52. VIN
VIN
Dr. Rossi is already at the Arsenal waiting outside Sophie’s upstairs apartment when we arrive. I texted him on the way back from Ronan’s while Sophie sat stiff and cold next to me, arms crossed staring out the window, not speaking to me.
Never.
Sophie stops in the doorway and glares at me when she sees Rossi.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Vin, it’s my body.”
“It’s our baby. And you just went through something traumatic. Is it too much to ask that you get a checkup just to make sure that everything is okay?”
She sighs, dropping her chin to her chest. “Fine. In this case only, I will do a completely unnecessary prenatal check. But after that, I and Dr. Rossi will determine what is appropriate.”
“As long as the answer to that question is ‘tomorrow’ and ‘everyday after that’ then we’re good.”
She bites in a breath. “Then we’re not good. Vin, you can’t just—”
“Sophia!” I’m done with her attitude. “There is a version of today where you don’t walk out of that coffee shop. Where you and our baby die at the hands of a fucking asshole. I’m not letting that go. You may think it’s ridiculous, but this is the only thing I have control over.”
She scowls at me. “Except that you don’t have control over me, and that’s where the baby lives right now. I can choose my own medical care.”
I shove my hands through my hair, exhausted and frustrated. Why doesn’t she get this? Why does she have to fight me on every little thing? “You agreed to let Rossi look after you.”
“I did. Dr. Rossi, is it normal to have a prenatal checkup everyday?”
Dr. Rossi looks at me and I roll my eyes.
“It is not,” he says.
“See?” She looks at me pointedly, and I turn to Dr. Rossi, who closes his eyes briefly.
“It will only take 10 minutes.”
At least the mother fucker is on my payroll. He knows whose side he needs to be on.
Sophie shrieks in frustration and turns away from us, breathing hard. It takes a minute, but finally she says, “Fine. But Vin doesn’t need to be here for this, does he?”
I throw my hands up but turn and gesture for them to go into the bedroom as I settle on the couch in the living room. Rossi keeps the door open and makes sure to ask his questions loudly and repeat her answers so I can hear. Not that it’s a big apartment, but he understands the assignment.
When I hear the whir of the baby’s heartbeat on Rossi’s portable monitor, I almost fucking cry actual tears. Fuck, I’m tired.
When he comes back into the living room, he gives me a single nod.
I let out a long breath and clap him on the shoulder once. “Same time tomorrow.”
He picks up his bag. “Mr. Demonio—”
“Same time tomorrow, Rossi.”
He doesn’t bother arguing as he lets himself out. Sophie doesn’t come out of the bedroom and I take out my phone, texting the other people I asked to meet me here.
When they arrive, I answer the door and let them in. They’re carrying sheets of bulletproof glass and bags of tools.
Sophie emerges sleepily from the bedroom. “What is this?”
“Windows first. Then the walls, floors, and ceilings. Blast-proofing throughout. Bars on every entrance and every window on every floor.” There’s a lot more than that too, reinforcements for the entire building, but no need to get into that now.
Gavin may have been neutralized and Ronan made it clear there’s no more threat of war, but it’s not ‘if’ this will happen again. It’s ‘when.’
She stares at the panels then at the men and back at me. “Then why,” she says carefully, “do they have AV equipment?”
A second team arrives behind the first, and they are carrying video cameras of all sizes, cables, control panels and monitors, but I’m already back on my phone checking up on the third team.
“Why do you think, Sophia?”
“Vin.”
I don’t answer, still texting.
“Vin.”
I move an end table out of the way for one of the guys who needs to install a camera behind me.
“VIN.”
I meet her gaze with a sigh. “Yeah?”
“You cannot do this. You are not allowed to watch me on cameras 24/7 and do whatever you like to my restaurant and my home.” She says it like she thinks she can stop me. “We are not together. I am not yours!”
“Sophie.” I adopt the same matter-of-fact tone she used. “I’m going to protect you both whether you like it or not.”
A sneer twitches at the corner of her lip and I raise an eyebrow. I’ve never seen her do that before.
“That may be so,” she says. “But Vin, you are not mine. You don’t get that kind of access to me. You can be part of our child’s life, and you can protect our child as is your right.” Her jaw is tight. “But I will not be with someone who believes they can control every part of my life.”
“Soph, protection isn’t—”
“I may be submissive,” she cuts me off. “But I am not powerless. I can do this without you, and I will, Vin. You need to get used to that.”
She goes into her bedroom and closes the door quietly behind her.
I stand in the middle of her living room with a roomful of contractors watching me. I hold up one finger. “Give me a minute.”
I walk to her door and stand there, listening. The sound of her crying quietly drifts out and I lean my forehead against the door, gripping the door knob tightly.
Every instinct I have says go in. Every instinct I have says figure out what the fuck is getting in the way of what I want and remove it. It’s what I do best. But in this case, I can’t tell if the obstacle blocking me from getting what I want is her. Or if it’s me.
Either way, barging into her room will only prove her point.
I take my hand off the door knob and turn back to the guys in the living room.
“Pack it up,” I say. “All of it. Windows stay. Everything else goes. We’ll get this done first thing in the morning.”
The lead contractor opens his mouth.
“Now,” I say. “All of it.”
They pack it up, and I consider my options.
When the last contractor is gone, I knock on her bedroom door.
“Go away, Vin.”
“I sent them home, all of them.” I wait but she says nothing.
“Sophie.” I flatten my palm against the door.
“Please. I’ll do anything you want. Whatever it is.
Just—” I stop and pull in a long breath.
I have no fucking idea what the words are for this.
“Try me. Please. I’m begging you. Just try me. ”
The silence lasts a long time, way too long, but I force myself to be quiet and give her space. To wait for her.
Then the door opens. She doesn’t say anything at first. Then she steps back and allows me to walk in.