Crushed (50 page)

"Not tonight." Sophie replied, trying to push away from him. "I'm not up for forgetting anything tonight. Just let me worry. It's what I'm good at."

Robert shook his head, refusing to let her go. "Then worry here with me." He seemed satisfied with this decision. From his expression, it didn't look like he wanted to pretend everything was okay anymore.

She sighed, giving in to his request. She leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes momentarily.

After a few silent moments had passed, Sophie decided to speak up.

"What were you doing earlier?" She didn't want to make it obvious that she was wondering why he seemed to be in such a dark mood.

"You mean while you were pouting?" He asked in response.

"Sure." She scowled, but didn't argue.

"I was making a few phone calls to some friends." He purposefully didn't look her in the eye.

"Friends?"

"I talked to Dr. Smith, who gave me a positive report about the kids. He said Cleo hadn't tried to call, and he doubts she will." Robert's voice trailed off.

"Was that it?"

"I called our friend Agent Marshall for more details about the fire. He didn't give me much, but the investigation is still underway. He suspects the damage to the house is approaching fifty-million dollars, not taking into account the works of art that were destroyed."

"That much?" Sophie asked in awe.

"Considering who we're talking about, that's really nothing for Max. It's simply a relatively large bruise."

"I've never met someone who would murder over a bruise." She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Who else?" She asked in a whisper. Sophie knew he was holding back the last person for a reason.

"Do you really want to know?" He glanced at her seriously, lifting his free hand in the air before continuing. "Right now your worry is right here. If I tell you, it'll be all the way up here." He raised his hand significantly higher.

"We're partners. I might not want to know, but I need to." She tried to make herself sound confident.

"I was talking to Luke." He whispered.

Sophie's eyebrows shot up. She jolted away from him, her body stiffening. "What? Why is that not the first thing you told me?"

"I knew you would react like this." Robert sighed, brushing his hand through his curls.

"Did he call you?" Her voice rose in half-panic. She couldn't conceal her worry for Luke.

"No, I called him." Robert paused, taking in her questioning eyes for a long moment. "Despite how much I wish you didn't care for him, I know you're worried. If we let him destroy his life like this, you would never forgive yourself." Robert lifted her chin with his hand. "I've lived with enough regrets to realize I don't want you to go through the same thing. Consider this me protecting you."

Sophie's heart squeezed in her chest, and she smiled at him. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly, realizing how much he was giving up to help her. It would've been smarter for them to abandon all contact with Luke. Any connection would only give Cleo and Max more reason to distrust them, and want them out of the picture.

When Sophie had connected Luke to the fire, she'd thought she'd have to sever their friendship. Now, Robert was offering Luke the kind of protection Sophie had felt like she wasn't brave enough to offer.

"How is he?" She asked, pulling away from Robert.

"Bad." Robert answered. "Really bad."

"Where is he?" Sophie's voice shook.

"He didn't say. I don't think he trusts us..." Robert saw Sophie's expression fall and he corrected himself. "Actually, I don't think he trusts me." He paused before continuing. "I told him where we're staying in case he needed somewhere to run to. If we're all going down for this, we might as well go down together."

Sophie squeezed his hand, realizing how utterly immature she'd been to him before. Robert was sincerely thinking of her best interests, and she'd yelled at him.

"He told me one more thing." Robert's eyes betrayed a sadness she did not understand. "I don't want to hide this from you, even though it's going to hurt."

"Just tell me." Sophie pressed. For a moment he looked so conflicted she thought he would remain silent.

"There's not an easy way to say it." Robert stared at her intently, refusing to break eye contact. "Luke says he's been keeping tabs on the news, trying to pick up anything he can. He says that's how he found out..." It didn't seem like Rob wanted to continue.

"How he found out what?" Sophie asked hesitantly. It was moments like this she knew she didn't really want the truth. She knew from his expression that instead of pressing him to speak she should be running in the other direction, escaping reality for as long as she could.

"Someone attacked our home." He struggled to keep his voice calm.

Sophie couldn't process what she was being told. "Attacked?" She asked, eyebrows knitting together. "Define attack."

"They set fire to our house, Sophie." Robert winced in response to the expression he saw on her face. She was so numb she couldn't imagine the kind of hurt she was showing just then.

"That's impossible." She whispered.

"The fire started in the kitchen and spread through the bottom floor."

"No, that couldn't happen." Sophie interrupted, shaking her head.

"The second and third floor collapsed in only a few minutes." With everything he said she pushed farther and farther away from him.

"Someone had spread gasoline throughout the house. Luke said the firefighters came too late to rescue anything."

Sophie sat in silence, the only reaction she had left in her.

"Two firefighters were injured during the fire while trying to see if anyone was inside the house. They tried everything they could, but it wasn't enough." Robert's voice broke as he glanced away. "Everything's gone."

"Robert, don't lie to me." Sophie hit him in the shoulder, her composure breaking. "Don't lie to me about this. That house was more than just a building to us. That place was our home. They can't do that!" Sophie voice grew more desperate. "They can't take that away!"

