Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
EVERETT
I t’s funny. With my fear of Raine thinking the video was in any way my fault somewhat resolved, I’m fucking pissed. Who the hell does this asshole think he is? I hate feeling out of control. Feeling like I can’t protect what or who’s mine, and Raine is mine. Keeping my grasp tight on her, I tug her into the precinct, my nostrils flaring when we approach an empty reception desk. A man appears around the corner before I can barrel into the bullpen but stops short.
“Can I help you?” he asks.
“Is McDonnell here?” I growl.
“Uh,” he glances toward the bullpen, and I move around the front desk, heading straight toward the only officer I know firsthand.
McDonnell was Reeves’ dad’s partner until Reeves’ dad planted cocaine in the back of Reeves’ car, hoping to arrest him. Yeah, Drake’s not the first abusive asshole we’ve dealt with as a friend group, but I’m determined to make him the last.
“McDonnell,” the man from the front calls .
Officer McDonnell’s head snaps up. His eyes fall on Raine and me as I tug her with me.
Grabbing the closest chair, I set it beside the one tucked on the opposite side of McDonnell’s desk, then motion to it for Raine. Once she’s seated, I do the same while McDonnell watches us carefully.
“Can I help you?” he asks.
“I’m Everett,” I say, forcing myself to keep a straight head when in reality, I feel like I’m fucking spiraling. “Everett Taylor. Oliver Reeves’ friend. And Dylan,” I add, hoping her name sparks his memory. “I’m Dylan Thorne’s friend.”
His brows pull. “Okay? Uh, how can I help you, Mr. Taylor?”
“My girlfriend’s ex is stalking her.”
Raine’s breath hitches, and I close my eyes, hating the pain she’s being put through while knowing that tiptoeing around the situation won’t get us anywhere. Not anymore.
McDonnell’s attention shifts to Raine beside me. “You’re the girlfriend, I assume?”
Raine nods, gently pulls her hand from mine, and twists her fingers in her lap. Not gonna lie. It stings a little, but this isn’t about me. Not right now. This is about Raine, and if she needs to pull away for a minute to cope with this shitshow, I’ll be by her side until she’s ready to open up again.
“My, uh, my ex won’t leave me alone,” she whispers.
Concern spreads across his features. He closes a manilla folder in front of him, places it on the edge of his desk, and leans closer. “Okay. How long has this been going on? Do you have evidence?”
“Um…” Tucking her hair behind her ear, Raine stares at her hands. “We were seeing each other for a while. The abuse didn’t turn physical until I tried to break up with him. Then he hit me, and…then he hit me again, and…then I moved in with Everett”—she peeks at me and gives me a pathetic smile—“then h e filmed me being…intimate with Everett, and then tonight, he shared it.”
“With who?” he asks.
“Everyone,” she whispers.
The divot between McDonnell’s brows deepens. “And you have proof of this?”
Raine shrugs, turning to me. “He took the video. I know it. And who else would be vindictive enough to share it?”
“Did he send it from his phone?” McDonnell prods.
“I have no idea, but…” I unlock my phone and start to hand it to him, but stop myself. Instead, I look at Raine. “You good if I show him?”
Her cheeks turn red, and it’s like gasoline on an already blazing flame.
I’m gonna fucking kill him.
“Raine?” I try keeping my voice steady, but fuck if I’m not fuming.
“Take my phone.” She pulls it from her back pocket and gives it to me but doesn’t look up. “If he tries to call or…anything, you can use it as evidence, right?”
Hating that this even needs to be done, I hand her phone to McDonnell, shoving mine back into my pocket. “It didn’t come from his number, but I know it was him,” I add. “No one else would film us, let alone send a video of it to the entire school.”
With wide eyes, McDonnell takes the phone but sets it face down in front of him. “The entire school has this? Are you sure?”
I replay the evening for the thousandth time, but even now, I can’t find a way to erase it. To make it go away like it never happened. If I could, I would’ve done it already.
“We were at a party when the message was delivered,” I explain. “Everyone’s phones started buzzing at the same time. I don’t know anyone who didn’t receive it, but I guess he could’ve targeted the hockey team and regular fans. I’m not sure.”
“I’ll see if I can have one of my guys look into this,” McDonnell promises. His focus moves to the Raine again. “Miss, you said he hit you?”
She nods but doesn’t look up.
“Do you have any evidence of this? Photographs or…anything?”
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she pauses before her shoulder lifts a few inches. “Honestly, I don’t, uh, I don’t think I took any pictures.”
