14 Months 09-10: Valentine's Day

"Fuck, Jack. Are you trying to get me killed?" Kai asked as he took in Sophie's outfit. "Here," he tossed her phone to her before he spoke again. "You look great Sophie, don't misunderstand me. It's the fact that you will look that hot on the back of my bike that will get me killed."

"So that's what your voice sounds like," Sophie said an expression of wonder on her face. "I don't think I heard you speak a word the other night. Not even to say hello or goodbye."

"Let's go, the sooner I get you back to them, the better," Kai said without acknowledging her teasing comment. "You better lay low for a while," he pointed at Jack. "We've got your back, but there is only so much even we can do to smooth over shit like this. Deserved or not."

"I'll send your other clothes and things over tonight when you're all at the gallery," Jack said and ushered her towards the door still not touching her.

"Thanks for the explanation, Jack. I'm glad you decided to be my friend," she said genuinely and hugged him even though she knew he didn't want that. She smiled as he gave in momentarily and hugged her back. "I guess I'll be seeing you around, or not seeing you as the case might be."

"Yeah, I'll be around even if you can't see me," he nodded and released her letting Kai walk her out the door to his bike. Jealousy speared him as she rode off with her arms wrapped tightly around Kai and he shoved it down hard. He had a gallery opening to get to, and he had no time to spare getting his disguise together.

*****

"You did a bad thing, brothers. You can't begrudge Jack a little payback," Nick said as he strolled into Darius's house carrying a large canvas. "If it were me, I would have kept her, but then, I don't give a shit about the rest of you. Where do you want this?" It was a lie, of course, Nick cared very much about his brothers, though he would never tell them that. Just as he cared about the girl who was on her way home on the back of Kai's bike, after hearing her story, a man would have to have a heart of stone not to care, but he was not going to let her appearance pull his brothers apart. He was the one that got away with telling people how it was when they were arseholes because he was the King of Arsehole-dom and people expected it from him.

"You should have told him as soon as you knew and saved yourself the angst of losing that girls main cheerleader. Now your gonna have to watch your backs even closer because a pissed off Jack is not someone I want to tangle with," he gave it to them straight. "So, be careful how you treat her when she comes back because none of this is her fault. This is on you two, especially you," he pointed at Darius.

"Valentines gift from Jack," he indicated the canvas he'd leaned against the wall and slumped into one of the living room chairs. "You don't mind if I hang out until Kai gets here, do you?"

"Why is Kai coming here?" Darius growled his temper so close to the surface, his muscles bunched and flexed with each movement.

"He's bringing your girl home," Nick shrugged. "From what I understand she's wearing a costume Jack gave her for tonight that Kai is concerned may make you shoot the messenger, so to speak," Nick chuckled enjoying the situation immensely.

"What the fuck!" Zander spat.

"As I said you only have yourselves to blame," Nick scolded him with an air of smugness. "Ah and here comes the roar of a familiar bike. Heed my warning brothers; Jack is determined to save her, even if that means saving her from the two of you. Be careful how you treat her tonight because you know as well as I do that he'll be watching somehow." Nick stood and went to the door, opening it and stepping out to show Kai he was there.

The bike pulled to a stop at the top of the driveway. Kai pulled his helmet from his head and stepped from the bike before his brothers could reach them. He stood between them and Sophie helping her with her helmet before turning to face them. They looked much calmer than he had expected, and he raised his eyebrow at Nick.

Sophie found herself plucked from the bike and wrapped in Darius's big arms before she barely had her helmet off. She returned the embrace, knowing he needed the reassurance and looked over Darius' shoulder into Zanders deep scowl. She swallowed hard, not knowing what to say to either of them and wondered what Jack had told them in his text messages from her phone. The thought of her phone had her squirming in Darius's arms to get down so she could retrieve her bag.

"Thanks for bringing her home, Kai," Darius said, setting Sophie on her feet in front of Zander who immediately swooped her into his arms and moved back toward the house with her.

"Thank you for not shooting the messenger," Kai responded with a relieved breath.

