She shook her head. “No, I just…I had to get away from home. I didn’t know where else to go,” she explained quietly.
“Of course, it’s good you came here,” I assured her, looking up at Sal to support my words.
“Do they know you’re here?” he asked instead, unsuccessfully keeping the disdain from his tone at the mention of his mother and her husband.
“Just Mom. I hope this doesn’t cause trouble for you,” she fretted.
“That’s not it,” he shook his head, kneeling to his haunches to look up at his sister. His expression softened as he looked up into her tearful eyes. “Soph, things aren’t exactly safe here right now, not as safe as I’d like them anyway.” His eyes shot to me briefly, and I knew it pained him to admit that. “It’s not that you’re not welcome; it’s the opposite, I swear. But maybe we should work out another time for you to visit when things aren’t so unstable,” he told her quietly.
She met his expression with quiet determination. “I’m not going back.”
Sal looked at me then, and I saw a look of near helplessness before he quickly shut it down. I knew what this meant, his sister was yet another source of vulnerability for him, another person to protect and look out for. But, I also knew he wouldn’t turn her away.
“Okay, then it’s settled,” he replied calmly. “You can stay here until we figure something out. But Soph, you gotta talk to me. Not today, maybe not even tomorrow, but I need to know what happened.”
She merely nodded. “Thank you,” her voice rasped.
Sal stood up, wandering back to our second bedroom that was filled with his security hardware. It was a total mess.
He surveyed the destruction and sighed wearily. “Gonna take some work gettin’ this set up.” I put an arm around his waist and leaned into his body. This whole thing had him tense and I wanted to support him, however I could.
My eyes lit up then. “What if she stayed at my apartment? My lease isn’t up for another month.”
He thought about my suggestion for a moment. “That could work,” he agreed. “Though I’d need one of the guys to post up, keep an eye on her.”
I stood on my tiptoes, kissing him softly, and left him to go check on Sophie.
By late morning, we had her settled at my old place. It was either that or have her sleep on the couch at our place while we figured out the guest room. This would be much more comfortable for her. Despite her presence not being ideal with everything happening, it had worked out well that we hadn’t emptied my place yet.
Sal had explained vaguely to her about what was going on with Parker and the fact she needed a “man on her,” as he called it. I watched her expression the whole time as she tried to comprehend Sal’s world. Most of it went over her head. I remembered my own induction into the Knights’ world. It had been hard enough for me, and I was a hell of a lot less sheltered than Sophie.
Then Axel had swung by. I swore her brown eyes would have burst out of her head if they got any bigger when she took in his huge frame and gleaming gray eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was attracted to him or terrified of him. It was probably a bit of both.
I caught Axel’s eyes sweep her frame and face before he turned back to Sal, crossing his arms over his massive chest.
“How about we all go out tonight? Grab some food, maybe a drink?” I suggested, breaking the sudden tension zapping through the room. “We can give you a chance to nap, then swing by and pick you up.”
She looked ready to pass out from exhaustion, but I didn’t want to leave her alone her first night in town.
“Okay,” she agreed as she nodded simply, sitting heavily on the bed as though she was ready to pass out right that second.
“Axel’s gonna post up downstairs,” Sal cut in. “Get some rest. Call me if you need anything,” he instructed.
“Yeah, okay,” she sighed.
“See you soon, Sophie,” I called over my shoulder as I followed the guys out.
“A word,” I heard Sal growl to Axel as we headed out.
Uh oh.
“She’s my sister,” he threatened as soon as we got out onto the street. “Don’t fuckin’ forget that. She’s not for you,” he ordered, shoving a finger into Axel’s chest.
“Dude, she’s a fuckin’ kid,” Axel scoffed, looking down at his boots briefly.
I eyed him skeptically. Sophie was far from a kid at twenty-four. And, I hadn’t missed the way he’d looked at her.
“I’m here to fuckin’ help you. Don’t be such a dick.”