“Jesus Christ.”Tristan shook his head, jaw clenched.
“Yeah.”It still triggered her.“He saw me.Chased after me out into the street in his damned underwear, insisting I didn’t understand, that it wasn’t what it looked like.I mean, pretty hard to misunderstand that.I left and went straight to our apartment, packed my shit and moved out that night.I reported everything to my chief.Gave an official statement that included the names of all the cops I’d seen involved.And I got my ass to the doctor the next day for a full battery of tests.They put me on a round of powerful antibiotics as a precaution but thank God I was clean.”
To her that was the worst part.That Rob would have exposed her to that level of risk without telling her.
“I’m so fucking sorry you went through all that,” Tristan said.
She nodded, tried to slow her racing heart.Refused to cry about it anymore.But even thinking about that time in her life brought a visceral reaction.“Apparently, it had been going on for almost a year before I found out.”The man she’d lived with had been having unprotected sex with sex workers for a fuckingyearwithout telling her.“Anyway, once Internal Affairs got involved, guys started getting fired.The corruption was worse than anyone thought initially.”
They hadn’t been fired for having sex with prostitutes.They had been fired for the drugs and abusing their positions of power over the women, among other things.“As more people were exposed, the backlash started.I wound up getting death threats.Had to leave my job.I moved to San Diego for a couple months, waiting for the trials.I testified against him and a few others.He and one other cop were sentenced to prison time.As soon as the trial finished, I left Vegas for good and came out here.”
Tristan shook his head slowly, looking stunned and horrified and angry.He ran a hand over his face, expelled a hard breath.“And then they let a dirty cop with a personal grudge against you out early, without notifying you.”
“According to what Ivy found, yes.He’s been out for about a month.And he definitely hates my guts enough to come after me.It’s a stretch to think he’d be able to plan all this and pull it off, but he’s had months behind bars to come up with everything, and he’s friends with lots of other guys who hate me, so...It’s possible.”
“Has anyone verified if he’s in the area?”
“Not yet.Ivy’s on it.And CPS has informed the Sheriff’s Department.By now everyone back in Vegas will know too.”
“Have you still got more potential enemies there?”
“Oh yeah.Even the guys who didn’t go to prison were kicked off the force for their involvement.They lost their jobs, their reputations.Some of them lost their wives and girlfriends.Their fancy lifestyles bought and paid for by dirty money from drugs and sex crimes.All gone.”
“How far up the chain did the corruption go?”
“Officially, IA found that the illegal activity was fairly low level within the department, involving officers and some supervisors.Rob was one of the ringleaders.”
“That’s his name?”
“Rob Quinn.”Saying it left a bad taste in her mouth.
“Damn, Cass.”Concern shadowed Tristan’s eyes.“Didn’t anyone stick up for you?”
“Oh, sure.My partner, Dane, and our captain.But they were the only ones who stood by me when it all came out and IA got involved.”
“That was so damned brave of you.Couldn’t have been easy.”
“No,” she said with a humorless laugh.“Not easy.At first when I reported it, I was gaslighted.Laughed at.Then blackballed and shunned when the consequences started.So the threats of violence and death weren’t unexpected.”But it had been an ongoing nightmare for a long time.
Tristan stared at her a long moment, then shook his head slowly.“Why the hell didn’t you tell me any of this before?Or at least about your ex?”
“Because it’shumiliating.I willingly stayed with that piece of shit for more than three years.”She made a disparaging sound.“I should’ve known better.I was a cop.I should have trusted my instincts way sooner.”
“A guy like that would have been good at hiding everything.”
“Oh, he was.But deep down, I knew something bad was going on.I ignored my gut too long.Anyway, that’s everything.”
His gaze remained steady on her.“Thanks for telling me.”
“I was tired of hiding it.And I wanted you to know, so you understood.”It was only right, whether they entered a relationship or not.The thought of opening herself up again still scared her, but if the alternative was losing him, she couldn’t handle that.
He nodded, watching her.“Feel any better now?”
“A little.I’m relieved.”
“You thought I’d look at you differently?”
“I was hoping not.”
