In Too Deep(85)

I made a simple mistake at that point, opening the door without checking my peephole. I don't know why, that was very unlike me. Sophie had me off my game, perhaps I was distracted by the sound of her getting out of bed, and I knew she'd be pulling on some pajama bottoms. Instead, I opened the door. I was halfway to my left sleeve to pull my knife when the two men held up their hands, showing they were currently unarmed. "How are you doing, Snowman?"

Louis The Frog wasn't French, as best I could tell. And at five nine and barely breaking a hundred and fifty pounds, with dusky skin, brown hair and blue eyes, he didn't look like a frog either. Still, he was the top lieutenant to Salvatore Giordano, my main employer. With him was a man I didn't know, but I could be assured was reasonably well trained. "I was doing a lot better about thirty seconds ago, Louis. How'd you find this address?"

"It's amazing what you can find on the Internet, Snowman. Like, how that stealth electric car of yours, while it's not registered to this address, well, it just happens to keep getting quick charges done at stations that have credit card receipts that do match this address. May we come in?"

I really couldn't say no. If I had, Louis would have accepted it with grace, but I know I would be getting a call from Sal Giordano himself later. "Okay, but keep it short, if you don't mind. I have company over."

"Ah, the beautiful Miss White. I must say, you have excellent taste in young women." Louis came in, ignoring the fact that my blood was running cold. They'd obviously been keeping tabs on me, I should've known. Still, I had a chance to detect the automatic slung underneath Louis' companion's coat. From the impression I could see, I was thinking a Colt 1911, most likely in .45 caliber. Definitely a lot of gun for a friendly visit. "Does she know what you do for a living?"

"He's a freelance troubleshooter," Sophie said, coming into the living room. She had pulled her hair back, and while she was still wearing the t-shirt she had pulled on in bed, she had also put on a loose pair of sweatpants that I had gotten for her when I noticed she found my air conditioning a bit cold for her liking. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing at all," Louis replied, giving her a predatory smile. Then again, every look that Louis had was predatory. I'm pretty sure he even gave his mother a predatory goodnight kiss when he was a child. "And you're right, Mr. Snow is a freelance troubleshooter for the group I work for. In fact, I was coming by to see if he was available for another job, but seeing as he has such lovely company, I think it'll keep until Monday. I'm sorry to have disturbed your Saturday morning Miss.....?"

"Sophie White," Sophie replied, and I inwardly winced. Louis hadn't said her first name before, I was hoping they didn't know. Either way, they did now, obviously. "Mister....?"

"Lefort. I should be going. Again, sorry to have disturbed your weekend. Mark, we'll be in touch when you have some free time, okay?"

Louis and his man left, closing the door behind them. It wasn't until I could latch and lock the door that I realized I had been holding my breath for almost a minute. Turning around, I saw Sophie standing behind the sofa, her arms crossed under her breasts. While normally a very attractive sight, the look on her face was dark and suspicious. "Who was that?"

"Like Louis said, just a business associate. Why?"

Sophie rolled her eyes and looked at me, and I could tell that she was getting angry. "You can stop lying to me now. I've never seen you upset or even rattled, until those two men showed up at your door. Now what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to end the conversation. "I just was surprised, that's all. I'd been looking forward to an easy weekend."

Instead of replying, Sophie turned on her heel and stormed back to the bedroom. Before I could even get my jacket off, I heard her yanking open drawers, and the familiar sound of clothes being tossed into a bag. I rushed back to find Sophie jamming her t-shirts into a bag that she had used to bring some things over to my place. "What are you doing?"

She looked up at me, her eyes filled with fury. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing my stuff. It's obvious you don't really see me as a real girlfriend. I should've never agreed to stay the weekend. I'm not going to stick around through one of these again."

I wanted to slam my hand against the door frame. I was frustrated with myself, frustrated at Sophie, but also angry as hell at Louis and Salvatore. Instead of letting my anger go physically, I clenched my fists as hard as I could behind my back. "Sophie, I do see you as a real girlfriend. Just because I haven't told you everything about my life doesn't mean I don't need you and want you."

"But you don't respect me," Sophie countered, zipping the bag closed angrily. "If you did, you wouldn't be lying to me right now. So let me ask again, who were those men?"

I was tempted to tell her about my work, but I knew if I answered her question, her life would be in danger, and it'd likely push her away even more. "Sophie, I can't.....there are things about my life that I just can't tell you. I'm not trying to lie, I just can't." I didn't know what else to say. I felt defeated, laid bare, and there was nothing I could do about it. My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water for a few seconds, before I just sighed. "I'm sorry."