Shadows In Durango
Chapter 125

*****Vincent's POV*****

I felt cornered, knowing that I had to be honest now about everything that happened - going back to our week in Illinois with the men who visited our room and what they left behind...

"As you already know, I started to get incredibly concerned for your safety on our trip - first, when that crazy bastard had approached you at the zoo." I begin, as Sofia watches my lips move but doesn't respond which encourages me to continue. "Then with the missing posters and that guy trying to take pictures at the bus station - I eventually realised just how big this whole thing was for you - how much your father was willing to do just to replace you." Sofia's tongue swiftly licks at her drying lips, but other than that, she still chooses not to talk and to instead listen...

"Forgive me, but when you first told me about your father when we went on our first date, I just thought he was a fool with no power... a little bitch who treated you poorly and who threatened you... because compared to my own father and the crimes he's committed over the years, most other guys look pathetic next to him." I allow the words to flow, attempting to give more context to where my head was at when doing what I did.

"Well you thought wrong! He's evil and he most certainly is dangerous! I told you that and you just didn't listen!" Sofia snaps now, irritated as I sigh heavily.

Despite what she told me, I just thought that he would be handled easily with some cash to shut him up...

But that was before my father revealed who he really was and what he was like...

"I know, that's my point here, I just assumed he was a nobody and due to that, I thought I could handle him on my own if he was to ever show up here. But seeing the lengths he was going to during our trip, made me wonder who he actually was, and what his background was... I wanted to be as prepared as possible in the event that I would ever have to face him or your brothers." My tone is truthful, as I search her eyes in a silent attempt to convince her to trust me. "Everything was becoming overwhelming and when we had gotten back to the apartment that day, only to replace that a group of men had been asking about us, being let up to our damn room and then leaving that package under the door - I knew that I had to do something more extreme to figure it all out." I state, not regretting anything up until that point in my explanations.

Sofia reaches up, pushing a stray strand of her blonde hair back behind her ear, which only showcases more of one of the fading bruises left by Ashton on her cheek.

That fucking bastard!

Tensing, I inhale a steady breath in order to remain calm, knowing that this conversation was not only important to me, but it was important towards gaining Sofia's trust back.

I wasn't prepared to just give up on the spark we had before it was all ruined... it was something different, something special!

"What was in that package to make it so threatening in the first place?" Sofia squints, having not known what it was since it arrived, because I didn't want to terrify her in the heat of the moment.

"The package contained photographs... of us... during our time in the city, and bad ones at that!" I conclude, as her brows pull together next.

"What like?" She pushes on, as I sigh heavily not wanting to scare her but knowing that the whole point in our conversation right now was for me to be honest.

"They had been stalking us around the city, taking pictures of us while we were out together, pretty much from the second we first stepped off the jet. The worst one though, was when you were down in the spa by yourself. I don't even know how they fucking got it... but they managed to get far too close to you when I wasn't around!" I grit out, as her eyes immediately widen at that news.

Before anything could be said, Sofia jumps slightly when hearing my phone begin to ring out loudly from its position beside me - flashing up Reid's name.

Fuck, I should probably answer incase it's anything to do with Daryl!

"Yeah?" I pick it up, as Sofia watches me for a clue as to what he could want.

"Yeah we are fine, talking about some stuff and then we will be back. Do you need us back soon? Is Daryl doing fine?" I question, listening to Reid ramble down the line that Emma had forced him to check in on us since Sofia didn't have a phone anymore and we had been gone for a while now.

Hearing that Daryl was still okay, which was all I really cared about from him right now, we quickly ended the call as I offered a quick apology to Sofia who nodded understandably this time. "Where was I? The pictures?" I remind myself, as Sofia clears her throat to speak.

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"S-So... you're saying there was pictures of me? Alone? In the spa?" She repeats, as her cheeks pale at the fact.

This is why I didn't want to tell her, I didn't think she deserved to feel so violated and so vulnerable... not after everything she's already been through in the past.

"Yeah, and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to scare you after what happened at the zoo and after seeing your missing poster, you had enough going on." I state my reasons, as she breaks eye contact and looks down at the floor in order to process what she had been told thus far.

Giving her a moment of silence, she finally seemed to think up something to say next, as she spoke: "So when exactly did my father come in to all of this?" She questions, as I swallow the lump in my throat knowing we were now quickly getting to the important part.

"I spoke with my father when you were in the bath, demanding for him to sort out the jet to bring us back home because it wasn't safe for you there anymore and that's when he..." I trail off, knowing how the next part was going to sound. "He what?!" Sofia quickly questions, sensing my hesitation, as I close my eyes over in preparation for the bomb.

"He offered to do a background check on you..." I finish, as silence fills the pause which causes for me to open my eyes back up to see Sofia's face contorting in sheer disgust.

"A BACKGROUND CHECK ON ME?! AND YOU SAID YES TO THAT? WHO DO YOU THINK I AM VINCENT? SOME SECRET SCAM ARTIST OR A MASS MURDERER?!" Sofia's tone is raised, as I quickly hold up my hands in surrender. "No, no! I only said yes for the sake of looking in to your father and brothers. I wanted to replace out everything I could about them only to help protect you, that was all! It was about getting a step ahead of them to keep you safe!" I ramble, knowing what I was telling her was the whole truth despite knowing how it all sounded...

This whole scenario, hearing it play out loud between us, all sounded entirely uncalled for now... but in the moment, it made sense.

Sofia was in danger and I was trying to help fix that...

Hey there! Just a friendly reminder that if you're not reading this book on nel5s.org, you might be missing out on the complete story. Head over there to dive into the next chapter-it's all free! "Vincent this just keeps on getting worse! What do you expect me to say?!" Sofia groans, dragging her both hands down her face as I rub at my stubbled jawline feeling stressed by her reaction. Why doesn't she understand that I was only trying to help?!

"Just... continue! I want to know the rest!" Sofia demands next, grumbling heavily as though she was losing patience with me now.

Sighing again, I do exactly that and continue, "We landed back home, and that's when my fathers text came through to say that he looked in to your father and that he works with him... and believe me, I was just as mortified as you when I read it. I couldn't believe my fucking bad luck. He said that he's one of his lower associates which basically means he gets him to do petty jobs for good amounts of cash to help keep his own hands clean... he's basically one of my Dads runarounds." I allow that to sink in, as Sofias features give nothing away yet again.

Her mind must be buzzing to comprehend the new information I was firing at her, and I couldn't help but feel worse knowing that this could all have been avoided if I would have kept her in the loop from the very start!

I wasn't used to having to consider other people's feelings when dealing with threats and business, but until Sofia, I didn't care for any girls in this way.

This was all new to me...

"I called him, and he warned me about how persistent your father can be and I made him promise not to reveal your location, which trust me, he hasn't. I then wanted to know how to deal with him because I couldn't stand the thought of him always looming over your life." I pause for air before proceeding, "So that's when he told me that your father could most likely be settled with money. I immediately offered to pay whatever it took to have him back off out of your life for good." "V-Vincent..." Sofia breathes out, as though my words had somewhat shocked her different to before.

"What?!" I panic, not understanding the new look etched across her face.

"Y-You tried to pay him off for me?" She repeats, as I nod to confirm, unsure of what exactly she thought or felt on the matter...

I was only trying to do the right thing by her... I was trying to help.