Defending Sophie Page 9

  "Really?" She sat straighter and pulled away a bit. "I didn't think you were interested."

  His brows raised high. "I didn't think you were."

  Hawk cleared his throat from the bedroom door and Gaige turned to look at his friend. Hawk approached and handed her a phone. "It's a GHOST burner. I programed my number, Gaige's number, and the compound number in it in case you need to get in touch with us."

  Reluctantly she looked away from Gaige and took the phone from Hawk. "Thank you for thinking of this."

  Hawk nodded to Gaige. "Thank this guy right here. It's his money that buys us all these cool things we have."

  She turned to him again but before she could say anything he said, "We'll be back soon."

  Chapter 20

  She didn't think he was interested? They'd been stupid for years, each thinking the other wasn't interested. A simple word, a phone call, anything would have ended all this longing. It was fucking frustrating.

  Walking into the kitchen his stomach growled as delicious aromas reached his nose. Gigi giggled, "Hungry?"

  "Yes. Very. But, we have to go. We won't be gone long, but I need another favor."

  "Keys are on the desk over there, and the gas tank is full."

  He blinked as her words caught up to his ears. Hawk reached over and grabbed the keys, then walked to the counter where Gigi had a vegetable arrangement waiting for dinner. He plucked a couple carrots off the plate and shoved them in his mouth. Grabbing a celery stalk, he headed to the backdoor without a word. He saw Gigi smile but she kept working and never said a word.

  "If anything happens and you need us, Sophie has our numbers."

  Gigi stopped cutting up potatoes and looked him in the eye. "We're safe here, I've got a security system to beat all security systems. I told you, I'll never be caught off guard again. Now go so you can get back here in time to eat with us."

  Gaige followed Hawk out the door and climbed into the passenger seat as Hawk jumped in the driver's seat. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he pulled up the location where Tommy asked to meet; it was a bar just off the highway on the opposite side of Riverton, which meant they had a few miles to trek, but it made him feel better that they were a good distance from Gigi's place.

  After pulling from the garage, he tapped the button on the visor to close the door and waited until it closed before backing from the drive. Hawk didn't say much, but he always paid attention. Once they were on the road, he asked, "Which direction?"

  "Head north on Hwy. 2."

  His mind floated to Sophie and his lips tingled once again. He needed to keep his wits about him but dammit, she was making that difficult. His skin prickled to get back to her and get down to some things that had been left for far too long. But, first, they needed to have a different kind of conversation and this one would change everything for both of them.

  "What do you think this is?" Hawk asked.

  "I'm not sure and I hope to hell Tommy or Uncle Jeff isn’t setting me up, but my gut tells me Tommy isn't. He said he'd gotten in trouble a month ago and he's been laying low because his dad wanted him to. But, when he heard I was there today, he realized he needed to talk to me to see if I could help him. He sounded sincere."

  "Is he a good actor?"

  "My first instinct is to say no, that's not something I ever thought about him. He's always been a stand-up guy. I haven't seen him in a few months, but the last time I did, he seemed happy and was doing well. His job was great, he’s a boat builder and works for himself. But he had plenty of orders and he was excited about the future of his company.

  Hawk nodded but stared at the road. The miles ticked away as his thoughts were all over the board, no matter how hard he tried to rein them in. Hawk broke the silence once again. "We'll be able to pick up an SUV on our way back to the house, Wyatt has it set to go and the company is picking up our other vehicle."

  "Great. Thanks."

  Hawk nodded, "How's this going down?"

  "We'll go in separately. It's a bar, and hopefully, there aren't many people inside. You come in and sit close, keep your eyes peeled for signs of anything off. I'll try to get Tommy to talk. If I feel like I can trust him, I'll introduce you. Right now, they're not looking for you. I'd like to keep it that way."

  "Killian saw me with you."

  "Right, but Uncle Jeff didn't. I'm not sure who our enemy is this time around."

