Page 106 of Worth the Chase

“Come back here,” he directed before turning around.

We hustled to catch up, Matthew’s hand intertwined with mine.

The chief led us into a small conference room, and once the three of us were inside, he closed the door and took a seat at the head of the table. Matthew and I sat closest to him, but side by side. His hand was on my thigh, his thumb caressing the top of my leg.

“I’m going to get right to it,” Chief Marin said as he shuffled a stack of papers. “We found out who the offender was.”

“Already?” I asked because that was pretty damn fast.

“Yeah. Shocked us a little too, to be honest.” He let out a small laugh. “The people who rented out their apartment were very responsive. And so was the guy whose name was on the rental. Caved and told us everything the second I called.”

Matthew and I glanced at each other as he gave my thigh a squeeze. I wasn’t sure what to say or ask next, to be honest. I almost inquired about Goatee Guy’s name, but what would it have mattered?

“Here’s the thing.” Chief Marin began talking again. “The guy who did this to you, he’s still in college. We found out that he actually has a pending case against him at his university. And even though this wasn’t a good thing that happened to you, Isabella, the timing of it couldn’t have been better.”

My throat felt thick as I tried to swallow, but struggled. “What do you mean?”

“His accuser wasn’t going to move forward with her complaint. She reported the assault, and of course, he denied it when questioned. It happened at a party, and since she had beendrinking and no one saw what he did to her, it was basically ahe said, she saidscenario. I was told that she was going to drop the charges and not move forward with an administrative hearing.”

I felt sick to my stomach. “That poor girl. Why don’t people believe us when we say this stuff happens?” I asked in a whisper.

“Because the truth is, sometimes, people lie about these kinds of things,” Chief Marin answered.

Matthew and I let out a sound of disbelief.

“Excuse me?” Matthew said before I could, his fingers clenching.

“I’m just stating the facts,” the chief reiterated.

Logically, I knew that there were two sides in any situation, but I hated feeling like the first inclination was to doubt the victim. And the second was to force them to prove what had happened to them by reliving it and answering a million humiliating questions, all based on the assumption that they might not be telling the truth. That maybe, just maybe,she’d asked for it.

It was disgusting.

How the hell were you supposed to prove an assault if there was no evidence deemed strong enough? What if there had been no witnesses last night? Would anyone have believed me?

“Well, I’d bet money that girl wasn’t lying,” I said, my voice stern. “And what a shame that it took him doing it to someone else for her to feel believed.”

Chief Marin nodded before resting his elbows on the table. “I agree. And listen, I don’t know what the university’s criteria is or their rules regarding this type of thing, but we sent them your report this afternoon, and they determined that it showed a potential pattern of behavior. They’ve scheduled a hearing for him with the disciplinary committee, and the female decided to move forward instead of dropping her complaint.”

“That’s good.” Matthew focused on me, his blue eyes so sincere and kind. “You did such a good thing, babe.”

“But what happens now? He comes here, pissed off at me, and wants revenge?” My voice shook because what if I’d just hit a hornet’s nest, so to speak?

You never knew what a person was truly capable of when they were angry. And ones who couldn’t look in the mirror and take responsibility for their actions or the kind of people who blamed everyone else for what had happened to them—they could be the most unstable.

“Not going to fucking happen,” Matthew growled.

“You can’t watch me twenty-four/seven,” I said to my boyfriend, who was suddenly breathing hard, his chest moving in and out rapidly as he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

“The hell I can’t.” He stared at me, his protectiveness over me oozing from his pores.

“I’m not sure if he’ll even be made aware of your report, but I would like to tell you that his friend”—Chief paused—“the one you said had stopped the assault?”

“Yeah, the redhead,” I clarified as I nodded.

“He corroborated your story. Said he’d make a statement if the school needed him to. So, I think if this piece of shit is going to be pissed at anyone, it might be his buddy and not you.”

“Wow.” The single word spilled from my lips.

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