Embers of Torment (Power and Passion #2)

Chapter 14

Jace

I checked the time on my computer. It was five twenty-five. Della should have gotten home ten minutes ago. Picking up my cell phone, I dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.

"Jace?"

"Yes, it's me. I hope I didn't catch you walking in the door."

"No. I've been here for an hour. I…umm. I left work early."

"Is something wrong?" Hmm. That's strange. It's not like Della to leave before five o'clock, and her voice sounds odd.

"Yeah, it was a crappy afternoon. I had to go to the big boss's office."

"Is that Sofie's husband?"

"Yep, Reid Morgan. He's a super likable person and a savvy businessman. But boy, is he intimidating, especially when he's unhappy. I had to speak to a detective, Braxton Hennessey, with the Boston police. I was so depressed afterward that I couldn't get much done. I decided it was best if I took off."

"What happened?" Now I was worried. My stomach muscles tightened as I tried to imagine why a detective would need to talk to Della. She had an unwavering moral character and wasn't the type of person to break the law. Confused, I was at a loss. Then it struck me. Maybe she was a victim. My heart pounded at the thought. "Della, you're not saying anything. Did something happen to you? Are you hurt?"

"No, nothing like that. Sorry, I'm just upset." Della sniffled. "It had to do with some stuff that occurred six weeks ago when I babysat for Sofie and Reid at their house."

"Like what?" Dammit! Della doesn't usually get ruffled. I need to be there with her.

"I was watching a thriller on television after the kids went to bed and heard a noise in the backyard. I got spooked and thought I saw someone on the deck, which turned out to be a patio chair. At least, that's what I thought it was when I checked. Anyway, other things happened that night and again a few weeks ago. Reid got miffed because I hadn't mentioned some of it and may have put myself at risk."

"I have to admit. I understand Reid getting upset if you placed yourself in danger. But I must be missing something. What brought all this on so long after the event?"

"It's because Sofie and Reid's babysitter disappeared. They haven't been able to reach her, so Reid asked Braxton, his close friend, to see what he could find out. Braxton recently discovered the woman's daughter filed a missing person report on her."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"The last time anyone talked to or saw Allison was the day I babysat in her place. She had called before she was to show up and canceled, and no one has heard from her since."

"Allison is the sitter?"

"Yeah, and I've met her. She was an elementary school teacher but retired a while back. Her husband died around ten years ago, and she lived alone. Her daughter lives in Wisconsin. Anyway, it all seems fishy."

"It sounds like it."

"I feel shitty about the whole thing. Allison is super sweet, and I might have made the situation worse by keeping my frigging mouth shut. I want to kick myself."

"I'm coming over there. I'd rather you weren't by yourself. I'll need to tell my boss I'm leaving."

"No, you can't do that. I don't want you to get into trouble because of me. Besides, I'm already less stressed after talking to you."

"I'm still coming over, and that's that. No arguing. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Fine." Della expelled a heavy sigh as she hung up the call.

I shut my computer off and hurried to my boss's office. I stopped in his doorway and was about to speak when he held up his hand and pointed to his ear, signaling me to hang on a minute because he was on the phone. I shifted my stance from foot to foot as he conversed with one of our managers.

"Stuart, I need to leave," I said when he touched his earbud and ended the call.

"What's up?" Stuart leaned back, the lines between his brows creasing. "You seem concerned about something."

"I've got a personal matter I have to attend to. If that's okay, I can come in early to finish the project."

"It isn't necessary. That was Brian, if you couldn't tell. They're making a design adjustment, which gives you an extension. Go ahead and take off. We'll see where Brian's team is with the changes in the morning."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem."

After leaving work, I hurried up Seaport Boulevard. Reaching the intersection beside Della's office building, my eyes darted up and down the street as I waited for the stoplight to change. A black sedan drove toward me and slowed to make a right turn. Although the owner had the side windows tinted, I could see two people sitting in the back seat through the windshield, and I could swear one of them was Sofie. A man sat next to her. The car turned and drove in the direction I'd come.

The light changed, and I stepped from the curb. I immediately jumped back. An old brown Cadillac Eldorado barreled in my direction and wasn't going to stop. I yelled at the male driver, and we made eye contact right before he ran the light and sped around the corner, almost wiping out a bicyclist. My ire rose even more when the older woman in the passenger seat glared at me for being in their way.

Wondering where the idiot was from, I glanced at the license plate, but there wasn't one. The vehicle raced down the street, recklessly changing lanes until it got behind Sofie's car. Grumbling at the driver's stupidity, I continued my walk home.

"Wow. What did you do? Run over here or something," Della said when she answered my knock minutes later. She appeared tired, and her smile was far from genuine. Backing away, she let me into her apartment and closed the door.

