14 Months 06: January

Sophie woke with a gasp. The dream had seemed so real. She could still see the blood and hear the horrible shrieks of Mimi as she dragged Sophie away from the men who swore to keep her safe and into the arms of the stranger who had called out to Frankie on the street earlier that evening. She struggled and fought, but then there was an older man breathing heavily, like Darth Vader and the moment when he pronounced, "I am your father," truly scared her.

Not wanting to close her eyes again or lie there and analyse the dream any further than admitting she should never have let Darius convince her to watch the Star Wars movies with him, Sophie climbed out of the big bed and padded down to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Being careful not to wake anyone she managed to walk the stairs soundlessly and crept through the darkened house toward the kitchen. Thinking she could relax a little on the lower level as all the sleeping people were upstairs and with the house being so big, she would hardly disturb them. Perhaps she could visit the music room where she always felt so calm and happy.

Zander sat in the quiet darkness of Darius home with an album sitting on his knees while he sipped at the brandy, he had poured himself from his friend's well-stocked bar. He liked this time of night when everyone else slept and the night sky was at it darkest. He saw the silhouette of the girl he was coming to care for ghost down the stairs. He guessed it must be around two, the nightmare had been later than usual tonight, and although he was loathed to disturb the darkness, he flicked on the lamp beside him.

"Having trouble sleeping, again?" he asked in a stage whisper as she gasped and spun around to look at him.

"I was just getting some water," she whispered back and continued her walk towards the kitchen, feeling his eyes on her even though he didn't get up to follow her.

Zander watched her go resisting the urge to get up and follow her into the kitchen, hoping she would come back to him so they could talk. He and Jayce had brought Sophie home, believing that staying in a city where she might be recognised again was too much of a risk. It was Angelo Calabrese's home town, and those most loyal to him who would have known Frankie were many and any of them could recognise Sophie for who she was, like the man who had accosted her on the street.

Darius had developed respiratory problems which kept him in the hospital longer than they had thought he would need to be. Zander knew his brother would return soon, however, and he would have to leave this house and the girl who had been slowing working her way under his skin and brightening the darkness he lived within. He had known from the first moment they had met that Sophie was more than what she seemed, but even he hadn't expected the sweetness and light that flowed from her so easily. A man could be forgiven for believing her naïve and innocent when they looked into her big guileless eyes, but he knew better. In his time between the Jazz club and now he'd done his own research into her past and knew how she had come to be working at Michelle's club.

Feeling guilty for causing Mimi to snap and lash out almost killing his brother, Zander had stepped up and stayed with Sophie which he could see now had been a mistake, while he had believed he would have enjoyed the girl's company as he had been doing up until that point, he hadn't realised just how much she had already affected him. She was stronger than she looked, despite her occasional panic attacks. She was attractive, and when she sang, he could watch and listen to her all night. Her cheeky sassiness took him by surprise, especially when she was trying to lighten the mood.

He could admit, if only to himself that he wanted to stay and help her win the challenges, alongside Darius. He just wasn't sure if it was feasible or if Darius would allow him into their lives and contract the way he wanted or if, as he suspected, Darius would be unable to accompany her the Australia Day event and would ask Asher to take his place instead of himself.

He was in the challenge up until this point and had the schedule of events for this month and next month already so he took it upon himself to help Trent to organise Sophie's team. Trent himself and the dietitian Margaret were experienced and good at their jobs. Dr Susan Howard had far too much attitude for his liking and had been unhappy when she found out about Sophie's damaged wrist but had deemed it a sprain only and warned her not to overuse it. Sophie had been unusually tight-lipped about how it had happened and hadn't corrected Susan's assumption that it had occurred in the altercation with Mimi, which made him curious. Whether he stayed or not, the trainer would have to go as soon as Darius returned. He hadn't met her stylists yet, but from what he had seen, they were competent.

"I'm sorry I disturbed you," Sophie said quietly as she came from the kitchen interrupting his thoughts. "I was going to spend some time in the music room, but it's soundproofed so I shouldn't disturb you if I close the doors," she said as if she was asking for permission instead of just telling him what she was doing.

