Dawn Again

Eleven

Sophie could hear heavy footsteps behind her. She knew it was Richard or Josh with the other one not far behind. But Sophie did not care. She needed to get in a taxi and get far away. She was lucky to find a taxi right then and was about to get in...home safe....when a steel arm wrapped around her waist and she was lifted clear off the ground. She knew it was Richard....after all, she had had the same arm around her the very same morning! Richard banged the taxi door shut and waved the driver off.

"Let me go you....you....beast!" yelled Sophie and scratched Richard's arm. It was probably actually made of steel for all the difference the scratching made. The yell, however, earned her a hand being clamped on the mouth, shutting her up. Sophie kicked her legs hard as Richard carried her toward his truck. Richard had picked her up like she weighed nothing more than a pillow, and it frustrated Sophie to no end. She was totally and utterly under his control, and yet what stunned Sophie was that she felt anger, not terror. That was a new one for her. When John picked her up, or when she rebelled against something John said, she was always terrified! She knew there would be physical pain following the rebellion, however small the rebellion may be. But with Richard, although she had known him for less than a day, somewhere she had faith that he might yell at her and he might even threaten her, but he would not ever hit her physically. She was not sure why she was convinced of this, maybe it was the fact that Richard was a soldier, like James, and she expected him to be a protector at heart, not an abuser. Or maybe she had that insight from what she had seen of him, which was quite a lot in a small time.

So, Sophie revelled in her anger and enjoyed the fact that she could express it without fear of physical retaliation, and happily continued her kick campaign against Richard. One of kicks hit its mark and although Sophie's leg zinged from the impact she heard a very sweet and satisfactory grunt. "Stop this you little hell cat! You'll have the police on us if you keep this up." hissed Richard, as he got to his truck. Josh was right behind them. "Are you going to keep quiet now?" he asked Sophie, and when she nodded, he let go of her mouth. Richard dug the car keys out of his pocket and threw them to Josh. Josh unlocked the car, and Richard deposited Sophie in the back seat and promptly got in after her. She had zero chance to make a run for it! As Josh got into the driver's seat, Richard rattled off his office address and then turned to Sophie.

In as gentle a voice as he could manage, Richard said, "Now, you know you can Trust me, Ana, don't you? I will not hurt you, and I will protect you no matter what. James trusts me. You know that, right?" Sophie nodded. "Then why did you run? Are you scared of me?" continued Richard. For a long time, Sophie said nothing, and Richard was beginning to wonder if she was going to ignore the question. For some reason, it was imperative for Richard to know that she did not fear him. That would put him in the same category as the bastard Quinn, and Richard could not stomach that thought. But then she spoke, "No. I am not scared of you, and I do trust you. Even before James asked me to, I trusted you. But I am tired of feeling helpless, of not being in control. It makes me feel worthless when I seem to require help from people for the most basic things in life like feeling safe and secure. And I absolutely HATE others suffering for me." Sophie's voice started off low, and spoke slowly, struggling to keep it even, but it broke at the last statement. The little hitch in her voice and the way Sophie avoided looking Richard in eye triggered myriad emotions in Richard. From fury towards the man who had destroyed the confidence of this beautiful young woman to intense protectiveness towards the tiny, strong yet at the same time frail girl sitting in front of him.

"Sophie, honey, it is not that you cannot take care of yourself. It is just the logistics of the whole thing. You are fighting an incredibly powerful man. With us beside you, you will have a lot more resources than if you were to take off alone. And how is it that others suffer for you? For me, it is my job. I protect people for a living." Richard said.

"Yes, but what about Josh. Now John knows about Josh." replied Sophie, and then her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Oh my god! What if John knows about Josh, and about you." Her control finally broke, and tears streamed down her face, "I am so sorry Josh. You need to get away from me, please. You too, Richard. I don't care about the resources and whatnots....just leave, please. I cannot have your blood on my hands. If he catches you, it will be horrid. Please...please..." she hiccuped. f**k her not wanting to be touched, Richard was not about to let her cry her heart out without comforting her. He pulled her into his arms. Sophie stiffened for a bit but then melted into him. She clutched the front of his shirt in her tiny fists and cried. Richard smoothed his hands gently over her back, and let her let it all out. When they were at his office, he tucked his finger under her chin, lifting her face to his, and said, "We need to get into the office baby. Let's go." Sophie nodded, let go of his shirt, squared her dainty shoulders and said, "Let's go." And Richard had not seen anything more beautiful than Sophie was at that moment. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her hair and clothes were a mess, but she looked like a queen.

Richard keyed them into the office but was surprised to see his friends still there. He was sure it was Nathan's doing. Sophie faltered when she saw the other three men emerge from one of the offices. She was suddenly claustrophobic, among five men, all a foot or more taller than her. She tipped her chin up and kept going where Richard, with his hand on the small of her back, led. Josh was unfazed. He greeted the other men with a nod and, "Guys." There was a chorus of deep male voices responding to Josh which was, in a very odd way, actually soothing. Richard led them all to what was obviously a conference room and helped Sophie into one of the chairs. After they were all in the room, he began, "Brian, Chad and Jason, you have already met Sophie and Josh. Since you guys are here, you have also had a chat with Nathan. Let's all get on to the same page."