Loving You Easy

by Roni Loren

  A drink from the bar?

  Another thought occurred to her. “How did someone find me? Did the guys call for help?”

  Janet was in full frown now. “No. A tip came in. Someone at the bar recognized Hayes Fox and said he saw him drop something into your drink. He texted a pic of Fox offering you the drink. Officers were sent to the house.”

  Cora’s skin prickled. “Who sent in the pic?”

  “Why does that matter?”

  “It matters. Who was it? A bartender? Did they give a name?”

  “It was anonymous.”

  “Of course it was.” Cora’s heart was pounding so hard against her ribs the machine next to her started to sound like it was going to short out.

  Her mom’s gaze jumped to the machine. “I need you to calm down, Coraline. I think the drugs are still mixing up your brain. You wouldn’t go home with two men you hardly knew. I’ve taught you better. You’re smarter than that. And I know it’s scary to consider that—”

  Cora clamped her hand over her mom’s. “I need to talk to the guys.”

  “What? You most certainly will not. You’re not going within a mile of those disgusting excuses—”

  “No, Mom. Listen. Someone’s setting them up. Like the last time when Hayes went to prison. I’ve been working with them because of a hacker. This is just the next step. They’re doing it to him again.”

  Her mother stood at that, her hackles raised. “I promise you, Coraline. I don’t know what line of bullshit those men fed you, but Hayes Fox is a criminal. He got off because he had a good lawyer and too much money. You should’ve seen the marks on the woman he raped. And you have some of those same marks on you.”

  Heat flooded Cora’s cheeks. The night was coming back to her in bits and pieces but she could feel the tenderness of her backside, could see the faint bruises on her wrists, and had an idea how all that had happened. “Mom, please. I need you to trust me on this. You said I was smart. Act like you believe it. I swear to you these men are good men. They would’ve had no reason to drug me. I wanted to be there. I wanted the things that happened to happen. I don’t know how the drug got in my drink, but I would bet my life on the fact that it wasn’t put there by one of them.”

  Janet crossed her arms, her expression tired. “I’m going to call for the nurse. They need to check you out while you’re awake. And you need more sleep.”

  Before Cora had a chance to respond, her mom stepped outside the door. A minute later she could hear the conversation drifting to her. Words like confused and in denial were clear enough. Cora pulled wires off her body, sending the machine into a fit.

  The nurse rushed in. “Ma’am, I need you to—”

  “I need to check out.”

  The nurse, a broad woman with a tight bun, looked unmoved. “We can’t do that until the doctor comes by and gives the go-ahead. He’ll be making rounds in the next two hours. I need you to just relax for now. We can get you something—”

  “I want to check out.”

  “You can’t—”

  “Yes, I can. I can do that—what’s it called? That AMA thing. Please get someone who can make that happen. I’m fine. I have a headache, but I wasn’t raped. I’m not in denial. And I sure as hell don’t need more sleep. I’ve slept enough.”

  The nurse’s expression conveyed her frustration, and Janet looked ready to physically hold Cora back. But Cora knew enough to know that they couldn’t hold her unless they thought she was a danger to herself or someone else. She could leave “Against Medical Advice” if she signed a form. Sometimes it was a benefit to have been a cop’s kid and have heard all her mother’s shop talk.

  So after a tense few minutes of trying to negotiate, the nurse strode off to get the forms.

  Cora’s mother was red in the face by the end of the exchange. “You need to stay. This is ridiculous. The drugs are making you act irrational.”

  “I’m not being irrational.” Cora found a bag her mom had apparently brought up to the hospital with fresh clothes. She tugged on the yoga pants and T-shirt. She could feel her mom watching her. Angry. But worried, too.

