’t in the right places,” Connor said. “That’s something I rectified as soon as I got here. Needless to say, Roarke’s having all his clubs security updated by Black-Gray.”
“That’s who you work for?” she asked.
Connor nodded.
“So, you were planted here. Roarke brought in an investigator just because of some missing money?”
“My boss also owes Roarke a favor,” he replied.
Much be a pretty big favor. But his job was now over, right? Which meant he would leave soon. Good. That was for the best. Then her life could get back to normal. No more worrying each night that the weird new guy would be sitting in her area.
“Is Connor Jones even your name?”
He winced. “It’s Connor Maxwell. And you need to keep all of this to yourself for now.”
She’d kissed this man and she hadn’t even known his real name. She had to squash the pain that blossomed. Had that been part of the plan?
“How much was stolen?” she asked. Her lips felt numb. Sophie couldn’t meet her gaze, she was staring up at the ceiling, looking like she was in a coma.
“We think nearly five thousand dollars.”
What?
Ria stumbled back a little, as though she’d been physically hit. Holy shit. How long had Sophie been doing this for?
Connor’s hand rested on the small of her back, steadying her. As soon as she could manage it, she moved away from him to the end of the bed.
“It’s going to take me a while to pay that back. Maybe we can agree on some sort of payment plan. You could dock my pay a hundred bucks a week.”
It would hurt. It would hurt a lot. She’d be living on baked beans and ramen noodles for a long time but, if it would keep Sophie out of jail, it would be worth it. “Ajax, there’s no reason to call the cops. We both know that Sophie isn’t a criminal and she won’t do it anymore. If I pay it back no harm no foul, right?”
“Actually, there is harm,” Connor said slowly. “You’re forgetting about the money Roarke spent hiring Black-Gray.”
God, she hated to think how much that cost. She swallowed heavily.
Fuck.
“And it’s not your debt to repay,” Connor added almost gently.
She turned, glaring at him. This was his fault. Okay, she knew that wasn’t true, but she needed someone to blame and blaming the bruised and broken woman on the bed wasn’t going to happen.
Maybe you should blame yourself instead. You didn’t see what was going on and you’re supposed to be her best friend.
She ran her hand over her face. “Ajax?”
“It’s not up to him,” Connor told her. “Roarke’s going to get my report and it’s his decision.”
“Oh, God, will you please just stop?” She didn’t want to hear his logic anymore. “Ajax, please. You know she had to have had a good reason.”
“I haven’t heard what that is,” Ajax said slowly.
Sophie stiffened on the bed, her gaze hit his, and she flinched. She slowly sat up and this time he didn’t stop her. She winced, and Ria saw his body jolt, as though he wanted to touch her and had to hold himself back.
She looked over at Ria. “He’s right, Ria. It’s not your debt or your problem.”
“You’re my friend.”
Tears filled Sophie’s eyes. “I know. And you’d do anything for me. Hell, last night you blasted into my apartment armed with just a bat, dressed in nothing but panties and a T-shirt.”
Ria could feel Connor’s gaze on her.
“I’d do anything for you, Soph.”
“And I’d do anything for you. That’s why I’m not going to let you sink down with me. I did it. I stole the money.”
She held her chin up, and gazed over at Connor. Not Ajax.
Ajax stood and moved away from her. He pulled the curtain back and stared out the front window. His shoulders were tense. Sophie’s gaze followed him longingly.
“Why, Soph?” Ria asked. “If you needed money—”
“Jesus, Ria, I could hardly ask you for money, you’re in as bad a place as I am.”
“But I don’t understand. You could have moved in with me, stopped paying rent, you know that.”
“I know. But then you’d want to know what I needed the money for.”
“Is it gambling
She licked her dry lips. “No. It’s blackmail.”
Okay, now that wasn’t something he’d expected. And he wasn’t sure he believed it.
“Why would anyone blackmail you?” he asked.
“What?” Sophie looked at him in confusion.
“Hon, you have nothing,” Ria explained gently. “Normally a blackmailer is going to go for someone who has some money.”
“Yeah, but I got the money, didn’t I?”
“By stealing from the club,” Ajax said in a low voice. He had turned from the window.
