Dawn Again

Nine

Richard held the passenger door open for Sophie to get in while Josh chose to ride shotgun. After Sophie gave Richard her street address, and they were on their way, Richard filled Josh in on everything that had happened in the past hour or so. Josh cursed a blue streak when he heard Charles' had attacked Sophie and said, "I knew the bastard was crazy. But did not think he'd do something like this. I hope you kicked his ass." Richard grunted, and continued driving. They got to Sophie's apartment in about half an hour. She lived in Clyde Hill which was not too far from Pike Place market where her coffee shop. Richard parked in the guest parking area and before he could come around to open Sophie's door for her, she had hopped out of the truck. Looking at the determined tilt to her delicate jaw, Richard had absolutely no doubt that she was gearing up to kick then out again. So before she could open her mouth to speak, he help up a hand and said, "Don't bother Sophie. You have been through a traumatic experience, and I am not leaving you alone for some time. Let's go."

He should have known it would not be so easy. She stood her ground and said, "Richard, Josh, I am really okay now. I just need a long bath and a quiet night. Please." Josh chucked his two cents in, "Doll...you can't be alone tonight." Richard was beginning to like the man. Sophie was now panicking. The two men did not seem willing to let her be alone, and she would not be able to keep things bottled up for too long. The dam to close to breaking and she did not want an audience when that happened. The events of the evening had set her back by years in her mind. She hated herself for not being able to defend herself, and hated the feeling of helplessness. She was done being at anyone's mercy and that is exactly where she was when Charles had her pinned to the tree. Richard could see the emotions play across her beautiful face, panic, desperation and he just knew she was close to breaking down. He did not want that for Sophie. She had help herself together so bravely. Sophie blurted out, "I will call James."

"Ok." Richard agreed straightaway and continued, "Let's go. I will wait with you until James gets here." "Me too" chimed in Josh grinning. He knew James was not in town. Sophie threw he hands up in frustration and muttered, "You two are like burrs!"

"Personally, I would prefer to be called a hound."

"I'd rather be called a hound."

Richard and Josh said almost together and Sophie giggled. No woman had made Richard feel like he had conquered the world by simply making her laugh...but Sophie did. He whole face lit up and she looked positively radiant. Josh seemed stunned too and muttered, "Man! You should do that more often baby."

"How about we go out for a couple of hours. That will give you time to process everything, and we'll be around if you need a shoulder...you know to lean on or something." winked Josh. "That might actually not be a bad idea." Richard agreed grudgingly, and added, "AND you do not have to let us into your home." Sophie sighed, and said, "Ok. Give me 15 minutes. I need a quick shower, and change." "I will carry you out if you are late" Richard threatened. "You don't know my apartment!" teased Sophie. Her midnight eyes were twinkling, and she actually look relaxed. "Well...I will just have to knock every door until I get to your!" said Richard. "I actually believe you" muttered Sophie, and turned around and entered the building right behind them.

"So, it looks like Sophie knows you a little bit, but I have not seen you in the coffee shop ever." said Josh, with more than a hint of suspicion and threat, as soon as Sophie was out of earshot. Having seen how protective Josh was of Sophie, Richard had expected to have this conversation sooner rather than later. He chose to ignore the tone, and told Josh how he had met Sophie. Josh nodded, happy with the explanation and went on, "So, are you and the other guys...your friends, army? Ex-army?" "Ex-army" confirmed Richard. "James, Sophie's brother is in the army too." informed Josh. "Where's his home base, do you know?" Richard asked. "Nah man! He's very hush-hush you know. Most of the time even Sophie doesn't know where the guy is! But he calls her everyday." said Josh.

Richard knew everything about hush-hush. He'd lived for 12 years of his life. He let it go knowing that there won't be any information forthcoming from Josh about Sophie's brother. Richard returned the favor, asking about Josh. It turned out that Josh was studying computer science at Seattle University. He loved hacking and was also getting freelance gigs at local companies to test and improve their IT security. Richard knew this kind of work was very niche and therefore highly paid. Which raised the question of what was keeping Josh at the coffee shop!

Richard did not get any more time to try and figure this out because to his surprise Sophie stepped out of her building exactly 10 minutes after she had gone in. She had left her hair down, probably because they still looked a bit damp. The rich burgundy curtain fell to the middle of her back in soft curls. She was wearing a white shirt dress which ended just above her knees and completely hid her stunning figure. She walked up to the men, held out her hand to Richard and said "Here you go Richard. I got one of James' shirts for you. I hope it fits." "The lady thinks of everything." drawled Richard and put on the shirt. It was almost a perfect fit. He then indicated to his truck and said, "Shall we?"

They piled up into the truck and Richard checked, "Everyone good with seafood?" Josh and Sophie both replied they were good with it and so Richard started them towards Pier55 where he had found this amazing Hawaiian place. They made their way through the rush hour traffic and Richard parked in the underground parking of one of the office buildings nearby. "Is this where your office is? We would have had a nightmare finding parking if not for this." said Josh. Richard simply grunted, not answering. He got out and this time made it to Sophie's door before she got out. He opened the door for her and she hopped out after murmuring a soft thank you.

With the two men on either side of her, they walked to the short distance to Pokéworks.