"Wait, Zander, please," Sophie said and squirmed in his tight hold on her. "I need to get my bag and thank Kai," she pleaded when she saw he had no intention of stopping or putting her down. "Please, Zander," she said quietly and heard him groan before he let her drop carefully to the ground at his feet.

"Thank you, Kai. I know you were taking it easy for my benefit, but I've ridden with Darius before, and he only has two speeds. Fast and faster," she grinned and gave Darius a sidelong glance. "I'll be fine now that I'm home," she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Guess that's my cue to go too," Nick said without a backward glance. He moved towards his car that was parked in the driveway without a backwards glance.

"So that was an interesting way to spend an afternoon," Sophie joked as she turned back to Darius and Zander with a nervous smile.

"Come inside," Zander growled and opened the door for her.

Sophie went in and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what to expect from her two lovers, but she knew it wouldn't be pleasant. She noticed the large canvas leaning against the wall and tilted her head.

"That's from Jack. Nick dropped it off. Open it if you want," Darius said.

"I have a question first," Zander growled making Sophie freeze in her tracks and turn to look at him. "Did you go willingly or did he force you? Are you hurt in any way?"

"I'm not hurt. Jack used my curiosity about the family I never knew I had to get me to agree to go with him. I don't think he would have forced me if he couldn't have gotten me to agree," she admitted. "Jack said he had information about my cousin, but as he wasn't talking to his brothers, he would only talk to me about it. He said he wouldn't make you worry and sent you a text from my phone to tell you I was okay," she bubbled over with the information trying to gauge just how mad they were that she went with him willingly and made them worry.

"And did he have information about your family for you beyond what we told you already?" Zander asked seeming to be in charge of interrogating her.

"Yes, it was my cousin or second cousin," she creased her brow in confusion, "Anyway my cousin who kept the fact that I had survived the fire quiet and who placed me in a house with a man loyal to the family. Jack said that as soon as he found out that I had been in the hospital and made accusations against my foster father, that my cousin had him killed. He has been looking for me ever since and came close to finding me several times, including the night you took me from Michelle's club."

"That's it?" Zander asked. "Oh, and he was the one who left traps on my mother's federal police file. Jack always knew who his angel was and was alerted when the file opened upon her death. He kept it monitored. So, it was him that you alerted when you looked into it. He believed I had died with her in the fire though, so he wasn't sure why the alliance was looking into the death of Frankie Calabrese. Still, he's been digging around ever since, and he's pretty sure he's got a handle on why the council is so interest in the six girls they found and sent you and your brothers after."

"And what is that?" Darius asked this time.

"He did tell me, but it didn't make sense, and then he offered me the information about my family," Sophie said. "I got the feeling he thought you knew about the council's plans already." She watched as Darius and Zander exchanged a look. "How much trouble am I in?" she asked quietly.

"Enough but you have an event to get to and a house full of staff who have been waiting for you," Darius said while Zander turned his dark scowl on her.

"You don't like the dark angel look Jack gave me?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"I like it," Darius said leaving no doubt as to how much he liked it as he grabbed her and ran his hands around the bare skin of her waist as he pulled her close again.

"But it's not appropriate for tonight," Zander growled. "Let's go. People are waiting."

Darius released her and Sophie made her way upstairs. She considered negotiating just changing the jacket and skirt for a little black dress, but the scowl she was getting from Zander made her nervous. Darius, as he had said so often, was just happy to have her any way he could. For him, it appeared that she had been forgiven after her explanation, but Zander was another matter, and she remembered how he was when she had threatened to leave the game before the gala. A shiver ran down her spine as Sophie walked into the spare bedroom they used as an extra dressing room. Her stylists immediately swarmed her, and she gave in to the inevitable with a sigh.

"It's so weird without Trent constantly calling out the time," Sylvia commented as she walked into the bathroom. "Times up in there, Sophie."

Sophie stepped out of the shower and dried off, wrapping a towel around her body as she went into the dressing room where Sylvia and Anna waited for her.

"Where is Trent?" Sophie asked, knowing she needed to apologise for ditching him.

"He's off the team so is Leo. Apparently, you have issues with bathrooms, and they let you go alone," Sylvia said in a hushed voice, "But that's all I know."

