Page 49 of Safe Place

“Go on.” My voice comes out lower than I intend.

“That’s most of it. She has no contact with extended family. No real support system. Everything she has, she earned herself. No help, no safety net.”

He hesitates, then adds quietly, “Micah, she's tough. But she’s also been through a lot. Let’s hope that stepfather doesn’t come looking for her when he gets out. Which is very soon.”

My jaw locks so tight it aches.

I swallow hard, then ask the question I’m terrified to know the answer to. “Do you…know if he abused her in…other ways?”

There’s a beat of silence before Nico replies. “I looked into that too, but no reports. Nothing confirmed. He’s been married a few times before Janine, but never to anyone too young.”

Relief barely settles in before Nico continues, “That said, I found photos of him with girls who couldn’t have been older than eighteen when he was in his thirties. At strip clubs, he was known to request the youngest dancers. So it’s possible he was just waiting until Sophie wasn’t a minor.”

My heart drops, cold and heavy, and my grip on the phone tightens all over again.

“The stepfather,” I say. “Mark Keller. I need to know when he gets released. And I need someone watching his movements after—discreetly. If he so much as buys a bus ticket toward Massachusetts, I want to know before he boards.”

Nico is quiet for a second. “That's a significant ask, Micah.”

“I know.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he agrees. “And I know this isn’t ideal, but I have to give the same report to your father,” Nico says with a sigh. “I just wanted you to hear it first.”

“I understand. Thanks, Nico. I’ll be in touch,” I say before ending the call.

I press my palms against the desk and bow my head, trying to steady my breathing, but my chest feels like it’s caving in.

She’s been through hell.

Seventeen, emancipated. Working herself to the bone for years. No safety net, no family, just surviving. And her mom—Jesus Christ—bleeding her dry for money she didn’t have to spare.

But it’s not just that. It’s him.

That bastard stepfather. The thought I can't shake no matter how hard I try—that he wanted her. That he's been waiting. The CPS investigations alone are enough to tell me what her life looked like, and the image that forms makes my stomach turn.

My blood is boiling so hot I have to unclench my fists before I crack the damn desk.

Sophie’s face flashes in my mind—her soft smile, the way she laughs when I tease her, the way she said she trusts herself the most. She’s been carrying all of this alone, for years, and she’s still standing.

Now I understand why she’s pushing herself to go to law school, even though she clearly doesn’t actually want to do it. She feels like she has to—like it’s her responsibility to protect people who need protecting. She needs to protect herself. She’s scared.

But she shouldn’t have had to do this alone.

I wish she trusted me enough to tell me. I wish she’d let me in, let me take some of the weight off her shoulders. She has no idea how much I want to—how much I’d do anything.

I draw in a slow breath and force myself to stand straighter, trying to school my expression before I leave the study.

I can hear Wyatt teasing her again in the living room, his voice light and joking. Sophie laughs—a soft sound that tightens something in my chest.

She has no idea that I know. No idea how much I want to protect her from everything she’s been through and everything that’s coming.

I take one more breath, shove the weight of everything back down where it belongs, and reach for the door handle.

I have to act like I don’t know a damn thing. As much as it kills me, I need to wait—wait until she trusts me enough to tell me herself.

I walk back to the island where Sophie and Wyatt are still talking, forcing a smile onto my face. Nico said her stepfather would be out soon. I need to start thinking about that now—quietly, before she has any reason to know I'm thinking about it at all, or worse, he finds her.

“Micah!” Sophie beams at me, eyes bright, and damn if she doesn’t look absolutely beautiful. “Did you know his dad is the Judge Lawrence Wynn?”