Page 47 of Embers of Torment

"A beer it is. I'll grab two." After retrieving the bottles from her frig, I grabbed my plate and bowl and joined her.

Della took a bite of her sandwich, humming as she chewed. She took another. "This is freaking delicious. What cheese did you use?"

"I used a combination of medium sharp cheddar and gruyère and stuck some bacon in it."

"No wonder it's so tasty." Della appeared to relax as she ate her soup. Finishing the last spoonful, she leaned back in her chair. "I suppose I should explain. I was a bit cryptic on the phone."

"I admit. I wanted to ask but was afraid to press."

"It was probably for the best. It's a weird and stomach-churning story that goes back about five years. Well, longer than that when you take into consideration Sofie's history. Anyway, Sofie grew up in a seedy and super-toxic environment. Her daddied when she was a little kid, and her mom shacked up with a bunch of different guys after that. Sofie's mom was a drug addict and prostitute and ultimately hooked up with some violent drug-dealing pimp."

"Damn," I let out a low whistle and shook my head. This information was about as far from anything I could have imagined Della telling me. "Sofie's life must have been rough."

"It was. I won't go into the details, which are pretty insane. Anyway, Sofie witnessed her mom's pimp boyfriend commit a monstrous crime, and her testimony was instrumental in sending him to prison."

"I'm afraid to ask, but what type of crime?"

"The sleazebag was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He wasn't charged with murder because the prostitute he killed got into a heated physical altercation with him and struck first."

I brushed my hand across my face. Della's answer was several degrees worse than I expected her to say.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Sofie also has a brother who is super disgusting and scary. He did the pimp's dirty work and was the one who stalked her. He and Sofie's mother harassed Sofie and her first husband after—"

"First husband?"

"Yeah, Sofie was married to some older guy named Dean before she met Reid. He was a gambler, alcoholic, and thief, so Sofie's marriage was brutal."

"What happened to the husband?"

"He died in a house fire, but that's a whole other story." Della paused and took a sip of her beer.

I got up and grabbed another pale ale from the refrigerator. Returning to my seat, I quietly sat, my head spinning in some alternate universe as I digested everything Della told me.

After a quick dab of her mouth with a napkin, Della continued her explanation. "Around six or seven years ago, after movingconstantly and hiding from her mother and brother, Sofie and Dean moved south of here to Quincy. After Dean died, Sofie ended up at a women's shelter in Boston. She got a job at Morgan Systems and met Reid. Then Sofie's mother and brother found her."

"Oh, shit."

"Exactly. They tried to blackmail Sofie and wanted to extort Reid. When that didn't work, the scuzzy douchebags told the pimp, who was getting out of prison, where to find Sofie. He went after her, and some crazy stuff went down. The pimp got killed, and Sofie's brother got locked up."

"Damn, that's insane. What happened to Sofie's mother?"

"No one knows. When the police went to her hotel, they found out she'd taken off."

"I hate to say it, but your story is like some suspenseful thriller. Honestly, it sounds too bizarre to be true."

"Oh, it was real and super intense. The last five years have been peaceful, though. That is until the night I babysat."

I sat there, edgy and uncomfortable, as Della spoke about the incidents at Sofie and Reid's house. My blood pressure rose when she explained how she'd circled the block after seeing some creepy guy on the street. Then my knuckles turned white from gripping the edge of my chair when Della informed me that the same person may have been the one she bumped into in the plaza by her office building.

Della studied me with wary eyes when she finished. "Umm. Jace? Why do you look upset?"

I took a long swig of my beer. Setting my bottle down, I said, "I'm not upset. I'm worried and concerned after hearing how you put yourself in harm's way, not once but several times. I agree with Reid. You probably should have said something and not taken all those risks."

"You're right." Della leaned on her elbows and covered her face with her hands. "What if something happened to Allison because of me?"

"Don't think that way. No one knows anything at this point." I sprang from my chair and knelt at Della's side, my hand gently rubbing her back. "Hindsight is horrible. I know that more than most. You can't go backward. It'll eat you up. We can only go forward and try to do better. I imagine you were scared and didn't realize what you were doing. But you've got to promise me you won't do anything dangerous like that again. You can't put yourself at risk, and I couldn't handle it if something happened to you."

Della sniffled and sat up. "You couldn't?"

---