He exhales and reaches for his pen, clicking the top. “That’s unfortunate.”
“I saw them,” I interject, cursing myself for not taking pictures when I picked her up on the side of the road. “The bruises. My friends all saw them, too. We’ll make a statement as witnesses or…whatever you need. However it works, we’ll cooperate, but I promise she’s telling the truth.”
“I’m sure she is,” he replies. “Unfortunately, physical proof has a lot more sway in these situations. Considering the circumstances, we need to be careful exactly how much we push. The video’s good,” he adds, “as long as we can connect it to the perpetrator. For now, I think the best we can do is file a restraining order and go from there.”
I shake my head. “Not good enough. Can’t she press charges for assault or something?”
“She can,” he confirms, “but without evidence, I’m afraid it’ll be hard to prove.”
“And the video?” I push. “It isn’t enough evidence?”
“Of assault? Not at all.”
“He’s stalking her,” I argue, waving my hand around. “He hurt her in the past?—”
“I’m sure he has, all right? I’ll do my best to see if we can connect the video to him, and we’ll file a restraining order as well, but I have to be honest with you…”
When he hesitates, I know I’ve already heard enough. I want to stand up. I want to throw everything off his desk. I want to yell and scream and force him to do his fucking job and keep my girl safe. Instead, he only sits there.
“With the other open case against you and your friends, this is a…delicate situation,” he adds. “We need to tread lightly. I suggest only pursuing what we have solid evidence for.”
“What case?” Raine questions.
McDonnell’s jaw clicks, but he doesn’t answer her, and I can’t decide whether or not I appreciate his silence.
Shifting in my seat, I grab her hand, placing it in my lap. “Reeves’ dad was on the force?—”
“ Is on the force,” McDonnell corrects me.
My gaze snaps back to his and narrows. “Tell me you’re joking.”
“He’s on a forced leave of absence, but he still has his badge until they conclude the internal investigation,” McDonnell explains. “Which is why you being here and seemingly interfering with it is…a little precarious.”
“I’m not interfering with shit. This isn’t related?—”
“But you are,” he warns. “And unfortunately, so am I.”
Shifting forward in my seat, I rest my elbows against my knees and continue cradling Raine’s delicate hand in mine as I pin McDonnell with a stare. “Let me get this straight. Because of your involvement in ratting out one of your own, your hands are tied in general, or at least when it comes to any kind of association with me and my friends.”
I can tell I’m right by the glint of pity in his eyes.
“Not absolutely,” he offers weakly.
“Then find me another officer to work with,” I snap .
“Not sure that’s in your best interest at the moment, either.”
“So we’re fucked.” My molars grind. “You can’t stop Raine’s ex from stalking her or filming her without her consent or sharing it with her friends and family. Am I hearing you, right?”
“Let me explain something to you.” McDonnell drops his voice low, scanning the bullpen as he shifts even closer. “I’m a rookie, Mr. Taylor, and I stuck my neck out for your friends, calling out my superior officer for some…”—he hesitates again and grits his teeth—“nefarious decisions. And even though we both know my partner was in the wrong, there’s a ripple effect we’re dealing with until the internal investigation proves what we already know. Now, it does not mean I’ll leave you two high and dry. I’ll hand your phone to a member of my team who will run some diagnostics on the video to see if they can pinpoint the person who filmed it, let alone sent it to everyone without Ms. Raine’s consent. If we can at least identify the sender, we can charge him with distribution of pornographic material, even if we can’t prove your ex filmed you together. I will also grab the paperwork for her to fill out so we can file a restraining order. Other than that, there’s nothing more we can do except wait for the results. However, storming in here and causing a scene won’t help either one of you, let alone your friends Dylan and Oliver. Do you understand?”
“What if he comes around?” I demand. “What if a single piece of paper doesn’t stop Raine’s ex from bothering her again?”
He settles back in his chair and folds his arms. “Then we go from there.”
“Go from there?” I scoff. “A piece of paper isn’t gonna do shit to a guy like Drake!”
“Careful, Mr. Taylor,” he repeats. “Things are already dicey enough with your friend group as it is. Don’t do anything rash.”
My expression turns to fucking concrete as I read between the lines and all he isn’t saying. Yeah, his hands are fucking tied, and there’s nothing he can do. Not without concrete evidence.
Meaning if push comes to shove, I might need to take shit into my own hands.
Carefully.
“Don’t do anything rash, Mr. Taylor,” McDonnell repeats as if he can read my fucking mind.
I lean back in my chair and give him a blank stare. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”