Page 2 of Stone

The chair beside mine scraped across the tiled floor as Sophie took a seat. She turned her face to mine, cocking her head to one side. “Tell me about her.”

My heart went out to her.

Sophie had found out just hours ago that Leesy was her mom. It was natural that she’d be curious about her. The problem was, I knew about as much as she did. I was still in goddamned shock myself, and my head spun with so many questions of my own I couldn’t think straight.

“We broke up a long time ago, Soph,” I stated quietly. “But the girl I used to know was sweet, kind, and honorable.”

She cleared her throat nervously. “Do you think you’re my father…?” Her voice trailed off, then she whispered, “Our eyes are the same.”

My throat thickened with all the pent-up emotions burning inside me since the second we found out Elise was Sophie’s mother. “I dunno, sweetheart. In my heart, I’ve never wanted anything more than to be your dad. But a part of me can’t believe she’d keep something like that from me. The girl I knew would never have done that in a million years, so I can’t help feeling an element of doubt.” I took her hand and patted it reassuringly. “But then, the Leesy I knew would’ve never given you up. She would’ve fought tooth and nail for you, so who the fuck knows?”

“I think you are,” she whispered.

I nodded slowly. “I felt an affinity for you the second we met and liked you immediately, I thought you had a special way about you. Maybe because you’re a lot like her,” I nodded toward the bed, “or at least how she was back when she was mine.”

Tears sprung to her eyes. “That’s beautiful, John, but also heartbreakingly sad.”

One side of my mouth quirked up. “Fell in love with her when she was sixteen years old. Waited for her until she was eighteen. Leesy was the town’s sweetheart, the prom queen, and a pageant princess, but didn’t give a fuck about breakin’ a nail or gettin’ down and dirty in the mud. Saw her fight another girl when she was seventeen who’d called her friend a slut, and let me tell you, my sweet gal had a mean right hook. She was no prissy princess but still had somethin’ almost regal about her, so I called her my duchess. Everyone who met her loved her because she shone her light on ‘em and radiated pure warmth. It was ingrained in her.”

Sophie smiled sadly, staring toward the bed. “I wonder why she gave me up?”

“Well. Ain’t that the million-dollar question?” I muttered, looking up as the door creaked open again to reveal Colt.

My hands clenched into fists, the way they always did when he appeared in my vicinity, but I stayed in my chair and ignored him.

“How’s Elise doin’?” he asked, making his way toward the bed. “She still out?”

Sophie nodded. “She is for now, but I’m reducing her meds, so she should wake up sometime tomorrow.” She smiled up at my ex-brother. “It’s nice you stuck around for her.”

I let out a derisive snort.

Colt’s stare slashed toward me before he turned back to the doc. “She’s a decent lady and deserves to have someone look out for her. She’s saved a lot of women and kids over the years. It’s only right she gets the same. She’s well thought of at the Bureau.”

“Well thought of enough to be left unprotected around that fuckhead of a husband?” I challenged, my tone laden with simmering anger. “Well thought of, but still allowed to get involved in fucked-up shit that shouldn’t touch a decent woman?”

“It was her choice, and it started years before I joined the Feds,” Colt countered.

“Right,” I muttered. “But still, here we are.”

Colt’s eyes narrowed. “As soon as Elise is awake, I’ll arrange to have her transferred out of state to a safe house.”

The thought of him spiriting her away after what she’d endured burned a hole through my gut.

“You’re not takin’ her anywhere,” I rasped, sweeping a hand toward the bed. “If this is your fucked-up idea of protection, then it’s best I look out for her and keep her safe.”

“She’s a key witness in a federal investigation,” Colt argued. “Without Elise, there is no case. All the evidence we’ve gatheredover the years is just circumstantial without her input. There’s probably a price on her head already.”

I felt a muscle tic in my jaw at that nugget of information. “Over my dead fuckin’ body. She’s not leaving my sight, so sit your ass down and tell me everythin’.”

“You know I can’t,” Colt protested. “I’ve already said too much.”

“Why was she mixed up with him?” I lowered my voice out of respect for Elise, but Colt couldn’t mistake the rasp of fury. “If there’s an ounce of loyalty toward me left in you, you’ll do the right thing and tell me everything.”

Colt cupped his nape with his hand and heaved out a breath. “From what I’ve been briefed on, Elise was first approached by the FBI back in the nineties. An agent’s sister was trafficked, so he started investigating on his own time. He recruited Elise back then.”

Something jerked inside my chest. “You’re tellin’ me she’s been gatherin’ intel for thirty years for the FB—fuckin’—I? Jesus, how the fuck are those assholes still on the streets?”

“The original agent was murdered,” he explained. “We think by Bear Rawlins. It was tagged as a street robbery gone wrong. They caught the supposed assailant and locked him up, except he died in jail. The Bureau didn’t even know the agent was working the case, so it dried up, and Elise was stuck. Then, a few years years ago, she contacted the FBI again and told us everything. She said she’d been gathering evidence. Coincidentally, the trafficking ring was already back on the Fed’s radar by then. They recruited Stafford when he was still in college. He came back, befriended Henderson Junior, and slowly infiltrated. It’s taken him this long to get into the mayor’s inner circle.”

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