  And that’s when it registered that her mom truly believed this. She wasn’t trying to be a pain in the ass. She thought Cora had been drugged and raped and was now going off the deep end. She didn’t have access to all the information Cora had. So with a sigh, Cora walked over to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

  “Mom, listen to me. You said it yourself. You’ve trained me to be smart about these things. To be cautious. Paranoid, even. I’ve been on the lookout for dangerous men all my life. Do you think I would’ve gone home with two guys who I didn’t absolutely, one hundred percent trust? Do you think if I truly believed I’d been raped that I wouldn’t be the first in line to throw the book at these guys?”

  Janet shook her head. “Baby, you’re young and naive. Men will take advantage of you. You can’t know everything about people . . .”

  “No, I can’t.” Cora put her arms at her sides. “And you can’t either. But I can promise you, I know enough. And if you and the police aren’t going to help figure out who really did this, who’s really setting up Hayes, then I’m going to have to find out myself.” She took a deep breath. She couldn’t even think about Ren and Hayes being behind bars right now. She couldn’t let that image sink in. “You taught me that not everyone or everything is as it seems on the surface. And what you’re doing right now is just looking at the surface, at the obvious thing. Why in God’s name would Hayes put himself at risk so publicly again when he just got out of prison?”

  She frowned. “Poor impulse control.”

  “Ha—if you knew him, you’d realize how far from the truth that is. And if they had this grand plan, why come out with me and my friends? Why create all those witnesses? I would’ve gone out with just them.”

  “Witnesses said that you were drunk. That helps their case to pin this on your behavior.”

  “But I wasn’t drunk! Call my friends. Talk to Josh. I had a few drinks but was sober by the time I left. Josh checked in with me before I left to make sure I was good.”

  “You hadn’t had the drink yet. It was in a takeaway cup.”

  She groaned. “Why would they drug me in public when they could’ve just slipped me something at their house? I was already going home with them. I wasn’t going to their place to play checkers. I was already willing.”

  “To have sex with two strangers and to let them abuse you.”

  Cora closed her eyes. Part of her wanted to die discussing this with her mother. Awkward wasn’t an adequate enough word to describe it. But she was tired of being ashamed, of hiding, of being the girl who wore all the masks. “Yes. I’m kinky, all right? I’ve dabbled in that lifestyle online for a while and wanted to try it for real with them. So yes, I wanted to be with both of them. And I wanted them to be a little rough. It was all with consent. I don’t remember everything, but I remember that much without doubt. And it’s okay that you don’t approve or that you think I’m weird or being young and stupid, but I need you to believe me. I need you to trust my judgement on these two guys. They are not the criminals.”

  Her mother stepped back and lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Coraline. I love you and I’d much rather know that you were just being wild and that no one had hurt you, but I can’t in good conscience believe that these guys didn’t do this to you. The evidence doesn’t lie.”

  The words hurt more than Cora expected. Her mother would rather trust a stranger’s word than hers. All her life she’d played by her mom’s rules and it hadn’t made a difference. But she held back the tears that threatened and nodded. “Innocent until proven guilty. Right. Sure.”

  She walked over to the cabinet, which thankfully held her purse and phone, and then walked out in search of the nurse so she could sign the papers.

  She loved her mother more
than anyone in the world. But right now, there were two men sitting in jail who needed her.

  She wasn’t going to let them down.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Ren paced the cell, unable to sleep or sit or do much of anything but walk and stress. They hadn’t told him anything. He had no idea if Cora was okay, and Hayes had been taken to a different part of the station. The not knowing was going to kill him. If someone would just tell him that Cora was okay, he could at least breathe. Ren had called their lawyer, hoping that Jim could get him some information, but he’d had to leave a message.

  A cop came down the hallway, a bored look on his face. “Muroya, you have a visitor.”

  “Thank Christ,” Ren muttered, raking a hand through his hair. At least if he had a lawyer here, he had a chance at getting news or getting the hell out of this place.

  “Turn your back to the door so I can cuff you.”

  Ren did as he was told and then the deputy let him out of the holding cell. He directed him to walk a little ahead of him and guided Ren down the hallway and into the main part of the station.

