Chapter 33 #2
The poor girl. She still loved the man who had manipulated her into this life-changing situation through lies and deception. She still believed he would come for her.
Victoria’s heart squeezed. “We can try.”
“Okay.” The girl nodded and reached for her hair, twisting a clump between her fingers. She was clearly still anxious.
“Why don’t you go visit Max for a while? He’s in my bedroom, and I think he’d like some company since I was gone so long today.”
“Oh, sure.” Sydney smiled and spun away to hurry up the hallway where she disappeared into Victoria’s room.
“You know the guy?” At least Cillian had waited until Sydney was out of sight. But she could still be within earshot.
Victoria walked toward him, and he took the hint, angling sideways so she could pass him into the living room.
He followed her to the center of the space and folded his arms across his chest.
How much should she say? Cillian was so set against her father, and Dad certainly wouldn’t want her dragging him into this. “I don’t know him personally. But he’s a friend of someone I know.”
“I see.” Cillian’s eyes held enough skepticism that it was obvious he knew she wasn’t revealing everything she could. “Well, we’d better get going.”
“Going? Where?”
“To confront this loser.”
“What? We can’t do that.”
He lowered his arms and stepped closer to her, stopping with a few feet between them. “We have to, Vicks. You do realize this guy is guilty of statutory rape.”
“Yes, I know that. But that means we should report him to the police, not confront him at his home.”
“You mean your buddies, the cops?” Cillian smirked. “Come on, Vicks. Even a good police force would say there isn’t enough evidence to charge the guy.”
She moistened her lips and looked away. He was unfortunately correct.
There would be no evidence, certainly not this long after the crime.
It would be Sydney’s word against a prominent, successful CEO of a huge company.
But it wasn’t right to let the man get away without any punishment for his horrible crimes.
“I know you want this guy to pay as much as I do.”
She jerked her gaze to Cillian. “We can’t do that. I won’t be part of any violence.”
He chuckled. “I like the way you think. But I wasn’t going to rough the guy up. Not yet, anyway.”
She narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t amusing.”
He grinned. “Somehow you make everything fun, Vicks.”
A shiver trickled down her spine at the look in his eyes that changed from teasing to something intense and hot.
“You’re gorgeous in that dress, by the way. Totally worth waiting for.”
Worth waiting for. Did he intend a double meaning in that remark?
Goosebumps raised on her arms, thankfully hidden by the thin sleeves of the velvet dress. She dug in her dry throat for her voice. “At least it covers the ankle monitor.”
“Oh, it does a whole lot more than that.”
Her pulse tumbled. If he kept looking at her like that, she—
Wait. Was he trying to distract her and charm her into his new harebrained scheme? She pressed her lips together. “Even if you don’t intend to do Lawrence Massey any physical harm, we can’t confront the man. It wouldn’t help Sydney.”
“Sure, it would. We might not be able to get enough evidence for the cops to arrest him, but jerks like this are cowards. All it would take is letting him know we know what he did. His reputation would be on the line. He’s married, and he didn’t want Sydney to tell anyone, so he clearly has a lot at stake if this news gets out. ”
Victoria checked the clock on the wall. “Oh, my. It’s nearly five o’clock.”
“Which gives us an hour to go to this Massey guy’s house. He’s probably home this time of night, especially with the blizzard coming.” Cillian suddenly stepped beside her and took her elbow, tugging her forward toward the garage. “Do you know where he lives?”
“Cillian, no.” She pulled away.
He stopped and stared at her. “Are you going to tell me what’s really going on? Just how close are you to this guy?”
Heat flushed her face, fitting both her initial embarrassment and the rush of frustration that followed. “I told you, I don’t know him personally.”
“Oh, I get it. Is he a pal of your dad’s?”
She chose her words carefully before she answered. “My father knows him, yes.”
“Perfect.” A smile curved Cillian’s mouth. Not the reaction she’d expected. “That gives us even more leverage. With you there, we can pressure him to do the right thing.”
“Absolutely not. I can’t go and confront one of my father’s friends. They’re members of the same country club.”
Cillian’s eyes narrowed. “I’m surprised at you, Vicks.” The disappointment in his tone scraped along her conscience. “Don’t you want this guy to take responsibility for his child and Sydney?”
“Of course, I do. But I need to think through all the repercussions. My father is already so upset with me. He would not want me to accuse one of his friends and a country club member of something so awful. The scandal could taint him, as well. Or Massey could phone him and tell him that I confronted him. He could call him tonight.” The thought pinched her throat. “During the birthday dinner.”
“Vicks, come on.” Cillian moved close, leaving only inches between them as he cupped her upper arms with his warm hands.
“I know you.” His gaze delved into hers, holding her captive.
“You’re not the kind of woman to put reputation or even risk to yourself before helping people in need.
Especially a teen mom and her baby girl.
” He leaned his head closer to hers. “We can’t let him dump Sydney and the baby.
We can’t let him get away with this scot-free. ”
He was right. Preserving the reputations of people like Lawrence Massey only allowed them to keep hurting others. And even her father’s preferences did not supersede the calling of Christ to help those in need, like Sydney and her baby.
She tightened her jaw and met Cillian’s searching gaze, so close to hers that she barely found her voice. “You’re right. We need to help Sydney, if we can, and at least show Massey that he has been found out.” Perhaps doing so would prevent him from doing the same to another victim.
“Good girl. Let’s go get him.” The approval in Cillian’s eyes and his broad smile calmed half of the apprehension that twisted her stomach.
It was much easier to demote her father’s priorities in her mind than it would be to face him at the birthday dinner if he found out. Lord willing, he wouldn’t have a clue.