Crushed (60 page)

When another gust of wind blew her hair back into her face, Sophie reached behind her to tie back her long black hair into a tight bun. Now that she'd grown it out long again, she missed how short it used to be. Long hair was rarely worth the hassle of maintaining it, especially when she had to worry about dying it every few weeks.

Reaching towards the radio sitting next to her desk she turned up the music. She recognized the song immediately, having heard it a number of times before. Next week would mark her third year in France, and she was already familiar with the culture around her.

Five years she'd been forced to keep moving from location to location, always changing her appearance and name. It felt like she'd never stopped running, even after all these years.

Quiet moments like this were always times for her to reflect on the past. Memories from her life back in the States hadn't faded but grown stronger with time. That phase in her life was a transition from the mundane to the extraordinary. She'd had no idea when she was in college that one day she'd become a thief on the run.

At least, a retired thief. Since leaving the States, Sophie hadn't even considered stealing again. The rush of adrenaline was a good memory, but not one which she was eager to relive. She'd had more than her share of action while working under Cleo.

Her relaxed smile faded when she thought of her former boss. Even after all this time the woman's memory caused a shiver to run down Sophie's body. Cleo and Max had brought Sophie as close as she was willing to get to death.

She reached up to her ear that was partially covered by her hair. Her eyes closed as she touched the small hole that was now located there.

The sound of the gunshot that almost killed her was still vivid in her memory. She clenched her eyes shut as a wave of memories from that night flew back to her.

*  *  *

Bright lights filtered around them. Both Sophie and Robert were blinded momentarily, long enough to be disoriented when the first shot rang out in the silence.

They'd been walking out of the warehouse hand-in-hand. Nothing about their position was aggressive or threatening. The police had no reason to fire, and Robert immediately shoved Sophie behind him in the confusion.

Loud shouts filled the clearing. The police were screaming at people that neither of them could see.

"What's happening?" Sophie shouted, her hands tightening around Robert's just as another gunshot rang out.

Robert jumped back, shouting in pain. Sophie turned to look at him, and she only saw blood. His left hand, the one not holding to her own was covered with blood. He'd been holding it over his eyes to see clearly, but now it was disfigured and shaking.

"Damn it!" He shouted, his face contorting with pain. Sophie reached for him, but he shoved her backwards.

Another gun shot broke through the shouts, and Sophie froze in panic. She felt the bullet whizz by her head, and heard someone screaming in her ear. It took her one disorienting moment to realize she was the one screaming because of the searing pain that pulsed from her ear.

Robert was staring at her with wide eyes, filled with panic.

Sophie couldn't think clearly. The clearing was now filled with dozens of gunshots, all being fired in various directions. Men were shouting orders, or screaming in pain. Nothing made sense.

"Follow me." His voice was just above a whisper, and Sophie wondered how she heard it. She allowed him to drag her forward, her mind too far gone to argue.

Lights flashed around them, more gunshots followed their escape, and when they found the edge of the forest Robert toppled forward to the ground. A red stain appeared on his right side, and gradually it grew larger and darker.

"Robert." Sophie whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "They're going to kill us."

"No, they're not." He answered with cold determination. While he was on the ground he reached into his pocket and threw his phone back into the clearing where the police were distracted with another threat. No one had noticed their disappearance, which gave Sophie all the courage she needed to pulled herself together.

She ditched her phone along with his, and turned back to help him to his feet. Robert was clutching his side in pain, but he could still walk.

"Are we really doing this?" She asked as they stumbled deeper into the forest. "Are we really running away?"

Robert didn't stop walking, but he flashed her a serious look. "Don't run if it's not what you want. If you think we should turn ourselves in we can, at the safest opportunity. Whoever was shooting at us back there was obviously not the police, and I'm willing to bet they're connected with Cleo and Max."

"They'd rather us be dead than testify against them." Sophie guessed, clenching her jaw in fear.

"Their orders were definitely not to keep us alive." He winced once when his side brushed against a tree limb.

"Running away..." Sophie mused, her heart racing. "Could we do it?"

She couldn't help but see this as their last chance. They'd been given the opportunity to escape from the police together, and though the road ahead was dangerous, it was still in sight.

"Do you know what that means?" He asked calmly. "It means leaving behind the kids, your belongings, and maybe even this country. Marshall will want any weapon he has against Cleo and Max, and we happen to be that weapon. The evidence with us on board is overwhelming, which means he'll chase us until we're caught."

"He doesn't need us though. Diana has all the evidence of their crimes in the past, and Luke can personally testify to their present cruelty. After they're convicted, he'll have no reason to find us."

"Marshall might have taken over a decade to bring down Cleo and Max, but he was persistent during all that time. He's not the kind of person who's thrown off the hunt easily." Robert sounded so exhausted she couldn't argue with him anymore. "If we decide to run from the police, we give up everything. To make this decision, you have to understand that."

"I do." She answered, and as her heart clenched she knew that she did understand.

