Chapter 11 #2
“I know,” I agree. “I’ve been working for the Dragons for the last three weeks, and living with you for almost a month. I honestly appreciate you because it’s been a rough transition.”
“You’re still doing it with more grace than most people,” he says, pulling into the hotel.
At my hum of disagreement, he chuckles. “Cae, you could be the most sour person there is, and I wouldn’t blame you for it.
You’ve been as flexible as possible about all the changes.
Never once have you complained about all the travel either. ”
“It’s my job,” I shrug. “I signed up for my butt to go numb on car rides.”
Dad snorts as he turned off the SUV in the parking lot. “There are little donut pillows we can get you, Cae.”
“That my ass will gratefully accept,” I grin, getting out of the vehicle with him. “The days are crazy, but I am really enjoying this. It’s easier every day.”
Dad seems to understand I mean being around players and nods as we walk.
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop being overprotective,” he grumbles.
“Oh, I don’t think I’d want you to,” I admit as we walk towards the sliding glass doors of the hotel. We’re staying somewhere that needs a key to get the elevator to move, and even then it has to coordinate with the floor you’re staying on.
We have an entire floor dedicated to the team, which will help with anyone sneaking up to bother them.
“It’s really difficult to stay vigilant every second of the day,” I say, following my dad on autopilot.
“I create for a living, and I’ll lose myself in my work.
Then, all of a sudden I’ll realize I’m in public and that isn’t safe, which means I’ll physically flinch as I look around to see who is near me.
I’m sure I look like a basket case every time I do it. ”
“I didn’t think about that,” he murmurs, pushing the elevator button. “How was it working in the staff room?”
“Better, but I can’t record voice overs in there,” I explain. “It’s too noisy. I feel safer though. My back isn’t exposed since I’m sitting against the wall and can see all around me.”
“Ugh, it’ll be easier when we’re back in New Orleans,” Dad says, checking the inside of the elevator car before ushering me inside. “We have a home game soon.”
“I’ll adjust,” I say, watching as he hits our floor number and scans our key.
“I know that, but the chaos of each day means—”
“It’s fine,” I insist. “My structure is that there is none.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Dad laughs, watching the floor numbers go by. “I know you think you’re above the needs of most omegas, but I think tonight shows that you are not.”
“Too soon,” I say playfully, following him out as the doors open. “I don’t even know what to think about those alphas. There has to be a joke somewhere about scent matches and bars.”
Dad smirks before his attention is pulled to one of the rooms we’re walking toward. It sounds as if someone is yelling, but it’s muffled.
“Are you sure there aren’t any other people on this floor not belonging to the team?” I ask tenuously.
“Nope,” he grunts, striding faster.
“Ungh!” a male voice yells, making me trip as my eyes widen.
“Dad,” I whisper, as if that’ll change what could be happening.
“Troy and Brenden are in this room, and they should still be at the bar,” Dad murmurs. Pulling out another card key, he holds it up for me to see. “I have a master for this entire floor, just in case there’s an emergency. I’m going to see what’s happening.”
“Need my stun gun?” I joke, knowing it will land flat.
“You’ll need that. Stay out here, Cae.”
Dad unlocks the door and shoves it open as he strides inside. I’m not sure what gets into me, but at the last moment, I catch the door and slip inside. There’s a woman straddling a man who is strapped down to the head and footboards with duct tape.
“Get the fuck off him!” Dad yells, making my legs fail me as I sink to my knees. This feels all too familiar somehow.
There’s terror that fills my veins as Troy struggles to buck and throw the girl off. I can’t imagine duct tape being used in a pleasurable way.
The door snicks shut behind me without being noticed, and my dad rips the girl off Troy’s dick, tossing her away from him.
The girl is breathing hard, completely naked, angry that she was interrupted as she raped this poor man.
It takes everything within me not to puke as I’m hit with the full realization that women can be just as dangerous as men.
“Cae, call the police, and don’t let her leave,” he growls.
Tears stream down my face as I pull my stun gun from my boot and watch as the girl scrambles to get dressed as my father begins to free Troy. I believe he’s married, and somehow that makes this even more devastating.
“What is wrong with you?” I rasp, fumbling for my phone as I call nine-one-one.
“No! Don’t call. Just let me go, come on,” the girl complains, fixing her dress.
Dad turns on the overhead lights to see better, and I can tell she has bad blonde hair extensions, a tight dress, and sky high heels. She raises her leg to fix her shoe, flashing her pussy at me since she’s not wearing any underwear.
