“If one of those men did this, I’ll handle it,” Sophie assured him. “And I’ll protect you.” The way she’d done before.
Finn pressed his lips together. He seemed to hesitate, then he said, “If I find out one of them tried to hurt you…” His voice dropped. “I’ll hurt him.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Absolutely not.” Finn was a strong guy. And, when pushed too far, she knew he could be dangerous. Finn was an ex-boxer, a man with a lethal punch. Finn always tried so hard to control his temper, she knew that. He’s always been afraid of what he’d do if he was pushed too far. She didn’t want to be the person who made him cross that line. “I’m handling this situation.”
He closed in on her. “But are you in danger? What can I do, Soph?”
What can I do, Soph? He’d said those same words to her when she’d been at her parents’ funeral. Everyone else had been whispering and pointing at her. But Ethan had stood to her right, glaring at them all. And Finn had snuck up on her left. He’d taken her cold hand in his—her fingers had felt like ice that day—and he’d stood with her. Against the stares. The whispers. They’d grown closer after that. When she hadn’t been able to stand the darkness any longer, he’d been her first lover.
But being with him hadn’t changed the emptiness she felt.
“You don’t have to do anything.” She pushed back her hair. “I told Lex you weren’t involved. He was just being thorough.”
“Lex…the new lover.” Finn gave a low whistle. “Be careful with him. The guy was possessive as all hell, acting as if he had some kind of claim on you.”
If you break your one night rule with me, I won’t let you go. If I have you again, you’re mine.
“Doesn’t he get that you’re not in for some kind of forever haul?” Finn shook his head and the faint lines near his mouth deepened. “Or maybe you just weren’t with me.”
There was pain in his voice. She’d never meant to hurt him, but she had known that he cared, more than she did. “Finn, that was a long time ago. We were kids.” She’d learned, after Finn, not to mix sex and emotions. She’d hooked up with men that she wouldn’t be tempted to stay with past the night. Men she couldn’t trust. Men she would never want to love.
Look what love did to my mother. She stayed with a bastard for years. She always professed her love, even when she just stood there and watched him hurt me. Her mother’s voice rang in Sophie’s head, “I love him. I can’t leave him, oh, no. You just have to be better. You have to be a good girl.”
Maybe she hadn’t wanted to be good.
“I loved you.”
Oh, damn. “Finn…”
His smile was bittersweet. “You didn’t love me. I knew that. But back then, I stayed by your side because I loved you. I’d been mooning over you for years, but you only seemed to notice me at your parents’ funeral.”
That had been because he’d faced the storm with her. “You stood by me,” Sophie said.
There was a frantic knock at her door.
She didn’t move. “You didn’t have to stand at my side. You could have turned your back on me, too.”
His smile was sad. “Of course I couldn’t. I knew you hadn’t killed them.”
How? How did you know?
The knock came again. Even more demanding. “I’m sorry, excuse me for just a moment.” She hurried toward the door. Sophie yanked it open. “I am with a client,” she hissed.
“Yeah, I know,” Dev threw back. “I want in on the little chat.”
“Not happening.” She drew herself up to her full height and really wished she had a few more inches. “And you are supposed to be in waiting room two. Why didn’t Kurt keep you there?”
“He’s out getting coffee.” Dev stared her down. “And when I came looking for you, I happened to glance through your blinds…” He pointed to the blinds right near the door.
She should have closed those blinds.
“And I saw Finn Scott.”
She heard Finn’s footsteps heading closer.
“Such a coincidence to see you again, Finn,” Dev said, raising his voice. “What happened? Could you just not stay away from her? I’ve heard she has that kind of effect on men.”
“You have no idea what she does,” Finn said, his voice cold. “And a man like you never will.” His fingers curled around Sophie’s shoulder. Squeezed. “I was there for you before, and I’ll always be there for you. If you need me, come to me.” Then he nodded toward Dev. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
Dev lifted his brows, but stepped back.
Finn hurried away, his body tense.
“We cleared his workers,” Dev said after a moment. “The four men on his team, the ones who had access to your house all alibied out. But guess what?”
She knew he was keeping his voice deliberately loud so Finn would catch his words. Sophie didn’t bother to guess.
“Finn doesn’t have an alibi. Turns out he was alone at his place, no lovers to see him. No neighbors who could confirm his alibi. So maybe your ex decided to catch up with you, in the mi
ddle of the night.”
Finn kept walking.
She grabbed Dev and yanked him into her office. Then Sophie slammed the door shut and jabbed her index finger into his chest. “Make up your mind,” she snapped at him. “Am I the victim—with some crazy stalker terrorizing me? Or am I a scammer? A criminal? Because you are about to drive me insane, and trust me, that is not a place you want me to be.”
His brows shot up. His lips quirked.
She jabbed her finger a bit harder. “You really don’t want to be on my bad side. I’ve put up with you so far. Dealt with your insulting accusations—”
“Why? Why did you put up with me?”
“Because you’re Lex’s friend.” Her hand dropped. “And I figure if he bothers to be friends with you, then you can’t possibly be the dick that you seem to be.”
He laughed. The sound was warm. Not annoying. “Don’t be too sure.”
Her gaze raked over him. “How did you meet Lex?”
“I was in foster care with him,” he said easily. “Me, Lex, and Chance…we all wound up in the same group home at the same time. We clicked.”
She waited.
“Family isn’t always blood.”
She knew that. “Is that why you’re going for my throat? Because you’re worried I’m going to hurt your family? Don’t you think Lex is a big boy who can protect himself?”
“I think Lex lights up like the fucking Fourth of July when he’s with you.”
She shook her head, an automatic denial.
“I’ve seen it.” Dev’s voice was flat. “He can’t keep his eyes—or his hands—off you. He fell for you, and I’m worried about the lengths he’d go to in order to make you happy.”
“I-I have another client to see.” She smoothed her hands over her skirt. “If you want to play guard all day, fine, do it. But I have someone else who needs me.”
He tilted his head to study her. “Finn Scott loved you.”
Yes.
“You walked away from him. That’s why he’s on my suspect list. Provided, of course, that you and Ethan Barclay aren’t just scamming us all.”