Chapter 2

Sophie was someone who was easily pushed into the defensive, closing up and lashing out at those who mattered when trying to protect herself, and being drunk escalated it tenfold. She had always been that way, and very few had his skill at knowing how to handle her. Too stubborn to think logically or realize she was cutting off her nose to spite her face sometimes.

He upped his speed, putting his new car through its paces to get to her quicker as the tension in his body escalated. It was late, almost ten p.m., and the city was aglow with the usual never-ending illumination of New York as his sleek steel gray Mercedes slid through the night effortlessly. He was biting his lip as his eyes roamed the traffic impatiently, checking his mirrors as he shifted in his seat.

She always made him feel anxious when she was like this, so many scenarios running through his head of what could happen to her and his inner body twisting the tango of uptight anxiety. Sophie was naive at the best of times, but drunk, she was completely oblivious to danger, considering her past, and seemed to have a knack for attracting it.

“I’m sorry… Arry?” She started to sob, and he just felt worse. He hadn’t even yelled at her this time, so he had no idea why she was crying. He had stopped yelling at her months ago when he realized it no longer had any effect on her behavior, and he hated Sophie crying; it made him feel like a shitty human being when those hurt doe eyes hit him right in the stomach.

He had seen enough of her tears over the years in connection to what her sick, perverted father had done to her, and that’s all he saw now. That vulnerable, broken face, racked with scars and pain from a childhood that could have destroyed her. Arrick stiffened as that stab of rage spiked inside like a fiery hot spear.

Whenever he thought of that asshole, he wanted to kill him; the fact he could take someone as innocent and sweet as her and ruthlessly abuse her for years made him want to rip the guy’s spine out and ram it down his throat. He was fiercely protective of her, knowing everything he knew, being there for every therapy appointment, and tearful outpouring when she needed to talk.

Sophie had let him in in ways that no one else had been allowed, and the depth of her dark confessions ripped his soul out repeatedly at the misery she endured. Listening to it almost ended him, so he had no idea how she ever endured it and stayed sane. He vowed long ago that he would always protect her, that he would destroy any guy who dared to ever lay hands on her against her will again, and it was an oath he would uphold for an eternity.

Sophie was his warrior! Despite all of it, she had risen through the memories like an invincible flame and blossomed despite that asshole. He had never known anyone as strong as her; pride washed through him at her achievement as he thought of how much she overcame in a bid to move on. Arrick inhaled heavily, calming his outward persona as affection for her reigned supreme.

“Come on, Sophs. Don’t. You know I can’t handle it when you cry. I’ll be there in twenty minutes or less. Go, be a good girl and get back in the club for me.” He could make out the noise of the street around her and the tell-tale shake of her voice that she was shivering. Frowning again at something else she was doing to herself with zero care for her own well-being just angered him crazily. She had probably come out without a jacket again, wearing something way too short and sparse, and not giving a crap that it was late in the season and exposure was something that could kill her.

The girl needed constant supervision. Her love of current fashion irritated him when trends were all skimp and skin. Right now, women were wearing less and less, and he hated that Sophie followed the trend of leaving little to the imagination. She was a complete fashion a****; clothes were her life, even when they were barely scraps of fabric on her.

She had a body that attracted eyes, long legs, and a perfect petite frame with curves that even someone like him couldn’t ignore. She grew up way too fast and seemed to hit puberty from the moment he met her. No matter how hard he had tried not to see the changes and ignore how much she was becoming a head-turner, he had to admit Sophie was irresistible to most men. He could only imagine how many sleazy perverts had been scoping her out already.

“Okay… I’ll be at the back, in the booths lying down.” She sniffed some more, gaining control again, and he cursed internally, frustration biting hard and stilling him from snapping. Biting down to curb the urge to yell at her as anger bristled.

“Don’t lie down near the back. Stay up front.” He ground out through gritted teeth, fighting to sound normal and cool. He knew only too well what kind of men preyed on young girls like her in the shadows at the back of Randy’s club. It was a place he used to frequent with Jake, his older brother, a long time ago and had gone downhill in recent years with the clientele becoming seedier. The crew Sophie hung around with seemed to favor it, despite Arrick and Jake telling her repeatedly to steer clear, and it only made him flatten metal to the floor to get there faster, his pulse quickening. He didn’t care if he got a ticket; he couldn’t stand the thought of her passing out in a dark corner of a notorious club for women being assaulted.

“I’m tired. I need to lie down.” She slurred again, all tears gone, and he could recognize the club’s noise approaching as though she was walking back inside. Arrick’s panic rose in his throat at her complete lack of any sense in this, heart hammering and dodging cars on the road as he drove a little erratically.

“You can sleep in my car, Sophie. I’m warning you. Stay out near the front where I can find you and on your feet. I’m almost halfway. Do not lie down!” He was stern, his tone less controlled and huskier at the thought of anything happening to her, praying to God she listened tonight. Trying to keep his temper because he knew she could be a boiling pot of childishness like this, and the last thing he needed was her telling him to fuck off and disappearing on him. She had a habit of up and running when she couldn’t deal with something, which spurred her to leave home months ago.

Sophie sighed dramatically and was then obscured by the sudden thumping noise of the music surrounding her before it was disconnected. The club had an awful signal inside, and he had just lost her as she returned to the dance floor.

Shit.