Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jared
As I tighten the last screw on the screen door hinge, pain shoots up my side, and the screwdriver slips in my hand.
I bite back a curse, shifting my weight to ease the pressure. A week of Emily’s careful ministrations has turned the worst of the bruises from angry purple to sickly yellow-green, yet I’m still not recovered enough to move without feeling it.
Emily watches me through the kitchen window, her presence a quiet warmth at my back.
The morning light filters through the trees, dappling the porch boards with shifting patterns.
Birds call back and forth in the branches overhead, their voices mixing with the distant rush of waves hitting the shore.
The hinge moves smoothly now, no longer catching when the door swings open.
Small victories.
Emily’s cottage has a never-ending list of repairs, each one giving my restless hands purpose during recovery. With every fixed leak and tightened screw, it’s like I’m carving out a place here, even though Emily never implies I need to.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I wipe my hands on my jeans before fishing it out, the screen lighting up with a local number I don’t recognize.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Masterson? This is Detective Merrin with Pinecrest PD.”
My spine stiffens, sending a twinge of pain across my ribs. A police call is never good news in my experience. “What can I do for you, Detective?”
“I’m calling to inform you that we’ve arrested three men in connection with your assault last week.”
The porch tilts beneath my feet, and I brace myself on the door frame, my mouth drying. “My assault?”
“Yes, sir.” Papers rustle on the other end of the line. “The incident that occurred on Harbor Road around midnight, according to the report.”
“Report?” The word comes out strangled. “I didn’t file a report.”
“No, sir. A Mr. Leif Sorensen did,” the detective continues matter-of-factly.
“He provided partial license plate numbers and descriptions. When combined with traffic camera footage from the area, we were able to identify the perpetrators. He even gave us a hint as to where to look for them. Seems you’re not the only one they’ve harassed. ”
My free hand grips the doorframe, splinters pricking my palm. Leif reported it. The quiet, reserved Omega who keeps to himself went to the police on my behalf.
“Mr. Masterson? Are you still there?”
“Yes.” I swallow hard, my throat clicking. “Sorry, I’m... surprised.”
“Mr. Sorensen indicated you might not have planned to report the incident yourself. He was correct in coming forward. These men had priors for similar assaults.”
The screen door opens behind me, and Emily steps out, coffee mug in hand. As she takes in my expression, her brows draw together, concern etching lines around her eyes.
“We’ll need you to come in and make a formal statement when you’re able,” Detective Merrin continues. “The sooner the better. These men were bragging about the attack on social media. They had video.”
My stomach twists at the thought of my humiliation circulating online and being used as another piece of evidence in the court of public opinion.
“The video actually works in your favor,” she adds, reading my silence. “It shows an unprovoked attack, which contradicts their initial claims of self-defense.”
“I can come in today,” I hear myself say, the words automatic as my thoughts whirl.
After arranging a time to meet, I end the call and lower the phone, staring at the blank screen.
Emily steps closer, the steam rising from her mug carrying the rich scent of coffee. “Who was that?”
I blink, pulling my focus back to her. “Pinecrest Police. They arrested the guys who jumped me last week.”
Her eyebrows lift in surprise. “What? How did they know?”
“Leif.” I shake my head in disbelief. “He filed a report. Gave them partial plate numbers, descriptions.”
Her mug pauses halfway to her lips. “Leif went to the police?”
“He told them he figured I wouldn’t report it myself.” The enormity of it hits me all at once. A virtual stranger stood up for me when I was ready to let it slide, to absorb the hit as I’ve done so many times before.
Emily sets her coffee on the porch railing and moves closer, her hand brushing my arm. “He was right, wasn’t he?”
“He was.” The thought of filing a report hadn’t even crossed my mind. After what happened at the docks, I didn’t think anyone would believe me.
“Then thank the stars he did.” She stays close, her hand lingering on my arm. “Sometimes strength isn’t about standing alone, Jared. It’s about letting someone stand beside you.”
Her words land with unexpected weight, cracking open a long-sealed ache inside me. All my life, I’ve equated needing help with weakness, with being “less than” the Alpha I’m supposed to be. But Emily never judges me. She just accepts me as I am.
Her phone rings from inside the house, breaking the moment.