"I'll come with you. I need to return this to its proper place," Zander tapped the album in his lap. He and his brothers each had one of these albums. Zander had found Darius's copy in the music room, and he left it closed, running his hand over the carefully crafted cover rather than revisiting the contents.

"I can use the keyboard and earphones so you can continue with what you were reading," she said helpfully.

"It's an album," he said, "Just pictures. Your playing and singing never disturb me. I enjoy it far too much to have you deprive me of it tonight."

"Oh!" Sophie said in surprise and went to the piano instead of the keyboard. She sat and tinkled over the keys for a few minutes before playing a few chords and singing Fireflies quietly and slowly in a way Owl City had never meant it to be sung. "You would not believe your eyes. If ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep."

It wasn't until the chorus that Zander recognised the song as she had slowed down the cadence and rhythm of the song and he sang along with her in his mind as the familiar words started to fit into the style of the unfamiliar music. "It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'cause everything is never as it seems."

The song continued in the same soft, slow pace and Sophie sang in little more than a loud whisper, "To ten million fireflies, I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes. I got misty eyes as they said farewell. But, I'll know where several are if my dream gets real bizarre, 'cause I saved a few, and I keep them in a jar."

Zander couldn't help but focus on her as she closed her eyes and swayed with the music as she played. "I'd like to make myself believe. That planet earth moves slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'cause everything is never as it seems."

Sophie sighed and remained quiet as she finished playing. She could feel Zanders eyes on her. He'd stopped scowling at her all the time over Christmas, but she wondered if the carefully neutral face she always encountered now was more worrisome than the scowls had been.

"Why are you still awake?" Sophie asked, raising her voice slightly so he could hear the question.

"I like the quiet of the night. Everything is so still and calm," he shrugged. "Why are you down here instead of sleeping tucked up in that enormous bed?" Zander threw the question back at her.

"Bad dream," she sighed. "Everything that happened down there, with Mimi and Darius, seems to merge into something even more bizarre when I close my eyes," she confided.

"Can you tell me about it?" he asked softly.

"I'm not sure I can even explain it to myself," she laughed lightly and shook her head, her fingers tinkling a jaunty little tune over the keys. She was still only playing basic chords to the songs she liked and filling in the melody with her voice occasionally, but she had been learning the melodies of a few songs that were personal and meaningful to her. Songs that made her feel that life would work out the way it was supposed to because she had been loved once. She had a family of people who had loved her, and there had to be a purpose to her being the only survivor of her family. Why else would she still be here despite everything?

"Come, I'll take you back to bed and stay with you until you fall asleep. Darius will be back tomorrow we hope, and you don't want to look like you haven't slept for the whole time he's been gone. His ego is too big as it is," Zander chuckled trying to make light of the situation, but the initial words were a command, and she looked up at him and the tone of his voice when he had spoken.

"You'd stay with me?" she asked.

"Yes, if it means you will sleep," he nodded. "I don't want Darius thinking I haven't been looking after you properly. Who knows maybe I'll even close my eyes for an hour or two?"

"Fine, but I am not tired," she lied. She was exhausted after a week of bad dreams, and she had considered talking to Susan about getting something to help her sleep.

"Try to sleep anyway," Zander said in a commanding tone then tried to soften it a little for her. "I imagine tomorrow will be a difficult day for all of us," he said softly rising to stand and holding out his hand for her to come and take. He could admit his own apprehension about seeing Darius face to face again after what Mimi had done to him when she had been trying to lash out at himself for saying he didn't think she was good enough to stay even if given a handicap.

Following her upstairs Zander wondered what he was doing. This was beyond stupid given that this girl had been getting under his skin. Still, he followed her into the bedroom, and as she went to the bathroom, he toed off his shoes and removed his jeans before lying on the bed in his t-shirt and boxer briefs waiting for her.

Sophie said nothing but her face showed her surprise as she went to the other side of the bed and got under the covers feeling better that he was on top of them. Once she was settled, Zander rolled toward her and pulled her closer, making her squeak in surprise as he spooned her with the covers between their bodies.

