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Chapter Thirty-eight
Stasia rushed to Sophia. Close to passing out from fear, she clung and sobbed her relief at having been saved.
“Don’t cry, honey. You’re okay. No need to be scared. We’re here.” Sophia looked at Sam. “We have to leave the house.” Sophia made thedecisionbut Sam nodded in agreement. After she calmed Stasia down, cleaned and bandaged her hands, they packed up their gear.
She called Barney to book two rooms. Driving her grandmother’s car, they were on the road within an hour. All during that time, Sophia calmed Stasia, telling her she did the right thing, and she was proud of her quick thinking.
Exhausted by the stress from earlier, Stasia eventually put on the earphones to listen to her music. She settled in the backseat in the corner, rested her head against the window and soon fell asleep.
That’s when Sophia shot Sam a hard look and asked, “What happened to you back at the house?”
He glanced her way, shock lighting his features. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you hung back.”
“I was there. I stepped in when you needed me and—”
Interrupting his excuses, she snarled, “You let me go in alone.” Sophia hated that her tone held the hurt she’d tried to hide.
“Sweetie, you were safe every moment. I had my gun pointed at both those assholes through the opening of the door frame. Look, the big guy knew me, we met once in the States, and he would have blown my cover, told Manos I was here. Those kids would have disappeared, and we’d be up shit creek. I couldn’t take the chance.”
Mollified, in fact, totally understanding the choice he’d had to make and remembering he’d stepped in when she’d needed him, she reached her hand across and lowered her voice.
“I’m sorry. I should have known you’d never leave me. That you’d have had a good reason for acting that way. It’s just I’ve never been able to depend on a partner in the past. Personality conflicts got in the way both times I tried and then I took special training so I could work alone.”
“I know. I read your files. Man, you really can shoot. That was a fine hit, knocking the gun from that prick’s hand and not shooting off any fingers.”
“I would have but didn’t see any reason to piss him off to where it got personal. A man with a grudge like that is dangerous and right now, we don’t need any vindictive bullshit getting in the way of us closing them down.”
“Which is exactly why I hung back like I did. But I’ll tell you something, Sophia.”
“What’s that?”
“I never want to go through another moment like that again. It was fucking excruciating.”
She heard his message, the fear he let her see from the way he spoke the last word, and it became clear. He’d suffered. Which meant he cared for her.
Good!
Because when she thought he’d left her alone to face the danger, cracks had begun shattering her newly aroused heart, and she never wanted to live through such pain again.
***
As late as it was, Barney met them at the hotel entrance. Speaking to Sophia, he explained why. “When you booked rooms, the front desk notified me as they were supposed to do. We had a last-minute cancellation on a cottage, and I thoughtit might be perfect for you and your guests.” He checked out Stasia first, smiled at her, and then turned to Sam with his hand extended. “BarneyAdamos.”
Sam shook hands and added, “Sam Reagan. I’m an associate of Sophia’s, but no one should know that I’m here.” Sam watched Barney’s reaction and was pleased that all he did was nod. He waited for Sam to park the car and then headed up the path to where they would be staying.
“If you need anything at all, call the front desk and Jorge will look after you. He’s very discreet and will make sure no one knows about you checking in.” When they arrived at the luxurious cabin, lit up to show a huge covered deck with wonderful views, the motion lights brightened as soon as they stepped within certain boundaries.
Once he unlocked the door and ushered them inside, he added, “It’s fully stocked with supplies thanks to the thoughtfulness of the canceled guests. If you need anything, let me or Jorge know, and we’ll see to it.” He put his arm around Sophia’s shoulders and added, “Can I talk with you for a minute in private.”
Sam caught Barney’s eye, saw they had a mutual fondness for each other, and relaxed his chauvinistic tendencies not to let her out of his sight. Safe now, he didn’t have to worry about being found here. Not by the bastards who somehow knew what house in town they’d stayed in.
Had he tipped them off? Had they been trailing him? He’d taken such care not to be followed, and he was damn good at it. Had Sophia led them there? Again, she was FBI and would never let herself be spied on without her knowledge.
Then how the hell had they found Stasia?
While Sophia was on the deck with her cousin, he went to where Stasia was making a coffee in the machine provided. “Hey kiddo, I need to know something. Did you make a call to one of your friends at the house?”