“That’s Clint with an update on the project. I need to take it.”
Emily had taken the week off to nurse me back to health, leaving her second in command to handle things on the island.
I’m grateful for her care and trying hard not to let guilt creep in over her missing work because of me.
She squeezes my arm once before she releases me. “We’ll talk more later?”
“Yeah,” I say, grateful for the moment to collect myself.
As Emily disappears inside, the screen door closes with a soft click, the hinge working smoothly. A simple fix, unlike the more complicated repairs happening inside me.
I turn to look out over the yard, the morning sun warming my face.
Birds continue their conversations in the trees, oblivious to the shift occurring inside me.
The idea that Leif, of all people, would see what happened and choose to act on my behalf without being asked is a foreign concept, almost too big to process.
I run my thumb over the phone in my hand, Detective Merrin’s words echoing in my thoughts.
Someone saw me fall, and instead of walking away or recording another viral moment of humiliation, they offered a hand up.
I’m not sure I know what to do with that yet, but it’s comforting all the same.
Afternoon sun streams through the kitchen windows, warming the tools spread across the counter. I sort through wrenches and screwdrivers, returning each to its proper place in Emily’s toolbox.
My statement to Detective Merrin lingers in my mind. We had needed to wait until Monday morning to go down to the station, and retelling that night’s events left a phantom copper tang on my tongue. But it’s done now, the words given, the truth on record.
My phone rings, vibrating on the granite countertop. Grady’s name flashes on the screen. He had reached out after he heard about the attack, and we’ve kept in contact.
I wipe my hands on a rag before answering and putting him on speaker. “Hey, Grady, what’s up?”
“Are you sitting down?” The question crackles through the connection with restrained excitement.
“I’m standing.” I close the toolbox. “Why?”
“Might want to change that.” I can practically hear his grin through the speaker. “I’ve got news.”
I pull out a kitchen stool, my body tensing in anticipation. “About the guys they arrested?”
“Better.” Papers rustle in the background.
“Turns out those idiots are the same ones who posted the first video. When they got picked up, their phones still had the raw footage—the part they cut out. It shows the two other Alphas harassing the Omega before you stepped in, and then bolting the second port security showed up. The DA’s charging the three with aggravated assault, harassment, and obstruction for falsifying evidence.
They’re facing jail time and restitution fines. ”
He pauses, letting it sink in before adding, “And the best part? The department is releasing a public statement clearing your name. The truth’s finally out there, man. My article about the whole fiasco will be up in an hour.”
I lower myself onto the dining chair, my legs unsteady. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious. It’s over, Jared. That video from the docks, the rumors, all of it.” His voice softens. “You’re clear.”
Heat builds behind my eyes, and I blink, staring up at the ceiling. Vindicated. I know the rumors won’t just vanish, that there will still be people who give me the side eye and whisper, but the majority will go back to their lives and leave me alone.
“You still there?” Grady asks.
“Yeah.” A faint tremble runs through my hands. “I’m processing.”
“Process faster. Kyle wants to take a vacation next month, and they’ll need someone to drive the water taxi.”
The thought sends a nervous flutter through me, but pushing ahead is the only way through. And with my name officially cleared, it finally feels possible.
“Tell my cousin I’ll be there.”
Through the window, I can see Emily on the porch, phone pressed to her ear.
Her silver hair catches the sunlight as she paces, one hand gesturing as she talks.
From this distance, I can’t hear her words, but I recognize the focused set of her chin and the way she nods along with whatever the caller is saying.
“That’s not all,” Grady adds conspiratorially. “The Wilcox brothers, who harassed the omega on the boat, are being charged with attempted assault and fleeing the scene of a crime.”
A laugh bubbles up, unexpected and freeing. “The Wilcox brothers? The guys who almost got me run out of town are named Wilcox?”
“Yeah. Todd and James Wilcox. Why?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head as I laugh. “It’s a stupid name.”
Even more stupid that we hadn’t known it until now.
The policy of checking passenger IDs changed after the incident on the water taxi highlighted a flaw in the system.
But it was too late to help my situation.
Without a last name, or any urgency on the dock security’s side to find the real culprits when they already had me, the two Alphas who had started everything had gotten off scot-free.