Sophia steps up beside me, and we stand there, hand in hand, staring at Cooper, waiting for his next move.
“You love her?“ Cooper moves toward me, his fists still balled by his side.
“Yeah. I fucking do. Is that a problem for you?” I step forward, moving Sophia behind me, and Cooper laughs.
“What do you think I’m gonna fucking hit her? No, you’re my target.“ Cooper lunges forward, and Liam grabs him while Hunter pushes me backward.
“That is enough, boys! We’re here for Sophia and Sophia only. You two can figure your shit out later, but not right now. Sit down or leave my house.” Mom stands between us, admonishing both of us like when we were children.
“Technically, Mom, this is my house,” Liam says. “But I feel the same, so Cooper, you can either get your shit together or leave until you can figure it out.“
Cooper storms out of the living room into the kitchen.
Aubrey follows him, throwing an “I’ll be right back,” over her shoulder before she disappears behind him.
Sophia grips my bicep, leaning up on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. “I’m so sorry, Wyatt. We don’t have to do this. I really can just leave. I do not want to come between you and your family.”
Mom stands in front of us. The look on her face is the same as the look we used to get as kids when she was really mad at us. Her hands are on her hips, her eyes are narrowed, and her hip is popped out.
“You listen to me, little miss. You never come between anyone in this family.”
I push Sophia behind me again, not knowing where Mom is going with her rant.
“My boys can handle themselves. It is you we need to protect.“
Loosening my grip on Sophia, I let her step out from behind me.
“You are just as much a part of this family now as one of these knuckleheads. We all love you. And the fact that my boy chose you means a great deal to me. His spark is back, andyoudid that for him. For all of us. And for that, I am forever grateful.” She turns to face the rest of the family. “Are we done now? Can Wyatt please tell us why we are all here?“
Everybody nods their heads and takes their seat on the couches and chairs.
Sophia looks at me, and I give her a nod to let her know it’s okay for her to take over. She wanted to be the one to confess everything.
“First, I just want to say how sorry I am for bringing this all to your doorstep. The first thing you need to know is that my name is not Sophia Black. It’s Sophia Chiave.”
She pauses to let her name sink into everybody’s brains. When some of their eyes go wide, she continues. “My fiancé tried to kill me and nearly succeeded. If it weren’t for my brother and Aubrey, I would not be here today. Unfortunately, to escape him, I had to become somebody else. But what I didn’t expect was to fall in love with Wyatt. The plan was always to run as soon as James found me, but your family, and Wyatt, has changed that for me. I no longer want to run. I want—no—I need to stay here. To stand up for myself.”
The girls all come to give Sophia a hug before sitting back down. This is where I pick up the conversation.
“James is hacking into systems within the town. He put a sign on City Hall, he was responsible for the traffic sign at the festival, and he also hacked into the library sign today. He wants Sophia to go home, to run back to Ryder. He wants her to run. He wants his control over her back. But we’re not going to let him have it. Kane is moving into the rental down the path from my house, and he’ll be there monitoring, trying to find James, her father Hugh, or both of them. We also rescued a dog this morning that will act as a guard dog and will also be the newest member of the Balsam Cliffs Police Department K9 unit. She is trained for scent detection, and her first task is going to be to find the assholes hiding in our town.”
Liam speaks first. “What do you need from us?”
“I never want Sophia to be alone, so while I’m working or pulling twenty-four hour shifts, she’s going to need somebody with her. I have a twenty-four tomorrow, starting at 7 PM. I’ll beable to come home in between calls, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay. Plus, with Kane and I trying to track these fuckers, that’s gonna take up a lot of of my time.“
This time it’s Evelyn who offers a solution. “All of us can take turns staying with her while you’re gone, or she can stay at our houses if it’s safer.”
“No, you need to come to our house. I will not risk James finding you in your own homes. Hugh is still the head of some very dangerous people. Who knows the ties he has or the reach he still had even from prison.”
“I agree that staying there is safest. I also think that one of us should be there at all times, not just the girls,” Hunt says. “Even if we just have to sit in the truck in the driveway and keep an eye on the perimeter.”
I knew that Hunter and Gunnar would be in on this as ex-military. They feel the same that I do about protecting the ones we love.
“My schedule will be ready tonight. I’ll work on that tonight. If everyone can send me any days they aren’t available, we can get this worked out, and hopefully we won’t need it,” I rush out, planning with Liam and Hunter.
Sophia scoffs. “Is this all really necessary? It seems like a lot of inconvenience for everybody. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Pops stands and joins me and Sophia. “My girl, you are never an inconvenience to this family.” Then he reaches out to hug her, something that he doesn’t do often.
