Games of Fire (41 page)

“Hey!” She shifted into a sitting position as Jessie and Lauren came in for hugs. Jessie was sniffling softly, but trying so hard not to show just how red and puffy her face was. Joe hesitated, tossing exasperated glances in Spencer’s direction, but he ambled over and pulled her into a crushing hug, which she returned, so happy to see him.

“You okay?” he asked, pulling back to search her face.

Sophie nodded, fighting hard not to cry.

His fingers gripped her chin, turning her face to peer furiously at the marks on her face. “Who did this?”

She told them what happened, leaving nothing out. Her friends stared with a mixture of interest, horror and anger. When she got to the part about the message on the garage door, Joe
glowered. Jessie made a weak whimpering sound that had Lauren patting her lightly on the back and Spencer lightly stroked Sophie’s hair.

“We saw that coming here,” Lauren said. “I can’t believe someone would do that.”

“They have the wrong house!” Jessie croaked. “They have to!”

“Well, it doesn’t make any sense,” Lauren agreed with a nod. “Unless you’re under protective custody or something. Who could possibly be looking for you?” Her eyes suddenly brightened. “What if they’re looking for your parents? What if they’re part of some underground gambling ring and—”

“Lauren!” Jessie scowled. “You’re not helping!”

Lauren shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“My parents aren’t in hiding!” Sophie said. “I mean, have you
met
my parents? They’re ridiculously honest.”

Lauren sighed. “True.”

No one got the chance to speak when Sophie’s mother rushed in carrying a tray of bite-sized pizzas and glasses of orange juice. She set the tray down and offered them a weak smile. “I’m so glad you guys could come to see Sophie, but you’ll have to leave in an hour.”

“Mom!”

Her mother turned sorrowful eyes to Sophie. “I’m sorry, but it’ll be dark after that and I don’t want your friends walking home in the dark. Besides, I don’t want whoever is doing this to see you guys and … ” her voice broke. She pretended to clear her throat and forced another smile. “Sorry. Enjoy your snack, okay?” Then, she hurried back to the kitchen.

“
She’s right.” Sophie rubbed a hand over her face. “You guys should never have come. It’s too dangerous. You should go home.” She looked at Spencer. “All of you.”

He met her gaze unflinchingly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Neither are we—”

Sophie snapped her head around the stare at Lauren. “No! You guys can’t stay. Mom’s right. This
person
could be watching the house. He could target you guys next. You need to leave.”

Joe opened his mouth, possibly to protest when a heavy set of footfalls echoed through the room as her father marched in.

“Sophie’s right. Come on. I’ll drive you guys home.”

Her friends left with a ton of complaints following their wake. But Sophie didn’t breathe properly until she heard her father’s car start up and back out of the driveway. She sagged against Spencer, relieved when his arms found their way back around her.

“What if it never ends?” she wondered.

“It will.”

Zapped of all strength, Sophie couldn’t find the energy to argue. She curled into him and prayed he was right. They were still sitting there that way when her father returned with a grim look on his face. Her mother and Jackie hurried into the room just as he shut the door behind him.

“It’s too late tonight, but I’ll get someone to paint over that tomorrow.” He jingled the keys in his large hand as he considered something. “Pack a small overnight bag.”

Her mother looked as stunned as Sophie felt, but was quicker to respond. “An overnight bag for what?”

Her father sighed. “The police officer was right about one thing, we should stay in a hotel for a few nights, just until
things cool down.”

“That could be months!” her mother gasped.

“I can’t stay here, Mary.” The worn, exhausting slump in his shoulders, the thinness of his voice, must have attested to his fatigue, because her mother nodded.

“Okay.”

He gave her a faint smile before turning to Jackie. “I think you and Spencer need to come as well.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “Us? Why?”

“Because the incident isn’t isolated to just my family. They’ve been attacking you as well and if they come here and don’t find us … ” He let his words trail, but everyone in the room felt the cold meaning behind the unsaid and shuddered.

Jackie went ashen. “Oh!” She visibly swayed.

“Mom!” Spencer leapt to his feet.

Sophie’s father caught her, held her up as she trembled uncontrollably. Her blue eyes shot up to Spencer’s. “Your sister
… ”

“Suzy’s fine!” Spencer took her
from Sophie’s father. “She’s at Dad’s.”

“But what if—”

“They won’t go all the way to Richmond,” her father assured her calmly. “It’s too far and you only have Suzy on the weekends. They probably don’t know about her, but you need to call your ex-husband and make him aware of the situation.”

“But
… ”

“I’ll call
Dad and let him know what’s happening,” Spencer said, leading his mother to the armchair and lowering her down gently. “You stay here and I’ll go grab our things.”

“I’ll come with you—”

Three sets of
no’s
rang out, pinning Sophie to the sofa.

“He can’t go by himself!” she said, furious at how quickly everyone seemed to jump at her safety, but not his.

“I’ll go with him,” her father volunteered. “You three stay here and lock the door.”

No other options were given. Her father and Spencer left. Her mother closed and snapped the locks into place. She even set the alarm. Jackie remained in her place, staring frozen into space.

“Sophie.” Her mother said quietly, grabbing her attention. “Go gather your things.”

“But Jackie
… ”

Her mother shook her head. “I’ll take care of Jackie. You go on.”

Feeling completely useless, Sophie left. She went to her room and closed the door behind her. She pulled out her phone and sent a mass text to Lauren and Jessie, telling them the plan. Lauren responded first with an,
‘good!’
while Jessie said,
‘that’s such a good idea! I’ll let Joe know. He was so worried!’

