Page 68 of Silver Fire
Without waiting for their reply, Sophie headed to the elevator. Derek fell into step beside her. “You and I need to talk later.” He ignored her glare as they got on the elevator. She wasn’t in her little lab any more,damn it. She was going to be on everyone’s radar, and there was only so much he could do to protect her.
When they reached the top floor, Viktor turned to her and said, “I will personally handle Becker’s interrogation. Be prepared to come in to AGS in case we need more information from you.”
“Of course,” Sophie acceded.
Viktor Baran’s phone buzzed. He frowned when he saw the number.
“This is a surprise, Marissa,” Viktor drawled into his phone. He walked away from the group.Marissa?Derek thought. Why did that name sound familiar? Derek tensed when Viktor’s eyes narrowed and cut to Sophie. “What do you guys want with her?”
Derek felt Sophie involuntarily move toward him after hearing Viktor’s words. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. He was getting a bad feeling about this and was pissed that everything appeared to be out of his control and unraveling fast.
“What’s going on?” Sophie whispered. Derek shook his head.
“That’s overkill, Marissa,” Viktor said, then he sighed. “All right. I’ll see what I can do, I’m not promising anything.”
Viktor strode back toward them, looking pointedly at Sophie. “That’s the CIA. They want me to bring you in.”
11
“This isbullshit and you know it,” Derek growled. He had pushed Sophie behind him and backed them away from Viktor and the other Guardians. Sophie’s mind was having trouble processing everything that was happening. Had the CIA been keeping tabs on her all along? How did they hear about the stolen research so quickly? She had her hands on Derek’s back and felt his muscles bunch with tension beneath his shirt.
“All they want to do is question her,” Viktor replied carefully. “I will not force Dr. Leroux to come with us. But might I suggest, Derek, that you let Sophie come with us willingly. Wouldn’t you rather they question her on neutral ground like AGS than snatch her and take her to an unknown location?”
Sophie walked around Derek, evading his outstretched arm that was trying to keep her behind him. She was not getting him into trouble.
“Sophie,” Derek said with irritation.
Sophie angled her eyes at him. “Honestly, Derek, there’s four of them and there’s you. If they wanted to take me by force, you think you can stop them?”
“Your confidence in my abilities is gratifying,” he answered dryly.
A ghost of a smile cracked Viktor’s otherwise expressionless face.
“What exactly does the CIA know?” Sophie asked.
“That the research was stolen, that’s about it,” Viktor replied.
“I’m not letting her out of my sight,” Derek put in.
“I’ll be in the room myself,” Viktor said.
“Since when did you start doing what the CIA tells you?” Derek asked. “You don’t even trust them.”
“I still don’t,” Viktor threw over his shoulder when he turned around and started walking away, expecting the rest of them to follow.
Derek exhaled harshly and looked at her. “You don’t have to go to AGS if you don’t want to. They legally do not have the right to just bring you in.”
Sophie smiled wryly. “Derek, thanks for the reassurance, but the CIA is rarely known for doing things legally, are they?”
“I can call Beth and give her a heads up,” Stephen, who was observing the whole exchange quietly, spoke up for the first time.
“Better not say that aloud,” Sophie said, half-joking, half-seriously. “Or they may bring you in too.”
Derek grunted in agreement and put his hand possessively on the small of her back as they walked out of Silver Fire Research.
* * *
Sophie was getting veryfamiliar with the AGS surroundings. She might as well move in here considering how frequently she had visited in the past week alone. She voiced this out loud to Derek, who glanced at her sharply and told her not to get ridiculous ideas, but she could tell he was very unhappy with the current situation. She could see the wheels turning in his head as the tactician in him weighed in their options, unlike Sophie, who was pretty much resigned to her fate. Let the CIA lock her down. She was a menace to the public.