Page 46 of Saving Sophia

Ethan sat at the counter, one foot casually propped on the barstool’s footrest, the other on the floor. A crisp black dress shirt accented his slate gray jacket and charcoal slacks, bringing out the layers of gray in his eyes and highlighting his broad shoulders. His goatee, trimmed neat and sharp, contrasted against the planes of his cheeks, and his hair in that perfect tousle smoothed into a fade. He looked like confidence and sex appeal got together and had a baby demi-god. I had competing urges to kiss him and sketch him out in graphite.

“Hey sweet girl.” His full lips turned upward when he saw me. My insides whooshed up with heat like a furnace turned up to maximum. “Ready for your surprise?”

I nodded happily.

He looked over my shoulder as she pushed through the swinging door behind me. “Did she do a good job for you, Aunt Carol?”

“Are you kidding? I’d be lost without her.” Aunt Carol beamed at him. “She’s a real find.”

“I agree.” He pulled out a round, cherry red lollipop from his pocket and presented it to me like an award.

I bounced on my toes and snatched it from his hands. “Do you always carry lollipops?”

“Of course,” he chuckled. “I need to know your favorite flavor.”

“Cotton candy,” I said without missing a beat. “But cherry is a close second.” I popped the red orb of deliciousness into my mouth.

“Good to know.” He tapped a finger to his temple as if tucking the information away.

Ethan put an arm around my waist and guided me to the door. A familiar song whistled strong and clear behind us.

“Guns N Roses, ‘All I Need is a Little Patience’,” Ethan called over his shoulder. “I hear you, Aunt Carol.”

Her merry laughter mingled with the bell over the door as we left.

* * *

We drove the other way, along the two-lane road. I chattered about working with Aunt Carol, and he listened, smiling and asking questions as if my work was the most interesting thing in the world. We stopped at a tiny gas station halfway down the mountain. Ethan hopped out to fill the tank and clean the windows while I watched him, still not quite ready to believe this fairy tale. I’d never had attention like this before.

The Bad Boyz theme rang through the front seat, interrupting my happy thoughts. It was his phone, buzzing in the center console.

“That’s Hayden,” Ethan called out through the window, his long arm reaching across with a squeegee to clean the windshield. “Can you answer it and tell him I’ll be there in a second?”

Unease pulsed through me. Hayden, his brother. His detective brother. I tentatively picked up the phone. “Umm … hello?”

“Hey, it’s” —Hayden’s voice stopped then started again— “Sophia? Is that you?”

“Yes,” I said. “Ethan’s … squeegeeing.” My dumb tongue struck again. “He’ll be here in a second.”

“Okay,” Hayden sounded amused. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you too.”

“Me?” I squeaked out the word, my stomach flipping. Hayden wanting to talk to me couldn’t be good.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask if you saw anything unusual on the night of the club raid.”

“Unusual?” My voice went choppy and weak, like someone playing a garbled note on a flute for the first time. “Like what?”

His sigh came through the phone. “It’s a long shot, but I have to ask. Follow up on every possibility and all.”

“Umm … I don’t?—”

“A body turned up yesterday, and there’s some preliminary forensic evidence connecting it to Renaissance. It could be nothing, but it might lead us somewhere. Did you witness any arguments or unruly customers that night? Anything that sticks out?”

My black denim jacket constricted around me, and I started to sweat, even though cool afternoon air blew into the car. “A body? No, I didn’t see a body. I mean, there was the dentist’s son. He was unruly when he grabbed me and spilled beer in my shoes, and all of that was unusual. But not sticky-outie unusual, and I don’t think any of that would have anything to do with a body …” My mouth panic-babbled and then ran dry.

Hayden stayed silent for a beat.

“It’s okay if you didn’t,” he said finally. “I just wanted to make sure.”

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