  The cop cleared his throat before they got to the visitation room. “You’re only going to have a few minutes. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I’m only going to have a few minutes with my lawyer?” Ren asked. “The hell I am. It’s my right to meet with counsel.”

  The cop smirked. “This isn’t counsel. And I’m not losing my job over this. So be quick. Got me?”

  “What?”

  But Ren didn’t have to ask again because when the cop swung open the door, Ren found Cora sitting at the table inside. She looked up, face drawn and pale, hair gathered in a haphazard ponytail, and a haunted look in her eyes.

  “Benning.” All the air whooshed out of him and he nearly dropped to his knees. “Thank you, God.”

  Ren wanted to rush to her, to hug her, to feel for himself that she was okay, but when he jerked his arms forward, the cuffs reminded him where he was. He took a breath, trying to calm himself.

  “Go on.” The cop let him step inside and then shut the door behind Ren.

  Cora’s gaze slid to his arms, registering the cuffs, and she winced. “Does he have to wear those?”

  A voice from the corner of the room answered. “I’m trying to stick as close to protocol as I can, Junior. Plus, Muroya’s put enough people in cuffs. He can handle wearing them for a few minutes.”

  Ren’s gaze hopped to where the voice had come from. Andre Medina stood there in a suit, arms crossed, badge on his hip, and expression serious.

  He gave Ren a little nod. “You have a few minutes. If her mother found out I let you two talk, she’d have my job.”

  “Her mother?” Ren asked.

  “The police captain,” Cora said grimly. “She’s my mom.”

  Ren stared at her. “Janet Benning is your— The one who helped put Hayes away?”

  “The very one, unfortunately.”

  “I— Why didn’t you say something? Jesus. If Hayes knew . . .”

  He would’ve freaked the fuck out. He would’ve assumed Cora was some kind of trap for him.

  “I didn’t know how to bring it up, and it’s not time to focus on that now. If we don’t get something done quickly, she’s going to be the one putting you both away this time.” She nodded at the chair across from her. “Please, Ren, we’ve only got a few minutes.”

  He slid into the chair awkwardly, the cuffs making everything more difficult. “First, tell me you’re okay. They couldn’t get you to wake up. They kept calling your name. I was so fucking terrified. I didn’t know . . .”

  Her businesslike expression faltered for a second and she reached out, flattening her hand between them even though Ren couldn’t reach out to touch her, and met his gaze. “I’m okay. I feel like I’ve been hit in the head with a two-by-four, and I can’t remember a big chunk of last night, but I’m all right. Rohypnol packs a punch.”

  His stomach clenched. “Cora, you have to know that we never would’ve put anything in your drink. I—”

  She lifted her hand. “Please, don’t even. Seriously. I remember enough to know that I wanted to be there with you two. I know neither of you would ever hurt me. But I was drugged. And there’s a picture of Hayes handing me the drink. The cops have the cup with traces of the drug. Do you remember anything about the Coke he gave me?”

  Ren looked down at the table, trying to remember how everything played out at the bar. “It’s got to be the soda we left with. Hayes got it from the bar right before we were leaving.”

  She nodded. “I remember that much, too. But I don’t remember how much I drank. I Googled the drug that was used on me. It’s quick-acting. Half an hour and it starts taking effect. That would’ve been right in the middle of everything. Did you notice me getting drunk at any point after we left? I know I was sober when we headed to your house.”

  He frowned. “No, I don’t think you drank much from what I remember. We talked in the car on the way home. You may have taken a sip or two but when I brought the drink inside for you, it was still pretty full. I remember having to hand it off to Hayes because I almost spilled it. But I don’t know where it ended up after that. But you weren’t acting funny or drunk. Once we were home, you were talking and present and steady on your feet. Well, until”—he glanced at Andre, who was studiously focusing on his phone—“until you were, you know, off your feet.”

  Cora’s cheeks went pink. “You didn’t hear that, Medina.”

  “No hablo ingles,” Medina said without looking up.