“Yes,” Sophie said quietly. “By stealing. I couldn’t see any other way.”
“Bullshit,” Ria called it, surprising him. From what he’d seen, she treated her friend far more gently than anyone else. “You had other options, Sophie. I would have helped you.”
“You couldn’t have paid the blackmailer any more than I could.”
Ria started pacing up and down the room. “You don’t pay a blackmailer; you find him and then you obliterate him. Like a nasty, ugly bug.”
“And how would you find him?” Connor asked calmly.
“A trap,” she said simply.
“Have to have bait for a trap,” he told her.
“Yep. Me. I’d give him some material for blackmail, set up a place to leave the money then I’d rein hell down on his ass for threatening Sophie.”
Everything in Connor wanted to tell her that there was no way in hell he’d ever allow her to set herself up as bait. But he knew that was a surefire way to get her back up.
“What is he threatening you with?” Ria asked the question that Connor should have. “What could you have possibly done to be blackmailed for?”
“He found out about Jerry,” she whispered. “Told me that if I didn’t pay him, he would tell Jerry where I was. Seems like that wasn’t a false threat. Since he did just that.”
5
“But if you were paying him why did he tell Jerry where you were?” Connor asked calmly.
Ria felt on edge. How had someone found out about Jerry? She’d helped Sophie escape him. She hadn’t been able to afford a fake identity for Sophie like she’d gotten for herself, so she’d put Sophie’s apartment in her name. If Jerry had been smart enough he still could have tracked her down. But he wasn’t smart and he didn’t have the money to hire an investigator.
She’d messed up somewhere. Stupid.
She looked over at Connor. Seemed her instincts had been right about him. He was a private investigator. He’d lied. And she’d promised herself she’d never let anyone deceive her again.
He’s not Martin, though. What Martin did to her was much worse. Connor had just kissed her. He hadn’t promised her anything. Martin had torn her into pieces with his betrayal. Connor meant nothing to her.
You kneeled for him.
Yeah, that had been a huge mistake. Obviously, there were instincts or some old reflexes she didn’t have tight enough control over. It had nothing to do with him. After all she used to kneel for Martin, and he was a complete douche.
You thought you were in love with him.
Obviously, her douche radar hadn’t been working then. It was much more refined now. Except, it never went off when Connor was near. When he was around, her brain seemed to take a vacation and her body took over. And it screamed at her that he was someone she wanted to get to know much, much better.
“Ria?” Connor questioned quietly.
She still jumped. “Yes?”
“You all right?”
“Yes. Of course, why wouldn’t I be? My best friend is being blackmailed by some asshole and didn’t tell me. Instead she resorted to stealing to pay him. I’m peachy keen, jelly bean.”
Oh, dear Lord. Why did she say that?
“Enough.” Ajax took several steps towards Sophie, and she shied back with a cry. Ria turned to snap at him for scaring her when she saw the stricken look on his face. Ajax was a good guy. She knew he’d never hurt anyone. Well, not unless they wanted or earned it.
“Fuck. You’re scared of me?” He took a step back from Sophie, who looked like she wanted to cry. Ria came and sat down next to her, taking her good hand in hers. Sophie’s smaller hand shook.
“She was just attacked last night, man,” Connor told him calmly. “And she’s got a history of being abused. She might know you’d never hurt her but, sometimes, instincts take over.”
“I know you wouldn’t. You’re one of the good guys.” Sophie closed her eyes. “I didn’t want to steal from the club. Everyone there has been so good to me. I like working there. But I couldn’t see any way out.” She opened her eyes and stared up at him. “And if I had come to you, then you would have wanted to know it all.”
“Well, now I’m going to know it all because you’re going to tell me.”
She squeezed Sophie’s hand. “Tell him, Soph.”
The other woman let out a shuddering breath. “Jerry’s my ex. He used to beat me. Not that often—”
“Once is too often,” Ajax muttered.
Ria nodded. She was with him on that. Jerry had been a class-A jerk, ready to blame the rest of the world for his problems and not taking anything on as his responsibility.
Sophie licked her lips. “One night I came home from work. I was a nurse, I worked in the ICU.”