"I didn't run. I walked fast." I was trying to lighten the mood, seeing Della so visibly down. I reached for her and pulled her close, my arms encircling her in a comforting embrace. "I missed you, and you had me worried. How about you relax, and I make us some dinner?"

"Sure." Della shrugged her shoulder, her enthusiasm and energy gone.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and guided her to the living room. "What do you have that I can make?"

"Soup and grilled cheese, some of that leftover casserole we ate the other day, and I have rotisserie chicken you can throw in a salad."

"What do you prefer?"

"Tomato soup and grilled cheese. I want comfort food right now. I'm a cheese freak, so there are several kinds in the vegetable crisper that you can use." Della settled on the couch. She peered at me, her expression somewhat sheepish. "You didn't have to rush over here, you know. But I appreciate it." She slid her hand across her thigh, smoothing a wrinkle in her linen pants. "It feels weird having someone care."

"Of course, I care." I sat beside her and pulled her in for a hug, followed by a kiss on her forehead. I hated seeing her so dispirited. This wasn't the Della I was used to. I already had an internal need to care for her, but this made me want to wrap her in my arms like a human cocoon and keep the world at bay. I squeezed Della's shoulder. "Do you have any bubble bath?"

"Yeah, why are you asking me that?" Della's expression was full of wary curiosity.

"I thought I could run you a bath so you could relax while I make dinner. It might help you feel better." I nudged Della with my shoulder. "You know you want to."

Della grinned, a spark back in her eyes. "Since you're determined to spoil me, I have some vanilla and patchouli foam bath under my sink."

"Perfect. I'll be right back." I got up and went to Della's bathroom. Locating the bottle, I sat on the edge of her tub and poured a small amount of the liquid into the running water, making sure the temperature was soothingly warm. The sweet and woodsy scent that filled the air was comforting, and I made a mental note that it would be fun to share a soak in the bubbles when she was feeling better. Finished, I returned to the living room. "Madam, your luxurious oasis of vanilla and patchouli awaits."

Giggling, Della got up and went to the bathroom, the door quietly shutting behind her.

Rifling through Della's cupboards and refrigerator, I gathered all the necessary ingredients and worked on making dinner. Although challenging, I refrained from pressing Della for details regarding her interview with the detective when we spoke on the phone earlier. I hoped she'd fill me in once she relaxed, especially the pieces of the puzzle she'd referred to as "other things happened."

A half-hour later, Della emerged from the bathroom wearing a fluffy pink robe. She sat at the two-person table by the window, which I'd set with placemats, napkins, and silverware.

I placed her soup and sandwich in front of her. "What do you want to drink?"

"Hmm. A pale ale or red wine would go with the tomato and cheese. I'm leaning toward the beer."

"A beer it is. I'll grab two." After retrieving the bottles from her frig, I grabbed my plate and bowl and joined her.

Della took a bite of her sandwich, humming as she chewed. She took another. "This is freaking delicious. What cheese did you use?"

"I used a combination of medium sharp cheddar and gruyère and stuck some bacon in it."

"No wonder it's so tasty." Della appeared to relax as she ate her soup. Finishing the last spoonful, she leaned back in her chair. "I suppose I should explain. I was a bit cryptic on the phone."

"I admit. I wanted to ask but was afraid to press."

"It was probably for the best. It's a weird and stomach-churning story that goes back about five years. Well, longer than that when you take into consideration Sofie's history. Anyway, Sofie grew up in a seedy and super-toxic environment. Her dad died when she was a little kid, and her mom shacked up with a bunch of different guys after that. Sofie's mom was a drug addict and prostitute and ultimately hooked up with some violent drug-dealing pimp."

"Damn," I let out a low whistle and shook my head. This information was about as far from anything I could have imagined Della telling me. "Sofie's life must have been rough."

"It was. I won't go into the details, which are pretty insane. Anyway, Sofie witnessed her mom's pimp boyfriend commit a monstrous crime, and her testimony was instrumental in sending him to prison."

"I'm afraid to ask, but what type of crime?"

"The sleazebag was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He wasn't charged with murder because the prostitute he killed got into a heated physical altercation with him and struck first."

I brushed my hand across my face. Della's answer was several degrees worse than I expected her to say.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Sofie also has a brother who is super disgusting and scary. He did the pimp's dirty work and was the one who stalked her. He and Sofie's mother harassed Sofie and her first husband after—"

"First husband?"

"Yeah, Sofie was married to some older guy named Dean before she met Reid. He was a gambler, alcoholic, and thief, so Sofie's marriage was brutal."

"What happened to the husband?"

"He died in a house fire, but that's a whole other story." Della paused and took a sip of her beer.

