pulling back. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Fia. What happened?
Are you hurt?”
Sophia shook her head. “Three
men followed me for a while. I could smell their scent on the air. It smelled
wrong … like oil. No, more like used oil,” she said with a nod. “I saw their
shadows, two large and one shorter but still bulky. Kind of square looking.”
“Oil?” Vivian replied, a
question in her eyes.
“You know, like if oil spills?”
Fia was trying to think of how to explain it. “Sometimes how bad gas stations
smell?” She looked to Jason. “Do you know what I mean?” She jumped when another
man cleared his throat. “Crapballs. Gosh bless it, Viv, did you raid a
gladiator outlet or something?”
Vivian snickered as she
introduced Sophia to James.
“Nice to meet you, I think?”
Sophia said as she moved to put herself slightly in front of Vivian.
“It’s cute how you slip forward
a little to protect your sister,” the other one said with a smile. “It’s a nice
trait to have.” He turned his attention to Jason, and his face went serious.
“There’s no sign of them. We should take advantage and get the hell out of
here.”
“Agreed. No use sticking around,
not until we get everyone safe and can arrange proper protection for Sophia
while she’s working here. I know this isn’t ideal, Sophia, but I wouldn’t feel
right leaving you alone here for any amount of time, not right now.”
“Protection?” Sophia frowned and
looked from Vivian to Jason, then to the other man.
Jason nodded. “Yes, protection.
There’s a killer, or killers, on the loose who appear to be targeting members
of a group you’re a part of. I’m sorry to say that two of the members have
already been killed. Vivian made the connection for us, which is why we showed
up here today.”
“Oh God,” Sophia whispered.
“Which group?” When he told her, she was shocked, “Those poor families.” She
was completely aghast at the number of people killed, people she knew.
“I tried to call you right away
as soon as I made the connection,” Vivian put in.
Sophia shook her head. “I
haven’t even looked at my phone since I started painting. I’d just grabbed it
to check my messages before I’d stepped outside, but then everything happened
and I dropped it somewhere in the woods. It doesn’t matter. I’ll go into town
and call the leader of the group and make sure she warns the other members.”
Then she looked from Jason to
James and back to Jason. She had a feeling he wouldn’t want to leave Vivian for
too long. “Crap,” she grumbled to James. “You’re a seriously big guy. That
means we need to go shopping. I have a feeling you’re a meat kind of person.”
She wrinkled her nose. “V, you trust them?” When her sister nodded, Sophia
sighed. “Okay,” she relented. “I should be done soon. I’ve finished the hard
part. Now it’s just filling in the edges and smoothing out the paint.”
“Uh, what?” James shot her a look.
Jason chuckled and gave a shrug.
“Apparently, you just got volunteered to stay and play protection detail for
Sophia.”
“Yeah, but, no,” James
sputtered.
“He’s a big meat eater, though
he does prefer it to be very dead on his plate, so that’s a plus,” Jason told
Sophia. Then he turned to James. “Look, Vivian and I will go back to the hotel,
grab our stuff, and stop at her place for a couple of things. Then we’ll come
back out. You’ll have backup, and Sophia has her sister here. It’ll only take
us a few hours, I’m sure. Right?” Jason was looking to Viv now for
confirmation.
Vivian nodded. “Shouldn’t take
more than that. As long as we catch the ferry tonight. There’s a store on the
island, James. You guys should be able to walk to it.”
“We can. There are even bicycles
with baskets in the shed. Not a worry. I won’t let the big guy fall into the
ocean. Maybe.” Fia looked up at James and snickered. “You might want to close
your mouth. We
“I’m fine, Fia. What happened?
Are you hurt?”
Sophia shook her head. “Three
men followed me for a while. I could smell their scent on the air. It smelled
wrong … like oil. No, more like used oil,” she said with a nod. “I saw their
shadows, two large and one shorter but still bulky. Kind of square looking.”
“Oil?” Vivian replied, a
question in her eyes.
“You know, like if oil spills?”
Fia was trying to think of how to explain it. “Sometimes how bad gas stations
smell?” She looked to Jason. “Do you know what I mean?” She jumped when another
man cleared his throat. “Crapballs. Gosh bless it, Viv, did you raid a
gladiator outlet or something?”
Vivian snickered as she
introduced Sophia to James.
“Nice to meet you, I think?”
Sophia said as she moved to put herself slightly in front of Vivian.
“It’s cute how you slip forward
a little to protect your sister,” the other one said with a smile. “It’s a nice
trait to have.” He turned his attention to Jason, and his face went serious.
“There’s no sign of them. We should take advantage and get the hell out of
here.”
“Agreed. No use sticking around,
not until we get everyone safe and can arrange proper protection for Sophia
while she’s working here. I know this isn’t ideal, Sophia, but I wouldn’t feel
right leaving you alone here for any amount of time, not right now.”
“Protection?” Sophia frowned and
looked from Vivian to Jason, then to the other man.
Jason nodded. “Yes, protection.
There’s a killer, or killers, on the loose who appear to be targeting members
of a group you’re a part of. I’m sorry to say that two of the members have
already been killed. Vivian made the connection for us, which is why we showed
up here today.”
“Oh God,” Sophia whispered.
“Which group?” When he told her, she was shocked, “Those poor families.” She
was completely aghast at the number of people killed, people she knew.
“I tried to call you right away
as soon as I made the connection,” Vivian put in.
Sophia shook her head. “I
haven’t even looked at my phone since I started painting. I’d just grabbed it
to check my messages before I’d stepped outside, but then everything happened
and I dropped it somewhere in the woods. It doesn’t matter. I’ll go into town
and call the leader of the group and make sure she warns the other members.”
Then she looked from Jason to
James and back to Jason. She had a feeling he wouldn’t want to leave Vivian for
too long. “Crap,” she grumbled to James. “You’re a seriously big guy. That
means we need to go shopping. I have a feeling you’re a meat kind of person.”
She wrinkled her nose. “V, you trust them?” When her sister nodded, Sophia
sighed. “Okay,” she relented. “I should be done soon. I’ve finished the hard
part. Now it’s just filling in the edges and smoothing out the paint.”
“Uh, what?” James shot her a look.
Jason chuckled and gave a shrug.
“Apparently, you just got volunteered to stay and play protection detail for
Sophia.”
“Yeah, but, no,” James
sputtered.
“He’s a big meat eater, though
he does prefer it to be very dead on his plate, so that’s a plus,” Jason told
Sophia. Then he turned to James. “Look, Vivian and I will go back to the hotel,
grab our stuff, and stop at her place for a couple of things. Then we’ll come
back out. You’ll have backup, and Sophia has her sister here. It’ll only take
us a few hours, I’m sure. Right?” Jason was looking to Viv now for
confirmation.
Vivian nodded. “Shouldn’t take
more than that. As long as we catch the ferry tonight. There’s a store on the
island, James. You guys should be able to walk to it.”
“We can. There are even bicycles
with baskets in the shed. Not a worry. I won’t let the big guy fall into the
ocean. Maybe.” Fia looked up at James and snickered. “You might want to close
your mouth. We
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