Page 32 of Playing With Danger

“No, you’re not taking another minute of this shit.”

Sophie’s eyelids slowly lowered. They were slower to open. Which made any indecision I had butting into her business vanish.

“Baby?” I called and waited until she focused on me. “I’m gonna make you as safe as I can, yeah?” Her chestnut eyes flashed. “I’m also gonna make sure a brother in blue doesn’t get a call out for a progenitorcide or alternately my team doesn’t get called in on our day off to handle a hostage situation.”

Her lips pinched before they curved up into a smile.

“It’d suck they got called in on their day off,” she returned.

Thank fuck she was onboard.

Right time to move this along.

I grabbed her hand, her fingers threaded between mine, and I didn’t miss the way they fit. Like they were meant to notch into place—not too small, not too fragile.

Just right.

A perfect fit.

“Come on. Let’s introduce me.”

The very short hallway was nothing more than an architecture necessity delineating the bedroom to the right and the kitchen to the left. With me and Sophie holding hands the space was cramped yet I made no move to let her go.

I had a point to make.

When the kitchen table came into view I saw a woman sitting there with a bright yellow mug in front of her with a glittery cartoon smiley face decorating the front. Boldly in block letters it read Don’t Yuck My Yum. I didn’t attempt to hide my smile.

I knew Sophie had purposefully given her mother that mug as a GFY.

Petty.

Brilliant.

And something I could fully get behind.

“Mother, this is Valentine,” Sophie introduced us.

I reckoned the ambiguity was on purpose—not expounding on our relationship, leaving her mother to guess if Sophie and I were friends or something more.

Again, brilliant, especially seeing as her mother’s gaze had locked on our hands.

“Valentine, this is my mother, Lorelai.”

“Ma’am.”

Lorelai’s eyes tipped up as she gracefully stood with a beaming, bright smile.

I instantly didn’t like her.

“Sophie, why didn’t you tell me you’ve found a suitor?” There was a tinge of disbelief that curled around the woman’s purr.

“Oh, we’re?—”

“New,” I butted in.

Sophie’s hand convulsed in mine.

“Please, won’t you join us? My daughter and I were just discussing the job market in Savannah.”

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