“Marcus,” she drawled, “the guy was on parole for causing major injuries to a guy in a bar with chains. Once I came round in hospital with my parents next to me, I was scared if I told them who’d drugged me, they might have friends who’d hurt my family and me. I wasn’t willing to take that risk, so I said I couldn’t remember where I’d been that night and blamed it on the drugs.”
“What drugs did they find in your system?” Remy asked, his jaw ticking.
“Rohypnol, cocaine, and an antihistamine.”
Jesus Christ, it just got worse.
“I’d never done drugs a day in my life until that moment,” she added quietly. “I’d never even been tempted. And knowing what could have happened to me—what did almost happen to me…” Addy shook her head and pulled her feet up onto the chair next to my thigh.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, girl,” Santana whispered, looking at her sadly. “I don’t know how you haven’t lost your mind.”
Taking in a shuddering breath, she smiled over at her. “I come from a good family. My dad’s hot headed, and so are my brother and sister, so I knew coming to terms with it would keep them out of jail.
“Fortunately, two months after it, I found a place in LA that was closer to where the recording studios I worked in at the time were, so I relocated. I’ve also found a way to drink in public—not that I do it often because I’m always working—and I’ve gotten myself back on my feet.”
One part of me wanted to help Remy look into them and make sure both the people responsible found out the meaning of the word karma was, but my job as Addy’s man was to make sure she was okay and kept being okay.
Right now, I couldn’t mix the two and do either one justice, and her wellbeing was my priority, so I stayed where I was and gently but firmly rubbed her back, giving her comfort and letting her know I was there and I cared. It was nothing in the grand scheme of things, but she relaxed back into me, and I felt the tension leave her body.
“Sorry for being a Debby Downer, you guys,” she finally said. “I kind of ruined the easy-going buzz, didn’t I?”
“Not even a little, baby,” I rasped. “Things like that are important to know so we can help you feel safe. We’re just shocked and sad something like that happened, and so fucking grateful a patrol car was going by when the guy found you on the sidewalk.”
“It’s true,” Santana nodded. “I don’t know how you’re still sane after that, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t wondering if I could finagle a trip to San Diego to hit them both with my baseball bat.”
For the first time since I’d met her, I saw a side to Santana I didn’t know she had, and judging by the way Remy was staring at her, he was thinking the same thing. Scratch that—by the way his nostrils were flared and his hand was fisted, I had to figure he was holding himself back from grabbing her. Interesting!
Addy snorted. “They’re not worth the gas or airfare, girl. Trust me on that.”
“So, you only drink around people you trust?” I asked, tapping her knee to get her attention.
“Yeah. Until now, that’s only been my family. I don’t even drink at events and parties I’m invited to for work because I don’t trust the waiters or people around me.”
“But you had alcohol the first night we met,” I pointed out again.
Turning to look at me over her shoulder, she whispered, “Exactly.”
Fuck me. Totally, utterly, absolutely, thunderstruck.
And apparently, I wasn’t the only one.
Standing up with her in my arms, I clipped, “Say goodnight, baby.”
I’d already turned to walk back to my house and was almost through the door, so she waved over my shoulder. “Goodnight, baby!”
The sound of both Santana’s and Remy’s laughter followed me even after I kicked the door shut behind me.
Chapter Nine
Addy
Telling people you cared about a shitty story like I had tonight wasn’t easy, but I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders now. They knew, they understood, and they hadn’t judged me for being naïve and dumb.
“I can walk,” I chuckled as Marcus moved through his house without turning any lights on. Granted, he lived here, so he likely had it burned into his brain where everything was, but still. I’d have kicked a table or hit my shin on one by now.
“I don’t care,” Marcus replied, but then he put me on my feet. “Fuck!” Gently holding my face in his large hands, he lifted it until I could make out his face in the dim light coming through the windows. “I need you. I need to be inside you more than I need to breathe at this point.”