"Sophie, calm down." His voice was weak and filled with regret. He hadn't wanted to tell her this. He'd wanted to hide the truth as long as he could.

Sophie knew she couldn't cry over the house, but it felt like they'd just lost a member of their family. The house was more than just a haven for them, it was the place where she'd felt closest to her parents.

"Rob, I can't do this." Sophie's head fell into her hands in defeat. "They're going to kill us. We don't stand a chance."

He tried to console her, but before he could speak again the sound of knock of their door startled them into silence.

They both turned towards the door, their eyes wide with fear.

*  *  *

Before either of the them could make it to the door, it opened with a sharp click. They'd made it to the hallway and froze as they watched the door creak open.

Sophie's jaw dropped when she realized the woman walking into their room was the person they'd come to New York to find.

"Diana!" She nearly shouted, stumbling back in surprise.

Robert moved in front of her defensively. His face was an emotionless mask.

"I didn't think you'd let me in. Hacking your lock was so much faster than waiting." She glanced back at the control panel on the door. "Switching to electronic locks was a brilliant idea."

Diana Apell strolled into their apartment without hesitation. Two guards stood outside the door, but did not follow her inside. Robert pointedly shut the door in their faces, turning back on Diana with a cold rage.

"Welcome back, Miss Apell. I hope your time in Switzerland was pleasant." His words were like ice, and she responded with a frosty glare of her own.

Sophie suddenly felt like she was caught in the middle of a war. She stepped in-between Robert and Diana, lifting her chin stubbornly. She wasn't going to be left out of this conversation.

"I should be welcoming you back too, shouldn't I?" Diana asked smoothly, raising her eyebrow at Sophie. "Didn't you recently return from Max's clutches?"

Sophie took three long strides towards Diana and snapped her hand back to slap Diana across the face.

"You almost got me killed." Sophie hissed. "Over a letter that wasn't even real." She would've slapped Diana again if Robert hadn't tugged her back. "It's your fault an innocent boy was shot because of the gunmen you sent after us. Do you realize what you've done?" Sophie clenched her teeth, willing herself not to scream.

She hadn't known her anger towards Diana ran this deep. Seeing the woman's impassive face only fueled her fire.

"Everything is your fault!" She hissed, struggling against Robert.

Diana's eyes narrowed and flickered from Sophie to Robert. "What is she talking about? What gunmen?"

"Trying to pretend you weren't keeping tabs on us?" Robert asked in reply, raising his eyebrow.

"I have more important matters to take care of than the two of you." Diana crossed her arms. "I'll admit that I lied about the letter, but whatever else you're blaming me for is untrue."

Sophie lunged towards Diana again, and Robert just barely managed to hold her back. "The letter was the start of everything! Don't act innocent!"

Diana stepped forward and lifted Sophie's chin with her hand. Her voice was cold and sharp. "I don't have to act like anything. I wouldn't be at your doorstep if I wanted you dead. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be gone by now." She motioned to the door to the hotel room. "Those men waiting outside do not need weapons to be lethal. They could've taken you out in seconds."

"Can you blame us for distrusting you?" Robert pushed Sophie behind him. "She wasn't lying when she said the letter almost got her killed."

"She should've known the risks before charging into Max's home." Diana's brow furrowed in confusion. "I didn't think she had it in her..."

Sophie had to force herself to calm down. Screaming and acting insane were not going to solve anything. "You gave me a task, what was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to give up!" Diana's voice rose. "I told you about his past," she motioned towards Robert, "you were supposed to feel betrayed and weak. Entering Max's house was the same as a death-wish. I thought the task would scare you off!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Sophie clenched her fists. "You knew that I couldn't give up."

"I knew Cleo had threatened you, but I never for a moment thought you had the guts to fight Max by yourself." Diana glanced away, looking momentarily guilty. "I didn't take you seriously back then. I thought you'd try to escape Cleo."

"You know that's impossible!" Sophie replied angrily.

"I escaped Cleo, didn't I? I expected you to call asking for me to hide you. I was planning to repay my debt to your parents by making sure Cleo and Max never bothered you again." Diana looked sincere, which caused Sophie's anger to falter. "You never called, so I didn't know what happened. Apparently, you know about me transferring my headquarters to Switzerland. I haven't had time to think about anything else."

"I find it hard to believe you just forgot about us." Robert eyes narrowed. "You're too invested in this fight."

"I honestly wanted to help." Diana glared back at him. "I knew she was being used by you, I was trying to give her a way out."

"Well, you did one hell of a job." Sophie curled her lip in disgust. "You threw me into the lions' den for nothing."

"You're the one who made the choice." Diana shot back. "I thought you had enough sense of self preservation to back off."

"You obviously don't know her that well." Robert glanced at Sophie briefly.

"What about this gunmen accusation?" Diana lifted her eyebrow in confusion.

"When I was working for Max we were shot at by strangers. We assumed since you lied about the letter, you were behind that as well." Sophie felt herself begin to calm down. She hated how easy it was to believe Diana. Either the woman was skilled enough at manipulating to convince both Robert and herself, or she was actually being sincere.