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I wasn’t happy about having to stay in Knoxville, but at least the motel was three steps up from the last one. No stains on the bedspreads, and even better, no sad clown staring down at me.

“Are you okay?” Sophie asked tentatively.

I smiled.

“Uhm, that’s kind of a bullshit smile. I saw you use that very same one four years ago when you were passed over on a People’s Choice Award and the camera panned to you in the audience.”

I laughed. “I hate when they do that.”

“I can imagine.”

I was really beginning to like Sophie. She was different from Angelica, quieter, but just as intuitive.

“I can’t stand the idea that I brought all this on everybody. If it weren’t for me, Code and the others in Jasper Creek wouldn’t be ready to go to war.”

Sophie’s face crumpled and I realized my mistake. I jumped up and went over to the other bed where Sophie was sitting and put my arm around her. “Hey. Hey.”

I tried to stop her before she started to cry, but it was no use. The storm had been building, and I had just lit the match. “It’s neither of our faults, Sophie.”

She tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her. I pulled her closer, then she stopped struggling and collapsed into my arms. I let her cry it out. She was saying something, but I couldn’t understand her. I really didn’t have to. I knew where her head was at. It was her stepbrother who had started all of this, and she felt responsible. I got that. God, did I get that.

I don’t know how long it took for her to get herself together. She finally looked up at me.

“What do I do, Kit? How can I ever make this right?”

“It’s not yours to make right, sweetie.”

“Yes. Yes it is. If I had never cried on his shoulder about losing that last part, this would never have happened.”

I cupped her cheeks and forced her eyes to meet mine. “There’s something broken in Russell. He still was going to blackmail people. He was still hurting people like Eddie Pope. Yeah, he targeted me, but he was hurting other people too. Trying to take responsibility for a sick man’s actions will drive you crazy. You can’t do it, Sophie. You can’t.”

She looked up at me with desperate hope. “You really think that?”

“I really do. I do, Sophie.”

“But all those people. Your Code. He’s in danger.”

“People would have been in danger no matter what. The Russians always would have become involved, and we’re just damned lucky that we have people like Code and Simon who can fight them and win. Can you imagine what it would be like if the Russians came against normal people? It would be a bloodbath.”

That did it. I saw a real spark of not just hope, but belief. She was actually hearing me.

“You really believe what you’re saying,” she breathed out.

“I do. Code can fight them and win. He’ll save innocent lives.”

Sophie flung her arms around me and hugged me, then pushed back. “You have it bad.”

“Huh?”

“You are so ga-ga over that man.”

“I…uh…”

She burst out laughing.

And just like that, the storm had melted away.