Hardline (26 page)

  
“He called me a whore.” I winced at the words as they resurfaced in my memory. “Said I’d fucked my way to the top. He wants to ruin us, Blake.”
 

  
“He’s the one who’s ruined.”

  
I flashed him a questioning look.

  
“I’ve never seen Michael so devastated in my life. I don’t know what will happen between them, but this is one fuck up that even Michael might not be able to look past. He pulled me off Max, but I’ll never forget the way he looked at him. He didn’t even go to him, to help him. He just walked away.”
 

  
“He was telling me about wanting you two to make peace.”
 

  
His nostrils flared. “There’ll never be peace between us until one of us is dead.”
 

  
Hatred played out on the hard lines of his features. I reached up and traced the tight muscle at his jaw. He released it, turning into my touch. He pressed a soft kiss against my fingertips. The sweet gesture began to unravel the horror I’d woken with. Blake was here. We were together, both safe. I reminded myself of these truths over and over, even when my mind grappled with the broken memories of what Max had done.

  
“Are you sure he didn’t…”

  
His eyes widened, sadness lingering there. “I’m positive. I came looking for you before anyone else was there. His intentions were pretty clear, but he didn’t get far.” As if gentling a frightened child, he skimmed my arm, circling his thumb over my shoulder. “I would have killed him. No one could have stopped me, then or now. His heart would have stopped beating if he’d gone an inch farther than he had.”

  
A strange kind of relief washed over me, as if I’d narrowly escaped death. If Max had raped me, I couldn’t begin to grasp what it would have done to me. It would be a kind of death all its own, the same way Mark had killed a part of me when he took my innocence years ago. I pushed down the lingering nausea, all the feelings new and fresh washing over me. A fine mist swept over my skin. He hadn’t taken what he wanted, but the threat that he could have haunted me.
 

  
I outstretched a shaky hand to Blake’s chest. Bringing myself closer to him physically was like pushing through a wall. All my instincts told me stay back where it was safe. He let me come to him, unhurried, his touch a whisper on my skin. Trembling from head to toe, I finally found a place on his lap. He caressed me slowly, carefully, up and down my back until I relaxed fully against him.
 

  
“Everything’s going to be okay. You’re safe now. I’ve got you, baby.”
 

  
He hushed me quietly while I broke down in his arms. This new violation compounded with the weight of the old until I thought I’d cried all the tears my body could produce. Through my sobs, he murmured reassurances. Promises of his love, that he’d always protect me and keep me safe, filled the air around us until I believed it, with every ounce of my soul.
 

  
* * *

  
The relentless fatigue that had weighed me down for days had finally lifted. For the first time since the party, I had energy, but at Blake’s insistence, I stayed home from work another day. Unable to be alone with my rambling thoughts, I wasted an afternoon watching movies. Comedies with no emotional depth that couldn’t threaten the mental peace I’d been trying like hell to achieve.
 

  
I shrieked when the door to the apartment opened. Jumping up from the couch, I beheld Alli’s worried face.
 

  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I brought you lunch.” She held up a paper bag.
 

  
I lowered my hand from my racing heart. “Okay. Thanks.”
 

  
She joined me on the couch, setting the bag down on the coffee table. “Sorry,” she said again. “How are you doing? I wanted to see you sooner, but Blake insisted that you needed your rest. Heath told me he was at the office today, so I thought I’d sneak in and see you.”

  
“I’m okay. Better. Whatever Max put in that drink completely took over my system for a while. But I’m finally starting to feel human again. I’m looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow though. Sitting around gives me too much time to overthink everything.”
 

  
She chewed her lip, her eyes glazing. Before I could say anything she pulled me into a tight hug. I held her back as I too fought tears. She knew. Everyone knew. I couldn’t hide from my best friend and pretend that I wasn’t hurting.
 

  
“I don’t even know what to say,” she whispered. “I’m still in disbelief. I just can’t believe it.”

  
“It’s okay, Alli. I’m okay,” I reassured her, wanting to believe it too, even as my voice wavered. Maybe I wasn’t okay today, but I would be. I would get through this, the same way I got through it before. Except the more I thought about what Max did and the party, the more I questioned if I’d ever
really
gotten over what Mark had done to me.
 

  
“It’s not okay. He can’t get away with this, Erica.”
 

  
I sat back and brushed my tears away. I didn’t want to be breaking down right now. I didn’t want to stir it all up again when I’d spent all day trying to forget. In addition to bombarding my brain with mindless television, I had been busy shoving down the memories of the other night that kept popping up, back down to the dark place I kept Mark’s memories. I didn’t want to think about any of it.
 

  
“Erica?”

  
I looked up.
 

  
“You’re going to police, aren’t you? They’ll need you to cooperate with them if they are going to prosecute.”
 

  
“I think so,” I said, betraying the fact that I still wasn’t really convinced that I could go through with it.

  
“You have to. I can’t believe he’s got the audacity to press charges against Blake after what he did to you. His vengeance seriously has no bounds. The whole thing is so backwards and wrong.”

  
I sat up straighter, making sure I’d heard her right. “He’s doing what?”

  
“Blake didn’t tell you? Max is pressing charges against Blake for assault. Obviously he was acting in your behalf. The bastard deserved everything he got.”

  
I let out a breath I’d been holding. I let my forehead fall into my palm. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that. He told me he messed Max up, but I didn’t even put it together that he could be in trouble over this. Shit, I can’t even think straight. This isn’t good.”

