Wow. He was batting a thousand.
“Sophie?” He glanced up into the rearview to check on her. She was sitting with her head leaning against the back of the seat. Her eyes were open. “You know I was kidding, right? You gave that cat a home. I think it can be patient about having a name as long as it has food and water and all the petting you give it.”
Still no answer. He started looking for a spot along the highway with a shoulder large enough to pull over and safely get out.
“I’m trying to think of a name.” Sophie’s voice reached him just before he turned on his hazard lights and actually pulled off the road. “Something related to all the things going on right now. When you said it like you did, I realized it was a lot. And not a single one of those things is inspiring a good name for her in my head.”
He had not anticipated or followed her line of thought. Not at all.
“Well, ‘Boomer’ might be cute.” There, he could be helpful.
Sophie giggled. “Maybe, but not for this little girl. It’s more fitting for one of your dogs.”
“Well, there’s Fluffy and Fifi, Snowball or Snowflake. Smokey. Precious. Ash. Angel. Lily.” He was starting to run out, especially of ideas for cute names.
Thing was, he was used to naming dogs. Normally, he worked with German Shepherd Dogs, Belgian Malinois, and the occasional Labrador Retriever. He didn’t tend to work with smaller animals unless they were attending some of the obedience classes he held at the kennels for the general public. All of the animals he was responsible for were working dogs, not pets. He’d always sent them out into the world to support either the military or law enforcement. Or, in some rare cases, private military contractors like Raul Sa.
“Nah. Thank you, but I don’t think any of those are a fit, either.” Sophie’s voice was fading, the words tripping off her tongue.
He figured she’d be fully asleep in the next few minutes. He might be able to concentrate better on the road trip ahead or he might end up caught up in his own thoughts. It was a tough balance.
“The right name will come to you. Sleep on it for now.” He wanted to be back there with her, cradling her and tucking her comfortably in against his side. They’d never done that before, but he wanted to. Wanted to hold her and make things right in her world.
He thought she had fallen asleep.
“Brandon? This isn’t going to be just a getaway weekend, is it?” Sophie’s voice was subdued. “You haven’t told me how long we’ll be away.”
“As long as it takes.” He tried to be honest with her. “We’re planning a day at a time for right now and keeping things as flexible as possible. We’re going to let Ky do his job. And once we know more, we’ll make decisions on what to do next.”
This was a feasible short-term solution until the threat to Sophie’s well-being was resolved somehow. It wasn’t something that could go on forever. He just didn’t have the answers right now.
They were also taking a few risks, planning for a variety of eventualities. In a way, taking Sophie away like this was a lure. If their adversaries moved to locate and follow, they’d give themselves away. It was a possibility, and Forte planned to be ready to act if it happened.
“I hope Mrs. Seong doesn’t come looking for me.” When he had the chance to glance in the rearview at her, she was worrying at the corner of a blanket, tying it into a knot and untying it in turn. “And I haven’t told my parents anything at all.”
“For now, it’s fine.” Honestly, the less any of them knew, the better. “If this goes on for more than a few days, we’ll talk about how you can contact them and check in, if you still want to.”
Sophie’s family ties were strong. He’d envied that about her family. She’d grown up loved and surrounded by a mix of culture. She’d been cherished all her life. And he hadn’t been the only person attracted to her bright personality back in their high school days.
To be honest, he’d thought she’d move away after she’d gone through college. She’d had so many dreams of travel. But between each deployment, he’d check back to see how she was doing and she’d been right where he’d left her, in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Her ties to family had been stronger than her wanderlust.
“Why me?”
He almost missed her question between his thoughts and the general noise of a few eighteen-wheelers driving past him on the highway. “What do you mean?”
She wasn’t the type to whine. The question had sounded odd coming from her.
“I’m trying to figure out what it is about me. Why is this much attention on me?” She wasn’t wallowing in fear the way a lot of people would be. No. Instead, she sounded logical, almost morbidly curious.