Chapter 37
Sloane
"Hey, Sloane." Someone's fingers snapped, a hand resting gently on my shoulder. "That's it, open your eyes, hon." I instantly recognized Zoey's calm voice. Even with her soothing tone, I could still hear the slight nervous edge.
I groaned, the linoleum cool under my body. "Did I fucking faint?"
Zoey chuckled as I peeled my eyes open, blinking a few times against the bright light in Aaron's office. "You did. Welcome back."
"Jesus." I scrubbed my hands over my face. "How long was I out?"
"Eh." She shrugged, standing from her kneeling position and extending her hand out toward me. "Two minutes, tops."
I was so fucking tired.
Reaching up, I grabbed Zoey's hand and allowed her to haul me to my feet, swaying slightly before regaining my composure.
"Stu?"
"It's been two minutes. We're good, but we're not that good," Zoey teased, then cringed. "Sorry."
I shrugged. Honestly, at this point, if I didn’t laugh, I would end up a sobbing mess on the floor. I took a seat in front of Aaron's desk again, his fingers sweeping over his keyboard insanely fast. "What do I do, Lucas?"
He stopped typing, his brows pinched together as he looked over at me. "Don't go home. Stay with Cami and Dom for the time being. Rhys, too, once he's out. I'll have twenty-four-seven patrol." Lucas must've seen the hesitation cross over my features. "People I trust, Sloane. You have my word."
"Thank you," I whispered, looking down at my hands. "And Rhys?" I peered up, hopeful that he would be coming home with me now.
"I need your statement first. I need... everything. Start to finish. And Rhys will be waiting for you when you're done."
I almost fainted again from the relief that flooded my body. Rhys would be in my arms so soon. Just another hour or so, and Rhys, Rookie, and I would be together again.
"Okay, yeah, let's do it," I responded eagerly, ready to get this recap over with.
I spent the next hour going over every last detail about what had happened with Stu. From the day that we broke up to the second I escaped down the hallway and out of his grasp.
It was hard.
Going over every detail while Zoey sat just a couple of feet away from me, her face twisted up like she was going to hurl. She was never going to relieve herself from the guilt of setting the two of us up.
From the looks of it, Aaron was just as close to losing his lunch as Zoey. He and Stu had been friends for many years; I'd imagined it was difficult hearing that someone you trusted and cared for was a monster behind closed doors.
Aaron scrubbed a hand down his face after he stopped the recording device, his back meeting his desk chair with a thud. He looked almost as tired as I did. "Fuck, Sloane. Why didn't– You could've come to me sooner."
I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, sighing deeply. "It would've been harder to believe without this." I gestured toward my neck. "He knows more people than I do."
It was hard even for me to believe the nonchalance in my voice.
He swallowed. "We're going to find him," Aaron promised, rapping his knuckles against his wooden desk before standing from his chair. "He won't get away with this."
I nodded. "I believe you." And I did. Because if he wasn't doing it for me, he was doing it for my sister.
I could see the way he looked at her. Especially now. He longed to comfort her; it was written all over his face. But now definitely wasn't the time for that. I'd have to question her about that later.
Right now, I needed Rhys. Time was up; they knew everything. I needed Rhys.
As if reading my mind, the two remaining officers filed out of the room, Aaron gesturing toward the door. "Ready?"
My shoulders relaxed, tension easing slightly from my body. "So fucking ready."
It'd only been one full day since I saw Rhys, but it felt like so much longer. There was so much I didn't know, like where he was or how he was doing. I was terrified that Stu would make good on his promises or that, even after all of this, Rhys still wouldn't be able to leave.
Cami and Dom assured me that Helen was on board and ready to come in whenever. Zoey assured me multiple times during my recap that if anything had happened to Rhys, someone would've notified them.
Zoey stood and wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks, clearing her throat and standing taller. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only woman putting on such a tough fa?ade at work. "Let's do this."
I followed behind them as they led me through the halls of Suffolk County Jail, every step lifting a little more weight from my shoulders. It was almost as if my whole body knew I was getting closer to my missing half.
I rounded a corner, the same one I had turned to bail Rhys out of jail just a few months ago, to see him standing outside of processing. He was wearing the slacks and button-down shirt he wore to the charity event; his tie and suit coat were draped over his arm.
His hair was disheveled and sticking up every which way. He looked so tired.
My breath left my lungs with a woosh, a surge of a million different emotions crashing against me like a tidal wave.
Relief, anger, happiness, pain, love.
Rhys’s face was bruised, his jaw a mixture of black, blue, and purple with a split lip and a matching split eyebrow. His right eye matched the same bruised pattern on his jaw, and my mouth dropped open.
I sucked in a breath, coming to a stop as I took him in.
Stu might not have killed him, but he made damn sure whatever message he had about not fucking with him got to me.
My hand came up to cover my quivering mouth, tears welling in my eyes.
All of this is because of me.
No. I pushed that thought out of my mind. None of this was my fault.
