Watch Me (Phoenix 1)

Hilary took a quick sip then held the bottle in her lap, her knuckles white. “You know how it is. Your family is probably just the same. A scandal would hurt our name. That’s where his thoughts were.”

Sadly, Rhys did know how it was. His parents would have buried such a scandal for him too if the situation called for it. A family name meant everything in corporate America, even if that meant hurting a loved one. “So, they told you to be quiet?”

“My father did, yes.”

Archer interjected, “But something must have changed. You told Zoey you want to go to the police.”

A swift hardness swept over Hilary’s face, stealing the weakness from earlier. “Yes, I changed my mind that night Zoey had her first show. The look on her face when she took off her mask. I’m sure no one else realized it, thinking her mask accidentally fell off, but I’ve seen that look on her face. I see it every time I look in the mirror. And I saw her looking at Jake, and then saw him leave. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together.” She took another sip of her water. “After I saw that, I hired an investigator to look into it. He showed me Zoey’s photograph online and Jake’s remarks.”

But not Scott’s. From the beginning, Rhys had assumed Jake ran this show and Scott got involved in something he should have stopped. He’d seen Scott’s guilt when he confronted them. The ghosts following him. Ghosts that Jake did not have. Rhys breathed deeply, controlling what he felt, to keep his head in the right space to help Hilary. He shot Archer a look.

Archer inclined his head, understanding the unsaid statement that Rhys wanted that investigator talked to. Zoey’s privacy mattered.

To Hilary, Rhys asked, “Did you know who Jake was behind the mask?”

Hilary nodded. “I did, yes.”

“And yet, you’ve been here at Phoenix with him? Was that not upsetting to you?”

Something haunted crossed her face. “Jake is in my inner circle of friends. I see him every weekend. Avoiding him is impossible. I’ve just grown to deal with that.”

“I’m sorry, Hilary. That must be hard,” Rhys said gently.

She lifted a shoulder. “I thought I could handle it, until that night I saw Zoey. After seeing her get justice, I felt shameful that I wasn’t strong enough to stand up against him. It made me want to fight back. To prove he had done something terrible to me. That everyone might not know about it, but that I knew, and it didn’t break me.”

Archer asked, “Is that why you went to see Zoey?”

“Yeah,” Hilary replied with a quick nod at him. “I want to tell my story, but I can’t do this alone. Who will believe me?”

“I believe you,” Rhys said in an instant.

“I do too,” Archer agreed.

Hilary’s chin quivered. She swallowed deeply before addressing them again, “Thank you. I appreciate that. But I need more than just people believing me. I need another victim. We all know that. I need something more than my word against his.”

“You need Zoey’s truth,” Rhys offered.

Again, Hilary nodded. “Maybe once our stories are out there, more victims will come forward. If there are two of us, there must be more.”

Rhys steepled his hands on top of his desk. “I have no doubt there are more victims, but I would ask a favor from you, regarding all this.”

She gave him a lopsided grin. “Stay away from Zoey, right?”

Rhys held her gaze, carefully choosing his words. “Whatever you need from me, Hilary, you’ve got it. Money. Lawyers. Investigators. Contacts. I will help you however I can, but when it comes to Zoey and what she wants out of this, I will protect her at all costs. She’s made it clear where she stands on this matter. But if you’d like, Archer can jump on board, and with his resources, he’ll help you build a case, as well as possibly find other victims who are more willing to come forward.”

Hilary’s smile was sweet and soft. “That’s more than I can ever ask of you, but if you’re offering, I could definitely use the help.”

“Then, it’s done,” Rhys said.

Archer rose, and as Hilary followed, Rhys called, “Does your family know you’re planning on coming forward now?”

“No,” Hilary said over her shoulder. A powerful hardness in her expression. “I don’t particularly care either. I’m done playing by my father’s rules.”

Rhys inclined his head at her bravery.

However, Archer gave Rhys a look he’d seen before. We must tread carefully. The last thing Phoenix needed was Hilary’s father finding out about Rhys’s and Archer’s involvement, which in turn, could expose the club. Rhys never took these risks. But if he could bring hellfire down on Jake, there was no cost he wouldn’t pay for what he had done to Zoey. Rhys acknowledged the unsaid between them with a nod. He rose from his desk and leaned against the large double window, staring out again into the sunny day. The sky had been the same on the day Katherine passed away. He remembered that day vividly, the lack of power he felt, and that’s what drove him to always be in control now. To help those he could. To bring happiness to those who deserved it. But the one thing he hadn’t expected was Zoey and the way she changed him. The way she made him want things he hadn’t thought about since Katherine. But the last thing he wanted was for Zoey to lose herself like Katherine did. Zoey didn’t want to stay in New York City, the reminder of all she’d been through there, haunting her. How could Rhys ask her to stay for him?

“You deserve her.”