mouth. “I had a chance to run. I took it.”
“Run from what?”
She set the bowl aside. “Not what. Who.”
“Okay, then. Who?”
Her gaze strayed from his, and he could practically see her shrink. “My dad was a shitty man. Into a lot of bad stuff. He died a few months ago, and the inheritance he left wasn’t a good one.”
“I don’t understand.”
She pulled his sweatshirt sleeves over her hands and curled deeper into the pile of blankets. “He owed a lot of people a lot of money. Word got out that I was worth more than he owed if I was delivered to the right people.”
“What?” It was more a bellow than a question.
“I know. I thought I left all of that behind me when Soma was killed.”
“Who are
the right people
?”
“I have no clue. The men who found me wouldn’t say.”
“Did you know the men?”
She still hadn’t looked him in the eye yet, and he was starting to wish she would. He couldn’t tell if she was hiding something or ashamed. Maybe neither, but there was definitely something going on that made her avoid his gaze.
Sophie nodded. “I’d seen them before. Years ago. Same guys who always came around to collect when Dad lost a big bet.”
Bookies? Loan sharks? Enforcers? It hardly mattered. They were all bad news.
“Start at the beginning,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Tell me what happened, starting with the day you left the hospital without saying good-bye.”
Her eyes lifted, and her pale green gaze met his.
He felt like he’d been hit in the gut with a battering ram. There was so much beauty there. So much pain.
He wanted to wash it all away, which made him the biggest sucker to ever walk the planet.
Sophie had left him. After he’d rescued her. After he’d helped her through her miscarriage. After he’d brought her home and made sure she was safe. She’d just . . . left.
She hadn’t even said good-bye.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said.
“Who says you did?” he asked, his tone chilly.
She looked away again, and he suddenly missed theconnection. Her voice became distant, as if reciting a history lesson. “I went back to Louisiana. Got a waitressing job. I wanted to make a fresh start.”
“But?”
“As soon as I called Dad to check on him, I found out that he’d died while I was held captive in Colombia. Guess Benny and his goons had been keeping his phone line paid up, hoping I would make contact. They used the number of the diner where I worked to find me.”
“And they drove you all the way here?”
“No. I saw them coming and ran. I didn’t know where else to go, so I headed here.”
Toward him.
Riley didn’t know if he should be more furious or flattered. He was the first person she’d thought of when she’d gotten in trouble, but she hadn’t bothered to pick up the phone and call him to tell him she was alive and well?
After what they’d been through, that hurt.
“They tracked you all the way to Dallas?” he asked.
She nodded. “My car died about twenty miles south of here. I abandoned it and set out on foot. It was dark. I thought I’d lost them, but I was wrong.”
“What happened?”
The pile of blankets seemed to shrink as she curled up tighter beneath them. “I stopped for water at a gas station this afternoon. They grabbed me. Threw me in their car.”
“How’d you get away?”
“One of them made a call. There was a woman on the other line. I could hear her through the plastic. She was angry that they’d taken so long to find me.”
Riley couldn’t stay on the other side of the room any longer. The fear radiating from her was too much for him to ignore. He had to comfort her—if not for her, then for himself.
He got up from his chair, took a seat on the cushion next to hers and put his hand on her shoulder. “Did you recognize the woman’s voice?”
“No. But I could tell she wasn’t going to ask me to go for a pedicure with her. I swear she said something about an
“Run from what?”
She set the bowl aside. “Not what. Who.”
“Okay, then. Who?”
Her gaze strayed from his, and he could practically see her shrink. “My dad was a shitty man. Into a lot of bad stuff. He died a few months ago, and the inheritance he left wasn’t a good one.”
“I don’t understand.”
She pulled his sweatshirt sleeves over her hands and curled deeper into the pile of blankets. “He owed a lot of people a lot of money. Word got out that I was worth more than he owed if I was delivered to the right people.”
“What?” It was more a bellow than a question.
“I know. I thought I left all of that behind me when Soma was killed.”
“Who are
the right people
?”
“I have no clue. The men who found me wouldn’t say.”
“Did you know the men?”
She still hadn’t looked him in the eye yet, and he was starting to wish she would. He couldn’t tell if she was hiding something or ashamed. Maybe neither, but there was definitely something going on that made her avoid his gaze.
Sophie nodded. “I’d seen them before. Years ago. Same guys who always came around to collect when Dad lost a big bet.”
Bookies? Loan sharks? Enforcers? It hardly mattered. They were all bad news.
“Start at the beginning,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “Tell me what happened, starting with the day you left the hospital without saying good-bye.”
Her eyes lifted, and her pale green gaze met his.
He felt like he’d been hit in the gut with a battering ram. There was so much beauty there. So much pain.
He wanted to wash it all away, which made him the biggest sucker to ever walk the planet.
Sophie had left him. After he’d rescued her. After he’d helped her through her miscarriage. After he’d brought her home and made sure she was safe. She’d just . . . left.
She hadn’t even said good-bye.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said.
“Who says you did?” he asked, his tone chilly.
She looked away again, and he suddenly missed theconnection. Her voice became distant, as if reciting a history lesson. “I went back to Louisiana. Got a waitressing job. I wanted to make a fresh start.”
“But?”
“As soon as I called Dad to check on him, I found out that he’d died while I was held captive in Colombia. Guess Benny and his goons had been keeping his phone line paid up, hoping I would make contact. They used the number of the diner where I worked to find me.”
“And they drove you all the way here?”
“No. I saw them coming and ran. I didn’t know where else to go, so I headed here.”
Toward him.
Riley didn’t know if he should be more furious or flattered. He was the first person she’d thought of when she’d gotten in trouble, but she hadn’t bothered to pick up the phone and call him to tell him she was alive and well?
After what they’d been through, that hurt.
“They tracked you all the way to Dallas?” he asked.
She nodded. “My car died about twenty miles south of here. I abandoned it and set out on foot. It was dark. I thought I’d lost them, but I was wrong.”
“What happened?”
The pile of blankets seemed to shrink as she curled up tighter beneath them. “I stopped for water at a gas station this afternoon. They grabbed me. Threw me in their car.”
“How’d you get away?”
“One of them made a call. There was a woman on the other line. I could hear her through the plastic. She was angry that they’d taken so long to find me.”
Riley couldn’t stay on the other side of the room any longer. The fear radiating from her was too much for him to ignore. He had to comfort her—if not for her, then for himself.
He got up from his chair, took a seat on the cushion next to hers and put his hand on her shoulder. “Did you recognize the woman’s voice?”
“No. But I could tell she wasn’t going to ask me to go for a pedicure with her. I swear she said something about an
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