She thought of Gwyn, Rylan, and Teddy, and realized they were her last and only reason for not wanting to escape. She'd already given up her life as Sophia Parker months ago, and the world considered her dead.

The kids were her only connection to her old life, and it felt impossible to let them go.

Robert understood what she was thinking, and he tightened his grip on her hand.

"No matter what we decide, we cannot protect the kids. Maybe one day if we do escape we can find them again."

Sophie bit her lip, knowing she'd already come up with her decision.

A few months ago Robert had offered her the chance at a new life as a thief. Now, after everything had collapsed, he was offering her another new beginning. A beginning that was more terrifying than the one before it, because there were no promises it would work out.

Despite having no assurances of the future, Sophie felt in her heart that any path she chose with him would be the right one. She trusted Robert to see her out of this mess, and she knew he trusted her.

"Let's go." Sophie led him forward now, her green eyes determined.

Robert's lips curled into a brief smile as he followed after her.

They disappeared into the shadows of the forest, and the rest was simply history.

*  *  *

"Ce que j' fais là moi. Je sais pas. Je voulais juste marcher tout droit. Ce que j' fais là moi. Je sais pas. Je pense à toi depuis mille ans."

The music of Raphaël Haroche spun around the room, and Sophie had unconsciously begun to hum along.

It was another gust of wind that called her back to reality by causing a stack of envelopes to fall to the ground before her.

Sophie sighed, reaching down to reorganize the mess. The stack consisted of essays she'd been grading since the following day. As an art teacher, she rarely gave out written assignments, but yesterday had been one of those occasions. Her teenagers hadn't been pleased, but she was eager to read what they had to say about the essay topic.

She'd never considered teaching before coming to France. It was a pure accident that she became interested in it three years ago, when she'd been taking an art class while temporarily residing in the city of Lille.

Painting and teaching everyday was the most perfect career Sophie could've chosen. It helped that the backdrop for her new life was Paris, the city she'd always dreamed of visiting.

Her eyes caught on a cream envelope that was jutting out from the stack of essays. Sophie's breath caught when she remembered what it was.

Pulling out the envelope, she carefully held it in her hands.

There was no return address for the letter, but by the slanted, small writing, she knew who'd sent it. In the past, she'd seen the writing a few times before, and remembered it because of the significance of the individual in her life.

"Luke." She whispered with the same heavy sigh that she'd used when the letter had been sent to her a month before. She'd been living in Paris for almost a year, the longest she'd ever stayed in one place since leaving the States. Over the last five years she'd had no contact with Luke, and had no idea how the letter came to her now.

However, knowing Luke's, or rather Diana's connections, it wasn't as surprising that he'd known she was staying in Paris.

Sophie considered putting the letter to the side, just like she'd done every time she'd seen in before. Years had passed, but she still found it impossible to forgive Luke for what he'd done. The betrayal had cut too deep.

Her last memories of him weren't from the dingy hotel where she'd hunted him down with Robert. They were of him being handcuffed and led to testify against Cleo and Max during their separate trials. It was hard to avoid seeing him in the news, with the magnitude of the trials themselves.

Max and Cleo had never been in the public eye, but the public certainly knew who they were by their names. The influence they'd inherited from their families came crashing down as the charges were brought against them. As expected, the two had hired the best lawyers money could buy, but even that wasn't enough.

Diana Apell had submitted records of their transactions in the past, as well as gave names of others who were involved. She knew every location where they'd hidden paintings, and her testimony had led to the search and confiscation of numerous missing works of art. Luke offered even more information about their crimes.

The evidence gathered by Marshall's team dealt Cleo and Max the kind of blow they never expected. Luke and Diana's sacrifice came at a heavy price. They lost everything they had. For Diana it was her empire and influence, and for Luke it was his freedom.

Luke received a twenty-year sentence for the extent of his crimes, and Diana received fifteen. While she had more charges than Luke, she'd been able to cut a deal with the prosecution for reduced time.

Cleo and Max, having gone through months of trials, received five years each. The unfairness of the verdict was discussed for almost a year after the decision was made. Their influence again had trumped Marshall's best efforts against them. Some said it was a miracle they received as much as five years.

Sophie had moved on from her disappointment in their punishment. From what she'd gathered, the two of them would never recover from this blow anyway. Their influence with others in their circle was dead, and almost two-thirds of their property had been confiscated during the extent of the investigation. They would not be able to reinvent their old business under the watchful eyes of the police.

Now, five years later, everything had ended. Sophie's life as a thief was over, and the fear of being caught by Marshall was gradually lessoning by the day. She knew she should've begun to forgive Luke for the past, but it was difficult.

As she ran her hand over the letter something shifted in her heart. Before she could hesitate she lifted the seal, and pulled out the smooth paper inside.

Her eyes ran over the letter quickly, absorbing it all at once. Reading what Luke had wrote was like listening to him speak, and for a moment she was transported to the past. She pictured herself sitting next to him on the steps of Cleo's house, trying to figure him out for the first time.