Page 3 of Rescuing Sophia

“After everything she’s been through, you want me to interrogate her?” I glance around the table, searching for any sign that I heard wrong.

“Not interrogate.” Mitzy shakes her head. “Gain her trust. She needs someone she feels safe with.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“Just show her around the place. Make sure she gets what she needs. Be a friend. Get her to open up to you, and hopefully, she’ll share more about Sentinel so that we don’t have to interrogate her.”

“Wouldn’t someone else be better?” Anyone else?

“There is no one else,” CJ says.

“What about Jenna? She and Sophia know each other. Now that Jenna is staying on HQ grounds, that seems the best fit.”

I do not want to babysit Sophia. I want nothing to do with her.

“Jenna isn’t trained for this. Not to mention, she’s not a Guardian HRS employee.” Forest doesn’t mince words. “Until further notice, Sophia is your responsibility.”

“Understood.” I force myself to keep my expression neutral even as my insides churn.

The meeting continues, and I’m completely distracted, flooded with the details of that mission. All I can think about is Sophia—her haunted eyes, her trembling body, the way she looked at me with something that made my heart race and my palms sweat.

None of it makes sense. The intensity of it makes no sense. It twists my thoughts and stirs desires I’ve never felt before.

Sophia changed something in me. She awakened a need that refuses to be ignored. No matter how much I try to push it aside, it keeps coming back, stronger and more insistent. She’s different from any other woman I’ve known—or rescued—and that difference is dangerous.

I can’t get her out of my head, and I don’t know if I ever will.

Why her? Why now?

I’ve rescued countless women, all in similar situations, but none of them affected me like this. None of them crawled under my skin and lodged themselves in my brain like Sophia.

This isn’t attraction; it’s something else. Something confusing. Something inherently dangerous.

I’m stuck in an endless loop of wanting her, needing her, and knowing I must stay away—if only to protect her from myself.

And now, she’s my assignment. Totally fucked.

As we file out of the briefing room, the excited chatter of my teammates fades into the background. They have a new mission. A chance to take down Sentinel. But I get Sophia, the woman who’s literally in my dreams—very dark, very X-rated dreams.

I take a deep breath, squaring my shoulders. Suck it up, buttercup. Nothing you can do about it. Let the games begin.

TWO

Blake

The meeting adjourns.Chairs scrape against the floor. Ethan motions for us to gather, his face set in its usual stoic mask.

“Alright. You heard the brass. We’re going all-in on Sentinel.” Ethan’s voice is low, meant for our ears only. “For now, we wait while Mitzy and her team track down Greaves. I’m sure she’s tracking that yacht. All leaves are canceled, not that any of you ever ask for time off. We’re on training duty until the techies build out a mission packet.”

I wait for the other shoe to drop. I know what’s coming but hearing it out loud makes it real.

“Blake, you’ve got Sophia.” Ethan’s gaze lands on me. “She latched onto you, so she’s yours now. Make her comfortable. Show her around. Get her settled in and see if you can get her to open up about anything she might have left out in her initial debrief.”

I open my mouth to protest, to suggest someone else. “Hank or Rigel would be better suited for this. I?—”

Ethan’s stern gaze locks onto mine, unyielding. “She needs someone she feels safe with. That’s you. You handle her and do it right. No arguments.”

“Copy that.” I keep my face carefully neutral.

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