Page 37 of Jude

With a sigh, I passed the device to my stepdad.

Kian read the text, his mouth twisting into a grim line, before he glanced over at my mother, then at Sofia.

‘Let’s be real, stay here, and you’re a sitting duck,’ Kian stated, setting the phone down flat. ‘The Feds’ red tape moves at a snail’s pace while these syndicates move fast. Even if you remained here with Maggie and me, which we’re open to, they might find you in our home, given that they know you’re with the Sheriff. We need you out of state. If you linger in Vermont, this weasel Dario will track you down as he threatens to.’

‘No two ways about it; we have to protect you,’ I muttered, locking gazes with Kian. ‘Question is how?’

Maggie raised an eyebrow, her gaze switching between Sofia and me as her mouth quirked.

‘There’s a way to make your mother happy and see to Sofia’s security, Judah. It goes back to you claiming her at the airport.’

She waited in a dramatic pause, clapping her hands together as if she’d just solved the world’s biggest problem.

‘You can wife her.’

Sofia gasped, her head snapping up as she wrapped her head around the words.

‘Wife?’ she repeated.

I reared my head back, my chest heaving, shock coursing through me.

I shook my head at my mother.

What archaic, freaky shit, out-of-this-world idea was she proposing?

‘Who, me? No flipping way, Maggie. That’s wild. I’m always touring, and I’m scarcely in one place. She can go into federal protection, can’t she? There have to be other safe houses she can stay in.’

‘Safe houses this Dario and his fellow mobsters could get to.’

I glared at Kian; he wasn’t helping.

‘Why not you?’ Maggie countered, in a fierce, protective cadence. ‘At least until the law enforcement’s investigation is over. If Sofia’s your wife, she gets full-time private security at your Nashville home. She also receives the muscle of your legal team. If the feds play up, you can use your lawyers and your marriage contract to protect her. Safety that she wouldn’t have as a tourist being hunted by ruthless gangsters. You can even sign a prenup. If it doesn’t work out between you two down the track, the two of you will be free to part ways.’

I threw up my arms in frustration.

The hell?

‘No,’ Sofia interjected, her chin lifting as she sat up straight, her eyes flashing with a sudden, defensive pride. ‘No, I won’t do this.’

‘Chill, both of you,’ Kian ordered, his voice cutting through the rising arguments with authority.

His eyes pinned down Sofia, his expression turning grave.

‘Sofia, listen to me very carefully. You don’t understand the people you’re dealing with. If you walk out that door alone, you’re a target for that mob. I’ve spent thirty years in law enforcement, and I’ve seen how these syndicate threats go south. I’ve come across dozens of key witnesses who thought they could hide on their own, or in safe houses, and too many of them ended up dead on the streets. This isn’t a game, and it’s not about your pride. It’s about keeping you breathing.’

Sofia shook her head so hard that her hair whipped around her head.

‘I can’t take advantage of or trap Jude in a fake marriage just because I’m in trouble. I’ll take my chances on a bus to another state.’

I turned back to Kian, trying one last time to find an escape hatch.

‘Is what you’re proposing even legal?’

‘It’s the right thing to do, and yes, it’s legit,’ Kian confirmed, leaning forward on his elbows. ‘Once you’re married, it’ll make her your immediate family, and so the Feds will let you take her back to Nashville where she’s safer.’

Kian pointed at the phone. ‘Given she’s under severe duress because of that text, a marriage contract creates an ironclad licensed barrier. We can demonstrate that she would suffer extreme hardship without your estate’s resources. We can show that with this death threat and the series of other messages you’ve received from this Syndicate. We can also insist she stays in your protection and by extension mine because she’s now a material witness to uncover the Syndicate’s illegal activities.’

The room felt too small all of a sudden.