  Hawk cleared his throat. "You've got a lot at stake on this one, Gaige. Sophie clearly is important to you and I can see you wrestling with your feelings for her. Now your uncle and cousin may be involved in a bad way. You gonna be okay on this? We can always call in some of the others to free you up a bit."

  He looked over to see Hawk's face. But as he usually was, Hawk was a closed book. "I'm good. I need to see this through. If Tommy raped Kate, he needs to be punished. I have no idea how Kate ended up dead, but something tells me Killian is involved. Uncle Jeff said he came in handy even though he's a smarmy bastard. My best guess is Killian wants a promotion and he felt he'd get it by taking care of Tommy's alleged issue so Uncle Jeff would owe him. Plus, no doubt he's collecting evidence along the way for protection to use as blackmail if he needs to."

  Dropping his head back against the headrest, he let out a long breath. "I want to figure this all out for my family and for Sophie. Now her career is in jeopardy because of all of this. Not to mention, the murder rap."

  Hawk nodded and Gaige grabbed his phone from his shirt pocket. Tapping a couple of times on the screen he raised it to his ear and listened to the phone ring on the other end.

  "Gaige, what's up out there?"

  "Josh, I need you to do something for me. I need intel on how Chet Forest died. If you can hack in or have Jared Timm hack in, do it. Get everything you can get. He's a Medical Examiner’s Office employee. Army. Died a couple of days ago."

  "Got it." Josh was a longtime member of GHOST, his father and brother, Jake, were former members of GHOST, both deceased now. His sister Jax and future brother-in-law, Dodge were GHOST members as well. It truly was a family affair.

  "I also need Kate Ryan's autopsy report. Rape kit, blood work, any lab results, too, most of it except the rape kit should be in the ME's report. Check the hospital, too. CID reports if you can get them. Everything either of you can find."

  "Okay, we're on it. Everything else okay out there? Hawk said you were up against a bunch of shit."

  "Yeah, you could say that. My cousin is accused of rape. The girl he is accused of raping is dead. Sophie is wanted for the murder of Chet Forest and she's being hunted and reported AWOL. It's a regular shit show out here."

  "Fuck. We're ready to come out and take care of shit."

  Gaige chuckled. "Thanks, but coming in guns a blazing right now isn't going to help. We've got to lay low and play this smart. Get all the intel we can and expose whoever is behind all of this shit. My gut tells me the person who killed Kate, also killed Chet. They were both in the way."

  He saw Hawk nod from his peripheral vision, and it made him feel good about bringing Hawk along. He was smart. He'd already puzzled this out as well.

  Pulling into the parking lot, Gaige watched his cousin Tommy walk across the blacktop to a side door of the bar. He looked guilty as hell of something. Gazing around as if he was afraid he was followed and shifty as well.

  "I'll go in first before he runs out the backdoor. He looks like he's scared of his own shadow at the moment. Give me three then come in."

  Chapter 21

  She turned and watched them pull out of the driveway and heaved out a long breath. She'd kissed him and not only did he reciprocate, he said he'd thought about kissing her for a long time. Both of them had thought of the other for so damned long and neither of them did a thing about it. Of course it didn't help that she was only sixteen when she first met Gaige. Then, he'd finished AIT with Tate, then been deployed. Then she got married. Tate died. Then she divorced. Then he was engaged. Time. It never seemed to be on their side,
but now? Maybe now would be their time. If she wasn't in jail or dead.

  Frustration rolled over her like a steamroller and the full weight of all things lost. Lives lost and time long past threatened to suffocate her. She stood and walked into the kitchen. Gigi stood at the counter, crushing garlic while something totally delicious simmered on the stove. Gigi's blue eyes met hers and she smiled.

  "I see the sparks flying, girl."

  "Yeah." She sighed and leaned against the wall across from the counter. Her shoulder was beginning to ache and her head throbbed.

  "You don't sound very happy about that." She turned and scraped the garlic into the pan on the stove, stirred the ingredients together then came back to the counter and set the cutting board in its place.

  "I kissed him."

  "I saw."

  "He told me he'd thought about kissing me for so long."

  "Mmm Hmm."

