Chapter Seven #2
“It’s not a problem,” Dom says, stepping over to hug me.
“Ari, I know the team hasn’t known you for long, but I’ve known you for most of your life.
You have always been independent and spiteful.
When Ray told me they said there was a chance you’d never be able to walk or feed yourself, I didn’t believe it for a second.
No one did. We all knew you’d be tired of people helping you, and you’d find a way through it.
Ray may have been the support you needed, but you did the work.
You stood up, and you taught yourself how to walk in a fraction of the time they expected, Ari. Don’t take credit away from yourself.”
“You’re almost making me sound stubborn, Dom,” I say, and everyone chuckles.
“Like mother, like daughter. Trust me,” Ray says with a cheesy grin. “You’re a brat, just like your mom.”
“It’s hard to believe it’s been six months,” I say.
I look down at the ice for a moment before bringing myself down to my knees to sit back on my heels.
Ray squats down, but I ignore him and lay my palms flat on the ice.
The chill brings a memory to the forefront of my mind, so I close my eyes and let myself feel it.
“What the fuck did you two do?” Sutter booms. I crack my eyes open, and the world is blurry for a moment before Sutter, Landry, Conrad, and Ethan come into view. Masks in hand, they stand in front of their coach covered in my blood.
“Taught her a goddamn lesson,” Conrad snaps.
“She’s dead, you ignorant fuck. Look at her,” Landry yells at him. I don’t move a muscle and hold my breath, keeping my eyes open slightly.
“Dad will fix it,” Conrad says. “He’s fixed it every other time there’s been a body.”
“You can’t keep doing this. I could have handled her.” Sutter sighs.
“Well, we handled her for you,” Ethan laughs. “Just leave her and let someone else find her. We will let Arthur know to expect a call about it, and he will handle it.”
“How is he going to explain two bodies in one day?” Sutter asks. “I know you dumped that girl’s body. The one she saw you two with.”
“Yeah, and it was handled,” Conrad says. “If you want to continue breathing, you’ll do as you are told.”
“You’re sick,” Sutter says through gritted teeth. “I didn’t sign up for this.”
“No, you got in Dad’s way, and now this is the price you pay. If you wanted to save her, you should have gotten rid of her when we told you to,” Conrad snaps.
“The only reason you didn’t want her here was that you didn’t want her finding out about her dad,” Landy says. “All of that could have been controlled, but then you had to go and do this. What the fuck do you think her father will say?”
“That’s not our problem,” Conrad laughs. “You are the one who will have to explain how you didn’t protect his daughter like you promised you would.”
“I was trying to!” Sutter screams at him. “I was trying to get her to leave and go to the Reapers with her stepdad. You didn’t even use a goddamn condom, Conrad. Is your dad going to fix that, too?”
“Oh… If we are at risk,” Ethan says. “Then so are you.”
“What? I wasn’t the one who raped her,” Sutter says.
“It’s never too late, Sutter. Get down there and fuck her,” Conrad says.
“She’s dead, though,” Sutter argues.
“And? She still has holes to fuck,” Ethan says as Conrad pulls a pistol and points it at him.
“Go on, old man. Go see how good her dead pussy feels.” Conrad laughs. “Don’t go too far, Landry. You are next.”
“You’re disgusting,” Landry says. “She didn’t deserve this.”
“They never do,” Conrad says simply. “Go.”
When Sutter kneels, I open my eyes a bit more to let him know I am still here.
He looks at me for a moment more, and since no one else can see my face now, I blink.
He sighs a breath of relief before making a movement like he is closing my eyes.
I do, but I keep my breathing shallow. I can hear him jerking himself off, trying to get hard.
After a few minutes of this, I hear his sniffles of regret before he pushes into my body.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers almost inaudibly with a broken sob when I wince.
“Oh, look, the bitch lives.” Conrad laughs as he towers over me. I am so weak that I can’t move or even open my eyes again. My mind is slipping into darkness once more, and the last thing I hear is Sutter’s tearful moan as his body shudders over top of me.
I gasp and fall back when I try to stand up too fast. “No, no, no,” I nearly scream when Ray reaches for me. Jovian pulls me up and wraps me in a tight hug despite me hitting him, trying to get away.
“Shhh. I’ve got you. Breathe. You’re safe,” he whispers in my ear. “Breathe, Ari.”
“Ari,” Ray says softly. I flinch away from him, not knowing if I can trust him suddenly.
“Everyone, warm up,” Dom calls out, trying to get the attention off me. “Let her breathe, guys. Second and third line. You’re up.”