Fucking gross. I suppose that any decency or modesty is too much to ask from a rapist.
“No,” I growl. “How did you get in here?”
“It’s a secret,” she whispers. “He’s gorgeous, right? Omegas have to stick together. If I get pregnant, he’ll owe me child support forever. Maybe he’ll even leave his wife. If he doesn’t, I can extort money from him. I deserve a lush life.”
Troy keens as if in pain as he gags behind the duct tape that’s also across his mouth. Fuck, that’s going to hurt coming off.
I’m having a hard time focusing on everything as I attempt to stay in the present. This didn’t happen to me, but it’s bringing my ghosts to the forefront of my mind.
“Nine-one-one, how can I help you?” the dispatcher says.
“I need to report a crime,” I say, tears thick in my voice. “I’m at the Princher Hotel, and found a trespasser in the room. I have every reason to believe that she hurt him.”
“Okay…”
Sighing, I put the speakerphone up and raise it in my father’s direction. Why can’t people do things the easy way?
“I believe my daughter told you exactly what’s going on. I’m the coach for the New Orleans Dragons’ hockey team. We need an officer here now. Please understand that we do not want media attention,” he says.
Turning off the speaker, I zap the stun gun in the girl’s direction as she thinks about pushing her way around me. Seeking my own resolve, I stand up from the ground.
“Are you coming?” I ask the dispatcher on the phone.
“Yes, ma’am. My apologies. I have someone coming now.”
“No lights, no sirens—”
“Of course,” the dispatcher says. “What room are you in?”
“Dad?” I ask, already having forgotten.
I keep my eyes trained away from Troy’s body, but know that his boxers are pulled down his thighs. Dad fixes that and pulls off the tape from Troy’s mouth.
“Eight hundred and sixty,” Troy croaks out.
I repeat it to the dispatcher, and she says they may call me when they get there. Forcing myself to take a breath, I nod and hang up.
“How did you get in here?” I ask the girl standing in front of me.
“I have a friend who works here,” she says, tossing her hair. I really think she believes she didn’t do anything wrong. “I wanted to shoot my shot with a hockey player, but he didn’t want to play. He was sleeping already, so I made sure he’d cooperate.”
She opens her bag for me to see, and I gape at the roll of duct tape inside it. This was planned.
“I was tired,” Troy says. “I let one of the assistant coaches know I was grabbing a ride share home, and went alone. It should have been safe.”
“You’re right,” Dad growls. “I’m so sorry this happened.”
Troy sits up once he’s free, glaring at the girl.
“I don’t even know her name,” Troy accuses. “I was asleep!”
My body flinches as if I’ve been hit as he yells, because I know what it’s like to have my consent taken from me. Pulling the tie from my hair, I allow it to hide my face as I keep the girl from running.
“Don’t move,” I say. “I will gladly use this on you, and everyone will look away.”
The girl screams in frustration and rushes me, while I shove the stun gun into her side without remorse, chest heaving as tears silently drip off my face. The girl drops like a sack of potatoes, and Troy’s jaw drops as his legs drop to the ground.
“Damn,” he mutters. “Good for you. Thank you.”
Peeking at him from behind my hair, I nod. Dad walks over and pulls a pair of joggers and a sweatshirt for Troy, tossing them in his direction.
“The cops are on the way,” he says. “You up for this?”
“Oh yeah, she’s going to fucking prison,” Troy says, pulling on his clothes. “I’m sure I’ll get some heat from the public eye for this—”
“Friedrick will be on your side on this, as will the PR team,” Dad grunts. “I’ll have your back on this. Rape is rape, always.”
“It is,” I say softly, putting my stun gun away as I wipe away my tears.
“Hey, you okay?” Troy asks, standing on shaky legs.
“I should be asking you that,” I breathe.
“I disagree,” he mutters.
“Cae,” Dad says, raking his hair with his fingers. “Can you stay here while I wait for the cops? I don’t want to make you do that.”
Handing him my phone, I nod.
“Yeah, Dad. I can stay.”
He squeezes my arm as he walks out the door, and I pull out a chair to sit in before my legs turn into jello again.
“You know you’re a hero,” Troy says, turning to face me. His hood is over his head, and the shadows dance over his face.
“I’m nothing like that,” I sigh. “I’m just a girl with a stun gun and a shit ton of trauma.”
“Well, I’m sorry for the trauma, and if that twunt brought any of it back up,” he mutters, scowling at the passed out omega on the ground. Did he just apologize to me? “You stood between the door and her freedom to do this to someone else. That makes you my hero.”
