Chapter 7
Dean
Hearing the words I need fall from Sophia’s lips does something funny to my chest. It makes my heart beat a little harder. How can I trust her, though? How can I be sure she won’t just try to escape as soon as I fall asleep?
“You have to know it will take me awhile to build back trust with you.”
She nods. “I understand.”
The good thing about tonight is my men guarding the plane will be back on duty here at the mansion. I don’t have to worry about monitoring Sophia solo because they’ll all be watching her as well.
“Do you understand?”
She gives me a look like she’s finally submitting to me. And my brain runs away with the thought of Sophia submitting to me fully. I stare at her high cheekbones, the lines of her flawless face. Her skin is like an exotic fruit begging me to feast upon it. I think about kissing her, along her jawline, across her collarbone.
“I do,” she says, and her voice has dropped an octave or two, like she’s also thinking about me doing naughty things to her in the night’s darkness.
I still don’t trust her, though. There’s been too many instances so far to trust her. She can’t possibly think I do. And even now, what makes it different from the other times? Most likely she’s playing me, and I kind of wish I could just keep her down here all night long.
“Get some sleep,” I say. “We have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Doing what?”
“We need to do more repairs to the house and fix that goddamn generator.”
Her beautiful brown eyes widen, and she looks like a deer caught in the headlights. “Are you thinking the hard work will scare me off? Do you think I’m some debutante that can’t handle getting my hands dirty?”
For about five seconds, I kind of thought this of her, but the more I reflect on our time spent together, I know Sophia is not the type of woman to run away from hard work. “Rest up.” I walk out the door and slam it.
“Am I supposed to sleep down here?”
Honestly, she could sleep either place, but it will make it easier if she stays down here in the basement. “Sure, sleep here,” I yell through the door and head toward the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time until I’m on the main level of the house.
I let Zack and Leo know to watch her tonight. The power is out and we don’t have the security system or monitors up and running, but we don’t need them. There’re no windows in the basement. There’s no way out.
Leo asks, “Do you really think she won’t try to escape again?”
I shake my head. “I have to believe she won’t.”
“You both want the same thing,” Leo says. “I really can’t understand why she just won’t work with you on this.”
I pat my friend on the shoulder as I walk by. “Someone must have hurt her really bad, and my guess is Bishop Blackstone.”
I head into the kitchen to make a snack before bed. I know Leo and Zack won’t let me down and will ensure they keep Sophia in the basement all night.
Sure, it may be harsh. Maybe I’m being a complete fucking asshole, but Sophia is not one to be trusted. Her beauty is her weapon, and I can’t let it pierce my heart.
The next morning I’m awakened bright and early by a loud commotion going on downstairs. I dress and pad out of my room to find out what’s going on. When I head into the garage, I’m baffled by what I see before me.
Sophia is on her knees, tinkering with the generator and shouting at one of Javier’s men, who’s apparently trying to help.
“What’s going on here?” I ask.
“I’m fixing the generator while this moron here gets in my way.” Sophia points her wrench at the man in question.
“She’ll break it,” he says. “I’m trying to tell her that.”
Sophia bellows something in Italian and I move closer.
“Ok, let’s all take a breath.” I turn to the man, waiting for him to give me a name.
“Jose,” he says.
“Jose, let Sophia try for a while. If she doesn’t…” Before I can even finish my sentence, the generator kicks on and there’s power running through the house.
“You were saying?” Sophia gloats with a triumphant smirk.
I just smile back and leave the garage, seeking out everyone to make sure they’re able to work now that the power is working. I need the monitors on. I need a phone.
Sophia enters the kitchen in black pants, almost like yoga pants but with pockets, and a white babydoll tee. She grins like she just conquered the world and I should bow down at her feet, but I’m not ready to do that just yet. So what if she was here when I woke up. She didn’t try to escape last night after I went to bed. Big fucking deal. Let’s see if she stays put long enough to make it worth trusting her again.
“Dean, I wanted to talk to you.”
“Ok.” I place my hands on the counter, leaning my body a little toward her. “Go ahead.”
“I know you don’t trust me, but I want to earn that trust back with you. I think my informant, Rosa, lied to me.”
“What do you mean?”
