Page 72 of The Sentinels

Sully was already typing, his fingers moving over the keys with an impressive speed and accuracy that were hypnotizing. I stood over him for a minute, watching as he clicked on links and page after page came up. Thank fuck he knew what he was looking for. Eventually he lost me, and I decided to go check on Emerson.

I entered her bedroom quietly, but halted abruptly just inside the doorway. It appeared that she and Ruby were in deep conversation. Emerson was still lying down and couldn't see me, but Ruby could, and did. When she noticed me at the door she gave me the slightest head shake that warned me not to come any further. I wanted to ignore her, but when I caught Emerson's softly spoken words, I froze.

"He raped me."

Chapter 34

Emerson

I knew that someone was sitting on my bed. I knew that it wasn't Ace. It didn't surprise me when I opened my eyes to find that it was Ruby. I thought I'd recognized her light scent, and I was so thankful that she was there. I thought that I'd dreamt hearing Ace tell someone on the phone to bring an old lady with him.

I thought I'd dreamt that Ace had rescued me. I knew that he was still at my apartment, and that others were, too. Their murmurs had been a constant but welcomed buzz in my unconscious fog, eventually pulling me out and back to the living. I don't know how long I stared up at Ruby before she noticed that I was awake. Her smile was instant and reassuring.

"You okay now, honey?" I nodded. "What happened, Emerson? Who attacked you?"

"A monster," I whispered, meaning it. Images from the video that my father had made me watch flashed behind my eyes. Seeing him kill Sophie, and knowing that he'd probably done something similar to Gracie, would haunt me for the rest of my life. Bile rose in my throat, but I forced it back down.

"Ace, Tanner, and the others are here to help you, but they need to know what's going on." She took my hand. "Our men are tough bad asses, honey, and they won't stop until you're safe."

I knew that Ruby was right. I couldn't expect Ace and the others to help me if I wasn't honest with them. After what my father had pulled, it was clear that I wasn't safe. His sudden appearances lately had been meant to taunt me, to flaunt the fact that he was free and could do anything that he wanted to me. He had apparently escaped my apartment and could be anywhere now, just waiting for another chance. He’d said that he wasn't going to kill me, but he could do so much worse by killing the people I cared about.

It was time.

Reading my expression, Ruby asked, "Do you want me to get the boys?"

"No!" I rushed out in panic. "I-I'll never get this out with them, with Ace, in here. It's too, degrading. I…" I paused to take a calming breath. "I couldn't bear to see him look at me differently."

"Oh, Emerson, that's the least of your worries. No matter what you say, that man's all in with you. He's claimed you as his woman, honey, and that's huge. There isn't anything you can confess that will cause him to look at you as anything other than the woman he wants in his life."

After the way Ace and I had parted earlier, I was skeptical about that.

"Herapedme."

The silence that followed was abrupt and piercing, defining a moment that neither one of us had expected. I hadn't planned on blurting it out like that, and I was certain that Ruby hadn't anticipated such a raw and explicit confession. I could see the shock spreading across her face, her eyes brightening with emotion. I glanced away, afraid that the first tear that fell would release the torrent I was holding back. A slight sound at the doorway caused me to raise my head to look in that direction, but no one was there.

"Oh, honey." I hated the pity that I heard in her tone.

"It was a long time ago," I continued before she could say anything else. "I know the man who attacked me tonight. I've known him all my life. He's a child rapist that I helped put in prison." I wondered if I wouldn't need to expose the shameful truth of who he was.

"You were a child?" She was taken aback.

I hesitated before finally nodding. "I had just turned fourteen, and I wasn't his only victim. His preference was young teenage girls. I don't know how many rapes he got away with before he turned to me, but my cousins and I are the ones whose testimony sent him to prison for twenty years. He just got out."

"They should have locked the door and thrown away the key," Ruby said with disgust. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

I was, too, but I couldn't voice it.

"So this man is here for revenge?"

"Looks that way."

"What's his name? I can let Tanner know so they can track him down."

I froze. If I told them his name it would just be a matter of time before they discovered our connection. God, I just wanted the whole thing to go away. Ruby rose to her feet and I climbed out of bed, panic beginning to set in. I felt my heart begin to race. "I need a shower, I-I've got to brush my teeth."

"But—"

I ignored the perplexed look on Ruby's face. "I-I can't right now!" I rushed out as I dashed in front of her to leave the room. I knew deep down that I was only prolonging the inevitable. Sooner or later the truth would come out, and Ace would know my disgrace. I couldn't help the overwhelming need that I had to keep everything inside. I'd spent the last few years keeping it bottled up, and pretending that it never happened.

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