Page 139 of The Heart Breaker

Bad news, it’s two cops.

My first thought is Chase. That he was stupid enough to press charges and they’re here to arrest me over the fight. But then mygaze drifts to a woman in a suit, and I know without a doubt that she’s no cop.

“Cole Ellis?” one of the officers asks.

I look at him, then at the woman, then back again. “What is this?”

The woman steps forward slightly. “Is Sophie here?”

Every part of me goes tight. “Why?”

“Her father reported her missing.”

My grip tightens on the door. “She’s not missing. She’s here.”

She nods. “We still need to speak with her.”

“About what?” I grit out.

For a second, nobody says anything. The two cops glance at the woman and something about that silence makes my skin crawl.

“May I come in?” she asks.

“No.”

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” one of the cops pipes up. “Step aside.”

Every instinct in me is screaming to slam the door in their faces, but I can’t do shit with two cops standing there and Sophie behind me. So I step back because I don’t have a choice, and the second they walk in, I turn.

Sophie is standing by the bed, pale and frozen, and the sight of her like that twists something in my chest.

“It’s okay,” I tell her.

It’s a lie and we both know it.

The woman steps fully into the apartment and softens her voice when she looks at Sophie. “Hi, Sophie. My name is Marianne. Can we talk for a minute?”

Sophie doesn’t say anything. She just looks at me.

That look hits harder than anything else. Like I’m supposed to know what to do. Like I’m supposed to make this stop. LikeI can still be the thing standing between her and the rest of the world.

I want to be.

Fuck, I always want to be.

“Come here,” I say, holding my hand out to her.

She comes straight over, and the second she presses into my side, I can feel her shaking. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her in closer.

The woman looks at Sophie, both cops standing behind her. “Your father reported that you left home without permission. Can I ask why?”

“He, um… hit me,” Sophie says, and her voice breaks on the words. “I didn’t want to stay there with him anymore.”

The woman nods. “Okay. Thank you for telling me that.”

I pull Sophie a little closer. “So she stays here, right?”

The woman looks at me then, and I know before she even opens her mouth that I’m about to hate whatever comes out.