My jaw tightens. That part wasn't necessary.
"Did you know who those guys were?" I ask, watching her face carefully. "What did they want?"
She closes her eyes, hesitating for a moment.
"Did you see the videos?"
I shake my head. I was unconscious for that part — genuinely unconscious, though I suspect Theo timed it that way deliberately.
"While you were knocked out, they tied me to the chair and forced me to watch videos of Cody." Her voice breaks. "Sleeping with multiple women. Dozens of them, maybe."
She's leaving something out. I can hear it in her voice, see it in the way she won't meet my eyes.
She's not telling me everything.
"We should go to the police," I say, testing her.
Her head snaps up. "No. No police."
Interesting. Immediate refusal. Not even a moment's consideration.
I don’t need to act confused because now I actually am. "Are you sure?"
She nods frantically. "They'll come for me if I do, and the cops are no help."
She's afraid. But there's something else. Something she's hiding.
I watch her clean my face with a warm washcloth, her hands shaking so badly she can barely hold it steady.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I catch her trembling hand.
She nods, but guilt floods her expression. "I shouldn't have invited you over tonight. I'm sorry, Beckett."
I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me. "I'm not sorry."
"You're not?"
I shake my head, letting my thumb stroke her hand. "Can you imagine if I wasn't here?"
I watch the realization hit her. Watch the color drain from her face as she processes what could have happened if she'd been alone.
"I can stay if you want," I offer, reading her perfectly. "If it makes you feel safer."
Relief floods her features. "Yes. Yes, that would make me feel safe."
"You can take the bed. I'll take the ground."
I leave the bathroom and lower myself to the floor beside her bed, every muscle screaming. I pull out my phone while she's still in the bathroom.
There's already a message waiting.
From Theo.
You alive?
Two words. That's it.
I stare at the message for a long moment. The casual tone. The complete lack of concern about whether he went too far.