"Sleep, Beautiful, I've got you, nothing will harm you while I'm here," he murmured into her hair breathing in the scent of it, allowing himself this closeness after a week of keeping her at arms-length, most of the time. He wasn't sure how he would go back to his empty house after this if that was what Darius wanted.

*****

Darius looked in the mirror at the long-jagged wound reaching in a diagonal line from one side of his jaw across the front of his throat to just above his collar. He had been lucky that the glass had only nicked the anterior jugular and that the rest of his vascular system was intact when he arrived at the hospital. The glass, however, had torn through muscle and cartilage, creating a wealth of damage and affecting his breathing. Lowering the mirror, he lay back and allowed the nurse to dress the wound glad that the drainage tube had finally been removed and he would be able to return home and rebuild his relationship with Sophie.

As far as he was concerned, she still belonged to him, and while Andrew and Reed had both insinuated that he would be unable to continue competing in the game, he was determined to prove them wrong. He wasn't about to send her back to where she came from, and he certainly wasn't about to give her to the council, she would stay with him, or he would take her somewhere and hide her far away from their reach, and protect her from those who might want to use her for their own dangerous games, he just had to get home to her first.

In his more rational moments, he knew that Asher would step up and be his second and allow him to still have influence over her time in the game and the challenges she would face, but Asher was ineligible this year as was Jayce, perhaps his special circumstances could change that situation, it was their fault he had been injured after all. They were prepared to change the rules for Mimi after all until she tried to kill them and threatened disclosing the secrets around Sophie. Still, he wasn't sure they would stretch the rules that far and he grimaced both with the thought and the pressure the nurse put on his damaged throat.

That only left Zander to ask to be his second, and again because of Mimi, Darius wasn't sure he would be eligible. He wasn't sure he even liked the idea because, at the heart of it, they were too much alike to ever share the ownership of her contract without coming to blows themselves. Both were strong Alpha type personalities that often argued and butted heads over decisions despite their brotherly love for each other.

Still, before he could even consider any second or continuing in the game himself, he had to get back to her and convince her not to leave him after he had hurt and frightened her during the ball. Guilt ate at him and made him more than impatient to get back to his home. He had been continuously gruff and unfair to the staff here as he attempted to throw his wealth and power around in order to be transferred to a hospital close to his home. The one saving grace of his time here, as always in his life, had been Asher.

Asher had made connections in the Alliance generation based in this city, the Knights, and had managed to gather some intel on Angelo Calabrese and his family as well as uncover the rumour that a possible blood heir to the Calabrese empire might have been found. Luckily the man on the street outside the hotel who had called out to Sophie thinking she was Frankie, had not been thinking fast enough to get a photograph detailing her face but had snapped one of her back with a slight glimpse of her profile which they had been circulating amongst their men.

Darius was happy Sophie had returned home when he heard that news, although he had been livid at the time. He knew Jayce and Zander would keep her safe and stay with her. She also had her team and Zander would know the schedule for the next event if not two. She shouldn't be disadvantaged by his absence, but it didn't mean that he was happy not to be the one guiding her through it and seeing to her needs. Was she enjoying Jayce's quiet steadfastness? His trustworthiness? Was she building relationships with his brothers that he would have to overcome to take back his rightful place as her partner in the game? The thoughts galled him, and his temper rose again as the nurse wrote in his chart and turned to leave without a word.

"Stop!" he snapped at her in his hoarse whispered voice. "When is the doctor coming to release me?" he asked his temper once again fuelling his need to be discharged and on his way home.

"I'm unsure, Mr Blackstone. I will find out for you, but it should be this morning. The wound looks good I'm sure he will release you today," the nurse said in response, her voice kind and gentle as if speaking to a scared child instead of an angry, overbearing grown man. Darius huffed and fell back to the pillows propped behind him regretting both the huff of breath and the movement of his head as he fell back. "Good morning Mr Blackburn," the nurse said just outside the door, and Darius smiled.

