Chapter 5 #2
“He talked about himself the whole time,” I continue.
“His job, his money, his cars, the houses he owns. He asked about me, but not really. When I told him about Mom and Dad, about dropping out of school to take care of you guys…” My chest tightens.
“He just… moved on to the next topic. Like it did not matter. Said it must have been inconvenient. Who the hell says that?”
Bella makes a small, broken sound.
“I wanted to leave,” I admit quietly. “By dessert, I was already done. I told him I was tired and he paid and took me back to the car.”
Rev shifts again, his hand coming up to cradle the side of my head, like he knows what part comes next and wants to brace me for it.
“Outside the restaurant he apologized,” I say. “He said he liked me. That he was nervous. That he wanted another chance. And I thought… maybe I was being unfair. Maybe first dates are just awkward.”
Switch lets out a slow breath through his nose.
“He did not take me home,” I whisper. “He drove to this overlook instead. Said the view was nice.”
The room goes completely still.
“He parked and kissed me,” I say, my voice starting to shake. “And then he said he wanted to take me back to his place. I told him no. That I was tired and wanted to go home.”
Rev’s arm goes rigid around me.
“And he got mad,” I whisper. “He said I was leading him on. That I wanted him. He kept touching me, and I tried to push him away and he…” My breath catches. “He hit me.”
Bella’s hand flies to her mouth again, a sob breaking out of her before she can stop it.
“And then he kept trying to… to force me,” I say, tears spilling over now. “I managed to grab my taser from my purse and used it, and he screamed, and I ran. I lost my shoes. I ran into the woods and hid.”
My whole body is shaking now, and I do not even realize I am crying until Rev’s hand wipes at my cheek.
“I could hear him yelling,” I whisper. “Calling my name. Cursing. Then I heard his car start and leave. I waited and waited and then I called Rev because I did not know what else to do.”
Silence crashes over the room. Not the quiet kind.
The heavy kind. Blade’s face is completely blank, and somehow that is more terrifying than if he were yelling.
Switch’s jaw is clenched so tight I can see the muscle jumping.
Bella is crying openly now, Ansley holding her from behind.
Bri is staring at the floor, tears dropping onto her jeans, her hand gripping mine like she is afraid I might disappear.
Rev presses his forehead to my hair, his voice rough when he finally speaks. “You were so damn brave,” he murmurs. “You hear me? You did exactly what you had to do.”
Blade exhales slowly, like he is letting air out of a bomb. “This was Whitaker?” he asks quietly.
My stomach flips and I nod. “Grant,” I whisper. “Grant Whitaker.”
Something dark flashes across Switch’s face.
Blade’s eyes harden. Rev goes completely still.
No one says anything for a long second, but I can feel it, the shift, the moment where this stops being about what happened and starts being about what is going to happen next.
And I am not sure which part scares me more.
Blade doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t pace. He just looks at all of us, then back at me, and when he speaks, it’s calm in a way that’s way more dangerous than yelling. “Here’s how this goes,” he says. “We’ve got two options.”
The room feels smaller all of a sudden. Bella stiffens. Bri’s grip on my hand tightens. Rev doesn’t move at all, but I can feel the tension in him like a coiled wire under my skin.
“Option one,” Blade continues, “we call the police. We give them his name, what he did, where it happened, and we wait for them to do their thing.”
My stomach twists at the word wait.
“Option two,” he says, voice still level, “you let us handle it.”
Bri sucks in a sharp breath as she looks up at her husband. “Blade…”
He holds up a hand without looking at her. “I’m not talking about killing him. I’m talking about making damn sure he understands exactly how bad he messed up. Enough that he never puts his hands on another woman ever again.”
Switch finally speaks, his voice low and edged. “Men like him don’t learn from warnings. They learn from consequences.”
My chest feels tight, like I can’t quite get a full breath. Rev’s arm shifts around me, firm and steady, and when he talks, it’s right by my ear. “He hurt you,” he says quietly. “That means he made himself our problem.” The words aren’t loud. They don’t need to be.
Blade looks back at me, and for the first time since they walked in, his voice softens just a fraction. “This is your call, Brooke. Not ours. Yours.”
My heart’s pounding so hard I swear everyone can hear it.
“If you want the police, we make that call right now,” Blade says. “No pressure. No arguing. We will back you all the way.”
“And if you don’t,” Switch adds, eyes dark, “then we make sure he understands he picked the wrong woman and the wrong family.”
I look at my sisters, the only family I have left. I’m supposed to be the strong one. The big sister. The one who kept it together when everything else fell apart and took care of them when no one else could.
But that version of me isn’t here right now.
Right now I feel like the little girl who climbed the tree that was too big, even though she knew better, and broke her arm because she thought she was invincible.
Bella shakes her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I just want you safe.”
Bri’s voice cracks. “I don’t want him to ever do this to anyone ever again.”
I swallow, my throat burning.
All I can see is Grant’s face when he smiled at me in my driveway. The way he held my waist like he already owned me. The way his voice changed when I told him no.
I press my face into Rev’s chest, just for a second, because the world feels like it’s tilting again and he’s the only thing keeping me steady. “What if…” My voice comes out small. “What if he gets angry and comes after you guys? After my sisters?”
Rev shifts, his hand coming up to cradle the back of my head. “He won’t get that chance,” he says, calm and absolute.
Blade nods. “And that’s not a promise I make lightly.”
I lift my head and look at all of them. At Bella shaking but fierce. At Bri trying to be strong even while she’s falling apart. At Ansley standing quiet and solid behind them. At Switch and Blade, both looking like storms in human form.
And at Rev. Rev, who came for me without hesitation. Who held me when I couldn’t stop shaking. Who’s still holding me like letting go isn’t an option.
“I don’t want to go to the police,” I whisper.
Bella inhales sharply. “Brooke…”
“I know,” I say quickly. “I know that’s what you’re supposed to do. But I… I don’t want to sit and wait and wonder if they’re actually going to do anything. I don’t want to be scared every time I leave my house, thinking maybe he’s still out there.”
Rev’s jaw tightens.
“I want him to know,” I whisper. “I want him to be afraid to ever touch another woman again.”
The room goes very, very still. Blade exhales slowly. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Bella looks like she wants to argue, but then she looks at me and sees I’m not changing my mind.
Switch nods once. “We handle it clean. Quiet. No loose ends.”
Rev’s voice is low and rough when he speaks. “He doesn’t get to hurt you and walk away from it.”
My stomach flips, fear and something darker mixing together. “Just… please,” I whisper. “Don’t do anything that gets you hurt. Or arrested. I couldn’t… I couldn’t handle that.”
Rev finally pulls back just enough to look at me, his eyes serious and steady. “Princess, I’d tear the world apart for you,” he says softly. “But I’m not going to do anything that leaves you without me. You understand?”
My throat closes. I nod.
Blade straightens. “Then here’s what happens next. We figure out where Whitaker is, and we pay him a visit. Tonight.”
Bella gasps. “Tonight?”
“Yes,” Switch says. “Before he’s got time to spin a story or disappear.”
Rev’s arms tighten around me again, protective and unyielding.
“And you,” Blade says to me, gentler now, “are staying right here, surrounded by people who love you, and you’re not thinking about him for one more damn second tonight. That’s our job now.”
I don’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified.
Probably both. And somewhere deep in my chest, beneath all the fear and shock and shaking, something else flickers too.
Because Grant Whitaker thought he found a woman he could control.
What he really found was the Iron Reapers. And they’re not known for mercy.