Framed by Amber Lynn Natusch

filing wasn't going to improve matters. I scooped up the final strays and tapped the pile together on the floor to even the edges up neatly. While I placed them delicately in a pile on the lower shelf of the front desk, the bells alerted me to someone coming in.
    “Sorry, we're—” I started as I shot up from behind the counter. I snapped my mouth closed when I saw the figure standing before me. Never in a million years would I have expected to see it.
    “I saw the light on,” Sophie said meekly, gesturing to the fixture above her head. “I assumed someone was still here.”
    “Peyta's gone,” I told her curtly. “You just missed her.”
    “I know,” she admitted shyly. “I saw her leave.”
    “Then why—”
    “I need to talk to you, Ruby,” she said, cutting me off.
    “If this is about me and Sean, I don't even want to hear it, Sophie. I can't help that he drags me to crime scenes and shows up unexpectedly to grill me on my whereabouts. You're going to have to take that up with him.”
    “Not about that, Ruby. Something else...something more troublesome,” she whispered. “Sean is in danger. I need your help.”
    My heart sank instantly in my chest. If Sophie was coming to me as an ally, things were beyond bad—they were apocalyptic. I straightened my shoulders and pushed the fear and anxiety I felt aside.
    “What kind of danger?”
    “The lethal kind, Ruby,” she said, lunging gently towards me with an outstretched hand. “I think they're going to harm him. Maybe kill him.”
    “Who?” I exploded, backing away from her slightly. “Why?”
    She dropped her gaze to her uncontrollably wringing hands. When she looked back up at me, there were tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She was terrified.
    “The PC,” she started slowly, trying to calm herself. “I overheard a conversation today that I shouldn't have. I think they thought I'd left after Thomas...after Thomas died, but I hadn't. After Sean got angry with me, I went back to the house. I couldn't stand being out there with all that was going on. I heard a lot of commotion and saw the fighting; I thought it was best that I stay put. Once everything was taken care of, some of the brothers left, but others stayed to clean out the house.”
    Sophie had taken to pacing the store, her hands still clasped tightly together as she rambled on without pause.
    “As they approached, I could hear what they were saying, talking about the good old days, a poisoned mind...and retribution. They were talking about Sean . I hid in the basement to see what else I could find out. I couldn't recognize their voices, but one of them actually called the Elders. As best I could tell, they're planning to come here.” She finally stopped speaking, staring at me for emphasis.
    My mind was too busy reeling to pick up on whatever little nuance I clearly had missed.
    “And?” I asked, trying to spur her along.
    “And the Elders haven't been to America before, Ruby. Not ever . It would take something epic to drag them from their comforts of home.”
    “Oh.”
    “Exactly.”
    “So if you think they're coming to kill Sean, why aren't you telling him all this?” I asked, still uneasy about her confiding in me.
    “Don't you think I have? He doesn't care, Ruby. He says to let them come, that they can't do anything to him without cause and he's done nothing wrong.”
    “Well, if he's not worried about it, why are you?”
    “Because Sean doesn't see what's going on.”
    “Well, I hope you do, because I think I'm in Sean's camp on that point.”
    “He doesn't see that the Elders are no longer happy with his covenant to keep you safe. They allowed it at first, but now it's not to be borne. After everything they were told over the phone, I'm afraid they will suffer it no longer.” she said, her voice becoming increasingly frantic. “Sean thinks he's invincible. He's wrong—I know that to be true.”
    I said nothing, only stared and attempted once again to process