“What’d he do?”
Gavin looked puzzled. “I don’t really know. He went in to the change room and I just figured he was getting dressed to work out. But he walked out five minutes later with a bag and headed out the door. He hasn’t been back since.”
The other men looked at each other.
“He made his bail first thing this morning and now he’s cut and run,” Nick said.
“Well, wouldn’t you?” Adam asked. “He knew we’d fucking kill him if we saw him.”
“Um. Is everything OK?” Gavin said. “What’s going on?”
Nick filled him in while Adam and Mitch went to Simon’s locker. It was standing open and empty and they stared at each other grimly.
Nick and Gavin appeared behind them.
“Gone?” Gavin said.
“Yep.” Adam sighed heavily and ran his hands through his cropped dark hair. “That fucker.”
“OK, Gavin,” Nick said. “Get our lawyer on the phone right now. Have him in here within an hour so we can start the process of terminating Simon’s sponsorship agreement with The Rock. As soon as that’s done, I want you to send a press release to everyone you can think of, telling them that we’ve dropped his ass. And why.”
“You sure you want to publicize what he did to Reena?” Mitch said.
“We won’t say her name, man,” Nick said. “But I want the word out there that the Golden Boy beats up on women and tries to rape them. Hit him where it really hurts – his fucking precious reputation and wallet.”
The men nodded.
“OK, I want to go back home now,” Mitch said. “I want to be with her.”
“We’ll be there later today,” Adam said. “Give her our love, OK?”
“I will.”
**
Reena woke up suddenly, a scream of terror frozen in her throat. She sat straight up in bed, shaking.
“Reena?” Katie took her hand. “You alright, sweetie?”
“Katie?”
“Yeah. How you feeling?”
She lay down again, trying to breathe. “OK, I think.”
“You want some water?”
“Yes, please.”
“OK, I’ll be right back.”
Reena was just thinking about asking for a stiff drink instead – who gives a flying fig if it’s only ten a.m.? – when Mia and Maggie came in to the room. She tried to smile. “Hi, guys.”
“Oh, Reena.” Mia’s beautiful face was gray and distraught. “My God. I’m so sorry.”
Reena remembered when Mia had been kidnapped and badly beaten by a child trafficker; the look of stunned hurt and disbelief in her eyes had just taken Reena’s breath away at the time. She was sure that if she looked in the mirror right now, she’d see that exact same look in her own blue eyes.
“I’m fine,” she told them as Katie came back in the room. “Just tired and sore.”
Katie helped her drink a bit of water, then a bit more. Reena sighed and laid down again.
“Thanks for being here, guys.” She adjusted the pillow under her shoulders. “I guess Mitch called you?”
“Sort of,” Maggie said. “He called Adam and Nick and they called us.”
“Where is Mitch?”
“At The Rock. I think that he and the guys wanted to kick that asshole’s fucking head in,” Katie said. “But he’s long gone.”
Reena was silent, remembering Simon’s last words to her.
He said this isn’t anywhere near over. Where is he? What’s he going to do?
“Reena?” Maggie said. “You OK?”
“No. But I will be.”
Just then, Mitch appeared in the doorway, his face anxious. “Hey, babe. How you doing?”
She looked up at him, and a burst of gladness to see him moved across her chest. “OK.”
“You want to try and get some more sleep?” he said.
“No. Actually… I’m hungry.”
They all blinked at that.
“You are?” Mia said.
“I am. Weird, huh?”
“I’ll take it as a good sign,” Maggie said. “What can we make you?”
“Oh, maybe just heat up some of the soup I made? It’s in the fridge.”
“I’ll do it,” Mia said. “You want me to come and get you?”
“Yes, please. I’ll get up and eat out there.”
“And we’ll finish cleaning up the living room,” Katie said. “You put up one hell of a fight, girl…. you showed that fucker what’s what.”
Reena smiled and they were all happy to see that it was a real smile, one that reached her eyes and made her look like herself again.
The door closed and Mitch was alone with Reena. They looked at each other.
“You really doing OK, sugar?”
“Better,” she said.
He sat on the bed next to her and took her hand. “Can I ask you something now?”
“Sure.”
“How did you get him off you?” Mitch said. “I’ve fought him, Reena. I know just how strong and heavy he is, and if he had you down on the floor and hurt, I just can’t figure out how you got away from him in one piece. How you stopped him from… from hurting you more.”
Reena laughed and Mitch jumped in surprise at the sound.
“What?” he said.
“You’re going to love this,” she said, and he was relieved to hear a bit of life back in her voice.
“OK. Tell me.”
“I bashed him in the back of the head with the medieval torture candle holder.”
“You did not.”
“I did too. Most of that blood is his. The edges cut his head wide open.”
Good girl; you’re as tough and strong as I guessed. Fairy-tale princesses be damned.
“Well, fuck me,” Mitch said. “I guess it came in handy after all, huh?”
“Yep.”
“So I suppose this means that I have to take it back as one of my Big Three, right? I think the damn thing is great now… it’s my favorite fucking thing in the apartment.”
“Told you you’d come to love it one day.”
Their eyes met and they both burst in to laughter.
