Sophie (The Boss 8)

"Don't you call me that!" She raked a hand through her short hair.

Short hair that had always been long before.

"Your hair," I said quietly, knowing I was about to open up a can of shitstorm. "You keep it short now. So he can't grab it."

Her lips parted on a breath.

"The bruises," Rudy added. "The falls. Honey, we're not stupid. And we love you."

"Oh, yes. I know how much Sophie loves me. And El-Mudad. They're practically overflowing with love for me," she jabbed a finger toward me, pacing furiously once more. "That bitch will not rest until she destroys me."

Neil shot to his feet.

I held out my hand, merely warning, "Don't."

It didn't matter now if Valerie threw harsh words at me. I could bear the brunt of her anger because I knew that once it was gone, she'd have to face the truth.

"I know you don't like me," I began. "I can live with that. But I can't write you off. You're in trouble, Valerie. As much as we clashed before, I never thought you'd call CPS on us. I never thought you'd try to hurt Neil that deeply."

"I was concerned!" Her delivery was forceful, but her performance was weak.

"You weren't concerned," Neil said, calm once more. "He was angry."

She didn't say anything. Her eyes darted helplessly to each one of us in turn.

Neil went on. "You've never had a problem with polyamory. You've never morally objected to anyone's sexuality or relationships. That isn't who you are. So, why now?"

Tears rose in her eyes. "Olivia."

"No," he denied her kindly. "We raised Emma with our values and attitudes toward love and respect. You know that if she were alive today, she wouldn't have a problem with our relationship with El-Mudad. She wouldn't see a deviant lifestyle. She would see the family that we are. And I know you do, too."

"People change, Neil." She didn't sound quite as confident as before. "Laurence and I have talked about this a lot. He says—"

Neil cut her off. "If I wanted to hear what Laurence thought, he would be here."

Oh, no. I wanted to press my fingertips to my temples to quell the headache building there. We couldn't afford for Neil to lose his cool now. He was one of two people in the room who had any chance of reaching her.

Softer, he asked, "What do you think? I want to know how you feel about the situation. Without Laurence's input. Tell us what you object to."

"Well, I..." She closed her mouth, then opened it again. Nothing came out.

Rudy stepped in. "Let me tell them what Laurence said about Neil."

Valerie shook her head. "I shouldn't have said anything. I told you that in confidence. If Laurence found out I'd shared that..."

She went silent at the realization that she'd offered evidence.

"What is it, Rudy?" I asked, already dreading the answer.

Rudy didn't have to tell us; Valerie stepped in. "I made an off-handed remark about how jealous Laurence is of Neil, and Rudy has blown it completely out of proportion."

"You told me that he said if it weren't for Olivia, he wouldn't ever allow the two of you to be on the same planet together," Rudy corrected her. "Don't twist what happened. You were shaking and scared, and you told me you were afraid he would do something to Neil."

Bile crept up my throat. "What?"

"How could you have kept this from us?" El-Mudad demanded of Rudy. "Was Neil in danger?"

"No," Valerie insisted. "I would never have let him—"

"If that were true, why were you so afraid?" Rudy turned to Neil. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you and still keep her safe."

She laughed in disbelief. "Listen to yourselves. You're all behaving as though you're in a soap opera! It's ridiculous!"

"We're trying to help you," I interjected. "You can deny it all you want. You can get angry, and you can yell at us, and you can be as hurtful as you like, but in the end, deep down, you know we're here because we care about you."

"What a lovely cliché," she said snidely.

"Like that. Lash out at us. Call me a bitch. A gold digger. Threaten me. Do whatever you need to do but please, please just admit that what Laurence has done to you isn't right." It felt as though I hurled words against a brick wall. Valerie and Neil had so much in common; unfortunately, it was all the infuriating bits of their personality. Her pride and her stubbornness just wouldn't let her say what we all knew.

"Was it your idea to call CPS?" Neil asked her.

If there was one person on earth she couldn't lie to, he stood before her now. She nodded, but a "no," escaped her lips. She cleared her throat. "No. It was Laurence."

"And did you want that investigation opened?" El-Mudad asked. "Did you want them to go to Olivia's school and ask her intrusive questions? Did you want my daughters to come home to find the police there?"