Chapter 30
What the fuck did I drink? I tried to open my eyes and groaned when the pounding at my temples rose to a crescendo. Carpet cushioned my cheek, and I realized I was splayed out on my belly. I rubbed my fingers back and forth across the soft expanse trying to get my bearings, but nothing felt familiar. Despite the headache, I needed to open my eyes.
I was laying on the floor of a fancy gray and white living room, similar to my mom’s impersonal style. Nothing looked familiar. When I tried to recall how I’d gotten there, all I remembered was a black leather backseat. My whole body hurt, my stomach was pissed, and something jabbed me in the hip when I finally lifted my head.
Hockey sticks were scattered around the coffee table like someone had swept their arms across it and left them wherever they ended up. One was underneath me, so I didn’t think I’d been the one to do it, but I couldn’t be sure.
I carefully turned to survey the other half of the room and jolted when I noticed Scott watching me from the couch. Right. I’d gone to the Kappa party last night to meet him. The wall behind him wiggled like a heat wave, and I clamped my eyes shut again.
“Don’t worry. It’ll wear off in a few hours. I’ll be done with you by then, but you’ll remember.”
His whispered comment in the car came back to me. I know it was you. Shitballs. I should have listened to my instincts and stayed far away from him. I should have waited for Marco.
I should have stayed with Cole instead of running scared.
That fear was nothing compared to the terror seeping through my system now. I needed to get the hell out of this place. With a lot of grunting, I managed to get myself to a sitting position as Scott adjusted himself through his pants.
“I should have tried this months ago. Having you at my mercy is a particular fantasy you never could pull off.”
I patted my pockets for my phone, and Scott chuckled as he held it up.
“Looking for this? You can have it back later.” He stuffed it in his pocket, and I started looking for a weapon.
My balance wobbled with the quick movement of my gaze, and I fell forward, catching myself before I hit the floor. My hands landed on the hockey stick laid out in front of me, and an idea started to form. It was fuzzy and out of focus, but it was the best I had.
Even though I didn’t think it would work, I tried reasoning with him. “Scott, this isn’t the way to help your situation.”
“Maybe not, but it can’t get much worse. My internship dropped me, I’m on academic probation pending an investigation, and the police are asking questions some people would prefer I didn’t answer.”
I was having trouble keeping my thoughts straight, but I could see where this was heading. “You’ll go to jail for this.”
“Not quite. I have an alibi, if I keep you here long enough for your absence to cause problems with certain hockey players.”
Cole. This was about Cole? No, Scott had also said he wanted me to remember. Fuck, why couldn’t I think? Why wasn’t I panicking? I was so tired.
I closed my eyes, drifting away, then jerked awake when Scott dropped a heavy book on the coffee table. Who fell asleep in this kind of situation? This was how people got murdered. I was an embarrassment to the true crime community.
My grip tightened on the end of the stick, and I took a deep breath. Cole. He wanted to distract Cole for some reason. And get back at me. It had to be about control. Scott was trying to reassert control over his life in the worst way possible.
I hunched forward and let out a long laugh. His distraction plans would never work because I’d told Cole to leave me alone. My body could be floating in the Trinity River, and he wouldn’t notice. Finally, a choice that wouldn’t come back to haunt me.
Scott’s smile dimmed at my laughter, and he stood up from the couch. I tracked his movement around the coffee table, feeling blessedly separated from the fear that threatened to incapacitate me.
“You never did react the way you were supposed to,” he mused.
His opinion meant less than nothing. Who cared if he thought I was embarrassing or shameful or not good enough? He was a fucking criminal. The truth seemed so obvious. Scott had no power over me.
“I can’t believe I ever listened to you,” I spat at him. “You’re pathetic.”
Thanks to Cole, I understood what it meant to care about someone else, love someone else. I was finished running from the man who’d done nothing but fix what he hadn’t broken, and I was going to try my best to get back to him.
“You don’t know who you’re fucking with,” Scott snarled.