“What?” Ajax looked shocked.
Sophie didn’t look at him, she kept her gaze across the room. “He’d been drinking. He was always nasty when he drank.”
“Nastier,” Ria corrected.
“Please, Ria let me get it out.”
She nodded. “Sorry, babe, I’ll shut up.”
“He started in on me about forgetting to buy his beer on the way home. I was just so tired; I almost fell asleep twice on the drive home. I shouldn’t have been driving, and I forgot the beer. He got mad. Started yelling. I said I’d go get it. I turned and he grabbed me. Threw me to the ground.”
She shivered. Ria glanced up at Ajax, saw the way his jaw was tensed, his hands curved into fists.
“He started to hit me. He was a big guy. He climbed over me. Then he wrapped his hand around my throat. He started to choke me. I-I was searching for something, anything to help me. He’d knocked over a lamp. I grabbed it and smashed it into the back of his head. He collapsed forward onto me. I was so shocked; I just lay there until it became hard to breathe. Then I heard the sirens. We lived in an apartment and the neighbors had heard us and called them.”
“They didn’t come over and try to help you?” Ajax asked.
“Jerry was a big, mean guy. They were scared of him.”
Ajax muttered under his breath.
“Anyway, by the time the cops got there, I’d managed to slip out from under him. The cops escorted Jerry to the hospital. It wasn’t the first time they’d been called to our place. Jerry used to play football and he was a big man in town, you know. No one wanted him to be the bastard who hit his wife. Least of all me.”
“So, what did you do?” Ajax called.
“I called Ria.”
“I worked in a café across from the hospital. I saw her bruises one day, asked her about them.”
Sophie gave her a small smile. “She made me promise to call her if I ever needed her.”
“We decided to get out of town. We didn’t trust the cops to arrest Jerry and make it stick. So, we grabbed as much stuff as we could and left.”
“You gave up everything to move with your friend?” Connor asked.
Ria shrugged. “Wasn’t giving up much. Sophie was more important.”
“You came here?” Connor asked.
“Not straight here,” Ria said. “We didn’t even really intend to stay long. But we got jobs at the club and found we liked it here.”
“All right. So how did the blackmailer find out about Jerry?” Connor asked.
“I can’t be certain but I think that someone overheard my phone call at the club.”
Connor held up his hand as Ajax started to speak. He shot him a look. This was his job. He’d be asking the questions.
Ajax looked frustrated but he nodded.
“What phone call?”
“I was talking to my mom. She doesn’t own a phone; she thinks they cause cancer. So, she only calls when she goes into town. She uses the one at the grocery store. She called as I was leaving the club one night. I shouldn’t have talked about Jerry where anyone else could hear me but I didn’t think anyone was around.”
“Oh, Soph,” Ria said sadly.
“I just always felt so safe at the club. It sounds stupid, but I didn’t think anyone there would ever hurt me.” She looked up at Ajax.
Ajax was silent for a long moment. “You thought I would keep you safe?”
Sophie dropped her gaze, her cheeks growing red.
“Look at me,” he demanded.
Ria stood, putting herself between Sophie and Ajax. Connor reached out a hand and grabbed her arm. She turned to look at him and he shook his head. He tugged her towards him. Having her interfere right now was just going to make things worse. She glared at him; her lips pursed but she remained silent.
So, she was trainable.
He had to hide a smile at that thought. He could just imagine her reaction were he to tell her that.
“Sophie,” Ajax said firmly. “You believed I would keep you safe?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Wouldn’t you?” Doubt filled her face.
“Yes,” Ajax said firmly. “And you just sealed your fate, little girl.”
Sophie’s eyebrows drew together. “What does that mean?”
“Maybe that conversation could come later,” Connor interjected. Ajax turned to give him a frustrated look and Connor subtly nodded at Ria. She was such a mother hen that it wasn’t a good idea to have her in on the conversation Ajax needed to have with Sophie.
He didn’t know if Ajax was making the right decision, but that wasn’t his business. He did know that Sophie needed to learn a few things about honesty and asking for help when she required it. But Connor figured Ajax was going to work on those things. Along with making a few other things clear.
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