Crushed (39 page)

If she'd been looking hard enough it would've been easy to see that everything was fake. Rylan's pain was evident in his pale expression, and the way he winced every few moments. Gwyn's hands were clenched tightly, and Teddy was acting unnaturally excited about everything.

They were not over the accident, and they were not healed from their own horrible experiences.

Each of the kids was struggling to remain strong.

"For me?" Sophie turned her attention fully on Robert. "Why?"

"We could've lost you today." He reminded her. "They've each realized it to a degree." He paused briefly. "We didn't know if this was the best way to welcome you. Coming home from Max...it's not something any of us know how to fix."

Sophie lifted her hand to Robert's cheek, her eyes filling with tears again. For someone who usually never cried in front of others, she felt exhausted by her tears.

"Thank you." She closed her eyes. "I don't know how I can say thank you enough."

"You can start by telling me thank you every day in the future." He grinned. "Don't even consider running away again." He reached down to take her hand. "You're probably exhausted, but just give them an hour or two. It's their way of healing themselves and you."

"I think it's working." Sophie lifted her free hand to her heart. "It's crazy, but I think it's actually working."

Robert led her back to the group, where they all continued to pretend that everything was okay. Despite everyone knowing it wasn't, there was an underlying strength behind their fake smiles and words. This facade was their way of supporting one another, and gradually the insincere laughs started turning into real ones. The pretend happiness they'd been forcing became natural with the more time they spent together.

It was a heavy evening in each of their hearts. Everyone had something to worry about, but for just a moment they were able to forget together.

The road to recovery was still far off in the future, but for this night only, it felt like they were momentarily healed.

*  *  *

Cleo did not stay with them for long. By midnight she took her leave, promising to return the next chance she had.

Rylan's doctor, who had spent almost a straight twenty-four hours attending to his patient was offered Rylan's bed to sleep in. Now that Rylan was out of the most dangerous period, the doctor was able to rest.

The others remained in the kitchen, unwilling to separate. Teddy had managed to find himself spot beside of Rylan on the bed, snuggling up close. Gwyn had fallen asleep with her head on Rylan's arm, while sitting next to him in a chair.

All three slept peacefully next to each other, and Robert and Sophie shared a smile as they watched over them.

They'd found themselves a spot on the floor, leaning against the kitchen counter. Robert had retrieved a quilt from the living room which they were both sharing now. It wasn't the most comfortable location, but they didn't mind.

"How did you know?" Sophie asked after they'd been sitting in silence for a long time. "How did you know I was in danger?"

"Agent Marshall gave me a call. I put together the pieces from there."

The only light in the room came from a street lamp outside, so Sophie could barely see his expression when she turned to him.

"What? You think you're the only thief Marshall's ever threatened?" Robert squeezed her hand. "He was asking me about you, and if I knew that Max had a new thief."

"I didn't know you were that close to the cops."

"I'm not. Marshall calls occasionally because he wants to amuse himself with my bullshit answers to his questions."

Sophie grinned at his response. "I wish you'd been there today. I was so scared I couldn't think up a witty answer."

Robert lowered his voice. "I wish I'd been there too." He attempted to change the subject. "I'm guessing you didn't find anything?"

"Unfortunately, the only thing I found was trouble." Sophie squeezed her eyes closed. "Rob...I honestly don't know how I'm going to fall asleep. It's been hours since I've seen Max, but my heart hasn't stopped racing. It feels like I was only just there...or like I'm still there."

"I want to say that you'll get used to the feeling, but it never goes away. There are still nights I wake up from dreams about previous missions, and it feels like I'm living through them again." His voice was far off.

"You could've given me a cheesy answer, you know." She rolled her eyes. "Told me you'd protect me while I slept or some other nonsense like that."

"Well, I've already protected you once today. Isn't that enough to be considered a white knight?"

"A true knight's duties are never over." She reminded him with a smile.

"I knew there was a reason I liked being a thief." Robert replied and they laughed together. He turned to look at her, but she could barely see his eyes. "So, you're really back for good? No more reckless plans I need to know about?"

"I think I've made enough reckless plans to last a lifetime. I need some down time to figure everything out."

"Like what?"

"I didn't find the letter, and there's still a week or so before Diana returns from her trip." Robert's hand tightened around her own, and Sophie backtracked. "I've given up on the letter, but I feel like I need something to show her when she returns. We've also still got to figure out who shot at us, and what we're going to do about Agent Marshall. I haven't even begun to consider what to do about Max...and we don't know where Luke is either."

Robert chuckled, shaking his head. "We've gotten ourselves in a mess, haven't we?"

"With all these problems, you still feel like laughing?" She accused.

"How about I try to fix some of them?" He offered. "First, you shouldn't have concerned yourself with the letter to begin with. It was a pointless search, and not worth the sacrifices you made for it. Cleo was easily convinced, but if you'd talked it out with me, I would've changed your mind."

