“I’m not—I won’t,” she sobs, knowing exactly how fucked I probably am right now.
Because how am I getting out of this?
I just broke a man’s arm and leg in front of two hundredwitnesses in a ballroom full of the city’s elite. There’s no talking my way out of this, and we both know it.
“Why did you do that?” she cries.
I hiss as they pull at my arms again.
“Because no one touches you like that. No one.”
They start hauling me up, and I grunt, trying to twist enough to see her.
“I love you, okay? You’ll be okay.”
“No.” She’s shaking her head frantically, her hands reaching for me even as someone holds her back, keeping her away from me.
“He’ll be okay,” Lianna says, trying to calm my girl down, but even the look on her face says she doesn’t believe it.
I’m already being dragged out of here like an animal with my hands cuffed and my ribs aching, but I can’t help but smile. I can still hear James’s screams in my ears, and for my girl and every other woman he’s ever put his hands on without permission, it was worth it.
Chapter 25
Shannen
I don’t even knowhow many emotions I’ve burned through since leaving the gala—I lost count somewhere between panic and homicidal rage. All I know is that anger is the only thing left now, and it’s eating me alive.
I pace my apartment like a caged animal while Lianna watches me from the kitchen island, perched there like she’s waiting for me to completely lose my shit, which, if I did, would be fucking valid, considering they had a gun pointed at Phoenix’s head.
They dumped us at home in an unmarked cop car with nothing but a half-assed “Stay put” and an even more half-assed “You’ll give your statements tomorrow.” Like we’re supposed to just sit here and wait.
“How long does it take to get a fucking phone call?” I snap, spinning on my heel so hard I nearly trip. I reach down, unstrap my shoe, and launch it across the room.
“Come and sit down.”
“Lianna—”
“Sit. Down.”
“Why are you so calm?”
“I’m not. I’m fucking pissed that Phoenix didn’t listen to me, but I’m also delighted that he beat the shit out of James. The only thing that would’ve made it better is if he’d kicked him in the dick hard enough to make sure the fucker never felt pleasure again.”
“He’s God knows where, and I—I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. Who do I call? I have money. I can post bail. I can hire the best lawyers in the city. I can?—”
“Come and sit down.” She pushes a large glass of wine toward me. “I have a plan.”
I stop pacing and stare at her before I cross to the island, grab the wine, and knock it back in three gulps, and she refills it immediately.
“You have a plan?”
“Well, it’s not really my plan. It’s Phoenix’s. He knew this could happen. Fucker. I tried to stop him, but we saw you on that dancefloor, Shannen. We saw James put his hands on you, and Phoenix lost it.”
“I could’ve handled it.”
“He couldn’t. That’s the point. That’s why he had a plan for this.”
“And you’re just telling me now?”My hands are shaking, and I can’t make them stop.