"Seriously?" Sophie gasped. "It wasn't their fault." Even though she had thought they were too relaxed about her and their own safety. They were sitting in the restaurant with a clear view of the bathrooms! "This is so bad, I never even thought about what would happen to them," she groaned to herself feeling like a selfish bitch. Sophie became lost in her own thoughts of her carelessness of other people as the women dressed her and fussed with her hair and makeup, transforming her into the perfect girlfriend once again. This was the deal she had agreed to; she wore what she was told and did what she was told where the Alliance and events were concerned. The escape Jack had offered her sounded like the only sane thing to do at that moment before she inadvertently hurt someone else while she was living this lie.

Pulling on her Rita Hayworth persona to make the transformation complete for the night. Sophie descended the stairs to where Zander and Darius waited for her both having showered and dressed as she was groomed and poked by the stylists. She sashayed into the living room and smiled brightly at the two men who looked up from what appeared to be a serious conversation. Sophie wouldn't say anything about Trent and Leo until after the gallery show. Until then, she would be the bubbly, sassy girl people knew and expected her to be at these challenges.

"Let's go get our mingle on," Sophie said, hating that her cheery voice sounded false even to her. The two men gave each other a look that spoke of agreement and then as one they rose. Both were tall and well-built men who dwarfed her diminutive size, but she had grown used to them over the last few months: the barbarian and the Viking. Dark smouldering eyes and brighter clear blue eyes raked over her appreciatively as she waited for them.

"I guess we're ready to go then," Darius said and approached her wrapping an arm around her waist as guiding her out to the car that Bear was driving.

Zander took the front seat allowing Darius to sit with Sophie in the back. He was still seething. Darius had already forgiven Sophie, as always, Darius was quick to temper and quick to forgive. He was a simple man with simple rules for his life. He had his angel back, so he was happy. Zander, on the other hand, was not so quick to forgive. Trent and Leo had been lax in their duties, but neither Bear or Roo who had been watching the restaurant had caught the sleight of hand Jack pulled to get her out of there.

The fact that she went willingly rather than kicking and screaming was the worst part of the whole day. How could he trust her if she would just do that to them when she knew the risks out there? She didn't know Jack; she should have trusted him to protect her and tell her what was going on, not run away with Jack to god knows where to do god knows what. If she fucked Jack, Zander was out, and the council could have her. He wouldn't forgive her for that when he had worked so hard to gain her trust before bedding her.

Of course, He and Darius hadn't told her anything until Tom forced the issue, so there was that he acknowledged as he had several times that afternoon. Still, to put herself at so much risk just because Jack had promised her information about a family she knew nothing about, was idiocy and against every rule, he and Darius had given her. He huffed loudly forgetting where he was momentarily and swung his head to see the fire of rebellion in Sophie's eyes moments before she blinked it away and turned to look out the window again. What the hell did she have to be angry about? He was the one who had nearly lost his mind when she had disappeared.

The car ride remained silent and filled with tension for over an hour until they reached the up-market gallery in the trendy part of Paradise Coast. Even with her anger and doubt about the men who accompanied her, she stepped from the car, a smiling and happy woman eager to greet her friends and see all of the exhibits.

Throughout the night, Sophie remained wedged between her two protectors to the point where it stifled any interactions she had wither friends. In the end, she gave up and stood silently between them as they viewed each exhibit using headphones to watch the clips offered to go with the dresses. She knew she was tempting fate as the night came to an end, but the thought of the long drive with a full bladder made her brave.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she said quietly to Darius. Zander still emanated anger and had barely spoken to her or anyone throughout the night.

"Okay," Darius said as if it was not a big problem, but he turned and nodded to a large woman in the crowd. "This is Tina she will make sure no one bothers you in there," he explained.

"I guess I deserve that," Sophie sighed and went with the woman towards the bathroom, noting that Darius and Zander followed a few steps behind.

"Your installation was very well done," Tina said, making conversation as they walked.

"Thank you," Sophie said, not caring to explain who did it for her and the meaning behind it.

