Chapter 5 #2
I flinched, unable to meet his eyes as shame filled me. “I … if he were anyone else, I would. But this would cause a media circus, and I have Callie to think of. She’s what matters. And he didn’t … he didn’t get to do what he set out to do. I’m all right. I’m sorry if that makes me selfish.”
“Let’s not shame a woman who’s been assaulted, Mr. Ironside,” Aria snapped angrily.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Walker responded flatly. “But while he didn’t rape Sloane, he intended to. He planned this. And she could barely breathe when we got to her.” Emotion flooded his voice now as he growled, “He could have killed her.”
A shiver raced down my spine, and I forced myself to look at him. “But you stopped him.”
“Who stops him next time?”
I squeezed my eyes closed, clawing back the tears. He didn’t understand.
“Walker,” Lachlan warned. “You of all people should know what you’re asking Sloane to do.
The tabloids would descend and feast on her and Callie until there was nothing left.
I have ways of dealing with people like Hoffman.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time one of my members thought they could get away with this shit.
They were wrong then and Hoffman is wrong now.
But nobody does this to a member of my staff, under my roof.
” He turned to me, eyes blazing with retribution.
“I will find a way to make sure he never does this again.”
Something eased in me at his vow. For some reason, I believed him. “Thank you.”
“You should go home, Sloane. Get some rest,” Aria suggested kindly.
“Okay.” I nodded, still feeling like I wasn’t quite inside my own body. She took the ice pack and mug from me, and I left the blanket on her chair. I skirted her table, not looking at Walker.
“Someone should see you home,” Lachlan said.
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. Thank you again.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” he answered. “I need to apologize to you. Hoffman should never have been here.”
“Don’t take that on. You’re not responsible for his actions.” At that, I slid out of the office, amazed that my legs were working.
“Sloane, wait.”
I turned as Walker followed me out of Aria’s office and glanced over the lower half of his face, not quite meeting his eyes. I was so incredibly grateful for what he’d done for me, and I felt like I was letting him down as repayment.
“I’m sorry,” Walker apologized gruffly.
Finally, I looked him in the eyes. “What are you sorry for?”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “I did not intend to make you feel bad for not wanting the police involved. I spoke without thinking beyond my need to see the bastard pay. But Lachlan’s right.
You’d end up paying for coming forward too.
Fucked-up world we live in, such as it is.
But I want you to know, if Lachlan doesn’t find a way to make Hoffman pay, I will. ”
Relieved he understood, and grateful for his promise, I nodded.
Did I wish I was in the position to exact retribution from Hoffman without dragging my daughter into danger and scandal?
Yes. Did it make me furious to feel so powerless?
Yes. But for Callie’s sake, and my own, I had to let the anger go.
I had so much to be angry at … but I didn’t want to live my life that way.
“Thanks. For getting it. And for … for stopping him.” I needed to thank North Hunter too. Yet the thought of finding him to do so made me cringe.
I wanted home. I wanted to bake in my little kitchen and forget this whole awful day had happened.
“You’re handling this amazingly well,” Walker said, but it sounded almost like a question.
Maybe it was exhaustion, disbelief, adrenaline, or all of the above, but I answered thoughtlessly as I replied, “It’s not the first time I’ve escaped a bad situation.” He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “I’m going home.”
“Let me take you.”
“No.” I retreated. “I just … I’m going home.”
I could feel his eyes on me as I walked away.
Mrs. Hutchinson clucked around me, worried and angry, after I changed out of my uniform and gathered my stuff in the locker room.
I tried not to think about the torn fabric on my uniform pants and asked Mrs. Hutchinson if she could order me a new pair.
I’d never seen my boss look so enraged as understanding dawned.
But she nodded quickly and told me she’d take care of it.
She wanted someone to escort me home, too, but I convinced her I was fine and made my way out of the staff entrance toward my parked car.
Fumbling in my purse for the keys, I became aware of my throbbing cheek and shoulder. I’d have to tell Callie I tripped and fell into the bedpost. The sound of him hitting me ricocheted through my mind. The fear of lying trapped beneath him, of being practically suffocated as he tried to—
A sob rose out of me like a wild animal set free, and I bent over, leaning blindly against my car as the cries wracked my body.
A hand touched my shoulder and I whirled in fear, dropping my keys.
Walker held up his hands between us, as if approaching a wounded animal, his eyes bright with more emotion than I’d ever seen.
Without thought, I sobbed harder and fell against him, arms around him, clutching the back of his suit jacket like he was a lifeline.
His powerful arms bound tight around me, and he murmured soothing words as I cried out the shock of the day, soaking the front of his shirt with my tears.