Ines enters the kitchen, and beelines to the refrigerator. “Don’t mind me,” she says in a singsong voice.
Sophia stares at me, and I nod my head toward my office.
“We can talk in here.” I shut the door and take a seat on the brown leather couch near the window.
Sophia sits down next to me. “Rosa told me about the plan for Bishop to take Mia, but Bishop didn’t show up. Or did he? Do you think he went to her house?”
I rub at the back of my neck. “I’m not really sure. I hope not. I think we had time before he was planning on hitting.”
“I have a feeling Rosa set me up.”
“Why do you think that?” I stare into her brown eyes, wondering how on earth anyone could ever lie to her.
“Well, you said yourself that Bishop planned on kidnapping the girls, but you also said you knew you had the jump on him. That you would get to her before he did.”
“She said Bishop would be there that night? On the night I picked you up?”
Sophia nods. “Yes.”
I rub my chin, thinking Sophia may be right. “How do you know this woman?”
Sophia’s eyes dart away and she doesn’t answer.
“Fine, you don’t have to tell me, but you’ve always trusted her?”
Sophia nods. “She’s never given me a reason not to.”
“How long has she been Bishop’s housekeeper?”
“As long as I’ve known her.”
“Does Bishop trust her?”
Sophia shrugs one sun-kissed shoulder. “Yes, I guess.”
“Maybe something has changed the game. Maybe he no longer trusts her.”
She purses her lips, her doe-eyes watching me. “That’s what I’d like to find out.”
“If we work together, we can find him much faster, you know?”
“Yes, I know.” She leans in closer, the scent of her shampoo filling my nostrils. Smells like raspberries and cream. And again, the same feeling overwhelms me. “I told you. I’m all in.” The corner of her lip lifts into a smile. “I mean it.”
I nod, trying my best not to let myself get too dizzy from being this close to her. “I really hope you do.”
“What do I have to do to make you trust me?” She leans even closer.
I want to say maybe if she kissed me it might make me trust her a little more, but last time she was near my face she almost broke my nose. Had she hit me any harder, I’d probably have a nice black eye to show off. “You could start by not running away.”
“I’m still here.” Her voice is low and I watch as she licks her lips.
I mirror the action. “Yes, you are.” Every cell in my body is shouting at me to kiss this girl. However, I remain rooted to my spot.
The air thickens, and she licks her damn lips again. It’s like she’s purposely trying to kill me, or something. My cock hardens and I lean closer.
“Dean, can I ask you something?”
Her question breaks the spell and I lean back a bit. “Sure.”
“Can you promise me you’ll help me find Bishop?”
“Of course. I told you we both have a common enemy.”
“But, you don’t need me.” Her eyes sparkle in the light and I stare a beat too long into them.
“Yes, I do. I think if we can work together we can cover more ground.”
“Ok, I like that idea. I think we could accomplish more working together rather than working apart.”
“With my resources, we should be able to find him easily.”
“How?”
I lean back, clasping my hands in my lap so I’m not tempted to touch her with them. “I haven’t quite figured that out yet. There’s a man by the name of Humphrey Hollingsworth in New York. He’s a big time player and one of Bishop’s friends. I’d like to get close enough to him to find out the location of Bishop’s secret base.”
“You’re sure he’s not at Zanzibar?”
“Positive,” I tell her.
“How can you be so sure?” She smiles, softening her question.
“Because the men I have there, I trust.”
She swipes a piece of hair from her face and pushes it behind her ear. “So, this Mr. Hollingsworth, you think he will lead us to Bishop?”
I nod, watching her action slowly, wishing I could have been the one to brush the stray strand away. “I do.”
“How do we get close enough to him?”
“See, that’s what I’m having trouble figuring out.”
“Why?”
I lean closer. “Because he’s just like you. He doesn’t trust that easily.”
“What kind of circles does he run in?”
“The bad kind.” I don’t smile this time. Because if Sophia knew exactly the type of company Hollingsworth keeps, she’d run screaming from this room.
“How bad?” She doesn’t give up. And suddenly I feel like if any woman could handle the type of people Hollingsworth entertains, it would be her.
“Terrible.” I lean in closer, ready to tell her part of the truth. “He runs hard-core BDSM clubs and hosts swinger parties for married couples.”