Page 17 of Wired Justice

Chapter Nine

Maybe she should call the Ghost about the WITSEC leak and the body dump.Connor would be able to investigate that in a way no one else could.

But no. Sophie couldn’t reach out to him—her ex-lover would misconstrue it, and the last thing she needed was more confusion with the men in her life.

Sophie checked back in with the park attendant. She met the young man’s eyes. “Is there anything else you can tell us about this couple? Did you hear anything about where they might be going, and where people like them—homeless transients—might have gone?”

“Yeah. I think they were all talking about heading for Volcanoes National Park, and that Oceanview area outside the park. A lot of homeless end up camping around Oceanview. It’s pretty unregulated out there, kind of a new Wild West. My cousin lives there and says the parties are off the hook.” The young man had a gap-toothed grin.

“Thanks a lot, man.” Jake came up from behind her and handed the kid a twenty-dollar bill. “We really appreciate it.”

Sophie took him to task back at the Jeep. “Wasn’t that kind of like a bribe? Isn’t it part of his job to help us and protect the people who come through the park?”

Jake scoffed. “C’mon, Sophie, don’t be naïve. Money makes the world go ’round.”

Sophie puzzled over that saying as they drove. Money go round? English had so many colloquialisms that didn’t make sense. The earth was a sphere! Oh, but perhaps Jake meant, “go around.” In which case, he was justifying paying off that park employee, who should be cooperative and helpful because it was part of his job. But the young man probably didn’t make much, in which case Jake’s gesture was more altruistic?

People were so hard to understand . . .

Maybe she spent too much time wondering about turns of phrase and their hidden meanings.

But there had been no hidden meaning in that kiss with Jake last night. She definitely needed to avoid alcohol, Jake, and anything to do with a bed.

The mere thought made her chest tingle.

Sophie sneaked a glance at her partner. His eyes were on the road, those big hands loosely gripping the wheel. She liked looking at him more than she wanted to.

She had woken up determined nothing further would happen between them, but faced with malasadas and Jake’s upbeat mood this morning, she found herself just as conflicted as before.

He intended to wear down her resistance.

Knowing that was his strategy didn’t make it less effective. She’d always found his determination and single-mindedness sexy. That Jake’s focus was trained on her made her kind of hot. There was no doubt they were attracted to each other physically.

But on the other hand, she was attracted to Alika as well. She didn’t know her own heart, or body! Her bad choices with Assan and then Connor had wounded and confused her. No, she shouldn’t be having a relationship until she could clearly pick someone she wanted to be with.

But maybe her problem was that she was too old-fashioned. “Conservative as my grandmother’s chastity belt,” Marcella had teased her a few years ago. Did sex have to mean something? Just because she was inexperienced and recovering from domestic violence didn’t mean she had to be celibate in this day and age. Now that she was getting over the scars left by having a sexual sadist be her first lover, could she indulge in an “adult relationship” with a man and have it be justphysical?

Jake irritated her, challenged and annoyed her, but she also liked him. She trusted him. And if that kiss had been any indication, he would be very good in bed.

A memory of the creative and healing lovemaking she’d shared with Connor made her curl up tight against the window, withdrawing further from Jake.

She’d thought Connor was the one. She’d found her soul mate, if such a thing existed. He’d been so perfect for her in so many ways.

Except for that one, glaring, impossible problem: Connor’s heart was already given to something she would never agree with.

After her mistake with Connor, she didn’t trust her own judgment. Which is why she was trying to be done with men, and that wasn’t going well at all.

“I’m considering whether or not we could be bed buddies after all.” Sophie hadn’t meant to say the words out loud, but now that she had, she pressed on. “Though I prefer the phrase, “partners with benefits.”

Jake’s gaze shot to meet hers. The Jeep swerved, hitting the center line, and Jake over-corrected in a replay of another conversation. The juxtaposition made Sophie laugh.

“But I thought you just said . . .”

“I know I did. But I kind of want to have sex with you. No, I really want to have sex with you. And I don’t want to be . . . a ‘thing’ with you. If we agree on that, I think we can proceed.”

“Proceed. Huh.” Jake sped up. It was a long drive of an hour or so to Oceanview, along a scenic highway that passed above Kona. Vista views of the ocean and the great sweep of the side of the volcano they were circumnavigating tumbled into a horizon line blurred by voggy mist, reminding Sophie of a glimpse of infinity.

Jake finally spoke. “My whole body wants to say yes, I’ll take you however I can get you. In fact, the thought is making me rather uncomfortable right now. But to be honest, I don’t think I want just a casual lay. Because when I think of you with someone else . . .” Jake’s hands tightened on the wheel. The bone of his knuckles shone through the flesh. “I want to rip him apart. With my bare hands. So I guess that’s a no for me, unless we’re going to be exclusive.”

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