"You don't seem very happy that it's doing so well in the auction," Tina commented.

"It's been a tough day. I am happy, there's just too much other stuff going on today," Sophie admitted and quickly ducked through the door and into a vacant stall. It was the first Valentine's day where she had someone, or two in her life to share it with, and it had all gone so terribly wrong. She should never have gone with Jack. Trent would still have his job, and Zander wouldn't be so upset with her. Darius was the surprise in that he just seemed to be happy that she had returned to him and he had finally been given his medical clearance to attend tonight after enduring six weeks of being under medical supervision.

Watching Sophie enter the bathrooms and being satisfied by the use of a bodyguard, Zander lounged against a wall near the entrance to the bathrooms. At the same time, Darius stood a meter away, chatting to a brother from another generation. He took very little notice of the man who approached him thinking he was one of the few critics invited from the charity they were supporting.

"So, you fired her assistants and poured gasoline on all that guilt she already had for leaving with me today. No wonder she looks like she is carrying a ton of weight on her shoulders," Jack said conversationally, as he leaned on the wall beside Zander.

"I swear to god if you touched her," Zander growled, twisting his head to look at Jack.

"You'll what? Heap that guilt on her little shoulders too?" Jack accused. "Nothing happened. I didn't even kiss her cheek goodbye," he reassured the big man. "It took a few days, but I got it. She's not my angel. Frankie was. Frankie saved my life, so now I am going to return the favour and be that girls guardian angel and save her from the people who want to use her for their own gain. She's not a puppet or a toy, and I will step in if you continue to make her look that miserable," Jack threatened.

"She'll be just fine if you stop messing with us and her life," Zander growled and looked around wondering how many people would notice if he punched Jack in his smug face.

"You know why she came with me today?" Jack asked. "Stupid question, of course, you don't, or you wouldn't be acting like such an arsehole to her. She came because she doesn't trust you to tell her the truth about her family or the council's plans and I offered her that information. In her mind, you had months to tell her who her mother was, but each time someone called her Frankie, you didn't say a word. All that trust you and Darius built up with her has been severely compromised and if you continue to be an arsehole tonight of all nights...." He let his voice trail off as the door to the lady's bathroom opened, and Sophie stepped out. "Take my advice and fix this before you break her, and her trust entirely," he said and disappeared into the crowd as Zander's attention was taken away from him by Sophie.

"Tina stay with Sophie. I need to talk to Darius for a minute," Zander said quietly and stepped away from the wall to approach Darius.

"Do you want to go and see how your auction is doing?" Tina asked in her friendly but professional way.

"Are you sure?" she looked anxiously at Zander and Darius who had moved away from the other men and were talking in low tones.

"Yes," Tina said decidedly. "They will be able to see us from where they are standing."

Suddenly finding herself with more room to move and speak to people, Sophie relaxed slightly and was able to joke with and compliment her friends as she saw them. After a while, she managed to forget the anger and tension that had been emanating from the two men who stood close by as she went to view how the auctions were going for her friend's dresses.

The auctions eventually ended, and small speeches were made by the council and the general managers of the charity being supported by the auction. Sophie's auction had done well but not as well as some of the others including Layla who's Silver Star dress proved very popular among the online crowd. Layla chalked it up to Connor's topless appearance in her clip while Connor cringed every time someone mentioned it making Sophie laugh inwardly.

"Maybe we'll get them in the installation and clip points," Stella murmured to Sophie.

"I hope, so I seem to be sliding down the points ladder after every event. I need another Jazz Club karaoke night," she gave a half-laugh.

"Are you ready to go?" Darius asked, leaning down close to her ear.

"Yes," she looked around. "Where's Zander?" she asked.

"Making sure our ride home is ready. Come, we'll get your coat. See you later," he smiled at David and Stella before turning with her to walk toward the exit stopping every so often to talk to a brother or colleague.

When they finally made through all the farewells and out onto the street a dark car pulled up, and to Sophie's surprise, Tina who had followed them got into the front beside Bear as she and Darius slid into the back. There was still no sign of Zander and Sophie gave Darius a worried look.