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Introduction 3

Sophie had let him in in ways that no one else had been allowed, and the depth of her dark confessions ripped his soul out repeatedly at the misery she endured. Listening to it almost ended him, so he had no idea how she ever endured it and stayed sane. He vowed long ago that he would always protect her, that he would destroy any guy who dared to ever lay hands on her against her will again, and it was an oath he would uphold for an eternity.

Sophie was his warrior! Despite all of it, she had risen through the memories like an invincible flame and blossomed despite that asshole. He had never known anyone as strong as her; pride washed through him at her achievement as he thought of how much she overcame in a bid to move on. Arrick inhaled heavily, calming his outward persona as affection for her reigned supreme.

“Come on, Sophs. Don’t. You know I can’t handle it when you cry. I’ll be there in twenty minutes or less. Go, be a good girl and get back in the club for me.” He could make out the noise of the street around her and the tell-tale shake of her voice that she was shivering. Frowning again at something else she was doing to herself with zero care for her own well-being just angered him crazily. She had probably come out without a jacket again, wearing something way too short and sparse, and not giving a crap that it was late in the season and exposure was something that could kill her.

The girl needed constant supervision. Her love of current fashion irritated him when trends were all skimp and skin. Right now, women were wearing less and less, and he hated that Sophie followed the trend of leaving little to the imagination. She was a complete fashion addict; clothes were her life, even when they were barely scraps of fabric on her.

She had a body that attracted eyes, long legs, and a perfect petite frame with curves that even someone like him couldn’t ignore. She grew up way too fast and seemed to hit puberty from the moment he met her. No matter how hard he had tried not to see the changes and ignore how much she was becoming a head-turner, he had to admit Sophie was irresistible to most men. He could only imagine how many sleazy perverts had been scoping her out already.

“Okay … I’ll be at the back, in the booths lying down.” She sniffed some more, gaining control again, and he cursed internally, frustration biting hard and stilling him from snapping. Biting down to curb the urge to yell at her as anger bristled.

“Don’t lie down near the back. Stay up front.” He ground out through gritted teeth, fighting to sound normal and cool. He knew only too well what kind of men preyed on young girls like her in the shadows at the back of Randy’s club. It was a place he used to frequent with Jake, his older brother, a long time ago and had gone downhill in recent years with the clientele becoming seedier. The crew Sophie hung around with seemed to favor it, despite Arrick and Jake telling her repeatedly to steer clear, and it only made him flatten metal to the floor to get there faster, his pulse quickening. He didn’t care if he got a ticket; he couldn’t stand the thought of her passing out in a dark corner of a notorious club for women being assaulted.

“I’m tired. I need to lie down.” She slurred again, all tears gone, and he could recognize the club's noise approaching as though she was walking back inside. Arrick’s panic rose in his throat at her complete lack of any sense in this, heart hammering and dodging cars on the road as he drove a little erratically.

“You can sleep in my car, Sophie. I’m warning you. Stay out near the front where I can find you and on your feet. I’m almost halfway. Do not lie down!” He was stern, his tone less controlled and huskier at the thought of anything happening to her, praying to God she listened tonight. Trying to keep his temper because he knew she could be a boiling pot of childishness like this, and the last thing he needed was her telling him to fuck off and disappearing on him. She had a habit of up and running when she couldn’t deal with something, which spurred her to leave home months ago.

Sophie sighed dramatically and was then obscured by the sudden thumping noise of the music surrounding her before it was disconnected. The club had an awful signal inside, and he had just lost her as she returned to the dance floor.

Shit.

Arrick flinched with the cold pulse that ran through him, anxiety and fear colliding with every worst-case scenario in his head. He tried her cell again quickly but got nothing but her answering machine, cursing out loud this time.

He would lecture her and shake the shit out of her when he got there. No doubt he’d have to carry her out like last weekend, and this time he was sitting her down for a serious heart-to-heart. He was done with whatever this was. Done with the drunken calls, putting herself in constant danger, the argumentative stroppy behavior, and difficult attitude of late. He understood that her past sometimes meant she was hard to handle. Even at her best, she had always been hard to handle, but this lately was beyond a joke. His nerves couldn’t take much more of this, and his relationship with Natasha was falling to pieces because of it.

Tonight, she was coming home with him and sobering up to get the third degree. Enough was enough; if anyone could get through to her and convince her to go home to her family, then it was him. He had been avoiding this conflict for too long, and he couldn’t avoid it anymore; that stubborn mindset hitting him hard that he wasn’t going to keep going through this anxiety over her safety anymore. The agony.

She had up and left home a few months before, after a heated fight concerning her drunken lifestyle; another night he scraped her off a sidewalk and took her back from the city to the Hamptons. Her family had lost all control by then, and Arrick had been the only one left she still clung to in any way. He had been treating her with kid gloves ever since, in fear she would cut him loose too, and that had been his biggest mistake. He had listened to Natasha over his gut; he should have trusted that he had always known how to handle Sophie and not gone for the soft approach at her bidding. Natasha only knew the bare facts and nothing more. She only saw Sophie as a broken child and had convinced him to go against his own reasoning in every way. Arrick should never have listened. He knew her better than anyone. She needed his stern side back.

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