Phil
We got back to the house, and I pulled Tom aside. “Did you hear back from Collin?”
“He said they aren’t happy, but he’ll get it done.”
“Sophie told me she tried to enforce the clause for a different concert, and they didn’t do it. She was scared during the concert and got mobbed.”
Tom threw me an angry glare. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“Jackasses.”
“Yes. And her manager was more than willing to disclose security issues.”
“What? Why would he do that? He should know that’s never allowed.”
“Exactly. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out why he would have done that. I can’t come up with a reason, but he’s been warned and put on notice.”
Tom took a big breath. “What did Sophie say?”
“She told me before we went in there that she doesn’t have any control over her career. When we get back to New York, I’m going to have her contract reviewed. That shouldn’t be happening at this point in her career.”
“Agreed.”
I paused.
Tom’s eyes scanned mine. “What is it?”
“The reporter knew about Toronto. He knew that she had over a thousand death threats.”
Tom’s head jerked. “How did he know that?”
“That was my question. The entire interview was about her security issues, and he seemed really interested in the fact that the six of us were here together, and even brought up the fact that Sophie dated Eric, and he killed himself.”
“What? Why?”
I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t know.”
“We need to find out who’s leaking her security information. No one should know about those death threats.”
“Exactly. I know it was in the hack, but how did the reporter get it?”
“We need to find out. What did Sophie say when he asked her about Eric?”
“I jumped in because she froze, and Terry, her manager, just sat there and let her fumble.”
“Wow.”
“Yep. Anyways, did Isaac send over the list of who we need to bring in for Wembley?”
“Yes. Timko is on the phone with him now, reviewing it.”
“Are we able to pull them off their other jobs?”
“Almost all except three.”
I nodded. “Great.”
“I’ve had Laura escalate their travel, so they arrive tonight. Hopefully they can get things secured so Sophie can do whatever she needs to do to prepare.”
“Thanks.”
“And Claire is trying to push Isaac and Rich’s international clearance through,” Tom informed me.
“That would be great. At least we would have two more people we trust to add to the team.”
“Right. Well, everyone is home now. Let's go through the extremely dangerous list.”
“Did you talk to Ethan about not freaking out?”
“Yeah, he said he would keep his cool.”
I sighed. “Okay. Let's get it over with, then. I know Sophie wasn’t happy we didn’t inform her about all the threats. She didn’t say anything, but I saw it on her face during the interview.”
Tom grimaced. “I’m sure you’re going to hear about that. Just remember to keep your cool.”
“You know, I’m starting to feel like we have a role reversal here. Aren’t I normally the one to tell you to keep your cool?”
Tom laughed and patted me on the back. “That’s what happens when you cross over from casual.”
Timko had a folder of eight-by-ten photos of over three dozen men who were considered extremely dangerous. Tom had asked David if we could use the wall in the great room to pin the pictures up if he paid to have the wall repainted after we left. David told us to do whatever we needed to do.
As Timko pinned each picture up, he gave a history of each man. It took four hours to go through each one, and as the meeting went on, I watched Sophie’s face become more and more fearful.
Ethan stole glances at her, along with Claire and Liv. Tom had done a good job speaking to them ahead of time, but the reality of the wall couldn’t be ignored.
Mugshots and intel photos gathered by private detectives stared back at us. Heinous crimes they had already committed rang through our ears. Instructions were given on what to do if we saw any of them or felt anything was off when we were out and about.
We were halfway through the meeting when Sophie’s hands began to shake.
“Can we take a break?” I asked.
Timko nodded at me. “Sure. Ten minutes okay?”
“Give us twenty, if you will?”
“No problem.”
Everyone stood up and left the room.
“Let’s go get some air, Petal.” I pulled her up, led her to the front door, grabbed our jackets off the coat stand, and helped her into hers before throwing mine on.
We stepped out into the air. She pulled her gloves out of her pocket and put them on. I grabbed her hand. “Let’s take a walk.”
