How the hell did I let this happen to me?
“What did he do?” Aiden’s voice, a low and deadly growl, vibrates with his intense, controlled anger.
I’m shaking violently, but I have to get this out. “He got the footage of the orgy from Mac today.”
My throat tightens as the scene replays in my mind—Ray’s face when he saw me with Aiden, the fury, the inevitability of what came next.
I should have known, I should have been ready.
“He was so angry when he saw us together, when I told him what it meant to me. I should have—”
“Jay,” Aiden cuts in sharply, forcing me to stop spiraling. “Did he hurt you?”
“He hit me.”
There’s a brief silence, then his roar almost shatters the speaker. “What the fuck? Are you serious? He hit you?” The intensity in his voice makes me flinch. “Where are you now?” he demands.
Aiden’s anger isn’t directed at me, I know that, but right now I can’t separate it from Ray’s. My hands shake so much that thephone nearly slips from my grasp. My breathing becomes ragged, and panic spikes.
Aiden must have heard it because his tone breaks and softens immediately. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. Are you somewhere safe?”
“I’m at a hotel,” I whisper, my voice trembling as badly as my hands; the sound of it is pathetic even to my own ears.
“Okay, good. I’m glad you got away from him.” His words come out more slowly now, more controlled.
I can tell he’s holding in his rage, trying not to let it spill. “Are you okay? What can I do?”
“I’m barely hanging on,” I admit, tears stinging my eyes and uncontrollable sobs spilling from my throat. “I… I don’t know what to do.”
“Alright. Breathe with me…try to slow it down. Deep breaths, okay?”
It’s hard through my nose, but I force myself, inhaling through my mouth, my lungs straining, then exhaling in heavy sighs.
“That’s it,” he says, gentler now, anchoring me. “You’re doing great. Just stay with me. Can we switch to video? I need to see your face.”
Pulling myself together, I string some sentences together. “I had to buy a burner phone. He took mine. I don’t even know what’s on this thing.”
Normally, I’d set everything up in five minutes, but right now my brain is mush.
“I’m texting you a link,” Aiden says. “Hang up and call me back through that.”
I do as he tells me, and within a minute, his face fills my new phone’s screen.
The second he sees me, his expression shatters with shock, then fury.
“Jay…” his voice drops dangerously. “He didn’t just hit you; he beat the shit out of you.” His nostrils flare, and his jaw tightens. “I swear to God, I’m going to kill him.”
Tears sting my swollen eye, and my throat closes up. “I know. I didn’t even realize how bad things were until tonight. I feel so… fucking stupid—“
“Don’t,” Aiden cuts me off sharply, then softens when he sees me flinch. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. This isn’t your fault. Do you hear me?”
I nod, even though I don’t believe it. My head screams in pain with the movement.
“Did he do anything else?”
I force myself to answer. “He hit me in the face… twice, then I fell. He kicked me a bunch of times. My ribs and my back.”
Aiden’s face darkens like an approaching storm. “Then I’m not just going to kill him. I’m going to bury his body where no one will ever find it.”
