“I did something really stupid,” she whispered. Her face was drained of color, as if she’d just realized the full ramifications of her actions. She was beginning to scare me. What the hell could she have done that was so bad? She was terrified.
“Tell me what you did, Beth.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “There was a package. It . . . it was cocaine. A block of coke wrapped in plastic. Ivan wanted me to deliver it to someone in L.A. next week.”
“Where is it now?”
“In the toilet,” she sobbed.
I looked at her. What? She was crying so heavily I could barely understand her.
“Beth, I need you to look at me. I need you to calm down, okay?”
She nodded and took a deep breath. Her hands, cold and clammy, closed over mine.
“What do you mean it’s in the toilet?”
“I was so angry at him. I wanted to hurt him, Roman. I wasn’t thinking. I flushed it down the toilet. And filmed it. Then sent him the video.”
Oh, shit. I racked my brain, trying to place this Ivan. I was pretty sure she hadn’t mentioned him before. “Who is Ivan?”
“My manager.” Beth swallowed, blinking back her tears. “Ivan raped me. Nearly four months ago.” She lowered her head, eyes closed, tears rolling down her cheeks.
My throat constricted as my mind processed what she’d just said. Surely I must’ve heard wrong?
“Ivan raped you.” I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees, anger rising inside of me. Her spiel about the assault being a year ago and not knowing him had been just to throw me off the trail. I wanted to break his fucking neck. “What happened, Beth? Did you tell anyone? Did you report it?” My voice was oddly calm, a complete contradiction to how I was feeling.
I was trying so damn hard to remain calm because I didn’t want to upset her, but it was nearly impossible. I had to find him. I had to find him and kick the living shit out of him. I was going to kill the bastard.
“No.” She shook her head.
Leaning forward, I pulled her in to me, wrapping my arms around her.
“I . . . there was nobody to tell. He threatened me. God, Roman, it was horrible. I was so scared.”
“I can’t believe you went through this alone,” I murmured, holding her tight. I wanted to protect her. And I wanted to make him pay.
I swear on my life, that fucker is going to pay.
***
Beth lay on the bed when I entered the room, her eyes swollen and red. I zipped up my jacket, then leaned over her, kissing her tenderly.
“I’ll be back soon, okay? Scarlett is here if you need anything. I promise I won’t be long.”
“Where are you going?” She sat up, terror in her wide eyes.
“I have to take care of something,” I muttered, scowling.
“No! Please, Roman. Don’t do anything stupid, please. Please.”
“Beth, he has to pay. He needs to pay for what he did to you,” I growled. “He’s not going to get away with it.”
“Please, just let it go,” she begged. “I don’t need you to fix things for me.”
“No?” I said, my voice rising. “Who the fuck is going to do it if I don’t, Beth?”
Chapter Twenty-Five