  "Well, I've thought about him for all that time, too. Since I was sixteen."

  Gigi remained silent, going about the business of chopping up an onion.

  When she realized she wasn't going to get anything more from Gigi, she continued. "We've been stupid." Tucking her hair behind her ear, she grimaced as her thoughts raced through her mind. "A phone call, an email, a message, anything could have changed both of our lives."

  Gigi looked up from her cooking and took a deep breath. "But you didn't. There's no sense worrying over what could have been. It wasn’t. What you have is here and now. You need to clean up your shit and then see if you two have something tangible."

  She held the kind gaze Gigi bestowed upon her then nodded. "Go on Katherine, take a hot bath or shower, get dressed, and when the men come home, we'll eat."

  "You sure you don't need any help?"

  She giggled and it sounded nice. "No, I'm like a kid at Christmas right now. I seldom have this many people to cook for. I bake all day long, but this is fun. Go on and relax, get your head around your situation, and when they get back here, you all can put your heads together on how to fix this mess you're in."

  "I owe you an apology, Gigi. I didn't let you know my situation when you first found me. And things are worse now."

  "You don't owe me anything, Katherine. Once you've got this under control, maybe we can share a glass or two of wine and you can tell me all about it. Then, all I ask is for you to pay it forward. Simple as that."

  "I'd like that." Swallowing she added, "My name isn't Katherine, it's Sophie."

  "Mmm Hmm, got that too, hon. Doesn't matter to me what your name is, I'm not telling a soul."

  Gigi turned to scrape the onion in the same pan as the garlic and Sophie turned and walked to the desk where the clothes she'd been given still sat. Picking them up, she smelled the shirt on top and the fresh laundry scent made her close her eyes. It reminded her of an easier time, her mom doing laundry while Sophie sat in the kitchen doing her homework. Her mom. Her parents didn't know any of this and she hoped she could keep it that way, but she'd need to call them soon or her parents would panic if they couldn't get in touch with her. The last thing she needed was for them to contact someone else and hear the worst of this situation without understanding Gaige was here to help her. She turned to her bedroom, slid the door closed and fought back the tears that once again tried leaking out. Gigi was right. Maybe a hot bath, a good cry, and clean clothes would clear away all the darkness and allow her to focus on a plan. And Gaige, she'd think about him, too.

  Chapter 22

  The door closed behind him and the light from outside shutoff. The darkness of the bar took him a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. The dank odor of stale beer reached his nostrils, but he tried his best to ignore it. As his vision came back to him, he scanned the room. Dim lights hung in various places within the bar, all of them decorated with one brand of beer or another, all of them far too dull to do much in the way of illuminating the place. As he moved his feet and the sound of stickiness reached his ears, he figured the low light served more to hide the grime from the few patrons in this establishment than anything else. The one small window in the far wall angled a shaft of light across an empty table, but landed at the boot of a patron at another table. Looking past that man and to the dark corner, he saw Tommy's light head nod toward him.

  Picking up his pace, he sauntered to his cousin and when he was three steps away, Tommy stood. The hollow look on his face wasn't the same Tommy he'd seen a few months ago. This man looked as if he hadn't eaten or slept in months. Dark circles framed his light blue eyes, and the skin on his cheeks sagged and were colored gray. Where once they were bright and vibrant, so much like his mother, now he could pose as a zombie.

  Tommy reached forward and grabbed Gaige in a bear-hug. His face buried in Gaige's neck, but he heard Tommy say into his shirt, "I'm so glad to see you, Gaige. I'm so fucked right now and you're the only one who can help me."

  Gaige tightened his hold on Tommy to sooth him, and himself. His stomach knotted up and the acid that built-up in his stomach soured anything he had by way of food in it. Pulling back, he placed his hands on either of Tommy's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "I'll do what I can, but you have to tell me everything."

  Tommy nodded, swiped at his nose with the back of his hand, and then sat with his back to the wall. That left the chair next to his for Gaige to also be able to put his back to a wall. It would be funny if it weren't so fucked up.