"Good morning, and don't you look like a ray of sunshine in his gloomy skies," Asher flirted unabashedly. "He sounds like he's a bit cantankerous this morning, let me see what I can do about that," Asher chuckled and winked before he stepped into the room and the nurse giggled as she walked away.

"The doctor's on his way, and we are going home today," Asher said in a cheery sing-song voice noting the scowl on Darius's face. "Fine, I won't rhyme anymore," he rolled his eyes dramatically. "I thought you would be in a good mood about going home, at least."

"Believe it when I see it," Darius groaned. "The only reason I haven't checked myself out of here days ago is that Byron threatened me but so help me if it's not today, I'll be doing just that!"

"You know she is fine, right? Zander is with her and Jayce is there between work and researching our little mystery," Asher said.

"Fucking Zander, if he has touched her..." he let his hoarse voice trail off with a growl.

"You know as well as I do that Zander would never do that behind your back, in front of you, yes, but never behind your back," Asher laughed. He had heard Sophie liken the two men to a Viking and a Barbarian, and he could see what she meant. Both were huge, strong domineering men which was why they always seemed to butt heads over decisions but they were also similar in personality as well as stature, and that might be just what Sophie needed right now in Darius's absence.

Asher kept up a steady stream of chatter going over all of the new information he had put together during his week in this city and combining it with what Jayce had discovered from his own investigations. It wasn't much, and there was little evidence for their suppositions, but as Zander had said during their reflection, sometimes coincidences just don't add up, and in this case, two and two seemed to make six.

The doctors came and went, signing the discharge paperwork almost as eagerly as Darius took it and he dressed and readied himself for the flight home. It was unsurprising to the two men that when they boarded the Alliance jet to return home, they were greeted by the ruling council. While Darius took his seat silently, Asher grinned.

"So is this an ambush because you are concerned about us, or are we about to get told to toe the Alliance line and stop considering the man who accosted Sophie on the street as a threat. We know you know what I have been doing, the question is, why do you care?" Asher said, sitting and tightening his seatbelt as the men in the rotating chairs seemed to ignore him then turned and locked their chairs into place for take-off. "Fine, I'll wait," he smirked at Darius who also knew the meaning of having the six council members on this flight with them. Once the plane had taken off and levelled out the men all turned their seats so as to be sitting in a rough circle, and Asher immediately opened his mouth to talk again.

"Do us all a favour and shut up, Ash," Steven said with a smirk. "You were always too clever for your own good. All of you were, and that's our fault, I suppose. We taught you to question everything and everyone, whether friend or foe," he sighed.

"Who pieced it together first?" Andrew asked assuming Jayce would have been the one to see the tell-tale links and threads that wove the girls together.

"Pieced what together. Sir?" Asher gave him a vapid look that was all wide-eyed innocence.

"Zander," Darius grumbled and noted the surprise on Andrews's face and the small smile of satisfaction on Henry's. "He worked out that all the girls were linked to the same family, including Sophie though that is hard to prove."

"DNA doesn't lie," Byron threw a folder onto his lap.

"What happens to Mimi now that you can't possibly keep her in the game. I have the feeling that puts a rather large spanner in your plans. Care to enlighten us about those?" Asher asked, taking on the voice for both himself and his injured brother.

"How about you tell us what you know first, and we can fill in some of the gaps," Henry said shrewdly.

"Alright, we don't know much and have evidence for even less," Asher began. "My guess is that for your own reasons each of you hunted down a girl with blood ties to the original ruling families of the underbelly of this country. Then you directed us, pretty strongly in some cases to those girls except Jayce and I who were not entering the challenge and couldn't be persuaded because we never leave our team without back up support to cover deficits at work or help with challenges. Four was the max you could get from us so who would you go to for the other two. I am guessing Rob took, Jayce's place, he's in the same generation as Reed and would be easy to monitor from a distance and let's see who would have replaced me in your little scheme," Asher tapped his chin thoughtfully before smiling. "Andre would be a bit obvious after seeing what happened with Mimi, so I am going to go with Samuel and his girl, Victoria."