Slowly, she nodded. And for only the second time in her life, she told the story of what happened with her and Brian, starting with their history as friends, then up to the day Brian raped her.
"Spencer knows," she said. "I told him a few days ago. Or, actually, I guess I should say I told him that I'd been date raped. He figured out the Brian part. There's a woman--Amy. She's a former employee of his, and she's pressing charges against Brian. She came to Spencer to see if he knew about any other victims, and he realized what Brian did to me."
The two men looked at each other, but said nothing.
"He had other reasons, too," she said, then told them about the financial shenanigans that Brian had been into.
Slowly, Easton nodded.
"I need to go find him," Brooke said. "Can I go now? Please?"
Brent laid a hand on her arm. "The man's a live wire right now, sweetheart. Give him until tomorrow morning."
"But--" She drew a
breath, powering through the fear. "But what if they find him and arrest him?"
"My first job was with the District Attorney's office," Easton said. "Let me make a few calls. And I also want to poke into this Amy thing. Even if the case isn't pending in Travis County, I might be able to learn something. I'll even go down to the police department and start there."
"I'll go with you," Brent said. "Odds are good I'll know somebody who can help us out. It's going to be okay," he added, giving her a quick hug. "Don't worry."
But that was easier said than done.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Spencer heard the rusty hinges of the mansion's kitchen door creak, and he stood to meet her. He knew it would be Brooke, and he knew why she'd stayed away last night. Because he'd fucked up. Proven himself to be the man she'd always feared him to be. A man whose life was in his hands, not his head.
"So there you go," he said, as she stepped into the room, her face pale and drawn. "That's me. That's the kind of man I am. And I know you can't handle--"
"Shut up, Spencer."
He did, mostly because her words shocked him into silence.
She moved slowly toward him, then took his hands. And as his heart flipped over, she gently bent and kissed his bruised knuckles. "For a guy who's made so much of himself, you can be pretty damn stupid. You know that, right?"
"Made--"
"You think you're not a success because you work with your hands and don't know how to do double-digit accounting? That's bullshit. You're capable and honest and loyal and you would lay down your life for someone you loved." She blinked, and a tear spilled down her cheek.
He held his breath, not sure what she was saying to him. Wanting to believe, but scared to take the leap.
He drew a breath, then decided to cut to the chase. "You didn't tell me about Brian because you were afraid I'd do what I did last night."
"Exactly."
"Well, I'm sorry, but this is who I am. And if--"
"Christ, do I have to hit you over the head with a brick? How many times do I have to tell you before it penetrates your thick skull? I don't give a fuck that you beat the shit out of that ass wipe. Do you think I don't understand how much it hurt you to hear what he did to me? To know that there was nothing you could do to erase that? Don't you know that I would have happily smashed his face in all by myself?"
"But--"
"But nothing." She drew in a breath, apparently gathering control. Or possibly considering kicking him in the shins.
"Come on, Spencer. I wanted to stand up and cheer when you punched him. I don't think less of you for protecting me--if anything, you get mega-brownie points in my book. But I swear to God, if you screwed things up for us by getting nailed with an assault charge--"
"Us?" The word had lassoed his heart, and he was having a hard time breathing.
She squared her shoulders and looked so put out with him that it was all he could do not to pull her close and kiss the expression right off her face.