Want Me (Dark Obsession 2)

This is what happens when you kill one of their own. You piss them off. You stir a killing fury.

Clark pushed her from the room. One of the uniformed cops followed them out, but the one with the rage in his gaze—he stayed inside.

Good choice.

The door shut behind them with a clang. “What the hell, Sophie? What are you doing?”

“Protecting my client.”

“Barclay.” Disgust was in the name.

“Duvato is spouting lies to you. You can’t believe anything that man says. He’s a killer, nothing more. Nothing more.”

Chapter Seven

Lex didn’t make it to the observation room. When he rounded the corner heading toward that room, he saw the ADA and Sophie locked in a heated conversation. They were in the middle of the hallway and—

“Barclay is a killer, too!” Clark blasted.

“So what, you make a deal with one devil to catch another?”

Clark turned away, seemingly about to head back into the holding room. “If necessary.”

Sophie grabbed him and jerked the guy toward her. “It’s not necessary. Daniel Duvato is scum. He’s full of lies, and I won’t let him impinge my client—”

Thunder came then, blasting hard. Lex lunged forward even as Faith drew her own weapon because he knew that blast wasn’t really thunder—it was gunfire and it had come from inside that holding room.

Before he could reach Sophie, Clark had grabbed her and pulled her away from the holding area, wrapping his arms around her as if he’d shield her.

“Sophie!” Lex reached for her and Clark looked up, his face tight and his eyes wild.

“Bastard killed one guard last night,” Clark bit out. “Not again…”

Faith and another officer kicked open the door to the holding room. They raced inside. Lex pulled Sophie toward him, making sure his body was the one protecting her. But when he looked into that holding room, Daniel Duvato wasn’t brandishing a weapon. He was on the floor, his body twitching, as blood flowed from the wound in his chest.

A dark-haired officer stood over him. “He went for my weapon,” the guy said. He didn’t take his gaze off Daniel. “I wasn’t about to end up the way prison guard Charlie Branson did. Murdered by this SOB.”

“Get a medic!” Faith yelled as she crouched near Daniel.

A medic wasn’t going to do the guy much good.

“S-Sophie…” A desperate croak that was her name—Daniel’s voice strained as he tried to call out to her in what Lex knew were the guy’s last moments.

He hoped Sophie hadn’t heard that call.

But she pushed against his chest. Her head lifted. “He wants me.”

Too bad. The guy was dying. He’d never have the chance to attack her—

Sophie pushed against Lex again. He just tightened his hold on her. More cops were swarming back there, and he wanted to get Sophie out of there.

“I have to see him.” Her voice was fierce. “I have to.”

Dammit. He let her go.

Clark had rushed back into the holding room. Lex saw that Clark had taken the gun away from the officer who’d fired—the cop was a tall fellow, a little on the thin side¸ with close-cropped brown hair. He looked pretty young, maybe in his early twenties. When Lex looked up at the fellow’s eyes, he expected to see shock. Maybe horror.

No emotion was there.

“S-Sophie…”

Daniel was still alive. Fighting to keep talking. Sophie tried to get closer to him.

Lex caught her hand in his. “That’s close enough.” Then he raised his voice. “She’s here, Daniel. Say whatever the hell it is—”

“S-sorry, Soph…” Daniel’s breath rattled in his lungs. Rattled—

Silence.

Daniel Duvato wouldn’t be a threat to anyone else ever again.

***

He watched as Sophie was led out of the police station. She kept glancing over her shoulder, looking back as if she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

Daniel Duvato is dead. Just like I promised you.

He’d just needed to put the right amount of money into the right hand. It had been so easy. Sure, he would’ve liked to pull the trigger himself, but dead was dead.

Sophie stood on the station’s steps. Her new lover was at her side. The lover wrapped his arm around her shoulder as he tried to act all protective. Such bullshit. Sophie didn’t need anyone protecting her.

That’s what I’m here for.

He was looking out for Sophie. Protecting her, as no one else could. He wasn’t afraid to make the tough choices. Wasn’t afraid for lives to be lost. Those who hurt Sophie got exactly what they deserved.

Pain. Death.

Did she realize it was all for her? He hoped so. Maybe he’d visit her again. Let her show her appreciation to him. With Daniel soon to be rotting in the ground, he knew Sophie would be happy.

Would she kiss him when he went to her?

Wrap her arms around him and hold him tight?

He couldn’t wait to see just how much Sophie appreciated all he’d done for her.

***

Ethan Barclay was running toward them.

Talk about some seriously bad timing. When the guy rushed up the police station’s steps, Lex put out his hand. “You need to get the hell out of here,” he ordered.

Ethan ignored him and stared at Sophie’s too pale face. Lex didn’t like that pallor.

“What happened, Sophie?” Ethan seemed to brace himself. “Were you too late? Did Daniel talk?”

Lex glanced over his shoulder. He could practically feel eyes on them. “Daniel isn’t talking to anyone right now. Seriously, man, get the hell out of here. We’ll call you.” He started ushering Sophie down the steps.

Ethan followed.

“He’s dead,” Sophie whispered. “One of the guards—it was Griffin Hollister, the new guy—Griffin shot Daniel. Daniel was reaching for his weapon. Griffin had to defend himself.” Her words were stilted, almost as if she were speaking on some kind of autopilot, and she definitely sounded like she was channeling her inner defense attorney.

Ethan stopped following them. “Dead?”

He sounded satisfied. Lex didn’t have time to deal with his shit right then. He kept going. Lex hit the sidewalk and just hurried faster until he had Sophie safely in his car. “I’m glad he’s dead.” Her voice was quiet. “Is that wrong?”

He cranked the car and pulled away as fast as he could. “Daniel left you unconscious in a house filling with gas. He left you to die. I don’t know that there’s a whole lot right with that situation.” He risked a fast glance at Sophie and found her staring down at her hands. She’d fisted them in her lap.

“I was glad when my father was dead, too.”

He braked at a red light. “Sophie…” He just wanted to pull her into his arms.

She looked up at him. There were no tears in her eyes. No rage. Just like the guard. Maybe Sophie was in shock. Violence and death could drive a person too far.

“I should have been sorry about my mother. She hadn’t hurt me.” She bit her lip. “I think something is wrong with me,” Sophie confessed. “I don’t feel the way I should.”

The light changed. He shoved the gas pedal down against the floor board. “There isn’t a fucking thing wrong with you.”

“I should feel something. Something. A man died in front of me, and all I have is this relief… ” Her voice trailed away.

“He tried to kill you! The guy was a sadistic murderer! So what if you don’t shed tears for him?” There was nothing wrong with her. As far as he was concerned, she was everything right in his world.

But he could practically feel her slipping away from him. His right hand reached out and grabbed her left hand. Held tight. “Nothing is wrong,” he said again, needing her to believe him.

Sophie was too stiff, not responding. Okay. He needed to get them off that road and into a safe place, pronto. Luckily VJS Protection was

just minutes away. At the next intersection, he took a hard right. Horns followed him, but Lex didn’t care.

He drove faster. Lex spun into the parking garage when he finally reached his destination, and then he hauled ass up the elevator with her.

She didn’t look at him in the elevator. She didn’t seem to be looking at anything.

“Sophie.” He touched her cheek. “Don’t do this. Don’t freeze me out.”

Lex thought he saw her lower lip tremble.

“I’m no good for you,” Sophie said. “I should have handled all this on my own. You’re too close.”