Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KODIAK
My phone rings later that evening and I smile when I see Luna’s name scrolling across my screen.
“Luna Moon,” I say in greeting. “Everything alright?” I was expecting us to do our conversing via text since that was what she told me we’d be doing. Not that I don’t want to hear her voice, but to some extent, she’s driving this particular bus.
“Marcum.” The way she says my name with hesitation has my hackles rising.
“Talk to me,” I order, my tone harsh but I get a little brutal when I get worried. It’s the same timbre I use when I’m telling my brothers what needs to be done. Xavier calls it my president voice, and if I wasn’t concerned right now, I’d probably chuckle.
“It’s been a day,” she tells me.
“From the sound of your voice it sounds as if it’s been a bad one. Tell me what’s going on, Luna.”
I can hear her sheets moving in the background and assume she’s in bed. Thoughts of what I would love doing to her there has my cock growing rock hard. But when I hear her sob, I jump out of my chair grabbing my keys and wallet.
“I’m coming over, Luna.”
“No,” she quickly says. “I have my best friend here and she’s finally passed out. I don’t want to wake her up. How about if I meet you somewhere? I’m not sure where you live, but I’m not far from the venue where we first met. What if we meet somewhere around there?”
Now I have a bit of confessing to do. I’m not sure how she’s going to feel about me prying into her life, but she knows who I am so it shouldn’t come to her as a shock. “I know where you live, Luna.”
“Of course you do,” she giggles. “Why doesn’t that surprise me, Marcum?”
“Because you know what type of man I am and what lifestyle I lead.”
“I’m not upset, not really. To be honest with you, I kinda expected it. Why doesn’t it feel like an invasion of my privacy?” she questions. “It should, you know?”
“Let’s deal with that later, okay? Right now, I want to see your face while you tell me what has you so worked up. Do you know where Ferry Park is?”
“Yeah. I like to go there and unwind. Feeding the ducks is the highlight of my day when I can’t think or things aren’t going my way,” she confides. A visual of her enjoying that simple task takes root in my brain and has me smiling, despite my worry.
“I can be there in thirty minutes, Luna. Stay in your car until I arrive.”
“Okay, Marcum. See you soon,” she says.
The sadness radiating from her tone has me picking up the pace. When I make it to my bike I have to take a second to compose myself. No need to ride recklessly since I want to make it to her in one piece. I’m not sure who’s going to die for upsetting her like this, but I vow that somebody is going to pay.
The ride is short and sweet. When I pull into the park’s lot, I notice her SUV sitting in a dark corner. I shake my head, surely she knows better than to pick an unlit place to keep her safe. Thieves and rapists take advantage of situations like this. She made herself easy pickings and we’re going to have to broach that topic sooner rather than later.
Revving my engine, I back into the spot directly next to the driver’s side and shut off my bike, the faint ticking sound breaking the silence that surrounds us. I swing my leg around and march over to her door. I hear the locks disengage and reach out and grab the handle, dragging the door open.
“Luna, why didn’t you park under a street light?”
She glances around, taking in her surroundings before closing her eyes and inhaling. “I wasn’t thinking. I was on autopilot.”
“Come on. Let’s go sit on the bench while we talk,” I say, reaching out my hand and helping her climb out of her vehicle. I sling my arm across her shoulders and guide her in that direction. When we make it to the bench, I sit and drag her onto my lap, my arm never leaving its wrapped position. Whatever she’s about to tell me, I feel that I have to be touching her, so I’m going with my gut. “Okay, lay it on me.”
“So, I know I’ve mentioned Demi before,” she starts. At my nod, she continues. “Well, she’s been a little bit off lately and after our um… recent weekend stay in jail, she kept pushing to work for me in some capacity. She’s been more abrasive and aggressive than normal, which I should’ve picked up on sooner, only I’ve been buried in a new manuscript so missed some of the signs.”
I don’t mention that I know she and Demi were in jail but will get back to that with her shortly. “What signs, Moon?”
She chuckles, but there’s no humor in it, and replies, “Demi’s always been protective of me, but lately, any time we go anywhere together, she’s almost hypervigilant.”
My heart seizes; I’ve been around long enough to know what that usually means when a woman becomes hyperaware, and I prepare myself for what she’s about to tell me.
“Anyhow, earlier, she lost her shit on me totally and I kept pushing until she finally told me what happened during her last work trip,” she whispers. “Marcum… she was out with her coworkers, drinking and dancing, and while… while she was out on the dance floor, one of them slipped something in her drink, then they assaulted her.”