**
That night, Reena stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, still unable to believe that it was her own face looking back at her. She looked like something from one of Mitch’s beloved horror movies.
She took a painkiller, grimacing at its bitterness, then pulled a large t-shirt over her head, wincing a bit as the material moved over her injuries. She sat on the edge of the tub and tugged on some loose pajama bottoms, then took a deep breath and stood up. No dizziness this time, she was happy to see.
There was a tap at the door. “Reena? You OK in there?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “You can come in now.”
Mitch opened the bathroom door and looked at her. “You ready for bed?”
She nodded and he came over to her, put his arm around her shoulders. He practically carried Reena down the hall to her bedroom and lowered her in to bed. His huge hand stroked her hair back off her face and she closed her eyes at his touch. She couldn’t understand how those lethal hands could be so gentle; it was so beautiful, sometimes it made her want to cry.
“Mitch?”
“Yeah, babe?”
She opened her eyes. “You’ll stay with me?”
He went still. “You mean – you want me to sleep with you tonight?”
“Would you?”
“Whatever you need, Reena. You know that.”
Her eyes closed again as she felt the drugs start to take effect: slow waves of sleepiness were washing over her, making her tongue thick, her limbs languid. “Thank you.”
“I’ll be right back, OK? I’ll have a shower and get changed… ten minutes.”
She nodded.
By the time he returned, she was out. He knew the drugs had her under, and he hoped for a dreamless sleep for Reena that night. He turned off the bedroom light, but left the one in the hallway on, shut her
door halfway. He climbed in to her bed carefully, trying to move his huge body slowly and quietly, trying to not disturb her.
Mitch lay on his side a few feet away from Reena, just looking at her face. He still couldn’t quite believe the extent of the damage done to her, and he clenched his fists, imagining what he’d do to Simon, given half the chance. He knew it to be unsporting to kick a man when he was down, but in Simon’s case, Mitch would be happy to make an exception.
And the dickhead was down, at least figuratively. By issuing a press release and spreading the word earlier that day, Gavin, Adam and Nick had blown the fucker’s Golden Boy reputation right out of the water, and the story was already all over the news. Mitch had read and watched a bit of it on his laptop while Reena was in the bath, and he was thrilled to see that two of that asshole’s major sponsors had dropped him. Another three were ‘distancing themselves’ – whatever the hell that meant – until the charges could be proven, or the woman came forward with more information. Mitch knew that wherever he was, Simon was having a very bad night tonight.
The king may not lose his whole castle, but it’s shaking around him right now. And it serves him goddamned right.
Reena had told him about Simon’s final threat, and that worried Mitch. A lot. He knew quite a bit about men motivated by rage and revenge, and when they thought that they had little or nothing to lose, that was when they were at their most dangerous. He had called Eddie Solis and told the landlord that he’d be installing a full electronic security system in the apartment; Mitch would be covering the entire cost. Eddie had agreed, of course: it was a major upgrade in the apartment’s services, and he wouldn’t have to pay a dime towards it.
Mitch had checked out some home security packages online and had barely blinked at the prices, despite them being sky-high. When Adam and Nick had come over to see Reena that afternoon, they’d brought Mitch’s new contract with them, and it was fucking sweet.
He’d be getting full sponsorship from The Rock now, plus a bit more, since the guys had some extra cash on hand from Mitch’s former partial sponsorship. He had told the guys that he wanted to keep his word to Dean at the tattoo parlour, and they had agreed that he’d be able to work there around his training schedule. So, Mitch was, in other words, very comfortable financially, and the first thing he was going to do was make sure that Reena was protected. Anything to make her feel safe again.
She stirred now and made a sound in her throat. Right away, he moved closer to her, took her in his arms. “Reena? You’re OK, babe. I’m right here.”
Those amazing eyes opened. “Mitch?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
She blinked. “Is this – real? Are you real?”
“What?”
“I don’t – I can’t tell – I’m fuzzy.”
He stroked her hair. “That’s the drugs, sugar. They’re strong as hell. But yeah, I’m real and I’m really here next to you.” He took her hand and pressed her fingers to his chest. “You feel my heart?”
She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
“I’m here, and I’m not leaving you, OK?”
“I’m glad you’re real. I want this to be real.”
“Me too, babe.” He touched her beautiful lips gently, avoiding where that asshole had split them wide open, wishing he could kiss them. “Me too.”
**
A few days later, Mitch came home from the tattoo parlour. He was carrying containers of Chinese food, and all he wanted to do was get eyes on Reena, to make sure that she was OK.
He punched in the code for the apartment door and walked in. He set the food on the kitchen counter, then headed towards her studio. “Reena? I’m home.”
“How was work?” Her voice drifted out at him and he walked towards it, loving how it felt to know she was there and waiting for him.
“Great,” he said. “Dean and the guys are cool, huh?”
He was standing in the doorway now and he looked at her. She was covered in paint, of course, looking stunning and amazing. Her face and neck were still badly bruised, but her eyes were almost totally OK as she gazed back at him.
“Yeah, they are.” She set down her paint brush and smiled at him. “I smell food…”
“Yep. You hungry?”
