by C. A. Harms
“Hey there, pretty lady,” Kate’s voice cooed next to my ear, and for the first time in the last thirty minutes, I felt at ease. “I figured by now Shawn would have you cuffed to the bed.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure not every cop uses his handcuffs for that purpose.” I laughed as she took a seat next to me.
“Oh, but they should.” She wiggled her brows in a suggestive manner.
I caught movement over her left shoulder and found Max and Carson talking to Tanner. Their backs were to me, but Tanner’s eyes were locked on mine.
“Where is Bree?” I asked without looking away from his fierce stare.
“She’s around somewhere.”
I managed to pull my gaze from Tanner and looked back to the bar. Where the hell was Shawn? Honestly, how long could it take to get drinks?
“Bree! There you are.” Kate waved to get her attention.
The moment she saw me, her face fell. She tried to hide it, but I knew how to read Bree. An uneasy feeling filled my stomach as she cautiously approached the table.
What the hell was wrong with everyone tonight? Was it a full moon?
Bree took a seat at the table, motioning with her head toward the bar. She was trying to be discreet as she signaled to Kate to look in that direction.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked, turning around to look over my shoulder.
“Don’t,” Kate growled as she placed her hand on top of mine. “I can’t believe this.”
Choosing to ignore their warnings, I looked anyway. Shawn was in the farthest corner of the bar, almost completely hidden from sight—almost. He had an arm wrapped around a brunette’s waist and was holding her close as he whispered in her ear. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy as she ran her fingers through his hair.
My stomach tightened, and an overpowering anger ran through me. I was generally a quiet person, the kind of girl most people found it easy to walk all over, and they often did. I wore my heart on my sleeve, and that only continued to set me up for heartbreak. Chalk this up to another one of those times.
I swiped my handbag from the table and stood up, then squared my shoulders and zoned in on my target. It was time Lily Rose Peterson stood up for herself. Kate said my name, attempting to gain my attention, yet nothing would stop me from giving Shawn a piece of my mind. I walked across the bar with purpose. Shawn was about to be on the receiving end of years of pent-up frustration. I hoped he was man enough to handle what was coming his way.
I rounded the end of the bar, and Shawn looked up from kissing the brunette’s neck. His face lost all its color, and he let her go and turned to me, eyes locked on mine.
“Lily,” he stuttered, “I was just—”
I held my hand up to stop his lame attempt. “Save it. Because I honestly don’t really give a shit. I don’t want to hear what pathetic excuse you’re about to throw my way.”
The brunette was gawking back and forth between the two of us, puzzled. “How long have you been seeing him?” I asked her.
Her eyes grew wide, and she took a step away from him. “Listen, I had no idea he was married,” she stammered.
“We’re not married.” I looked back at him. “We were dating.”
“A few weeks,” she whispered.
It wasn’t her fault. She was just as shocked as I was. I could read it all over her face. I stepped a little closer to Shawn, glaring at him with all the hatred I could gather. “You’re an asshole. A disgusting pig. I thought you were a nice guy, but you’re just like the rest of them. All you want is a warm body, it really doesn’t matter whose.”
“Lil…” He reached out toward me, and I jerked my arm away.
“Don’t you fucking touch me. You don’t get that privilege. You are a lying, cheating bastard, and you make me sick,” I said, holding back tears. I’m what you could call an angry crier. The overwhelming rush of adrenaline when I was mad always made me weep.
Before I could say another word, I heard a scuffle behind me. I turned to find Carson and Max holding Tanner back as he shoved, unable to get past the hard wall of muscle. You could almost feel the anger rolling off him in waves.
I couldn’t take this, I had to get out of here. It was all too much.
Chapter Four
Tanner
I could hear her voice from across the bar, and the hurt in it was like a knife to my chest. Carson stood up and started in her direction, and I followed close behind, pushing through the crowd that had started to form around Lily and Shawn.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what was happening once we rounded the corner. I was buzzed, but you didn’t have to be sober to know Shawn had fucked up.
I tried to push past Carson only to be held back by Max. “Let go, man,” I said, shoving against his chest, my anger boiling harder at his resistance.
“She’s got this, T, it ain’t your fight.” Max was like a damn brick wall as he held me back. All I wanted to do was get past him long enough to bust that prick in the mouth.
I stopped fighting against Max as I took in the devastated look on her face. Her lower lip quivered, and my knees felt weak instantly. Lily looked back at us, and her reddened eyes gutted me. Watching her rush past us, as Bree and Kate ran after her, was just another punch to the gut. Max made the mistake of trying to shift to get a better hold on me, and I took the opening. One swing to the jaw of her fuckwad date had him stumbling back.
Carson wrapped his arms around me from behind and held on tight as I struggled. “You stupid motherfucker,” I growled as he pulled me farther away. “Don’t you see what you had in her? Lily deserves better than this.”
The bouncer approached us, and Max held him off, telling him we were leaving.
I jerked out of Carson’s hold after he dragged me out the door “Calm the fuck down, T,” he said. “I can’t keep you out of jail, you dumbass. You just assaulted a police officer.”