"I doubt it." She scowled at him.

"I can be very persuasive when I want to be." He grinned slyly. "Secondly, I already told you we'd never find out who shot at us. Cleo's already come up with all the evidence she'll be able to get, and it all points nowhere. Thirdly, Marshall shouldn't concern you. His crime squad, or whatever they call themselves has been after our operation for years. He knows there's no amount of evidence that will capture Cleo or Max, but he convinces himself otherwise by catching smaller fish...such as ourselves. His methods worked on past thieves, but I'm smarter than him." Robert winked down at her. "Lastly, we'll figure out Max and Luke when the time comes. There's not use worrying about them now."

"I can't help but worry about them now." She whispered. "You've made yourself a target too."

"Look, if we find those paintings your parents stole, it'll be as good as wiping the slate clean. Max's greed is more powerful that his desire for revenge. This just gives us another incentive to hurry and find the paintings."

"What about Luke?"

"Did either of us shoot Rylan?" Robert had lowered his voice. "It's not something we can fix, or wipe away. Luke has to come to terms with what he did, and when he's ready, he'll show up again. Rylan doesn't blame him for the accident, and neither should you. Don't forget that Luke's only a few years older than Rylan. They're both still kids in my book."

He'd done a decent job of wiping away her concerns, but she wasn't completely satisfied.

"I still have one more problem you need to solve." She bit her lip thoughtfully.

"What would that be?"

"I think we both need to figure out what this is." She lifted up their intertwined hands, and stared at them pointedly.

"Oh." He whispered.

"Yeah, oh." She replied. "Not as easy as the others, right?" She smiled slowly. "Have I succeeded in stumping the brilliant thief?"

He frowned as he stared at their hands. "I want to say something clever, but I can't think of anything at the moment." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "Just out of curiosity, what do want this to be?"

"Hey, you're the one who kissed me first. As far as I'm concerned, the balls in your court."

"It takes two to tango, darling. One person isn't enough to orchestrates a kiss. If we're going off who kissed who first, then I vaguely remembered you kissing me over there." He pointed to the kitchen table, where she'd kissed him once to prove a point.

"That was a joke." She scowled, glad that the darkness hid her blush.

"Would you like me to pretend that last night's kiss was a joke as well?" She was beginning to regret how his voice continued to turn from playful to serious.

It took her a moment to consider his question. "No, not really."

"Should we try it again, to see if we can figure it out now?" He leaned towards her with a smile, but she pushed him away.

"Oh, no you don't. I feel like that's avoiding the subject."

Looking like someone had just stolen his candy, Robert straightened, and glanced away from her.

"I'm not going to tell you I love you, if that's what you're fishing for."

Sophie laughed at how defensive he sounded. "I wasn't looking that much into it."

"Good." Robert sighed and he closed his eyes. "Saying I love you is no different from saying hello these days."

"I'm disappointed you feel that way."

"Why?"

"I might not want to hear it now, but one day it would be nice. I guess I'll just have to accept the challenge of getting you to love me."

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "Good luck with that."

"You don't think I can seduce you?" She asked in surprise.

Robert's next laugh was loud. He had to cover his mouth to not wake up the kids. "I don't think you have the skill to seduce anyone."

"Well, I've never tried before." She lifted a hand to pull his chin towards her. "I'm a fast learner though."

Instead of pulling away, Robert leaned in close. "I don't think it counts, when I'm obviously the one doing all the seducing."

His lips were just inches from her own when an idea popped into her mind. She placed her free hand on his mouth and pushed away.

"If I can't seduce you, I can at least avoid you." She laughed at the horror in his expression. He hadn't expected her to take that route.

"That's no fun!" He whined against her hand. "You seriously want me to say it that much?"

"Not really. I just think it's fun to see you like this." She giggled, feeling happy that she'd finally beat him.

"Cruel." He muttered under his breath.

She rolled her eyes and shushed him, motioning to the kids.

"You're going to wake them up." She warned. "There's plenty of time to argue tomorrow."

Robert sighed, leaning his head back against the counter. "There's no helping it. I'm going to have to use strategy fifty-six to change your mind."

"I can't begin to explain how much it amazes me that you've thought of fifty-six strategies. Do you seduce girl's this frequently?"

Now it was Robert's turn to shush her. "You'll find out what it is tomorrow. If I have to wait, so do you." He stuck out his tongue and closed his eyes.

Sophie smiled as she watched him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as well.

At first he stiffened at the contact, but he soon relaxed.

"Goodnight." She whispered to him.

"Goodnight." All three of the kids whispered back to her one after another.

Sophie and Robert jerked away from each other, their eyes wide.

"You guys were awake this whole time?" Robert accused.

They giggled together, while pretending to still be asleep.

"Our only option is to copy them." Sophie whispered to Robert, returning her head to his shoulder and closing her eyes. She hoped she wouldn't remember her embarrassment in the morning.