She stuffed her phone into her pocket and went to work putting together a small bag of clothes. She grabbed her toiletries from the bathroom and her school bag. For good measure, she stuffed a few more novels into the backpack and a few into her duffle bag before stumbling back downstairs.

She hadn’t heard them, but at some point, her father and Spencer had returned. A small mountain of duffles and backpacks were piled next to the door. Sophie added her things to the collection.

“We can all fit into one car,” her father was saying. “We moved your van into the garage, Jackie. I’ll do the same with Mary’s car and we’ll take mine. I already called the hotel and reserved two joined rooms with four beds. I think that should suffice.”

“But what about the children’s school and your work?” Jackie murmured.

“I’ll call into work tomorrow and take a few days off,” her father said. “
As for the children, I’ll drop them off and pick them up.”

Jackie shook her head slowly. “You’re doing so much.” She looked on the verge of tears. “At least let me pay for our half of the room.”

Sophie tuned them out. She walked to where Spencer stood leaning against the door.

“Everything okay?” She took his hand.

He squeezed her fingers. “Yeah. Fine.” He was lying. She could hear it in his voice, see it in his eyes. But she didn’t press him, making a mental note to do so later.

Her father and Spencer hauled all the bags to her father’s Escalade and stuffed them into the back. Then the five of them piled into the SUV and
, without sparing the garage door a glance, set off.

The Royal Palace glowed bright in the gloom of the setting daylight. Brilliant lights shimmered in the soft drizzle as her father turned into the underground parking area and located a spot. Together, they dragged their bags to the main foyer. Sophie and Spencer waited a short distance away as their parents hashed over the details with the perky girl behind the counter.

“Did you call your dad?” she asked him.

Leaning against an ivory column, nipping at his thumbnail, Spencer nodded. “Yeah.”

“Suzy okay?” As much as she disliked the girl, Sophie really didn’t want anything bad happening to her.

He dropped his gaze to his feet. “Yeah.”

“Spencer?” She took his arm. “What is it?”

“Okay!” Her father walked over to them, his wallet and a wad of papers in hand. “We’re in room 412 and 413.” He exhaled. “Let’s go.”

The rooms were long, overpowered by two queen sized beds, two long dressers claimed by a bulky TV and a round table with two chairs. The adjacent room, the one attached to theirs by a single door next to the dressers, was the mirror image. Spencer and Jackie disappeared into that room and Sophie didn’t see them again until supper.

They ate in the restaurant downstairs. Everyone got a small meal,
none of them having the appetite for much else. No one talked, not even when they ambled back to their rooms.

Spencer took Sophie’s hand, pulling her back as their parents disappeared into their respective rooms. He waited until the doors closed behind them before turning to her.

“How are you?” he asked.

Sophie shrugged. “Tired, which is stupid because I didn’t do very much today.” She raised her head to peer into his face. “You?”

He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face and back into his hair. “I’ll be better once this is all over.”

She really couldn’t dispute that. She longed for nothing more than the return of her normal life.

“What was bothering you earlier?” she asked, rubbing his arm gently.

He exhaled again, lifting his gaze to the gold plaques screwed into their doors. “Dad was just being
… annoying.”

“Did he give you a hard time?” she wondered.

He shook his head. “Not really. He just … ” He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not a big deal.”

“You sure?”

He nodded, kissing her. “Forget it, okay?”

Reluctantly, she agreed.
“I’ll see you in the morning?” she said, getting the enclosure of his arms around her in response. He kissed her delicately, drawing all her worries and fears away for just a moment.

“Goodnight,” he murmured against her lips.

“Night.”

They broke apart and, with a final glance at each other, stepped into their rooms.

But despite the heavy umbrella of exhaustion, Sophie couldn’t bring her eyes to close. Each time she tried, images of the garage door, the crimson stain, the message burned behind her eyelids, forever stamped into her brain. She couldn’t seem to shake it or bypass the need to sob uncontrollably into her pillow.

In the next bed, her parents slept soundly. Her father’s snores orchestrated the thick darkness, chasing away any shred of sleep she may have encountered. She lay staring at a ceiling she couldn’t see and wondered if Spencer was having any troubles sleeping or if he was lying awake as well.

Her mother sighed in her sleep. She shifted and the bed squeaked as she rolled onto her other side. Sophie wondered how she could possibly sleep with the ruckus her father was making. Maybe after twenty years of marriage, her mother had become immune to the blow horn in her father’s throat. She was ready to go mad.

With a groan, she snatched up her pillow and stuffed it over her head. It was stupid to think a pillow full of feathers could somehow shield her from the dying elephant in the room, but it did muffle it a bit. It also nearly stifled the soft
thump, thump, thump, thump
that just scraped under her father’s noise.

Sophie was upright in an instant, her heart lodged in her throat. Her mouth opened, prepared to call to her father when it came again, a rhythmic
thump, thump, thump, thump.
It was the sound fingers made when drumming on wood. It was also not coming from the front door, which should have been a given considering she doubted whoever was after her wouldn’t bother to knock. And, it wasn’t a knock.

She threw off the blankets and padded quietly to the door joining her room to Spencer’s. She unlatched the lock and opened the door.

Bathed in soft, pale light, Spencer stood on the other side, wearing nothing but sweats. He momentarily took her breath away before she caught it and asked in a whisper, “What are you doing?”

He smiled almost sheepishly, ruffling a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t sleep. Did I wake you?”

She shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep either.”

His silver eyes studied her, glinting in the faint light filtering in through the window behind him. “Why?”