“What?” A shuddering voice came from the darkness.
All three of us turned to see the girls standing just to the side of the entrance. Lily stepped closer, holding her purse to her chest. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and she looked so frail.
“Are you okay?” I asked, reaching out for her.
“Stop,” she said, her voice sounding so direct. “What did you do?”
Everyone stood in silence, looking at us. The girls mirrored Lily’s expression of irritation. The guys steered clear, throwing me to the sharks. The alcohol running ahead of my brain made me speak before thinking. “I busted the fucker in the mouth. I would have done more if five-zero over there would have stayed out of my way.” I nudged my thumb in Carson’s direction.
“This has nothing to do with you,” she said coldly, no sweet Lily behind her words. “You have no right. This is my life, Tanner, mine. I didn’t want or need your help.”
“I don’t like to see you hurt.” The confession fell from my lips before I could stop it. “I can’t take it.”
Lily stepped toward me, looking me dead in the eyes. “Well, if that is even remotely true, then why was it okay for you to hurt me?” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “All those times you flirted when you knew I would fall for it, only to throw your newest flavor of the week in my face.”
“Lily, I—”
“Back the fuck off. Your games are old and I’m done playing.” No one spoke as she stepped past me; the only sound was the shuffle of Lily’s feet as she walked away.
I spun around to chase after her, and a delicate hand encircled my forearm. I turned to see Kate looking up at me, shaking her head. “We’ll take her home. Let her cool off before you try again. Her emotions are running wild right now. It won’t help trying anything more tonight.”
She didn’t wait for me to agree or fight her on this, she just walked after Lily, leaving me to feel like the biggest ass there ever was.
Lily was right. I played games. I toyed with her because I knew she was crushing on me. At first her attention was an ego boost, but in the end it was s
o much more.
Chapter Five
Lily
I had managed to avoid all of Shawn’s calls. The pig even went as far as having flowers delivered to my house. My neighbor Mrs. Garrison loved them. At least that’s what her husband told me. He said she squealed when he gave them to her. I figured since they were well into their seventies, he probably hadn’t gotten her flowers in a while. I agreed to keep it our little secret.
Unfortunately Shawn knew my class schedule. I hadn’t thought I would regret him knowing a detail like that until now. Walking toward the parking lot just after my last class of the day, I found him sitting on the hood of his patrol car, which was parked next to mine. So yeah, seeing him in his uniform was sexy and a little distracting. But remembering that he’d cheated on me helped devalue his sex appeal.
I chose to give him the silent treatment and walked right past him to my car, where I threw my bag into the passenger seat before crawling in. When his hand stopped me from slamming the door shut, I shot an evil look in his direction. “Let go, jackass.”
“Five minutes, please,” he pleaded, still holding my door.
“You have sixty seconds before I run your cheating ass over.” I think my attitude surprised us both. But then, I guess being cheated on and made to feel like you weren’t worth shit made being a bitch a little easier.
“I never meant to hurt you. I shouldn’t have been seeing Gabby at the same time. I know that.”
How the hell did he think I’d feel when I found out? Did he feel like that pathetic explanation was even worth my time?
“I know you care about him,” he confessed, hanging his head. “I knew from the beginning that I was just a stand-in. I’m not blind. I saw the way you looked at him whenever he was around.”
I looked back at him, completely confused.
“Carson’s brother, Tanner. It really didn’t matter how great I could have been, I would never have been enough.” He released my door and took a step back. “It still isn’t a good enough reason for cheating, but it’s true. You know it is. I was just something to pass the time until he woke up.”
What the hell?
Shawn stared at me, silently begging for me to understand his pathetic reasoning. But I refused to give him the satisfaction of agreeing. Instead I slammed my door and drove away.
***
“Seriously?” Riley gasped from across the table. “He tried to blame it on you. What an ass.”
I had met the girls at Macy’s Coffee Shop before my evening class. I needed some girl time after yesterday’s run-in with Shawn.
“So, what? He actually thinks he had a good enough excuse for cheating? There is no such thing,” Kate said as she lowered her latte to the table. “So you and Tanner kissed, like, forever ago. You flirted on occasion. But that was it. Tanner is a man-whore.”
The mention of Tanner’s bedroom gymnastics made my stomach hurt.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “I thought Shawn was one of the good guys. I felt comfortable with him, like I was safe. So much for sticking with the nice guys. They all apparently think with their penises.”
Riley snorted while taking a drink, which led to her coughing. Bree patted her on the back as we all laughed.
Somehow a little time with the girls always seemed to help. We had all grown so close over the last year. I truly adored each of them and treasured our time together.
I left the café later than I had hoped. Time always got away from me when I was spending it with my girlfriends. The parking lot next to Hannigan Hall was full, leaving me no other option than to park along the street. After getting out, I hurried toward the building, rushing past a group of students that were just exiting. I arrived just as the professor was pulling the door shut and apologized profusely as I snuck past him, ducking my head.
My major was literature. There was just something about a great journey through the imaginations of others, about the world of words that could grab ahold of you and take you along for the ride into the unknown. I wanted nothing more than to instill that love in others as a teacher.
