Page 41 of The Billionaire's Angel

Aiden had the grace to look ashamed, if only for a second. Sitting forward, he braced his elbows on his knees and leaned close to Sophie. My fist itched to put a few more feet betweenthem.

“Sophie, I’m very sorry if anything I did or didn't do contributed to you getting hurt. I should've calledCooper.”

“I'm okay,” Sophiesaid.

But what the hell else was she going to say? I knew her well enough by now to know Sophie wouldn't complain. She definitely wouldn't accuse her employer of almost getting herkilled.

I reclaimed my place on the couch, crowding Sophie further back into the cushions and taking her hand in mine again. The touch of her skin grounded me, reminding me what wasimportant.

This bullshit tension between Aiden and myself was not the point. My unreasonable jealousy whenever Aiden got close to Sophie was not thepoint.

The bump on her head and the intruder in our home – they were thepriority.

“Why didn't you call Cooper?” I asked, slowly andevenly.

Aiden gave me a long, measuring look before he said, “You've been erratic since you gothome.”

“You thought I made it up?” I asked in disbelief. “I was standing right there when Sophie said she heard the sound, too. Was she making itup?”

She squeezed my hand, and I knew she didn't want me dragging her into the argument. I gave her a squeeze back and said, “All you had to do was callCooper.”

“You both said nothing had been disturbed,” Aiden said, finally looking a little uncomfortable. “This is a big house, and it's old. It makes noises atnight.”

I gritted my teeth, fighting off the rage flooding me, threatening to send me off balance. Aiden had called me erratic. He wasn't wrong but damned if I was going to prove him right. Especially not in front ofSophie.

As calmly as I could manage, I said, “I grew up here. I know the house makes sounds. All houses make sounds. That's not what weheard.”

“It didn't sound like you heard much of anything,” Aiden shot back. “Not enough to justify a complete overhaul of the securitysystem.”

“Someone was in this house,” I said, slowly, as if explaining algebra to a toddler. “Someone bypassed our alarm system and got in this house. They hit Sophie over the head. Do you have any idea what could've happened to her? Think about it for a second. Unless you thinkIhither?”

I threw that last part out more in frustration than anything else. I wasn't expecting Aiden'spause.

Son of abitch.

I hadn't been myself since I got home. That was true. But I'd never hit a woman in my life, and I sure as hell wasn't going to start withSophie.

Sophie made a sound of distress in the back of her throat and started to sit up. My hand shot out and pressed her shoulder back. I stroked a thumb across her cheekbone and murmured, “Keep your head still, Angel. It'll hurt less if you let those peas stay where theyare.”

In a strained voice, she said, “It wasn't Gage. Gage would never hurt me, but it wasn't him. I couldn't see much, but he was shorter than both of you and thinner thanAbel.”

Our cook was a few inches shy of six feet and built like the proverbial brick shit house. Abel made ample use of the basement gym, and itshowed.

Finally, Aiden said, “I'm sorry. I should've called Cooper. I take it you didn't find a sign ofanyone.”

“No. Nothing.” Looking down at Sophie, I said to her, “I'm taking you back to bed. I don't think that bump is bad enough for a trip to the hospital, but you need torest.”

“I thought you weren't supposed to sleep after you get hit in the head, in case you have a concussion,” Aidensaid.

“That's an old wives tale,” I said. Carefully, I lifted Sophie from the couch, leaving the bag of peas. I'd get a new one from the kitchen after I got her to her room. “Call Cooper now. Have him send a guy over to watch the house for the rest of the night. I'm staying withSophie.”

“You don't have to—” she started tosay.

I silenced her with a kiss to the top of her head and said, “I'm not leaving you alone right now. Deal withit.”

I had Sophie settled in bed a few minutes later, a dish towel wrapped ice pack under herhead.

“I'm not going to be able to sleep,” she said, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. I toed off my shoes and stretched out beside her, taking her hand in mine and wrapping both of our arms around herwaist.