The house was set far back off the road, and we were on country lanes, but we weren’t allowed to leave the premises without guards, so I steered her onto the lawn. I figured we would just have to loop around the pub and house a few times.
We got past the pub, and she stopped and turned toward me.
I stopped walking and waited for her to speak.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad?”
I took a deep breath. I knew this conversation was coming at some point. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
“I deserve to know what’s going on. This is my life, after all.”
I nodded. “I know, I didn’t want to cause unnecessary worry.”
She laughed sarcastically at me. “Unnecessary worry? Those men have done vile things to other women. They’ve threatened to do unspeakable things to me. I don’t need to be kept in the dark. I need to know who’s coming for me and what they’re planning.”
Her lip trembled, and I knew it wasn’t from the cold.
I took a step closer to her, reached out, and stroked her cheek. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. Anything I said wasn’t going to make things better, and I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I was going to make things worse for her. So I just stared down into her eyes.
“If we’re going to be together, you can’t do this.”
I inhaled sharply. “I can’t do what, Petal?”
“Hide things from me.”
“I didn’t—”
“No, Phil. Don’t. Whatever you’re going to say, just don’t. I’m not a child, and I deserve to know what’s happening. You can’t just hide things from me so I stay in la-la land all day long.” She threw me daggers.
I looked away from her, exhaled, and looked up at the sky.
“Don’t you dare blow off what I’m saying right now.”
I turned back toward her. “Is that what you think I’m doing? Blowing you off?”
“I don’t know? Are you? Rolling your eyes doesn’t show me that you’re taking me seriously right now.”
I stepped closer to her and put my face next to hers. “I’m not rolling my eyes at you.”
“You just did!”
“No, I didn’t!”
“I just saw you!”
I didn’t mean to say it, but I just blurted out, “I didn’t! I’m just frustrated and scared.”
She stared at me.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not? You can’t just be honest with me?”
I looked away again.
“Stop turning away from me!”
Clearing my throat, I blew out a big breath of air and turned back toward her. “What do you want me to say, Sophie?”
She lowered her voice. “I want you to be honest with me about what’s going on and what you’re feeling. I don’t want you to sugarcoat everything and put the outcome of whatever’s going to happen all on you.”
My pulse started racing faster. “What do you mean, ‘whatever’s going to happen?’”
She shrugged. “At some point, you need to realize that it doesn’t matter if I’m at Wembley or I’m standing right here. These issues have escalated, and over the years, I’ve realized I either have to crawl into a hole and hide or just go on and take my chances. At some point, one of these bastards is going to kill me. There’s just too many psychos constantly coming after me.”
I gaped at her. My mouth went dry, and my insides started shaking.
“You don’t have control over this, because you can’t. It just is what it is, and the sooner you realize that, the better. There’s nothing you can do to stop my fate, and you can only prolong it for so long.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true.”
I grabbed her face. “No, it’s not.”
Her lip was trembling more. “You need to realize it and stop trying to make this your battle to fight. Let the guards do what they do and act like I’m one of your other clients. But make sure the guards update me on what’s going on, or I’ll switch firms. I’m not going to be left in the dark.”
My hands were shaking against her face. “Sophie, stop talking like this.”
She gazed at me, blinking back her tears, and stood her ground. “You can’t protect me, Phil. No one can.”
“Yes I can, and I will.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
“Sophie—”
She stepped back, out of my grasp. “It’s never going to be normal. This is my life, Phil. You, Tom, Ethan...none of you can protect me. So stop putting this on your shoulders and hand it over to the bodyguards. Let them figure it out. I’ve lived with enough guilt in my life... Ethan and Tom, too. I don’t want them to have any more guilt to bear, and I don’t need you to live in guilt the rest of your life when something happens to me.”
I went to grab her arm, and she turned and started walking away from me. “Sophie, stop!”
She turned and stopped. “I need a few minutes. Don’t follow me. Just step back from this, Phil.” She spun and stormed off.
Frozen, I tried to process everything she had said and realized how much I had underestimated how badly her security issues affected her.
And I feared that she might be right. That somehow, I wouldn’t be able to protect her.
