Page 100 of Silver Fire
Feigning annoyance instead of letting him see the sudden fear that clutched her heart, Sophie said, “God Justin, you startled me. Stop sneaking up behind me!”
His lips twitched, as if he were controlling a smile. “Sorry my dear Sophie, it’s just the way I walk.”
Sophie raised a brow. “Like a cat burglar.”
Justin chuckled. “Touché. So, everything all right?”
“So far. I’m almost done with the circuit boards for the trigger. I just need to create another one for the test. We can install them tonight.”
Justin stepped forward and raised his hand to her face. Sophie flinched. He sighed as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Don’t be afraid of me, Sophie,” he said softly.
“I’m not.” Sophie tried to smile. “Actually, yes I am. What you did to Beth—”
“I gave you a choice,” Justin said tightly.
This man is nuts, Sophie thought,what kind of choice did he give me? My best friend or an entire town?
“I need to finish this,” she said instead and turned back to her work.
Sophie felt a wave of relief when he walked away. Returning her attention to the trigger, she deftly twisted a wire around the small board and affixed it to a circuit. That should do it.
She was allowed to visit with Beth early this morning after Justin had kept her away from her friend for a day as punishment for Sophie’s defiance the other night. Beth was in the room near the kitchen. Her friend had been looking pale, her skin felt clammy and the wound had been bleeding on and off. Sophie feared she might develop an infection and she did not trust Justin to take Beth to a hospital if her condition worsened. Sophie wanted to quickly finish the work so she would know their fate. What would Justin do to them? Kill them? Probably. However, the sickening promise in Justin’s eyes told a different story. Sophie’s stomach churned with renewed dread. Her eyes dropped to the mini screwdriver on the work table. Tempting.
“I’m done with the power supply, Dr. Leroux,” the assistant said.
“Okay, I’m done with the trigger, too,” Sophie replied. “Let’s hook it up.”
Walking over to another aluminum table, they connected the circuit board with the power supply and using a power meter, Sophie measured the output at different locations on the board. The trigger output used a complex algorithm to manage the release of a fuel compound that would initiate the fusion reaction of the zefinium cores.
“Looks good,” Yuri noted as he walked over.
“How are the cores coming along?” Sophie asked.
“We need to file down the crown of the housing so it will fit more snugly, but I do not foresee a problem. All the other wirings are in place, we just need to fit the trigger and the fuel capsule.”
“Good. We’ll touch base later,” Sophie replied.
“You’ll put your annotations on the research document?” Yuri inquired.
“Doing that right now,” Sophie said as she walked back to her station.
It was over. It was done. She was going to hell.
* * *
Justin walked away from Sophie,his patience threatening to snap. For a minute he thought they had a connection, but it quickly disappeared when he tried to touch her face. Her skittishness to his touch angered him and the idea that she preferred Derek Lockwood to him made him want to dominate her in the most brutal way.
He wondered if his plan had worked. He and Morgan waited outside the building for his grand scheme to go down. The excitement he felt when he saw the AGS car arrive was palpable; he had timed everything perfectly. Hacking through Blackstone’s phone was too easy—Opperman had seen to that. Everything took less than ten minutes. Sophie looked devastated when she left the building, and her friend appeared to be comforting her. Justin had radioed his team to prepare the attack on the car. It was late at night, near a stretch of business buildings; the only witnesses were panhandlers who were either too drunk or drugged up to give a damn.
Taking Sophie was easy; bending her to his will was a different matter. He did not want to hurt her, but the urge was there. He struggled last night, wanting to go to her even just to hold her close, but he feared her rejection, and he feared what he would do if she pushed him away. Justin understood his sudden rages were quickly followed by sadistic lust. He did not want to commit the same mistake with Sophie as he did with his first wife—his now deceased first wife.
He stole another glance at her, admiring her svelte form, her quiet grace, the tumble of platinum blonde hair. Ever since that night at the bar, he had fantasized about her naked body beneath him, her limbs wrapped all over him as he possessed every cell that was her.
One more night. He would give her one more night to herself before he made her his.
* * *
“Anything?”