  
Alli touched my shoulder gently. “He never wants to worry you. He knows this isn’t easy for you, especially with what you went through with Mark. I’m sure Heath would have probably done the same thing in Blake’s shoes. Thankfully, the Landons have good lawyers.”

  
“I’m sure the Popes do too. God, he doesn’t need to be dealing with this shit too. Now I’m upset all over again.”

  
She sighed quietly. “Are you going to talk to the police? Promise me you will.”

  
I nodded quickly.
 

  
I’d been wrestling with the prospect of going to the police. Blake had told me that they’d left cards and would want to speak with me. Something about it scared the hell out of me. Maybe it was the same thing that had kept me from going to the police when Mark raped me. Deep down I’d blamed myself. The blame and the shame of sharing the experience with someone else had kept me silent. I buried it all, so far down that I didn’t care about finding my attacker, about having a voice.
 

  
But this was different. I knew Max, and no one could question about what he’d done, with all the people who had been there. The drugs in my system were proof enough of his intentions. How I’d find the strength to walk into the police station and tell my story though, I’d never know. But if it helped Blake out of this madness, I’d do whatever I needed to do.
 

  
“I’ll go with you. You won’t be alone.” Alli reached for my hand.
 

  
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  
“You’ll never have to know. I’m always here for you, and I’m not going anywhere. We all are. We’re all but family now.”
 

  
My heart pulsed with gratitude for her friendship.
 

  
“Hey, I have an idea.” Alli brightened a little and took my hand.
 

  
I raised my eyebrows. “What’s that?”

  
“I know this is probably the last thing on your mind, but what do you think about going dress shopping this week? It would take your mind off all of this upset.”

  
I smiled and nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
 

“Alli told me about Max pressing charges.”
 

  
Blake had worked late and he hadn’t been home five minutes before I approached him. I could think of little else since Alli left that afternoon. On top of that, I was pissed off that he didn’t tell me right away. He tugged off his shirt and stepped out of the bedroom into the adjoining bathroom, effectively ignoring me. I followed him in.
 

  
“Blake.”

  
“It doesn’t matter.”

  
“Having criminal charges against you matters.”

  
He let out a sigh and turned toward me. I tried to hold my concentration on the matter at hand, but his shirtless body and the way he smelled when he pulled me close the way he did now always seemed to scatter my brain cells. A hand on my hip, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on my lips.

  
“It doesn’t worry me, so it shouldn’t worry you, okay? You’ve got enough on your mind.”

  
I stared into his eyes, letting him know that I sure as hell was going to worry.
 
“Will this affect your work? What about Angelcom, or all the other businesses your name is attached to?”

   
A short laugh escaped him. “Are you talking about my reputation? Money talks, Erica, and thankfully I’ve got plenty of it. The same reasons the board wanted to keep rubbing up against Max until I put their balls in a jar are the same reasons why none of this is going to matter to any of them. I’m the one holding the cards. Anyway, I could give a shit what anyone else thinks.”

  
I couldn’t help the worry that rooted right next to all the hate I now held for Max.

  
Blake framed my face in his hands. “Listen to me. Do not worry about this. It’s nothing I can’t handle, and trust me that I’m handling it.”

  
“How?”

  
He sighed and released me, leaving a few inches of distance between us.

  
I looped my fingers into his jeans, tugging him back. His eyes widened a fraction.
 

  
“I’m going to talk to the police tomorrow. I don’t remember everything, but hopefully it’ll be enough. If that means testifying or whatever, I’ll do whatever I need to do.”

  
He paused. “I’m glad to hear it. Not for my sake, but for yours.”
 

  
I frowned. “I’m not sure I’d do it if it weren’t for your sake. I hate that he’s done this to you.”

  
“Why wouldn’t you tell the police your story, Erica? He deserves to face what he did, and God knows, you deserve justice. You’ll never have it if you don’t tell the police what happened. You’re the victim, and they need to hear
your
story, not mine.”

  
I dropped my gaze to Blake’s waist where my fingers idly tangled in the loops of his jeans. “The thought of going through it all makes me sick, that’s why.”

  
He tipped my chin until I met his serious eyes. “There are times when it makes sense to let go, and there are times when you need to fight, no matter how miserable the idea might seem.”

  
I got lost in his eyes for a second. “And you want me to fight.”

  
“I won’t make the decision for you. But if this is any indication,” he said, gesturing to the now deep red scabs decorating his knuckles, “you know where I stand on knocking him down to size.”
 

  
I winced at his injury and how it’d been incurred. I couldn’t imagine Max’s injuries, but I relished that he was likely still suffering with them. I drew in a deep breath through my nose. I’d spent the past few days trying to push past all of it. I couldn’t go down this road again. I wouldn’t give Max the satisfaction of breaking me like Mark had.
 

  
“I appreciate that you fought for me, but this isn’t about revenge.”

  
“You’re right. It’s about holding Max Pope accountable for the first time in his life. He needs to learn a lesson that he’s been working up to for a very long time. That’s not revenge. That’s justice. That’s making a situation right that’s been wrong for too long.”

  
I could argue all I wanted, but Blake was right. Max hadn’t just threatened me, crossing a line that could never be uncrossed. He’d betrayed my trust, threatened both my business and Blake’s. Blake’s grievances extended far beyond the experiences we’d shared with Max. Before I’d even met Max, I’d known he was a playboy, a spoiled young man. He skated above the consequences that would have fallen on anyone else. Instead, he’d been shielded by his family’s fortress of wealth and prominence. Professor Quinlan had used such a circumstance to his advantage, earning me a meeting with him with the promise that he’d invest in Clozpin.