No. He put something in the drink.
“Gio!” I stumbled forward, slipped, and crashed to the ground. Darkness swirled around me.
Gio!
Chapter 22
Giovanni
Music is a weapon
in the war
against unhappiness.
~Jason Mraz
Twenty minutes passed. That was all I could deal with as far as Simone’s independence. I knew she could take care of herself, but there was nothing wrong with getting help. God only knew what Ru was filling her head with. Firing him shouldn’t have taken this long. It was just three words—you are fired. Nothing more. Nothing less.
I slung on my pajama bottoms, opened the door a bit too hard, and headed down the stairs. A worried David met me on the stairwell. “Sir, I heard screaming around the west wing and wanted to—”
“Simone is over there.” I raced that way, not letting David finish.
The old man struggled to keep up with my pace.
Fuck. Fuck. What did I let her walk into? Why did I let her go alone? So fucking stupid. Why is she screaming? No. God no.
I made it to Ru’s room in no time, grabbed the knob, and then banged against it. “Open the fuck up, Ru!”
Red-faced, David fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a long key. “Here, sir. This will open anything.”
He stuck the key in while I banged against the fucking door, needing to hit something. What the fuck was he doing to her? If everything was okay, he would’ve responded or opened the door.
We got it open. My heart stopped beating. Simone lay on the bed, on her back, passed out. Her gown was tossed to the side as if someone had yanked it up. Ru sat in the corner, sobbing and shaking. “I didn’t do anything, man. Just calm down. I’ve got a problem.”
Everything left me. I raced over and beat the shit out of him, grabbing him up and slamming him into the wall. He tried to fight back, but it was lackluster. His face looked defeated. A wicked sickness pooled in his eyes. I punched him so much, blood streamed down his face. He couldn’t even stand, just slump over in the corner. I went so hard, Midnight, Chucky, and David couldn’t get me off him.
It took the police.
I had no idea when they’d come or how long I’d been beating Ru. The cops dragged me away. EMTs rushed to Ru as he slumped over to the ground. His eyes were closed. Midnight was cursing and yelling into his phone. Blood covered my hands and chest. Simone was gone—someone had taken her off the bed. I hoped it was the EMTs as the police led me out of the bedroom, handcuffed.
I walked in a daze, drunk off rage. Drowning with guilt.
Why did I let her go by herself? Why didn’t I get rid of Ru earlier? How is she? What did he do to her? I hope I killed him.
When we got outside, cameras were already waiting. Not a lot, but enough paparazzi to spread the word. I gazed off to the right and saw medical techs carrying Simone on a stretcher and loading her into the ambulance vehicle.
Midnight rushed to my side. “Look, baby. We’ll get you out of jail fast. This is just a technicality. They don’t know Ru will wake up. They saw you hitting him and—”
“Where are they taking her?”
Midnight looked in the direction I was gazing. “They’re taking her to the hospital.”
“Go with her and make sure she’s taken care of. Best doctors. Best room. Get her back to me.”
“Man, we have to get you out of—”
“Call the lawyers. That’s why I pay them, but make sure she’s okay.”
“Okay.”
“Have someone notify her family. Let’s fly them up if they want to be here. I don’t want her to wake up by herself.” I targeted him with my gaze. “I’m serious, Midnight. Keep her safe until I get out.”
“I will, man. I will.”
The police ride to the station was silent. Every now and then the cop driving glanced over his shoulders. My hands were still cuffed behind me. Snow fell. All I could do was worry about Simone and beat myself up for letting her get harmed.
It was crazy how fast a decent morning could shift into a life-changing and horrible day. It was just that fast. We’d been warm and under our blankets, kissing. Barely an hour later, Simone had been violated and was passed out on Ru’s bed.
The cop driving whispered to the one in the passenger seat. “Is that who I think it is?”
He nodded. “Yeah. And the guy that’s heading to the hospital is Ru.”
“Who?”
“Don’t you remember that movie, Kid Detective?”
“Oh yeah, he was the lead, right?”
“Yeah.” The cop glanced back at me. “Wasn’t your mother in that movie too?”
I nodded and looked back out of the window.
“Wow, man. Isn’t that crazy?” the cop said to the other. “Life is circular that way.”