Page 99 of Saving Sophia

She made a tiny whimpering sound, but I held her gaze. “Look at me, baby girl. I saw you the night you were attacked—the night of the murder.”

She flinched but didn’t look away.

“You trusted me with your secret. I believe in you, no matter what. We’ll figure it out with Hayden, but I know you saw what you saw.” I nodded my head for emphasis and held back a smile when she nodded her head along with mine. “Dressing up and using a pacifier changes none of that.”

She sat frozen for a heartbeat before setting the unicorn box to the side and gripping me in a fierce hug. “Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered as she found my lips and offered me a beautiful, soft kiss.

I relished the taste of her strawberry lip gloss. “No thanks needed, baby girl. That’s my job.”

* * *

SOPHIA

“Are you ready?” Hayden fiddled with the recording device, his notepad and pen sitting on the edge of the table next to his elbow.

I stared at the little black machine. I wasn’t sure at all about the consequences, but I knew I had to do it. I needed to tell the truth. To stand on my own and speak about what I saw.

“I’m ready.” No more being afraid. No more listening to the voice in my head that sounded like my father calling me a foolish child.

Somehow, dressing up Little, playing games, submitting to discipline, and calling Ethan Daddy helped me grow up. I knew what I wanted and, even better, I knew I could have it. I just had to be brave and let the chips fall where they may.

“Okay.” Hayden smiled at me, giving a reassuring nod. “Tell me exactly what you saw that night.”

I took a breath and began to speak.

27

SOPHIA

“Are you sure going back is a good idea?” I eased the sharp tool into the joint and applied pressure until Caroline’s damaged leg released from her hip socket with a tiny popping sound that always made me wince.

It had been a few days since I gave Hayden my statement, and I knew Callie was getting restless, but the idea of going back to L.A. seemed like a big risk.

She squeezed my shoulder. “Now that you told Detective what you saw, Tommy Roscoe would be an idiot to make a move. And what would doing something to me do for him anyway?”

“What about Brad?” I asked, setting the damaged leg down on the coffee table. “It sounds like he wants to hurt you.”

“Yeah, I really do think him breaking in was more about me than you.” She rolled her eyes and made a gagging face. “He dug through all my shit, my panties …” She shuddered. “He didn’t even mess with your stuff since it was all packed up to come here.”

“He sounds dangerous.” I looked down at Caroline’s body in my hands. Her torso would require a lot of meticulous sanding to fix the melted parts.

“I can handle dumbass Brad.” Callie looked out the window and tugged at a lock of her hair with two fingers. “I just … need to go back. My dad …”

I nodded. Her dad was in a nursing home. She visited him every Tuesday. She didn’t talk about it much, but I knew she was worrying about being away from him. “Maybe you should wait though? See what Da—Ethan says?”

She grinned at me. “Seriously Soap? Call him what he is. I’m happy you have a Daddy.”

I did. I had a Daddy and he loved me. I smiled back at her.

“And I can’t,” she continued. “I don’t have time. I just stopped in to say good-bye.”

“What about … Griff?” I asked. “He said you couldn’t leave till they had things figured out?”

“Pffft,” she stuck out her tongue and blew out the sound. “He’s not the boss of me, and he never will be.”

She stood up. “I’ll be fine, Soap.”

I walked her to the door of the cabin and leaned in when she gave me a wonderful, perfume-infused hug. “We’re going to be laughing about this at your wedding,” she said.

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