Page 60 of 4-Ever

She slowly peeled off her suit jacket to reveal a roadmap of bruises up and down both arms.

“Jesus Christ!” Ronin hissed. “Ci?—”

“It’s been happening a while now,” she whispered as she put her jacket back on. “That’s why I came down here. I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. Then I got scared.”

“Anything you need, anything, I’m here.”

“That goes for me too,” I added.

“I haven’t told Mom,” she confessed. “I couldn’t. I was so ashamed. That’s part of the reason I stopped calling. I just knew that as soon as you heard my voice, you’d know.”

“Hey, it’s all right,” Ronin whispered as he reached across the bed for her hand. “You know you can always come to me. And thank fuck you did.”

Van and Brodie, accompanied by Jesse, Averell, and Dawson, entered the room, concern all over their faces.

“How’s everyone doing?” Van asked. “Do you need anything?”

Brodie’s husband wasn’t just our former manager. He was part of our family.

“Everything I need is right here,” Ronin declared.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

CHAPTER 17

RONIN

Iput on a good face in front of my sister, but I didn’t lie to myself.

Dallas was an abusive asshole and people like him didn’t take no for an answer. His arrest tonight would probably only fuel his anger towards her. Not to mention, news of the incident was going to be plastered all over the tabloids sooner rather than later.

Jesse had assured me the label was doing their best to keep the incident low profile. But a cop, arrested for assault on his girlfriend and her famous brother, and bandmate, was hard to keep silent. Someone would inevitably talk. And I had a bad feeling it might be Dallas himself. Jesse agreed and, in conjunction with our PR lead, Zoe, issued a statement on my behalf.

Right now, all I cared about was Ciara’s security and that of our band family. We needed to get my sister’s things from the hotel and have her speak to a therapist. Then, I was going to bury Dallas Bledsoe in so many lawsuits, he’d be the one fleeing New York.

I watched my best friend as he talked to my sister. Faise’s gentle manner with her had my heart squeezing tight in my chest.

Tears threatened again as I realized how lucky I was to have him in my life. For his calm way with Ci, for sticking up for her and for me, for coming after me, for protecting me. For always being there when I needed him.

“My phone is blowing up,” Ciara admitted as she passed it to me.

“We’ll get you a new number,” Jesse replied. “We’ll take care of it now.”

“Can I be discharged?” I asked. “I want to go home.”

“What about our statements for the police?” Faise asked.

Lennie stepped forward. “I’ll have a word. They can meet us at your house.”

While Van and Jesse arranged for our discharge, Len and the security team, including Regan, had us recall the events of the night, taking detailed notes.

By the time we got out of the hospital and made it back to my house, I was wiped. And the wound on my chest was itching. Thirteen stitches was gonna take a bit of time to heal. The doctors warned me it might scar, and referred me to a plastic surgeon, but I didn’t care. I was okay, and honestly, a scar was the least of my worries.

Sore, exhausted, and in dire need of peace and quiet, I just wanted my bed.

Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait. An unmarked black sedan was waiting just outside the gates to my place.

“It’s the detective assigned to your case,” Regan announced.

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