When class ended I stayed after a few minutes to finish up with my research. I was completely engrossed in my Lit paper. I was so close to having it exactly where I wanted it.
Professor Whitman cleared his throat, catching my attention. “Miss Peterson, it’s getting late.”
“Sorry, I sort of lost track of time,” I replied. I quickly packed up my things and tossed them in my shoulder bag before I rushed from the room. “Thank you for allowing me a little extra time.”
“Have a nice evening,” he said as he closed the door behind us and walked in the opposite direction.
When I stepped outside, the sun had already begun to set, and the parking lot was almost deserted. I hurried down the steps and walked toward the street just to the east of the building.
A noticeable shuffle behind me made my heart speed up as a chill washed over me. The dark shadow of what appeared to be a man along the edge of the parking lot set off sheer panic within me. I began walking faster, almost running, toward my car.
My hands shook as I tried to find the key fob buried in the bottom of my bag. Finally, my hand brushed against it, and the click of the doors unlocking filled the silence. I jerked open the door and quickly began to crawl inside.
A sharp pain spiked across my scalp as my hair was yanked back. I stumbled backward, grabbing for anything in the car I could use to protect myself.
My back slammed against the ground, and a heavy body covered me. Randy’s angry, devilish glare bored into me, his face within inches of mine.
“You ruined my life, you little bitch. Because of you, my wife left. She took everything—my kids, my money. You fucked up everything.” His spittle hit my face as he snarled. “You’ll pay for all your lies. You’ll pay for everything you took from me.”
I screamed, and his hand connected with my cheek. I kicked and twisted beneath him, trying to break free of his hold.
“You whored yourself around. Then when I take the bait, you cry wolf. Who’s gonna help you now, Lily? Where are your friends now?” He looked around the deserted street. “Looks like we’re all alone.”
Terror filled me. “Please,” I begged, “don’t.”
“You think I have anything left to lose? You took it all.” He inched closer, sliding his hand under the hem of my shirt. “Figure I may as well get something out of it. Don’t you think you owe me that?”
I shook my head, a scream bubbling in my chest just as his hand covered my mouth.
“This is gonna be a lot worse if you scream, Lily,” he whispered next to my ear as he used his knee to nudge my legs apart.
Tears filled my eyes, and my heart beat rapidly.
“There you go, just relax.”
I stopped fighting him, giving him the impression I had succumbed to his power. Just when he let his guard down, slowly removing his hand, I raised my knee and connected with his dick. He howled and tucked into himself, and I used this opportunity to twist away and crawl toward my car. If I could just get inside, I could lock the door and get my phone. I had no idea where my keys were at this point, but I had to try. I could hit my horn over and over, hoping help would come.
Randy grabbed my ankle and yanked me back. He groaned in pain as he crawled closer, pulling me backward and scraping my knees along the pavement. I cried out once more when his fist connected with the back of my head. My screams echoed through the deserted streets. I was once again on my back, with Randy’s body pressing me to the ground. The last thing I saw just before the blackness took over was my attacker’s fist as it connected with my temple.
Chapter Six
Tanner
“We could go to my place,” Olivia cooed. She had her breasts pressed against my arm, her finger hooked in the waistband of my jeans. I had stopped at Gilbert’s for a drink after work and regretted that decision the moment she sat down on the stool beside me.
I only stayed long enough to finish the beer I
had already paid for. Now I just wanted to get the hell out of here. “I got plans, Liv, got places to be,” I told her as I pulled her hand out of my pants.
She pouted, and I fought against the desire to laugh. She started to say something, and I praised my phone for ringing at that very moment.
“Running late, catch ya later.” I waved her off as I rushed out of the door while pulling my phone out.
“Yeah,” I barked as I dug in my pocket for my car keys.
“T,” Zander said, “where you at?”
The sound of his voice made my heart race. “What’s going on, Z-man? And don’t pull this shit about it being nothing to panic over. I can hear it in your voice.”
“We need you at the hospital.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, bracing myself against the bed of my truck. It was then that I heard crying in the background.
“What the fuck is going on, man?” My throat felt as if it were closing, and I could barely breathe. “My mom? Dad? Riley, is she okay? Give me something here.”
“Lily was attacked tonight. Shawn was on duty when it happened, and he was the first cop to arrive at the college. Carson and Jason arrived about ten minutes later in a second patrol car.”
“Was she…?” My throat ached. I couldn’t even ask the question. It faded away as my voice cracked.
“Just drive safe. You’re needed here,” he said.
I nodded as if he could actually see me. I didn’t remember saying good-bye or the drive to the hospital.
As soon as I parked the truck, I ran into the emergency room’s waiting area. The look on all the broken faces of those who loved Lily made my heart drop to my stomach. Bree clung to Max as she cried against his chest. A distraught-looking Zander held Kate and Riley close. Carson and Jason stood to the side of the room, alongside Shawn, talking to each other in hushed tones. Logan and his friend Sam stared out the window at the opposite side of the waiting area, comforting one another the best they could. Everyone looked devastated and worried.
