Chapter 11 #2
“Of course, I read the report,” David snapped.
“I read all about how your little club tried to handle everything themselves instead of filing a report, just so she could save some face and not have to admit that she was at a BDSM club when the incident happened. Did any of you think about what happens after that? What if he had left her alone and gone to do exactly the same thing to someone else, all because she didn’t file an actual report, and he faced no real consequences? ”
The heated anger that filled Kincaid’s chest had very little to do with David’s question and far more to do with the reality of the situation—a reality David clearly didn’t understand.
While Kincaid might find that frustrating, even angering in this day and age, it was nothing compared to the rage he felt about how the system worked.
“And you think he would have faced real consequences if she’d filed a report?
” he snapped back. “There’s a fifty percent chance—hell, probably even more—that if she tried to file a report, the officer would hear BDSM club and immediately write her off.
Or tell her that there’s no point because, obviously, she invited that kind of treatment.
If she gets lucky and gets someone who takes her seriously and takes the report, all those things will come up in court and worse.
Any attorney would go through her entire sexual history to make her out to be some sort of slut, on record, then he’d walk away scot-free. ”
“But at least there would be a record for future women,” David insisted, though his vehemence had dropped a few notches. “That way, if they look him up, they’ll know.”
“He’s blackballed from every BDSM club in a four-state radius.
Any submissive who tries to go to a club with him will immediately find out, and most of the people who choose to throw house parties rather than go to the clubs have some kind of connection to those in the know, so they’ve been warned, too.
Not to mention, several of our submissives had taken it upon themselves to watch the dating apps and FetLife in case he pops up there. ”
With every sentence, David wilted a little more, but it wasn’t enough for Kincaid. He wanted this point hammered home if he was going to leave Cassidy under Black Fox’s care.
“We can’t protect everyone, but we did our best, and as a former police officer, I can tell you that we did far more than they would have.
And we protected Cassidy, which is now your job, and if you’d rather throw her to the wolves, if you don’t care what reporting and a trial would have put her through as a person, and you only care about some hypothetical future women—which, by the way, would have still had to look him up and then believe what they found—then I’ll ask Lincoln to assign her to someone else.
“She already feels guilty as hell for what he’s been putting her friends through, on top of her fear for herself.
She doesn’t need your self-righteous bullshit over a situation that you would never, ever find yourself in and therefore could never fully empathize with or know what you would do if it did happen to you. ”
Applause sounded from behind David, making both of them jump. David spun around to stare at Jennifer, who was now standing behind her desk, hands high in the air as she clapped. Her fierce gaze was focused on the redheaded team leader, whose shoulders sagged even further.
“You tell him, Kincaid.”
“Oh, come on, Jennifer, what if you or one of your friends dated him or someone like him after?” David’s tone had turned almost whining as he pleaded with the younger woman to see his side.
“I know you all research your dates like you’re the FBI.
You’d turn up the fact that he’d been taken to court, and you’d be forewarned. ”
“We’d find it, but a lot of these guys are good at explaining things away.
Oh, it was a vindictive ex. Oh, she was lying because she didn’t truly understand kink.
Oh, it was a false accusation. And people believe that shit.
” Jennifer put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Not only that, but because I’m a woman, I have friends who have tried to get restraining orders.
I’ve had friends who have been dismissed by the police for ‘lack of evidence’ or because it was his word against theirs.
“Have you ever had to stand by a woman’s side while the cops rip apart her ‘story’ while she’s still shaking from the trauma?
No? Okay, then. You’re so obsessed with what the ‘right’ thing to do is, sometimes you forget that what’s right for one person might not be what you deem is right for society. And that’s why you’re wrong.”
“I’m not a bad person.” David’s immediate response was one that Kincaid sympathized with because, damn, hadn’t he been there before? When he’d been the cop who hadn’t been able to help. When he’d found out that his own partner was an abuser, and he hadn’t seen it.
“I didn’t say you’re a bad person, but you are an uncompromising and often judgmental one who needs to work on their empathy.
Especially when it comes to situations that you, as a white, straight man, will never understand because you will never have that lived experience. ” She raised her eyebrow at him.
David threw his hands in the air in defeat.
“You’re right. No, I know. I see it sometimes, but I am always on the outside.” He sighed. “I’ll try to be nicer to Cassidy.”
“Glad to hear it,” Kincaid said. “She deserves a break.”
Now, he was very glad that he’d decided to spend the night in Pittsburgh tonight to make sure she was fully settled in.
Yeah, he’d given up an evening with Zach, but this way, he’d also be here to make sure David understood what his assignment was and the fact that Kincaid was going to kick his ass if he did anything to hurt Cassidy.