  Cora sniffed. “And after that, nothing weird? I can remember some of what we did, but things get fuzzy halfway through.”

  Ren shook his head. “We showered and you were fine. We went to bed. That’s the last I remember before the cops banged on the door.”

  She stared down at her hands, forehead wrinkled. “I had to have drank more afterward. Got up or something. That’s the only thing that makes sense. But I guess that really doesn’t matter at this point.” She looked up, her jaw set. “What matters is that someone drugged my drink and someone called in a false tip. I have a feeling—”

  “It’s the same goddamned person.”

  “Exactly,” she said, her fist curling against the table. “We dragged Hayes out, and the motherfucker jumped on the chance. He had to have followed us there and waited for an opportunity. Who the fuck carries roofies on them just in case the opportunity comes up?”

  “You’d be surprised,” Andre said without looking up.

  “Either way, it’s got to be our guy. My mom slipped up and told me the caller was a man. But she wouldn’t tell me anything else. I doubt she knows much more than that.” She rubbed her lips together. “There were so many people there last night, but do you remember seeing anyone you knew? Anything strange?”

  Ren sagged forward in the seat, his head hurting. He played the night through his head. He’d been having so much fun that all he’d really focused on was Cora and Hayes. It’d been the perfect night—two people he cared about, dancing and laughing and singing . . .

  He straightened.

  “What?” Cora said, picking up on his shift in demeanor. “You saw something?”

  Ren glanced up, his heartbeat speeding up. “After we sang on stage, I was looking out into the crowd and there were so many faces out in the audience. But for a second, I thought I saw a familiar face. It was in my periphery and I just caught a glimpse. When I looked again, the guy had disappeared into the crowd. I figured I’d imagined it.”

  Cora’s hands pressed flat against the table and even Andre was looking their way now. “Who, Ren?”

  Ren swallowed hard. “Gordon. For a second I thought I saw Gordon.”

  Her face went slack. “The guy you ran away with?”

  “Yes, but I’ve thought I’ve seen him before. It used to happen all
the time after I came back home. My psychologist at the time said it was post-traumatic stress. I was seeing his face in strangers. I thought it was the same thing last night. He didn’t even have the same hair color. The lights on stage were in my eyes. I just dismissed it.”

  Cora’s eyes had gone big. “He could be the one. It makes sense.”

  Ren frowned. “But it doesn’t. All of this shit has been directed at Hayes. Hayes is the one who went to prison. If Gordon was still holding some crazy grudge over me leaving him all those years ago, he’d come after me. Hurt me. It’s not like I’m hard to find. And it would’ve been so much easier to frame me. I’m way more reckless than Hayes has ever been.”

  Cora leaned forward on her elbows, her gaze burning into him. “Not necessarily. Think about it. There’s something more devastating than being hurt. What hurts worse than that?”

  A pit settled in his stomach, the realization rocking through him. The words whispered out of him. “Watching the person you love the most get hurt instead.”

  “Yes.”

  Ren couldn’t even wrap his head around that, but as he said it, the truth resonated through him. He’d briefly considered Gordon when everything had started. His mind naturally went there. But he’d dismissed him just as quickly because Gordon hadn’t even known Hayes. It wouldn’t have made sense for him to target Hayes.

  But now Ren knew more. Gordon hadn’t just met Hayes. He’d been threatened by him all those years ago. Hayes had put a gun to his head. And Gordon would not be a man to take that lightly. His pride was everything to him. Respect required or pay the price. Ren had paid the price many times when he’d lived with Gordon. Maybe he was still paying it.

  No, maybe Hayes had paid it on Ren’s behalf.

  The thought made him go cold inside. If Hayes had gone to prison all those years because of Ren’s stupid mistakes when he was a kid . . . If he’d suffered because . . .

  He didn’t even know how to deal with that.

  “Ren,” Cora said, breaking him from his sinking thoughts. “We don’t have much time. I need you to tell me everything you know about Gordon right now. Every detail that can help me track him down.”