  "Tell me what's going on, Tommy."

  "I didn't remember for a long time. But, I've been having like, visions or memories or something. I told dad and he told me to shut up about it. But, it's not right, Gaige."

  "Okay. Start at the beginning."

  Tommy swallowed then let out a shaky breath. "I was dating Kate. Kate Ryan. She was great. Blonde, blue eyes, smart, great sense of humor, she was a dream. After getting divorced a few years ago, I haven't found anyone that held my interest for more than five minutes, but Kate, she..." His voice cracked and he stopped to swallow.

  "We'd gone on three dates. No sex, some great kissing, and she was the best hugger. Gawd, she made me feel like I was the most important man in the world."

  His hands lay on the table in front of him, his fingers shaking slightly, and the pads of his fingers followed some of the various imperfections and gouges in the wooden table top.

  "Two months ago, we went on our third date. Damn it, Gaige she looked perfect. Bright yellow top, it made her blue eyes look bluer if that was possible. We went out to Kickers, to have bar-b-que."

  He sniffed and his eyes shifted around the room to make sure no one was listening. The door opened and Hawk entered the bar, practically had to duck through the door, but he was used to being a big man in every room. Hawk's eyes perused the room, then he strode to a table two away from Tommy and him, and sat down. For the first time since he'd entered the bar a waitress came around and took Hawk's order first. She tried flirting, which went nowhere. She was older and not well kempt, she was sure barking up the wrong tree with this group. Then she turned and tried her best to sashay across to them. Gaige clinched his jaw at the interruption more than anything.

  "What'll you boys have?"

  "I'll have a dark soda, whatever you have. He'll have the same." He motioned to Tommy with his head, wanting this woman to move on sooner rather than later. She wrinkled her face before turning and heading back to the bar. Gaige reached into his wallet and pulled a $10 bill out, laying it on the table top.

  "Go on, Tommy."

  Clearing his throat, he softened his voice, "We walked in and took a table. The waitress came around and took our drink order. I ordered a beer and Kate ordered a Cosmo. Then we looked at the menu. I knew what I was going to have right away and she teased me about that. Then, she decided to have the same as me and we sat and talked. She was telling me about her day, they'd had an incident at work with one of the civilian employees on base showing up late and generally being an asshole to all of the military employees. I shared a story about a boat I was wo
rking on then we moved on to favorite movies. Our drink order came, the waitress took our food order and left. It was nice. Easy. I felt so good to have found her. She smiled all the time. She was like a ray of sunshine.

  "The next thing I remember was Kate screaming at me. We were at her place, she was clutching a sheet around her breasts, she seemed as if she was naked under the sheet. She kept yelling, 'You raped me. Get out. You raped me. How could you do that to me?' It was horrible. I didn't remember getting back to her place. I didn't remember having sex with her. I'd never, ever..."

  His voice cracked and his shaking fingers brushed along his temple. The waitress brought their drinks, picked up the ten and said, "I'll be back with your change."

  "Keep it." He replied, he just wanted her to go away. Taking a drink of his cola to wet his dry throat he waited for Tommy to get himself together.

  He leaned in and whispered, "I didn't rape her, Gaige. I'd never do that. I was willing to wait no matter how long it took. She was special. I felt like it was a relationship that would last."

  His fingers wrapped around the glass in front of him, more to steady himself than anything.

  "I got off the end of the bed where I was laying and pulled my shirt closed. It was a button up. I stood up and zipped my jeans. My head was pounding and all I could hear was Kate yelling. Her cute yellow blouse lay on the floor, ripped. Her jeans were on the floor, her panties and bra..."

  A sob escaped his throat and he put a hand over his mouth. Gaige's gut wrenched for his cousin. This wasn't a man who was trying to get out of a rape charge. He was devastated.

  "It's okay, Tommy. Take a sip of your cola and take a minute."

  "I can't." His voice cracked again. He swallowed and continued, "I think we were drugged. I can't drink something that I haven't open, I'm so afraid it'll happen again."

  Chapter 23