His eyes close with a sharp breath and he slides it back to me. “So you got some names; doesn’t mean anything.”
I sense the defeat coming from Hope. The loss of power.
“We know there are more who have access to the server, I saw that. I buried the code deep, but it’s a matter of days before they notice what happened. Before they notice that videos start disappearing, that they can’t reach their funds.”
“Hours, not days,” Knox interjects.
I grab the gun and put it on top of the laptop. “We killed Coach with your gun, same as the two burning in the cabin. Your. Gun.”
He shakes his head. “Dimitri, I—”
“This is your time, the window you need to shut this shit down. Once and for all,” I say and push the laptop towards my dad again. “What would Mom want you to do?” I ask and stand. “With all you told me about her, she would… she would want you to do the right thing.”
I nod to Jaxon and Hope and turn to leave.
Please, Dad, do something good for once.
Twenty-nine
HOPE
A few weeks later
God, I hoped I’d never see Jared’s face again, but here I am, stuck closing out his file. He looks so… kind. Almost harmless. But I know better.
A shiver runs down my spine. All the camera’s, the pictures in his apartment, and his attempt…
“Men are disgusting,” I mutter to myself and send out the email for Jared’s file.
“Not all of us.” I flinch as Coach Carpenter stands in my doorway. “Apologies, didn’t mean to startle you, Hope.”
I hold up my hand. “No, it’s okay. I forgot I left the door open.”
A smile tugs on his lips and he nods to the chair at the other side of my desk.
“Yes, yes, of course! Take a seat.”
“I wanted to check in with you, to see how you were holding up… with… everything.”
I swallow. “Thank you for the referral to Dr. Lin,” I say and take a breath. “It’s been… difficult trusting another therapist again. But I’m happy with her.” Of course, Jaxon, with his annoying burglary skills, broke in… fucking again. But I was glad he did. It made me trust her more. And I needed that.
“Good, good.” He beams and his fingers lace together as he rests his forearms on my desk. “I heard about your project.”
“Project?” My brows tug together and my cheeks heat when I realize what he’s talking about. “Right… it isn’t really a project. It was just an idea. And I don’t even know if I’m the right person to set something like that up.”
“I think you’re the best person for it,” he says, a hint of pride laced in his voice. I can’t help the sting that fills my eyes.
“Well,” I say and grab the binder from my drawer. “I’ve done some research and tried to find a way to make it… fit… with my job here. And I think I got it figured out.”
“Just an idea,” he chuckles and takes the binder from me. He flips through the pages, and my nerves spike.
I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did. After everything that has happened to me and the support I missed in my life to escape the horrors I endured, I have to do something. Or at least, build something. A safe haven for those who are victims of abuse, a place where they know they can find help.
Help they need.
Real people that listen to them and act as their rock. Someone who gives them an out, an escape.
“You got a name?” he asks and his eyes stay glued to the pages.
