Page 52 of The Billionaire's Angel

I heard it again, my name, this time in Gage’s low rumble instead of Anthony's smooth, cultured tones. Gage’s strong hands closed over my shoulders, turning me to face him. “Who was it? What did theysay?”

I looked up at him, eyes wide, not really seeing anything past my shock. It must've been a trick. It had to have been a trick because Anthony was dead. The policeman came to my door and told me Anthony wasdead.

“Sophie, who called you?” Charlie asked, gently. I shook my head, not wanting to answer, not wanting to put that horror of a phone call intowords.

“Angel, take a deep breath,” Gage said, stepping to the side and pulling me back, away from my broken phone and into his arms. I leaned into his strong body, breathing in his scent. Finally, I whispered, “It was Anthony. It couldn't have been, but itwas.”

Gage's arms tightened around me. Over my head, I heard him say to Charlie, “Call Cooper, find out if he's at Winters House or if he's still at the office. Tell him Sophie got a weird call, we need her phone checked, and the screen is cracked, so she’ll need a new one. Find out where he is and we’ll meethim.”

The door to the house opened and shut as Charlie went in to make the call. Gage rested his chin on the top of my head and rubbed his hand up and down my spine, soothing me. I was such a fucking mess. Just the sound of his voice, two years later, and I was ready to curl into a ball and weep with terror. The worst moments of my marriage poured through my brain in a kaleidoscope of misery andfear.

I leaned into Gage, staring at the scrubby grass of Charlie’s yard. Anthony was the past. He couldn’t hurt me now. Eventually, my heartbeat slowed and my breathing evened out. Gage must've felt my body relaxing into him because he said, “Youokay?”

I shook my head against his chest. No, I was not okay. I'd just gotten a phone call from my deadhusband.

“You're sure that was Anthony?” Gage asked,carefully.

I let out a sigh. “Sure it was Anthony's voice,” I said. “It couldn't be Anthony. Anthony'sdead.”

“I feel like an ass for asking this, but are yousure?”

I stepped back a little and looked up into Gage's worried face. “The police said there wasn't much left of the body, but there was enough to identify him. They were sure it wasAnthony.”

Charlie came back out of the house. She handed something to Gage that looked like a USB drive and said, “Cooper was just leaving the office. He grabbed Sophie a replacement phone and said to bring that one and meet him at Winters House. He'll find out who made the call.” Looking at me with warm, concerned eyes, she said, “Cooper will figure this out. That's his job. You'll feel better once you know where that call came from andwhy.”

Gage retrieved my phone and tucked it into his pocket. We were quiet on the drive back to Winters House, both of us lost in thought, Gage’s hand holding mine all theway.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sophie

Cooper Sinclair metus at the kitchen door, his cool blue eyes narrowed on me in concern. We’d met a few times since I’d been living at Winters House. I’d met all the Sinclairs here and there. They were as close as family to the Winters, and they showed up for dinner often when Aiden wasaround.

Cooper was built like Gage, tall and broad. He didn’t look like he spent most of his time behind a desk, though I’d heard him complain about being stuck in the office more thanonce.

“Let's talk in the library,” he said. “Aiden is still at the office, but I filled him in on the security system over the phone. Bottom line, we’re installing sensors on most of the first-floor windows, the ones that didn't already have them, and turning on motion detectors in key areas. That's a start until we figure out what the hell is goingon.”

“You didn't find any sign of a breach in the system?” Gageasked.

“Not so far. If someone got in thehouse–”

“Someone fucking hit Sophie over the head,” Gage interrupted. Cooper gave him a sober nod. We followed him into the library and sat on the couch, side-by-side.

“However they got in the house, they didn't bypass or breach the system. There has to be a way in we don't know about. Until we find it, the motion sensors will give you an extra layer of safety.” Looking at me, he said, “How’s yourhead?”

“Better. It wasn’t really that bad.” Beside me, Gage growled, a low, almost imperceptible sound. I squeezed his hand. I think he was more upset about my bump on the head than Iwas.

Cooper shook his head. “I’m sorry. Somewhere, we missed something. It won’t happenagain.”

“It better not,” Gage said, his arm tightening around me. Cooper caught the possessive gesture and rolled his eyes. Gage pulled my broken phone from his pocket and handed it toCooper.

“It's the last call that came in. We haven't tried to turn the phone on, so I don't know how badly it'sdamaged.”

Cooper shook his head in dismissal. “It's good; I can work with this. Sophie, do you care if I have your phone? I can give you a newone.”

“No, whatever you need to do isfine.”

“What can you tell me about thecall?”