My lips quiver as I nod, turning into a weeping mess. I can’t even be fucked to wipe the tears away because there’s more that will fall.
“You don’t have to tell me shit,” he rasps. “If something like this has ever happened to you, I’m so fucking sorry. I honestly just need a shower to scrub her off me and then call my wife and pack. Are you okay if I go shower? I’ll change in the bathroom too.”
“Yes, that’s fine,” I nod. I don’t know why, but nudity doesn’t bother me. He’s in the bathroom, and I can tell he’s not someone I need to fear.
Sagging in my chair as he goes to wash up, I glance at the ground where the girl moans as she begins to move. Leaning over, I put my hand on my boot where my weapon hides and glare at her. Please, make my damn day, bitch.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t wake up, and I return to my earlier position as the door is opened. Troy is still in the shower, and my dad’s eyes move to the bathroom where he can hear the water running.
“He had to,” I say without explanation as he enters the rest of the way with two officers.
“That’s understandable. There isn’t an alleged rape, it was witnessed in progress,” Dad says for the officers’ benefit.
“I’m Officer Walters and this is my partner, Minnerly. While we wait for Mr. Evans, can we ask you some questions?” he asks.
“Sure,” I breathe, swallowing hard.
Dad finds me a tissue box, and I pull out a few to dry my face before we begin to answer questions. Troy walks out into the room in the middle of it, and sinks onto a bed across from me.
“I don’t know her name,” he says, listening to a question that was asked. “I’ve never seen her before either.”
Is this because of the videos I’m making? I shudder as I think about that, keeping the thought to myself for now. It’s going to eat at me though.
The officers continue to ask Dad, Troy, and I questions, waiting for the woman on the ground to wake up. I find out that Troy was terrified when he woke up to find this person on top of him. He originally thought he was having a dream about his wife.
God, I can’t believe this happened.
“Hey!” Officer Minnerly says, walking over finally to nudge the woman with his foot. “Up and at ‘em. Maybe fix your dress too.”
“That dress length should be illegal,” I grumble. “I won’t slut shame, but—”
“No. Today, we’re shaming and naming,” Troy mutters. “I want to know who the fuck thought it would be okay to break into my room, and I want that guy’s job who gave her the key.”
“I got the guy fired,” Dad reports. “The first thing I did when I went downstairs was speak to the manager on duty while I waited for the police officers. A lot of hockey teams use this hotel. I’m going to sound the alarm that it’s no longer safe. I don’t care what kind of changes are made.”
“What’s the point of key carded elevators if they’re handing out keys,” Officer Minnerly says as the girl pushes herself up to a sitting position on the ground.
“Nooo. What are you doing here?” she whines.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Fuck you,” she replies.
“Wrong answer,” he says, pulling out his hand cuffs. “You have the right to remain silent..”
Officer Minnerly pulls her up so she’s standing and binds her wrists behind her back.
“I’m going to walk her down to the car,” he says as he finishes reading her rights to her. “Meet me downstairs when you’re done, Walters?”
“Yep. Mr. Freedman, I have everything I need from you and your daughter. It sounds like you were both in the right place at the right time,” Officer Walters says. “You’re free to go.”
Glancing at the alarm clock on one of the night stands, I sigh internally as I see that it’s closing in on midnight.
Standing, I pick up my forgotten backpack. I think it was one of the first things I dropped.
“There’s too much leniency in sexual assault within the law,” I murmur. “I hope she doesn’t get away with it.”
“No, ma’am,” the officer says. “From what I’m hearing, this is an open and shut case. Even if she doesn’t get sent to prison for a long time, she’ll be shipped off to life in a mental hospital without parole.”
Taking a deeper breath to dispel the little black dots in my vision, I nod.
“Thank you, officer. Troy, please let me know if you need anything. Even if it’s to speak to your wife,” Dad says.
“Thanks, Coach. I’m still having trouble trying to figure out what I’m going to tell her,” Troy confesses.
“The truth,” I say without thinking.
Dad escorts me out of the hotel room, and I can feel fatigue pulling at my body as we walk.
“Did he seem worried to you?” I ask.
“He has a good reason for it,” Dad admits. “Ella is very jealous. They were recently on the rocks about his travel schedule.”
“That sucks,” I say. “This wasn’t his fault in any way.”
“No it wasn’t,” he says, letting me into our room. “We’re still going for a run in the morning. Get some sleep, kiddo.”
It unfortunately takes me way too long to drift off, and even then, my dreams aren’t kind to me.