He could see Sophie leaning in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest, waiting for him to return. When he approached he noted a purplish hue shadowing the tender skin beneath her eyes and a deep sadness radiating from within her. The tears she’d fought hard to hold at bay all day slowly flowed down her cheeks. She straightened and her arms fell to her sides.“Why is this happening, Cain? I can’t make any sense of it. Dad and I lived a quiet life. Minded our own business. I don’t understand why anyone would want to harm us.” She clamped her teeth together and swiped the tears from her cheeks. “I need to know what happened to him. And I plan to find out.”Cain gazed at the petite five-foot-two bundle of resolve standing in front of him and he didn’t know how to keep his heart encased in steel—only that he would, he had to, no matter what. He couldn’t afford to make a second mistake. He’d paid too high a price for the last one. A wave of pain squeezed his heart at the memories and, rather than try to push them back into the closed little closets he’d created in his mind, he embraced the pain.
