Page 44 of Marked

Sophia sighed and knotted her fingers in the strands of her hair. “Yeah. I mean. You know what he does as well as I do. Of course the police want him in jail.”

“You too?”

Pressure built inside her chest. She couldn’t respond to Lexi’s inquisition when she couldn’t even satisfy her own need for clarity. “Cole and I came to an understanding. That’s really all this is about for the moment.”

“All right.” Lexi shrugged. “Just know that if you cross Cole, you’re crossing all of us, too. And that’s not a position you want to be in.”

A little bit of admiration swelled inside Sophia. While this group was dysfunctional and downright unethical at times, they had each other’s backs. That must be really nice. “Is that a threat?” She kept her tone light, curious.

Lexi’s mouth slid into a smug grin. “When you’re here, doing whatever this is,” she said, waving her hand at the blueprint and gesturing to the closed door, “you’re not a cop anymore. Not to me. So yeah, if you want to take that as a threat, go ahead.”

Sophia set down her mug on the table. “Cole’s lucky to have you—all of you. And you’re right. While I’m here, I’m not a cop.”

But she also wasn’t one of them. Never would be.

“Good.” Lexi shimmied her shoulders. “Then we can be friends. I’m happy to help you find your daughter. But you need to forget Cole after this.”

She nodded. Lexi had every right to be concerned about her brother-in-law. But she’d never forget Cole.

Couldn’t if she tried.

“I promise I’ll stop pursuing him.”

Lexi’s eyes warmed. “Good. I’ll get us some food while we wait to hear back from Dare. He shouldn’t be long.”

“Thanks, but I’ll stick with my tea.”

“Well give me a hand anyway. These guys can eat sandwiches like nothing.” Lexi rolled her eyes.

Sophia forced her attention away from the items on the table. At least keeping her hands busy would distract her from the darkest corners of her mind. She followed Lexi into the kitchen and retrieved plates and cutlery from the cupboards. Lexi took out sandwich fixings and Sophia found pickles and beets in the fridge to add to their meal.

“The guys are awfully quiet in there,” Sophia said.

Lexi spread mayo over a few slices of bread. “I wouldn’t take that personally. They’ll share what they can.”

Sophia nodded. Normally she’d be in the thick of an investigation like this. She had a good handle on their plan, but it was frustrating to be shut out of whatever details they were compiling. At the end of the day, though, they were doing her a favor. She’d bite back any complaints.

Ding-dong!

Sophia pulled her attention away from the chicken she was laying on the bread and glanced toward the front of the house. Lexi wiped her hands on a towel and scurried around the island. “I’ve got it. It’s probably Tess.”

She crossed the open-concept living room and then turned out of sight toward the foyer. Another female voice floated through the air, and the door clicked shut. Tessa George followed Lexi into the kitchen, her wavy brown hair a little longer than Sophia remembered. Her crystal-clear green eyes landed on Sophia with veiled hostility.

Maybe not quite hostility, but certainly wariness. As if she expected Sophia to flash her badge and arrest all of them.

“Hi, Tess.” Sophia smiled. “It’s been a while.”

Tess swung her gaze to Lexi and back. “I’m sorry to hear about your daughter. That’s awful.”

Sophia nodded and rolled her lips together. “We’re making progress.”

“Well, with Cole, Nash, and Dare on her team, your daughter’s in good hands.”

Lexi chomped on a piece of cheese and nudged Tess. “Hey, what about me?”

Tess snickered. “You, too, of course. Not sure what I can do to help, but I’m here.”

“How’s the new studio?”

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