I got up and grabbed another pale ale from the refrigerator. Returning to my seat, I quietly sat, my head spinning in some alternate universe as I digested everything Della told me.

After a quick dab of her mouth with a napkin, Della continued her explanation. "Around six or seven years ago, after moving constantly and hiding from her mother and brother, Sofie and Dean moved south of here to Quincy. After Dean died, Sofie ended up at a women's shelter in Boston. She got a job at Morgan Systems and met Reid. Then Sofie's mother and brother found her."

"Oh, shit."

"Exactly. They tried to blackmail Sofie and wanted to extort Reid. When that didn't work, the scuzzy douchebags told the pimp, who was getting out of prison, where to find Sofie. He went after her, and some crazy stuff went down. The pimp got killed, and Sofie's brother got locked up."

"Damn, that's insane. What happened to Sofie's mother?"

"No one knows. When the police went to her hotel, they found out she'd taken off."

"I hate to say it, but your story is like some suspenseful thriller. Honestly, it sounds too bizarre to be true."

"Oh, it was real and super intense. The last five years have been peaceful, though. That is until the night I babysat."

I sat there, edgy and uncomfortable, as Della spoke about the incidents at Sofie and Reid's house. My blood pressure rose when she explained how she'd circled the block after seeing some creepy guy on the street. Then my knuckles turned white from gripping the edge of my chair when Della informed me that the same person may have been the one she bumped into in the plaza by her office building.

Della studied me with wary eyes when she finished. "Umm. Jace? Why do you look upset?"

I took a long swig of my beer. Setting my bottle down, I said, "I'm not upset. I'm worried and concerned after hearing how you put yourself in harm's way, not once but several times. I agree with Reid. You probably should have said something and not taken all those risks."

"You're right." Della leaned on her elbows and covered her face with her hands. "What if something happened to Allison because of me?"

"Don't think that way. No one knows anything at this point." I sprang from my chair and knelt at Della's side, my hand gently rubbing her back. "Hindsight is horrible. I know that more than most. You can't go backward. It'll eat you up. We can only go forward and try to do better. I imagine you were scared and didn't realize what you were doing. But you've got to promise me you won't do anything dangerous like that again. You can't put yourself at risk, and I couldn't handle it if something happened to you."

Della sniffled and sat up. "You couldn't?"

"No. You mean everything to me." I smiled and brushed several strands of hair from her cheek. "Let's finish dinner, and we can watch a movie afterward. I'll even go for a tear-jerker."

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely. We'll cuddle on the couch, and you can pick anything you want to watch."

Della's gaze fell to her lap. "I…umm. I kind of like this."

"What? That I'm agreeing to sit through a sappy movie?"

"No. Having someone care about me and want to protect me. Other than my parents and siblings, no one has ever done that. When I was a kid, I was constantly made fun of and bullied in school. I can't even express how horrible it was and how much it scarred me."

"I know, first-hand, what that's like. But that's a discussion we need to have at another time. Come on. We'll finish eating, and you can pick the movie while I clean up. Deal?"

"Deal."

Della polished off her sandwich and moved to the couch. She turned on the television while I cleaned up the kitchen. I joined her soon after, discovering she'd chosen Me Before You on one of her pay channels. I slid my arm around Della's shoulders, holding her tight as she snuggled against my chest. We watched the film in silence until her head slowly drooped.

"Hey, why don't you lie down?" I snagged one of the couch pillows and placed it in my lap. "I'll rub your back."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I patted the pillow. Put your head down and stretch out."

"I don't know." Della peeked at me, appearing slightly embarrassed. "I had such a crappy afternoon. It made me tired. I'm afraid I'll fall asleep if I get too comfortable."

I smiled. "You already were, and I don't mind at all. Let me take care of you."

Appearing hesitant and relieved, Della lowered her head and stretched her legs. I leaned down and kissed her, my thumb caressing her cheek. Della rolled onto her stomach, and my hands went to her back, my fingers gently kneading. It wasn't long before her body relaxed, and her breaths slowed.

I brushed several strands of hair from her face while I watched her sleep. I would never hurt her or allow anyone else to do so, and I was heartbroken learning she'd been the target of a bully. I cared for Della, and she brought out my protective instincts. I wished I could have been her defender when she was a girl, shielding her from the horrific actions and hate-filled words that some cruel kid had inflicted upon her.

But the boy I was back then was far different from the man I became. I didn't understand the repercussions of being mean or how to treat people with respect and dignity. I hurt people with my words and actions, one person more than the others, and had become consumed with an unquenchable need to right the wrongs I had committed.

I peered down at Della and kissed her ear.

She was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'd do anything to protect her.