Page 56 of Witness Protection

He blew out a breath. “I killed him. He wasn’t who I thought he was.” He didn’t expand on the information he found out about Vasily. Sophia had issues with her father, but he wouldn’t reveal just how deep his sins reached.

“What about you, Hawk? Are you second guessing things?”

“You’re worried about me killing you or turning you over to your father’s enemies? Watch your damn mouth, Sophia. I’m here because I want to be.”

“Because of your loyalty.”

“No,” he nearly shouted. “Because of you.” His voice petered out to a whisper.

She scooted over to him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around his shoulders. “I want this to end. I want life to be normal.”

“We’ll meet with a lawyer tomorrow. Get things sorted. Are you going to want to move back home once things are safe?”

Sophia shook her head. “I can’t go back there. All the good memories are tainted with blood. I’ll only remember that day.”

“Then we’ll arrange a sale. Get all the paperwork together.”

“Thank you for helping me. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Vasily had thought himself invincible. Immortal. He had no plans in place for after his death. Everything would revert to his only heir.

Being there for Sophia helped him to focus on something other than his own pain. The fact his entire life had been a lie, and the man he’d loved killed his family.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, we had food on the way over.” She absently played with the collar of his shirt. Her scent was familiar, unique to her, even without the strawberry shampoo.

“Do you recognize this place?”

“Should I?”

“Your father owns it. Well, you own it now.”

“I don’t care. There are still a lot of people who want me dead. I’m not safe anywhere.”

“Who told you that?”

“Someone already tried to kill me this afternoon. That’s why Cayden brought me here. He says he’s going to go after whoever put out my contract.”

Cayden couldn’t take on Oscar Esperanza on his own. He had a small army of men working for him, and the contract wasn’t exclusive, meaning every hitman in the city wanted a piece of the three million. Then again, Cayden had managed to take out Vasily Morenov and his top men in his own home.

At least one other person seemed to care more about Sophia than the payout. Hawk should help Cayden, maybe team up and get this done, but he also couldn’t trust anyone else to watch over Sophia. He couldn’t leave her alone.

“Did you get hurt?”

“I’m fine. He killed the man and took his car. I don’t know where Cayden’s going to go. He says all the places he stays at are hot.”

“I think he can handle himself. He’s survived this long.” He didn’t want to hear about Cayden any more. Hawk was starting to get a complex. “You know what next week is?”

She took a minute before she knew what he was talking about. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You have to care. You’ll be turning twenty-five.”

Hawk got up and went to the bar.

“And my father would be planning one of my big birthday parties.” She pulled up her legs, curling up on the sofa, then tucked her hair behind her ears. “I really don’t want to think about it.”

He hated seeing her sad. She looked so fucking lost.

---