Page 86 of Near Miss

If Jared had had his way, she would have ended up like his mother, a beautifully dressed tragedy in a gilded prison.

Jared hooked his finger beneath her chin. The charming, supportive boss was gone. The man in front of her was cold, ruthless, and without an ounce of mercy.

He shook his head with a disappointed tsk of his tongue. “Unfortunately, your allegiance to Mackay leaves me no choice but to end our relationship.”

“If something happens to me, Lachlan will come for you.” She notched her chin up and shot Jared a look of defiance, even if her words wobbled as much as the rest of her.

“Oh, I’m counting on it.” His smile twisted. He took out his cell and tapped on the screen. Inside her purse, her text tone dinged. “Take out your phone.”

What game was he playing?She fumbled around her purse until her fingers latched onto her phone. Her lungs shriveled when she saw the photo Jared texted her.

He took the cell from her nerveless fingers. “Ah, here’s a call from earlier today. James Fraser. With a masked number. How clever.” He held up the phone. “I’m assuming this is Lachlan?”

She dropped her gaze to his expensive Italian leather shoes rather than answer.

“Let’s send him this photo, shall we?” Jared’s thumbs moved over her phone, then he strolled to her car and placed the phone on her windshield. “He placed a tracker on your Prius, so I have no doubt he can trace your phone.”

Her head flew up to see his amused expression.

“My friend here found it just now.” Jared held up a small black box for her inspection, his grin sending shivers across her neck. “So trusting, Sophia. So naïve.”

Jared turned to the man with the dead eyes, his nod a signal that sent adrenaline flooding through Sophia’s muscles. “Josh.”

Jared’s henchman reached for her. She wheeled around and ran for the ramp leading up to the garage exit. She hadn’t taken more than three steps when a powerful arm jerked her back into a hard body. Something sharp stung her neck. She opened her mouth to scream. A big hand clamped her mouth.

She slumped against her captor as the world went dark.

Chapter Thirty

Lachlanglancedaroundhisapartment.

Nothing had changed in the short time Sophia had been here, yet he’d never noticed before how sterile and empty his home was. He’d done the right thing severing ties with her, even if his stomach ached and his chest felt like he was buried beneath the rubble of a four-story building after a Coalition air strike.

She’d told him she loved him, and as badly as he wanted to believe her, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact she’d been spying on him from the very beginning.

His ghosts found him, whispering in his ear, mocking him for thinking he’d escape the darkness.

There was a single rap on his door. He opened it to find Nathan, his face grim. Was it his imagination, or was that a look of disappointment in his mate’s eyes? “We should go.”

Lachlan nodded. He took one last look at his apartment. Who knows when he’d be back. If he went to prison, he’d have to rely on Nathan to pack up his few belongings and store them. His gaze lingered on the painting over the couch. “Did you see Sophia leave?”

“Yep. Cried all the way to her car.” Nathan left offarsehole,but it was written on his face.

They made their way to the exit stairs. Lachlan had climbed eleven floors to avoid being recognized, and his bum leg was feeling the strain of overexertion. If he weren’t careful, the damn thing would give out on him, and he would need to lean on Nathan to make it the rest of the way down.

“Was it worth it?” Nathan kept his voice low. The stairwell, with its walls of concrete, was an echo chamber.

“She’s been spying on me since she started at LAI.” Renewed anger sizzled through his veins. “Admiral Dane knew before I did that someone was using my division to traffic weapons to Khan.”

“Jesus,” Nathan swore, “the admiral’s a scary son-of-a-bitch, but he’s solid. If we can get him evidence showing you’ve been set up, he’ll follow it.”

Lachlan kept silent as they made their way into the underground garage.

Nathan had used Lachlan’s access card to keep his truck out of sight. While Nathan drove them back to his home, Lachlan leaned back against the headrest and shut his eyes.Christ.He was properly scunnered. Maybe he should turn himself in and let the chips fall where they may. What did he have to look forward to?

All his plans—to bring down Khan, start his own security company, and have a life with Sophia—were so far out of reach that they might as well be on the other side of the universe. He was sick of finding a reason to get out of bed each morning.

“You’re a fool if you think Sophia doesn’t have feelings for you.” Nathan’s voice cut through the silence like a blade.

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