Security is here. They want to talk to Sophie Moreno.”
“She won’t be a problem. I don’t know why you’re always worrying. I’ve taken care of her.” Vargas’s condescending voice grated on him.
Ronald’s throat tightened as the possible meaning of Vargas’s words sank in. “What the hell does that mean? Of course she’s not a problem. She’s not involved in any of this.”
“She’s been sticking her pretty nose where it doesn’t belong. One of my men saw her car fleeing a certain hangar last night.”
Iciness engulfed Ronald, chilling his entire body. “What are you talking about?” That was probably why she’d wanted to talk to him. He had assumed it was to discuss the books. He’d just wanted to blow her off, to buy some damn time. She’d been at Keane’s hangar?
“You should have kept a tighter leash on your employee.”
Ronald swayed for a moment. Sophie hadn’t returned from lunch yet. In the eight years she’d worked for Ronald, she’d never been late without calling first. He’d told her time and again she didn’t need to check in when she was going to be late, but she always did. Truthfully he’d thought she was just pissed at him for being so rude earlier. “What have you done to her?”
“She will be eliminated shortly.” His clipped tone left no room for doubt.
“You son of a—”
“Remember who you’re talking to.”
How could he forget? Ronald rubbed a hand over his two-day-old stubble as his stomach pitched. Sophie was like family to him, but he didn’t have a choice. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“Good. I’ll be contacting you shortly regarding the next shipment.”
“And this is the last one?”
“If things go according to plan, yes.”
Ronald would believe it when he saw it. Before going back in, he tossed the phone into a trash can. With Homeland Security snooping around, he couldn’t give them any excuse to take him into custody.
Not now. Not when he was so close to having his life back.
• • •
Sophie clutched her chemistry books tighter against her chest as she came up on Second Street. The smell of freshly cut grass tickled her nose. All the lawns in the neighborhood were perfectly mowed. Except her home, of course. Her foster mother was older and didn’t care about stuff like that. As Sophie rounded the corner, her stomach tightened when she saw Inez Reyes standing in her front yard talking to two of the neighborhood kids.
Hoping to avoid another confrontation, she crossed the street. It was useless. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Inez say something to them, then run across the street.
“Sophie! Where’re you going so fast?”
The knot in her stomach tightened. She didn’t stop walking. “I’ve got to get home.”
“I’m having a party Friday night. Ricardo was asking about you,” the tall, curvy girl cooed.
Somehow Sophie doubted that. With her flat chest and nonexistent curves, boys never looked at her. Not that she cared. They were a waste of time and she wasn’t going to end up pregnant before she’d graduated from high school because of some loser. For some reason unbeknownst to her, Inez just liked to pick on her. And she’d never done anything to the other girl. “Whatever,” she mumbled.
“I don’t know what your problem is, perra flaca. You think you’re so much better than all of us. At least I have parents.”
Sophie didn’t respond. If she did, she’d start crying. And she refused to let this stupid girl see her tears. Three more houses to go. Only three more and she’d be home. It might not be much, but at least it was safe.
“I’m talking to you, stupid!” Inez grabbed her arm, but before Sophie had a chance to react, a heated male voice interrupted them.
“Get away from her, you fucking cow.” It wasn’t exactly a shout, but there was a deadly edge to that voice.
Sophie and Inez both jerked to a halt and turned. Sophie wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but her stomach did a little flip-flop as the cute dark-haired boy closed the distance between them. Casting a withering look at Inez, he positioned himself in between them. “If you talk to her again, I’ll tell everyone in school that you’ve fucked the entire basketball team and now you’re making your way through the baseball team. You know they’ll believe me too.”
Sophie watched as the other girl’s face paled a deathly white beneath her normally caramel skin.
“Fuck you.” Inez flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder before running back across the street.
The tall—really cute—boy glanced down at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Uh, thank you.” The afternoon sun beat down on her face, but the heat rushing to her cheeks had nothing to do with that. Boys rarely looked at her, and the careful way he was watching her made her nervous.
He shrugged and took her books from her hands. “I’ll carry these for you.”
She was too stunned to argue, so she fell in step with him. “Do you even know where I live?”
“Yep, you’re Sophie Moreno and you live with Ms. Bigsby.”
An alarm bell went off in her head. She stopped on the sidewalk and refused to take another step. There weren’t many white boys who lived in her neighborhood, and he wasn’t one of the few who did. Cute or not, she wasn’t going anywhere with him. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Sam. I just moved into Ms. Bigsby’s house today. She told me about the problems you’ve been having with that stupid girl.” He jerked his head in the direction of Inez’s house.
“Oh . . . I didn’t know we had anyone moving in.” For a foster mother, Renee Bigsby was one of the nicer ones, so Sophie was surprised she hadn’t said anything.
“It was last minute. My last house was . . . It doesn’t matter. Since I already attend Miami Beach High, my social worker wanted to keep me in the same district since I graduate soon.”
“You go to Miami Beach High too?” Sophie frowned at him. He had unmistakable pale blue eyes. Kind of like a wolf. She’d definitely have remembered him.
“Yeah. I play baseball. I’ve seen you around.” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he looked at her.
“Oh.” She bit her bottom lip, unsure what to say. Now she wished he hadn’t taken her books. They provided a nice barrier and she felt exposed as this strange boy stared at her with barely concealed interest. It didn’t make her feel uncomfortable exactly, but she didn’t know what to do about the tingly sensation in her stomach.
He averted his gaze and a light shade of red crept up his neck. “She’s just jealous, you know.”
“Who is?”
“Inez.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” She turned and started walking toward her house.
Sam kept pace with her. “She is. Trust me. You’re pretty without trying and she hates you for it.”
Another strange flutter settled in her stomach. He thought she was pretty? Sophie didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what to say anyway. Talking to the same sex was hard enough. Talking to boys—cute ones at that—no, thank you.
• • •
Sophie opened her eyes and groaned, banishing the long-buried dream she’d been having. What the hell was that about anyway? She hadn’t dreamt about Sam in a while, and she didn’t like that she was doing so now. It
