tears finally let loose, but only because she wasn’t alone any longer. “I didn’t have anyone else to call. Thank you for coming. Thank you,” she repeated again and again.
“Sophia.” His lips glanced off her temple as he said her name and then he took a step back, so she was no longer touching him.
It was then she realized the obvious. Other than the brief glance of his mouth on her skin he hadn’t touched her in any way. His hands were still in the pockets of grey dress slacks and the sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up to show his sinewy forearms. Tension coiled in the broad muscles of his chest and shoulders and the scar along his cheek turned white as he clenched his jaw.
Her eyes widened as she saw the weapon holstered at his side and she took a step back. And then another. Her gaze flew back to his and then she knew. He was one of them, and he’d never believe her over the evidence that was so damning. For the second time in her life, Declan was going to destroy her, and she had no one to blame but herself. The old saying was true—fool me once, shame on you… The only fool in the room was her.
“The only way I can help you is if you tell the truth.” His familiar voice slid across her skin like silk and she had to remind herself to breathe. This wasn’t the same man who’d once loved her. Who’d used that same voice to tempt and seduce. This man was her enemy. And she’d brought him right to her door.
“Go to hell, Declan MacKenzie. And take your evidence with you.”
CHAPTER THREE
Six Months Later…
Sophia stared at the empty house she’d once shared with her husband and realized she didn’t have one good memory of the place in the five years she’d lived there.
She’d lived there mostly alone as Kane hadn’t wanted much to do with her once he’d married her, but the times he had come home… she shuddered and reminded herself it was best not to go there. He’d only touched her twice during their marriage. The first time on their wedding night. The second time when she’d told him she wanted a divorce. Neither experience had been pleasant.
The boxes on the table still needed to be taped, so she found the roll and closed them up methodically, labeling each one as she went. She’d been lucky to find a buyer for the house, even if she’d had to take a lower offer. The important thing was that she had enough to pay off her debt and just enough to see her through until she found a new job.
If she found a new job. No one wanted to hire a criminal. And trying to explain to would-be employers that it had all been a misunderstanding got her nowhere.
It had been months since they’d cleared her of the charges of conspiring with her husband in treasonous acts, conspiracy to murder, and laundering half a billion dollars that was doused in the blood of some of America’s finest.
The government had no proof and she’d passed their tests, so after weeks of being contained in one small room with nothing more than a bed and her own company, they’d finally had to let her go. But not before she’d lost her job and had most of her assets seized.
The bank had called the loan on her house so she’d had no choice but to sell. She could only be grateful her mother had left her the little house she’d owned up until her death a couple of years before. Her father had passed away the year after she and Kane had married, and she didn’t have any other family. That house was her saving grace and the only place she had left to go. If she was lucky, she could find a job as a waitress or as a cashier somewhere. She couldn’t afford to be picky.
The sound of a car pulling into her driveway had her grabbing for the rifle she habitually kept by the door. It had certainly worked at chasing off Kane, and it worked even better on nosy reporters. Someday she hoped they’d get the hint and leave her alone.
But when she stepped onto the front porch with the rifle in her
“Sophia.” His lips glanced off her temple as he said her name and then he took a step back, so she was no longer touching him.
It was then she realized the obvious. Other than the brief glance of his mouth on her skin he hadn’t touched her in any way. His hands were still in the pockets of grey dress slacks and the sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up to show his sinewy forearms. Tension coiled in the broad muscles of his chest and shoulders and the scar along his cheek turned white as he clenched his jaw.
Her eyes widened as she saw the weapon holstered at his side and she took a step back. And then another. Her gaze flew back to his and then she knew. He was one of them, and he’d never believe her over the evidence that was so damning. For the second time in her life, Declan was going to destroy her, and she had no one to blame but herself. The old saying was true—fool me once, shame on you… The only fool in the room was her.
“The only way I can help you is if you tell the truth.” His familiar voice slid across her skin like silk and she had to remind herself to breathe. This wasn’t the same man who’d once loved her. Who’d used that same voice to tempt and seduce. This man was her enemy. And she’d brought him right to her door.
“Go to hell, Declan MacKenzie. And take your evidence with you.”
CHAPTER THREE
Six Months Later…
Sophia stared at the empty house she’d once shared with her husband and realized she didn’t have one good memory of the place in the five years she’d lived there.
She’d lived there mostly alone as Kane hadn’t wanted much to do with her once he’d married her, but the times he had come home… she shuddered and reminded herself it was best not to go there. He’d only touched her twice during their marriage. The first time on their wedding night. The second time when she’d told him she wanted a divorce. Neither experience had been pleasant.
The boxes on the table still needed to be taped, so she found the roll and closed them up methodically, labeling each one as she went. She’d been lucky to find a buyer for the house, even if she’d had to take a lower offer. The important thing was that she had enough to pay off her debt and just enough to see her through until she found a new job.
If she found a new job. No one wanted to hire a criminal. And trying to explain to would-be employers that it had all been a misunderstanding got her nowhere.
It had been months since they’d cleared her of the charges of conspiring with her husband in treasonous acts, conspiracy to murder, and laundering half a billion dollars that was doused in the blood of some of America’s finest.
The government had no proof and she’d passed their tests, so after weeks of being contained in one small room with nothing more than a bed and her own company, they’d finally had to let her go. But not before she’d lost her job and had most of her assets seized.
The bank had called the loan on her house so she’d had no choice but to sell. She could only be grateful her mother had left her the little house she’d owned up until her death a couple of years before. Her father had passed away the year after she and Kane had married, and she didn’t have any other family. That house was her saving grace and the only place she had left to go. If she was lucky, she could find a job as a waitress or as a cashier somewhere. She couldn’t afford to be picky.
The sound of a car pulling into her driveway had her grabbing for the rifle she habitually kept by the door. It had certainly worked at chasing off Kane, and it worked even better on nosy reporters. Someday she hoped they’d get the hint and leave her alone.
But when she stepped onto the front porch with the rifle in her
Similar Books
Keeping Secrets
Treasure Hernandez
Unbreakable
Nancy Mehl
The Most Dangerous Animal of All
Gary L. Stewart, Susan Mustafa
Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4
Breanna Hayse
The Third Lie's the Charm
Lisa Roecker
Collected Poems
Jack Gilbert
The Red Roots
Andrea Johnson Beck
The Dark Water
Seth Fishman
Half Life
Hal Clement
The Song of Hartgrove Hall
Natasha Solomons