Jovian scoops me into his arms and carries me out of the rink and back to the locker room. Ray and Mom come with us, as do my friends and partners. Jovian sets me down on the bench before kneeling in front of me and placing his hands on my face.
“Look at me, Ari,” he commands softly.
“Sutter was there,” I choke out in a whisper. “I can’t… not here. Not in this building.”
“Get changed. We’ve got her,” Beckett says.
“Arianna,” Ray says. I look up at him, and for the first time through the entire situation, he looks broken. The mere thought of me being scared of him has broken the man I know as my dad.
“Is he alive?” I ask, looking at Mom.
“Who?” she asks.
“My biological father.”
“No, baby. He wrecked and burned up in a fire before anyone could get to him. Why?” she asks.
“I’ll explain outside,” I say. She nods with a confused look, and we all fall silent as we wait for the guys to change back. Once finished, Elijah pulls me up, and we all walk out of the locker room.
“Hey, look who it is,” Conrad says from behind us.
“Not a word,” I growl at my friends before turning to look at my rapists.
“First line not warming up? We were looking forward to seeing it,” Ethan says.
“Just second and third today. First had time on the ice before we left,” I say simply.
“We saw you got on the ice. Is that your first time back in there?” Conrad asks.
“Yes,” I say simply. “We are going back out to our bus, so if you don’t mind…”
“Always running away,” Conrad says with a tone that sends fear rushing through me. “We promised Sutter we would make friends with the Reapers so that we don’t have a replay of last season. Why don’t we all go to dinner?”
“You really think that’s a good idea?” Tate asks, raising an eyebrow at him.
“I don’t see why not. Sutter and Landry can join. We have Arianna here as our bridge to settling our petty war,” Ethan says.
“What do you say, Arianna? A meal to call a truce?” Conrad says to me.
I don’t know what he is playing at here, but being resistant will only make him suspicious of why we don’t want to call a truce to a pointless war.
“The guys can’t stay out late. They need rest,” I say. “But… if they want to go… We can hang out for a little while.”
“Why not,” Jovian says with the fakest smile. “We’d love to settle the past.”
“Good,” Conrad says with a menacing smile. “We can go to that Italian restaurant down the road.”
“Kay,” I say simply. When we turn to leave, Conrad makes one last comment.
“Good to see you back out on that ice, Arianna. It’s been a long time coming,” Conrad says, making my steps falter for a moment. I tighten my fists to contain both my fear and rage before continuing out of the building.
We get on the bus, leaving the other one for second and third line, and I fall apart the moment the doors shut, and arms wrap around me. I know it’s Ray, but he doesn’t let go, even when I try to push him away. He moves us to sit while everyone surrounds us in the seats.
“When I touched the ice… I remembered something,” I admit when I pull away and wipe my face. I go through my memory and relay every word and movement I can recall. I can see that Mom is on the phone at one point, but she turns her screen to show me that she is on with Detective Rogers.
“Anthony Rodwell is dead,” Rogers says. “But…”
“But what?” I ask with a sigh.
“I am still finding out more, but… Diane, were you aware of what he did for work?”
“He ran a shipping distribution center. His father owned it, and he took over. When he died, his brother took over,” Mom says. “Why? Is he alive?”
“The Rodwell family… is the mafia,” Rogers says. “Anthony fell off the map around the time Arianna would have been born, but several sources knew he was involved, just at a distance.”
“So… Was his death staged?” I ask. “If he burned up in a fire… That could be anyone in there, right?”
“Right…” Rogers confirms. “Conrad’s father, Vinny, has been accused a few times of being dirty, but anyone who has spoken up against him has disappeared. Sutter pops up as an alibi for Conrad… a lot…”
“So… are they serial killers or something?” I ask.
“From what I am gathering so far, it looks like the victims end up in the same places as them. Clubs, bars, casinos, and so on. They are never local, and at most are there with female friends. The girls go missing for a while and then pop up dead. All of them have died of blunt force trauma and had severe damage from being raped with a foreign object. Evidence has never been found, and one rape kit has gone missing. His father has signed off on all of these cases, and they are still cold to this day.”
“How many?” Ray asks.
“Dating back as far as I can connect the injuries to unsolved cases, I would guess hundreds,” he says. “I’d say they were someone’s sick protégé, and now they are out killing alone while his father cleans up his messes.”
“What is he gaining from this?” I say.
“Is it possible that it’s trafficking?” Kip asks. “What if he only killed the ones that he didn’t get what he wanted out of?”