I snorted. “Oh, I know exactly who I’m fucking with. You drugged me and couldn’t even get my pants off. What’s the matter? Can’t get it up? Is it still my fault, like all the other times before?”
Scott’s mouth twisted into a sneer, and he finally stepped closer. “I wanted you aware of what’s happening to you. It’s clear you need a lesson in respect from someone in control.”
I smiled slowly, daring him. “Is that supposed to be you?”
He loomed over me to pinch my chin in a hard grip, positioning himself exactly where I wanted him. “It’s always been me.”
“It’s never been you.”
With a firm grip, I swung the hockey stick up as hard as I could between his legs. He grunted with the impact, then slowly collapsed onto his side making a wheezing noise like a balloon letting out air.
My legs tingled as the feeling returned, and I scooted back until I was wedged between the chair and the couch, keeping my weapon ready. I didn’t want to risk getting close enough to him to grab my phone from his pocket until I had full control of my muscles again. The room still spun and tilted on a crooked axis, and lethargy made me want to lay down on the carpet for a nap.
When the door burst open, I thought I might have been dreaming. Cole rushed in, stepping over Scott’s prone form to get to me. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into this lap, and all the pent-up emotions burst out of me in the form of sobs. Safe, warm, comfortable, I didn’t even acknowledge the others who followed him into the room.
Once I let the emotions run their course, I pulled back, wiping away the wetness on my cheeks. “Hi.”
Cole cupped my neck and kissed me like I’d been missing for years. I curled my fingers around his wrist, willing him to keep kissing me forever. He eased back to rest his forehead on mine.
“Hi,” he whispered. “You scared me.”
“Told you small towns were dangerous,” I retorted.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “You ready to go, city girl?”
“I love you.” I wasn’t waiting a second longer because with my luck I’d be hit by a bus.
Cole’s brow quirked as pleasure filled his eyes. “Does this mean I win the argument?”
I choked out a laugh, absurdly happy to have him holding me. “Sure.”
He dropped a gentle kiss on my lips. “I love you too.”
“Promise?” I asked, holding up my pinky.
Without hesitation, he linked his finger through mine. “Promise. Are you okay?”
The last little bit of my heart fell, and I accepted I’d never get it back. Every part of it belonged to Cole.
I nodded against his shoulder, wiping my face on his shirt. “Yeah. I think he roofied me. I’m still loopy, and I’m trying really hard not to pass out right here.”
“Did he touch you?” This question came from my dad, who was standing guard over Scott’s crumpled form.
“I don’t think so. I’m still wearing my boots.” I wiggled my foot to prove my point, then giggled.
Now that I wasn’t in imminent danger, I felt slightly drunk. I snuggled into Cole again, ready to sleep for a week.
“Can we go now?”
Cole brushed a kiss over my temple, lifting me into his arms as he stood. “Yeah. Marco, can you call the cops and wait for them to get here?”
“Already done,” he answered.
“I’m taking her to the hospital.” We shifted forward, then stopped abruptly as Dad blocked our path.
“The hell you are,” rumbled my dad. “She’s my daughter. I’m taking her to the hospital.”
Cole tightened his grip on me. “With all due respect sir, she’s my everything. I’m not letting her go. Ever.”
It was the same thing he’d told me last night, but today, all I felt was excitement. Cole was mine, and I wanted all those promises I’d thrown back at him.
“We’re going to talk about this later,” Dad said with a deadly calm.
I felt Cole nod, but I was drifting again. The room was moving, or maybe we were. Someone patted my arm, and I realized I’d closed my eyes. I blinked up at Marco, who gave me a soft smile.
“Call me when you come out of it,” he said, then stepped back.
I nodded, aware I’d probably forget the whole exchange. “Cole can remind me.”
His chest rumbled with a laugh under my cheek. “Your dad is here too.”
“Him too,” I mumbled.
“I’ll drive,” Dad said from somewhere by my feet.
We moved again, and I didn’t bother trying to open my eyes. Cole would take care of me. He’d always take care of me, as long as I let him.