Chapter 4: The Price of Protection

"Thank you. I'm Sophia Howard."

Sophia exhaled slowly, composure restored. She stepped toward Jack, hand extended, smile professional. "I didn't catch your name..."

"Jack."

He took her hand. Soft. Cool. Firm grip.

"To express my gratitude, please allow the Howard family to do something for you."

Sophia gestured behind her. Brian immediately jogged to the SUV, retrieved a black leather briefcase, and opened it in front of Jack.

Stacks of crisp hundred-dollar bills. Jack estimated half a million, easy.

"I don't need money." Jack closed the case with a snap. Hands spread casually. "But I do have a small problem. The Hawkins family's been giving me trouble lately. Figured that'd be nothing for you to handle."

If he could avoid getting his hands dirty, he would. He wanted more time with his family.

Not less.

Sophia studied him for a long moment. Then smiled—genuinely this time.

"You're interesting. I'll handle it."

She held his gaze a beat longer, then turned and slid into the SUV.

Brian grabbed the briefcase, fired up the engine, and pulled away.

Jack watched the taillights disappear.

"Quite the princess," he muttered, turning around and heading home.

The Howard Estate.

Sophia's study was bigger than Jack's entire apartment.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined three walls. The fourth was dominated by a surveillance array—a dozen LCD panels stitched together, displaying real-time feeds from every corner of the estate.

Arthur Howard sat behind a massive walnut desk. Silver hair slicked back. Impeccable posture. On the screen in front of him: today's plaza gunfight, looping on repeat.

"Sit."

Arthur gestured to the leather chair opposite him.

Sophia didn't sit.

She stood by the window, arms crossed. The fear from this afternoon was gone. Replaced by something colder. Sharper.

She'd changed into a black turtleneck. Hair pulled back. She looked like a different person.

"Still think the bodyguard detail was overkill?" Arthur asked.

"If not for that young man, I'd have lost you today."

He rewound the footage. Projected it onto the big screen.

"I reviewed his performance." Arthur tapped the desk rhythmically. "Four professional killers. Well-equipped. Well-trained. He neutralized all of them in under thirty seconds with a .50 caliber handgun."

Pause.

"He's not a normal college student."

Sophia listened. Calculated.

"His file is blank," Arthur continued. "No birth certificate. No social security record. Nothing that proves he existed before two years ago. He showed up here, moved in with a woman named May Cole, transferred into Cal State. Before that?" Arthur spread his hands. "Thin air."

"So?" Sophia's tone was even.

"So I want to know who the hell I'm about to pay five grand a month to protect my daughter."

Sophia was silent for two seconds.

"Someone who can protect me. That's what you care about, isn't it?"

Arthur leaned back. Studied her. Surprised, maybe.

"Why him?"

Sophia turned from the window. Met his eyes.

"I'm tired of being surrounded. I want quiet. I want to do what I want without a damn entourage."

She paused.

"And I trust him."

Arthur chuckled. Soft. Fond.

"Fine. Done. I'll also provide him with a vehicle and an encrypted phone."

He pulled a black phone from his drawer. Slid it across the desk.

Sophia caught it. Heavier than a normal phone. Military-grade encryption.

"One more thing."

Arthur stood. Walked to the window. Back to her.

"The people who attacked you today weren't ordinary kidnappers. That assassin gave up the Viktor family—but my intelligence network confirmed they're actually one of Kane Corp's black glove operations."

He turned. Face dark.

"Kane Corp is the largest biotech conglomerate in the world. Also my biggest competitor. They want you. Or more accurately, they want to use you as leverage against me. I have technology that can crack their nano-chip encryption. They don't want me alive. But before they kill me, they want to break me."

Sophia didn't ask what the technology was.

"I'll protect myself," she said. "But I'm not some hothouse flower."

Pause.

"So take care of yourself first, Father."

Arthur looked at her. Expression complicated.

She's grown up.

After Sophia left, Arthur's butler—Pondy Caudill—emerged from the shadows.

"Shall I arrange the matter Ms. Howard mentioned, sir?"

"Not yet." Arthur waved him off. "I want to see if this Jack has other... capabilities."

Dealing with the Hawkins family could wait.

Good reflexes weren't enough to keep Sophia safe long-term.

The moment he'd seen Jack's blank file, Arthur's curiosity had spiked.

He'd deployed his best investigators. Came back with nothing.

Which meant someone very good was scrubbing Jack's past.

"I'll be out of town for a few days. Have Mole shadow Sophia. Covertly."

Arthur walked to the window. Hands clasped behind his back. Staring into the dark.

Jack's apartment.

Jack glanced at the wall clock. Frowned.

Leah's date was running long. Too long.

Did that Brad kid actually get lucky tonight?

His phone buzzed.

Leah.

"Jack! Help me! I'm at the West District warehouse—Brad's gone crazy, he won't let me leave, he's got people with him—"

Brad's voice in the background: "Give me that phone!"

Crash. Line went dead.

Jack stood. Expression hardened.

He knocked on May's door. She cracked it open, exhausted.

"May, Leah had too much to drink. I'm gonna go pick her up."

"Okay... be safe out there."

"Always am."