“Famished.”
“Well, go get cleaned up, babe. You’re a mess.”
“Yeah, I know. I got quite a bit done today.”
He paused. He still hadn’t asked to see any of Reena’s work, and even though he’d been tempted to look up one of her numerous exhibitions or commissions online, he hadn’t done it. That felt like cheating, somehow. No, the first time he saw Reena’s paintings, he wanted it to be with her standing by his side, holding his hand. Maybe now was the time?
Mitch opened his mouth to ask, then faltered as he saw a flash of tension pass over her face. Something wasn’t right, despite her smile and chirpiness about getting lots done that day. He examined her carefully, saw the strain around her lips and eyes.
“What happened, Reena?”
She started. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know what I mean. You just seem… off. You OK?”
Reena looked down. “Well. Not really.”
He walked over to her now, watching her closely. “Tell me.”
“I got a call today…”
“Simon?” Fuck, he hated even saying that name out loud. “He threatening you?”
“No, not quite. His lawyers.”
Mitch wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. He was actually shocked that they had waited this long to try to get to her.
“What did they offer you to drop the whole thing and stay quiet?” he asked.
“Money.”
“Yeah, I figured. How much?”
“Four hundred thousand dollars.”
Mitch was stunned. Holy fuck, they were serious about this, weren’t they? How much was it costing Yates in lost sponsorships and bad publicity if the opening offer to shut Reena up was almost half-a-mil? He knew that she had some wriggle room in the negotiations, and this was just the opening salvo, a low-ball, bullshit number designed to get her interested and invested. The fucker and his legal team would undoubtedly pay double. Maybe more.
She must be hurting him badly. That makes him even more dangerous. Goddammit.
“Shit, Reena. That’s a lot of money, sugar.”
“I know.”
He studied her face. “You want to take it?”
She was quiet.
“Reena?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you before,” she said.
His chest tightened up in fear. A small part of him still wondered if Simon had actually raped her after all, and she’d been so far in denial that night, she just couldn’t face it at the time.
“OK.” He kept his voice soft. “Tell me now.”
“I got some calls yesterday and the day before…” She stopped.
“From who? Simon?”
“No.” She shook her head. “From – women. Women Simon hurt before me.”
“What?”
She looked up at him now. “This wasn’t the first time he’s done this to someone. It seems he enjoys hitting and attacking women. But women like me, you see, women who don’t count and are just regular people, not his model or celebrity girlfriends. I guess he figures that we’ll be too embarrassed to say anything, or we don’t have the money for a lawyer, or maybe he just hopes we’ll want to avoid all the trouble and attention. Maybe he buys us all off.” She sighed. “God knows these women just pretended it never happened.”
Mitch’s hands clenched. “How many? How many women have you heard about?”
“Five, so far.”
“Five. Fuck.” He thought for a second. “How did they find you? Your name hasn’t been published anywhere.”
“There’s a source at the hospital, apparently, one who’s sympathetic to women that Simon’s hurt. I guess this person had some kind of database, and they contacted other wo
men Simon’s sent to the E.R.”
“So – what? They’re going to expose you? Your name?”
“Oh, no. Nothing like that. They just wanted to offer me some support.” Her eyes were full of tears now. “I was already prepared to stick with this, and today’s call from the lawyer doesn’t change anything. I need to take this as far as it can go, Mitch. If Simon can get some jail time, great. But if not, I at least owe it to all his past victims to not let him get away with it. The world needs to see him for who he really is.”
“You sure, babe? This kind of thing, it gets ugly fast. Believe me. The fact that he’s a public figure will put you right in the crosshairs… no way you’ll stay anonymous if this goes to trial.”
“I know. I’m sure. I – I spent my childhood staying quiet about all the abuse I went through and that I saw happen to other kids. I can’t do that anymore. I can’t do it ever again.”
Mitch brushed the tears from her eyes. “You never told anyone what was going on back then?”
“I did, at first. But it wasn’t every foster parent and it wasn’t constant, and all the agency did was move me somewhere new while they investigated my claims. Or at least, they said they investigated. I have no idea if they did, or to what extent. I never heard anything more after I was taken from the homes.” She twisted her fingers. “After a while, I just stopped reporting it. Went quiet, kept my head down, tried to not attract any attention. I just… just disappeared, as best I could.”
God, it hurt him to hear this. Mitch’s upbringing hadn’t been idyllic – Roxbury was one fucking tough neighbourhood, and it was where he’d honed his boxing skills – but he’d had a great family. Dad worked construction, Mom worked in a laundry, three younger sisters. Never enough money and a lousy, tiny walk-up apartment, but somehow it all seemed OK when Mitch sat at the dinner table with his family and they talked and laughed. No matter what, he always had that safe place, that circle of love. It had pulled him through some serious shit, and it was a source of deep joy for him that now he was finally able to help out his family financially. He got Mom and Dad out of Roxbury, helped the girls, made sure his nieces and nephews were taken care of.
Reena, though. It sounded like she’d never been enclosed in that circle of people who cared if you came home or not, who gave a shit if you had to fight your way up the stairs – some days, quite literally. Had nobody ever loved her?
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