But there was no way I could ever just step back.
The cold wind whipped across my face, but I stayed outside and watched her until she was safely inside. I waited a few more minutes before I went back into the great room.
Everyone was back in their seats. Sophie stood off to the side with her eyes scanning one side of the wall to the other.
When I walked in, Ethan and Tom both glanced over at me. They gave me a What’s going on? look, but I just shook my head.
Timko started to talk about Timothy Jerlew, the man who had stood outside the radio station in Toronto, showing Sophie his gun. “He got out of prison about six months ago.”
“What was he in for?” Sophie crossed her arms against her chest.
Timko glanced over at her. “Murder.”
“Who did he murder?”
“A woman.”
“That he stalked?”
“Yes.”
“How did he kill her?”
“Do you really want to know that?”
“Yes.”
“He suffocated her.”
“With what?”
Liv and Claire jerked their heads at her.
“Plastic wrap.”
“What did he do with her before he suffocated her?”
“Sophie!” Ethan cried out.
She raised her eyebrows at him. “I have a right to know.”
“Sophie—”
I nodded to Timko. “Tell her.”
Ethan gaped at me.
Sophie looked over at me and scanned my eyes.
I looked back at Timko and repeated, “Tell her.”
Timko nervously looked between Sophie and me. “He tortured and raped her.”
She nodded. “Why did he get out of prison?”
“Good behavior.”
She let out a disgusted laugh and rolled her eyes.
“What does he want with Sophie? Why is he stalking her?” Claire asked.
Timko shifted. “He was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder in prison. He has some sort of obsession with her. We don’t know why a lot of stalkers choose their victims, but it typically has to do with an obsession they play over and over in their minds.”
My gut flipped with nausea at the thought of some psycho obsessing over the vile things he wanted to do to her.
“Okay. Anything else I need to know about him?” Sophie stared at Timko coldly.
He shook his head.
“Then let’s move on to the next one.”
He grabbed another picture and pinned it on the wall. “This is Samuel Rollins.”
“What’s his story?” Sophie asked.
“He should be in prison but got off on a technicality.”
“What was that?”
“The police officer didn’t collect the evidence correctly, so it was contaminated.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“The knife.”
“What did he do with the knife?”
“Sophie, why in God’s name—” Ethan blasted out.
“Tell her,” I instructed Timko.
Ethan’s head snapped over at me. “Phil, what the hell is going on here?”
Tom, Liv, and Claire glanced nervously at me.
I ignored Ethan and kept looking at Timko. I pointed to Sophie. “Tell her.”
“Jesus, Phil.” Ethan walked out of the room. Tom glanced at me with confusion and followed him out of the room.
“Go on.” I nodded to Timko.
“He stabbed her forty-three times.”
Liv turned a bit green.
“Do we know why he wants to kill me?” Sophie asked with no emotion in her voice.
Timko shrugged. “The police raided his house, and…” He stopped and glanced nervously at me.
“Tell her,” I repeated.
“Every wall in his house, every inch, was covered with news clippings, posters, and photos he had taken of you.” He shuffled his feet and glanced back at me.
“Tell her the rest,” I instructed him.
Timko’s jaw hardened. “He had a special room ready for you.”
“What was in this room?”
“Ropes, knives, and video equipment.”
Sophie stood there with a hardened look on her face, but I could see her mind spinning.
Tom and Ethan walked back into the room. Claire walked over to where Ethan was standing and stood in front of him. He put his arms around her waist, and she put her arms over his.
For two hours, we went back and forth while Sophie asked for more information on each man. After a few rounds, Timko stopped looking at me for approval and started to just tell her.
The entire time my stomach twisted and turned, and I did the best I could not to show any emotion. I had known these details, but hearing them and watching her listen to them took it to another level.
Timko finally said, “That was the last one.”
I turned to Sophie from across the room. “Are you happy now? Did you get what you needed? Does it help the situation?” As everyone stared at me, I turned and walked out of the room, grabbed my jacket from the hall, and walked out into the dark night.