“She was roofied by someone she works with?” I question, my temper seething. “People she should be able to trust to have her back?”
Luna nods, tears now steadily falling down her face. “She didn’t report it either.”
“Why the fuck not? Jesus fucking Christ, I’m sure wherever she was at likely has cameras where they could’ve seen it happening so it wasn’t a he said-she said situation.”
“Because it was the company founder,” she grits out. “He wasn’t the only one, Marcum. Every one of them raped her that night. Every. Single. One.”
By now, she’s sobbing, her voice so strained with emotion, it’s difficult to understand what she’s saying, but I now understand why Demi didn’t go to the police.
“Get me the names,” I command. “I’ll take care of it. In the meantime, have her quit that fucking job because the club business can probably find a position for her.”
“Make them hurt, Marcum, please?” she asks. “Because Demi’s a badass bitch but right now, she’s absolutely destroyed. They need to pay for what they’ve done to her.”
I’m already making plans in my head as to what we can do to bring those fuckers to their knees. Auto is one of the best tech guys there is and he’ll be able to find the information needed to hit them where it’ll hurt the worst, their bank accounts. A smirk forms on my face as I consider everything he can do. Because I’m sure it’s been done to others before; there’s no way Demi was the first woman they did this to, and we’ll get justice for them as well.
“They’ll pay, my moon,” I vow. “Get me the names and see if Demi’s willing to talk to Auto.” At her look, I continue. “He’s our tech guy and I’m willing to bet they’ve pulled this shit before.”
Her eyes widen and she says, “I remember that there’ve been two other women who had the job Demi’s in now who suddenly quit. That’s how she got that promotion.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. They probably offered them some sort of compensation to keep their traps shut. That’s how men like that operate,” I inform her.
“I’ll ask Demi if they offered her anything for keeping quiet,” she states, leaning into me.
“I’m in awe of the fact that you haven’t freaked out that I’m going to use violence to resolve Demi’s issue, Luna.”
“I’m not dumb, Marcum. I already suspected that things work differently in your world than it does for most civilians,” she edicts. “Plus, I was sorta hoping when I opened up to you that you’d use brutal strength when dishing out some payback.”
“I won’t let you down, Luna.” I squeeze her to me and place a chaste kiss to the crown of her head. “I need you to promise not to ask any questions though. Don’t beg for any updates because I’m not gonna tell you anything that could incriminate you.”
“My lips are sealed,” she promises. “Demi may be another story though. She doesn’t like to let things rest and is bloodthirsty at times which is how we ended up as guests at the local precinct over the weekend.”
“Then I’ll tell her the same thing I just told you. It’ll be better for both of you in the long run not to know anything, including the fact that I’ll be taking care of this one way or another. Got it?”
“Got it,” she says, bobbing her head.
“So, you mentioned something about jail, my moon. Care to share?” I ask.
I watch as a blush rises in her cheeks, my brows raise as I wait.
“Um, well, Demi and I went out and I started feeling kind of queasy so I rushed to the bathroom. Some woman took exception to the fact that I broke the line because I was about to be sick and she put her hands on me. Demi lost her shit and slugged her,” she says.
“What did you do?” I question. I know what happened; I saw the fucking video, but I want to see how much she trusts me.
She giggles, then looks me dead in the eye and says, “I projectile vomited all over her then started throwing hands to help Demi.”
“You puked on the bitch?” I query.
Laughter erupts as she nods. “It was so gross. I mean, I hadn’t even had a full drink, so it must’ve been something I ate but she was pissed that I was trying to make it to a stall in the ladies room. Gotta say, she deserved what she got. Of course, all of us involved got arrested, but at least I was with Demi and we were in a different cell from the whack job.”
“Good thing they separated you. Things could’ve gotten violent if they hadn’t,” I laugh.
“You have no idea,” she muses.
We spend a few hours talking, nothing consequential, just enjoying time together. Before we know it, the sun is rising and we need to get to our separate homes to get some rest before needing to start our days.
This time, watching her drive away is harder than it was the first time. At least we have a plan—she’ll be coming to the clubhouse to a barbecue the guys have insisted on having. I told her to bring Demi with her so I can lay down the law so to speak.
Luna won’t be telling her the guys and I are going to look into her past employers, I’ll be doing that myself. I’m not as easy to sway as my Moon is, so I’ve been delegated the task of keeping her out of the fray.