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“Friendlier, I suppose.” He scrunches his nose, and his lips contort into a comical grin.
I laugh. But as I gaze up into those light blue eyes, I no longer see ice. Only adoration. And love.
“True story.” He presses his lips against my forehead and squeezes my fingers. “Let me go find the doctor. Let’s see when we can get you home.”
EPILOGUE
Ryan
One month later
Island tunes waft through the salt-tinged breeze. The sun glitters across the ocean surface hours before sunset. Alex and Sophia returned from a long walk on the beach and are now sitting in the sand near the water’s edge.
Alex and I arrived in San Diego this morning and plan to stay through the weekend so Alex can spend time with Sophia. It’s our second weekend visiting since Sophia returned home. Alex’s little dog Trace is somewhere in the house, probably napping with Sasha. The two dogs are now the best of buds.
Jack and I are camped out on the deck with a bird’s-eye view of Jack’s back yard, the beach, and the ocean. One Arrow security officer sits in a beach chair, beneath an umbrella. He’s wearing shorts, an SPF shirt, and running shoes. There’s an earpiece in his ear that would easily be mistaken for an EarPod. A second officer roams the grounds and oversees camera surveillance.
Earlier in the month, Jack converted a downstairs room in the basement into a control room for the security team. Arrow manages round-the-clock security for all of Jack’s properties. He’s also become a silent partner in Arrow.
At the moment, his priorities are Sophia and rooting out all those involved in Sophia’s abduction and illegal gun sales, but he’s made it clear at a future date he’d like to step away from Sullivan Arms and take a more active role in Arrow. Given his expertise in weapons, there are many ways he could contribute. He’s a solid partner. And we’ll never have to worry about finances.
“It’s good to see Sophia talking to Alex.” Jack’s talking to me, but his focus hasn’t strayed from his daughter since we claimed the shaded deck chairs.
“Is she still not talking to her friends?”
“They’ve been calling. Texting. But she gave her phone to me. Asked that I let them all know she’s okay, but she needs time. I set her phone in my office, charging. She hasn’t touched it.” Plenty of men coming back from tours of duty desire solitude. One could argue the trauma level that Sophia endured matches battle.
“What’s the therapist say?”
“We’ve gone through five therapists. She doesn’t like anyone.” He glances at his wrist. “I’ve got another one coming by shortly.”
“To your home?”
“Don’t worry.” He side-eyes me. “Your security team knows she’s coming.” The thought didn’t cross my mind, but I choose to remain silent and wait. I’m learning with Jack that if you wait it out, he’ll keep talking. “My uncle is sending someone. A supposed expert in both addiction and trauma.”
“You close to him?”
“Uncle Mark?” I give a quick confirming nod. “He and my dad were super close. When Dad died, he told me he promised my dad he’d look out for us.” He juts his lower lip out contemplatively. “He’s held his end of the bargain. He’s not around a lot, but believe me, he’s present.”
Jack and I knock back the rest of our beers while taking in the stellar view. Jack returned to work after everything went down with Wayne Killington and Larry Reyes. Prosecutors are still building the case against Wayne. He’s being held without bond under tight security until his hearing. We don’t believe Wayne was working for anyone, but in case he does have information that a powerful someone wants to remain hidden, he’s in protective custody.
The case they are building against him includes kidnapping and abduction, as well as illegally trafficking guns. He blames the people he hired for Sophia’s treatment, but I blame him for trusting her welfare to criminals in the first place. He may have thought he had the perfect resource in his gun trafficking buddies, but they work with a moral code the Texan just didn’t grasp. Or maybe he did. The man killed to prevent getting caught. The FBI is still working on tracking down his hired guns.
In a lot of ways, the worst is over. Jack has his daughter back. But looking at the sour expression on Jack’s face, you wouldn’t think that. Other than he’s getting sleep now, there’s not much difference in the Jack sitting with me now and the Jack from a month earlier.
“What’s wrong? You look pissed.” Maybe there’s something going on with him and his Uncle Mark. I’ve overheard him argue with him more than once, always about work related matters. Or maybe Alex has changed me into someone way too in touch with emotions. Before I met her, I’d never ask a guy what’s wrong.
“It’s…this.” Jack gestures to the beach. “I hate this. I hate Sophia is still going through this. I hate she can’t be comfortable with her friends. I hate it’s not over.” Alex and Sophia wade knee-deep into the ocean. “I can’t get over Sophia knew Cassandra cheated. She was too young to have to deal with that. And now…”
“Did she know it was Wayne?” I haven’t pushed Jack for information. I’m not working the case, and I’m pretty certain the FBI asks all the questions.
“She did. I always thought it was odd that Sophia refused to remain in the room when Wayne came over. She’d slip away the moment he walked through the door. But she says she found out long after it was over. Wayne wanted Cassie back, and she overheard them. When she approached Cassie about it, she says her mom swore it was over. And she died a few days after that. She said she never said anything to me because after Cassandra died, she didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”
“Do you think Wayne had anything to do with Cassandra’s death?”
“Police investigated that wreck. Didn’t find anything. But, given what he did do, I’ll go to my grave wondering.” He swallows his beer again. Like me, his focus is on the water’s edge. “I’ll go to my grave wondering how the hell I fucked it up so badly.”
“What do you mean?”