The relief on Rhys’s face when he spotted me was instantly replaced by anger, his eyes moving to my neck. His jaw clenched, his lips pressed together in a tight line.
"Jesus," Zoey muttered under her breath, coming to a stop beside me.
Rhys quickly crossed the room with determined steps, his hands framing my face before I could even process that he was in front of me. "Who the fuck did this?" he growled, dipping down slightly to get a better angle on the bruises covering my neck. "WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?!"
Aaron's hand clamped down on his shoulder. "We're handling it, I promise."
His jaw was clenched tight as he surveyed the bruises. "I'm gonna fucking kill him. I swear to God, I'm gonna fucking kill him."
"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," Aaron muttered as he walked away.
"Rhys," I whispered, reaching up to touch the bruised skin that matched mine. "What happened?"
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Nothing. A bunch of idiot cops elbow deep in Stu's ass. I'm fine. What the fuck happened to you?"
I offered a weak smile. "I thought I could take him."
A growl vibrated through his chest, his frustration aimed primarily toward Stu, but also a little toward me for putting myself in harm's way. "Goddammit.”
Before I could respond, his lips crashed onto mine with urgency, my knees growing weak under the overwhelming emotions swirling through my body. Rhys was here. He was holding me, he was kissing me.
I gripped his shirt tight, my fingers aching as if I loosened my hold, he would slip right out of my hands.
"I love you so much," he muttered against my mouth, his hand cupping the back of my head and holding me flush to his body, "So fucking much, Pip."
A sob tore through my body, my arms flinging around his shoulders.
There were so many things racing through my mind, it was impossible to pick just one to focus on, so I let myself feel it all.
I was so unbelievably happy to have Rhys’s arms around me, but so god damn scared that Stu was still out there. I was angry, sad, and so in love with the man holding me against his body.
I'm not sure how long the two of us stood there, clinging to each other as if our lives depended on it, but after a while, my tear-stained cheeks had dried, and my body was losing its battle against sleep.
I could feel myself growing more and more tired by the second, Rhys’s hold loosening just enough to look me in the eye. "Can we go home?"
"Not home, but Cam and Dom's guest bed is calling my name."
He smiled, removing his hand from my waist to cup my cheek, "Mine, too." Rhys jerked his chin toward the front doors. "Let's get out of here."
***
A few hours later, we were showered, unbearably full, and I was cuddled into Rhys’s chest with Rookie resting at my feet.
The second we left the police station and stopped by our ravaged apartment to grab some extra clothes, Rhys pleaded with Zoey to drive by Sullivan’s, which she happily did, since he also hadn't eaten since he was arrested.
He had understandably been afraid to eat or drink anything given to him in his cell.
The two of us devoured everything in sight when we got home, showered off every bad thing that happened in the last thirty-something hours, and fell into bed.
Neither of us felt safe going to the apartment. Stu was completely unhinged. Marvin was old; the best he could do was call the cops, and if they weren't sent to us by Aaron, I didn't trust them.
If he decided to try his luck and stop by, I knew he could get in. He had nothing to lose now.
So instead, Cami and Dom promised that their house would be ours until further notice. Their security system was armed, the cameras running nonstop, and Aaron had a patrol outside indefinitely.
Dom was able to talk to the head coach for Rhys and explain everything that happened, and instead of being fired, he was just on a temporary leave of absence until the rest of this clusterfuck was figured out and both of us were safe again.
Rhys lost a ton of sponsorships, but he still had a spot on the team, and that's what mattered the most.
He also wouldn't leave me alone, and if he were playing or practicing, I'd be left unattended since I was also on leave.
There was no sense in putting my other employees at risk, and I could afford to take the time off, even after letting Sammy keep the $10k.
Neither of us was sure what would happen the next morning, so we focused on the present. I savored the feeling of Rhys’s hands on my skin and the way his fingertips trailed across my back.
I sighed, relaxing into his body.
Rhys pressed his lips to my forehead. "What's on your mind?"
"After the last twenty-four hours, I think this is the clearest my mind has been. Not a lot going on up there.” I chuckled sleepily. "I'm just happy to have you here."
He smiled against my skin, holding me a little closer.
"Do you think it would be safe to go see our parents tomorrow?"
"I don't think so, Sloane. I don't– My mom doesn't need to see me like this. I'll call them in the morning and let them know everything is okay for now."
He had a point. My neck was bruised, Stu's fingers outlined perfectly in black and blue, and Rhys’s face was swollen and bruised all over, too. We were a mess. Seeing our parents like this would stress them out so much more than not seeing them at all.
"Yeah," I mused quietly, snuggling closer to Rhys.
The sun hadn't set yet, it was still pretty early to call it a night, but the two of us were beyond exhausted. If we fell asleep now, we'd probably end up sleeping until noon tomorrow.
"Get some sleep, baby. We can stress about everything tomorrow."
I smiled, my eyes fluttering shut.
Everything was okay. For now.