Page 76 of Wicked Savage Cruel
His frown deepens and his eyes flicker with disappointment. “That girl's been through hell,” he says.
Anger rises up inside me. “How would you know?”
He scrubs a hand over his face, and I know he’s going to give me some non-answer. Hell, no. Not this time. If he knows something about my girl, I should know it, too. “Pops, how do you know Allie?”
His mouth tightens. He's quiet for a minute so I press again. “If something’s going on, I should know. You have to tell me.”
“The night of your game. The one your mother and I came to watch you play in...” he hesitates.
“Yeah? What about it?” I remember that he'd stepped out to make a phone call and then left shortly after. Mom said a case came up or some shit.
“She was assaulted in the parking lot.”
Wait. What?
My chest seizes and my mouth drops open. “What do you mean, assaulted?” Was that why she wasn’t at my game? She’d been hurt?Fuck.She’d been hurt and I’d been a complete asshole. No wonder she didn’t message me back.
His face hardens. “I don’t want you spreading rumors about this girl, feel me?”
Dread settles deep in my stomach. “What kind of assault are we talking about here?” There’s only one that would warrant his tone, and I need him to confirm it.
“We believe she was raped.”
I suck in a breath. And then I fucking explode. “What? Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I jump out of the driver's seat and start pacing in front of the car, unable to remain still.
My dad and Dom both get out after me.
“Fuck.” Then his words settle over me and I whirl on him. “What do you mean you think?” Either someone is raped or they aren’t. There isn’t really a gray area here.
“She wouldn’t consent to the rape kit. She told the nurses she was raped upon arrival and it was clear she’d been when I found her. She was—” He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. But she told the nurses about the assault when we got there. I rode in the ambulance with her. She had all the signs of a rape victim. Torn clothes. Bruises. All of it. But before the nurses could start the kit, some woman in a suit stormed in and tore out of there with her like she was on a mission. When me and another officer tried to confront her, she shut us down. The girl’s a minor. We couldn’t question her without parental consent and they weren’t giving it.”
I pull at my hair and resume my pacing.“And she was okay with that?” Goddammit. This is so much worse than I thought. Raped? Fuck. I iced her out and she’d been raped.
She’d been in trouble today and she’d called Dom. Not me. I fucked up. She’s been hurt and I royally fucked up.
My dad lifts his shoulders and releases a weary exhale. “I don’t know. She was in shock. She shut down. I can’t say I blame her.” He shakes his head. “Whoever hurt her made sure to leave their mark. I can’t fault her for calling you when she saw a man outside.” He directs that statement to Dom, and I notice his eyes are no longer distant. Instead, they’re alight with remembered fury.
“The guy who hurt her?”
Pops shakes his head. “Still out there.”
Fuck.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Allie
It’s Saturday morning. Against my initial hesitations, I decide to go on a run to clear my head. I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept replaying what happened at the diner again and again, visualizing all the ways that things could have gone. It was bad enough, what happened. But it could have been a thousand times worse. Deep down, I know that, and it’s left me shaken.
I can only imagine how Dominique must feel. Speaking of… I spot a familiar black Escalade as I round the corner of my street, my sneakered feet smacking against the pavement.
I wipe the sweat from my forehead, but I don’t slow down. Not until the car gets close enough for me to spot Dominique through the windshield. I let out a small breath of relief. I was pretty sure it was him, but it helps having the confirmation.
The Escalade pulls up beside me and slows, keeping pace with my jog as one of the windows rolls down and Roman hangs an arm out of the passenger side window. My heart stutters in my chest, despite everything that’s happened. I spot Emilio in the backseat. Looks like the gang is all here.
“Allie,” Roman calls my name. His voice is hard and I instantly bristle at his tone. “Get in the car.”
“Pass,” I tell him, picking up my pace. I swallow hard, forcing myself not to focus on the sound of his voice. Longing sweeps through me, but I push it aside and keep my eyes trained ahead of me.
