Valorous(3)

“You’re damned right he’s not. I’ll see to it that he’s disbarred and charged criminally for what he’s done to you. Not to mention we’ll sue his ass off.”

“It’s like it’s happening all over again… Feels just like it did then.”

She’s referring to being raped at fifteen, which the whole world is now hearing about thanks to a f*cking lawyer in Lincoln, Nebraska, who sold her out to make a buck—probably a lot of them.

I can barely breathe through the rage. I want to cry along with her at knowing I caused her to be victimized all over again. I dragged her back into a nightmare that she’d long ago put behind her. If I’d had any idea something like this was even possible, I never would’ve been seen in public with her.

“It’s not your fault,” she says softly.

Though I’m relieved to see a spark of life in her normally luminescent eyes, I refuse to be let off the hook. “It’s absolutely my fault. Because you were seen with me, they wanted to know more about you, so they dug until they found someone willing to talk for a price.”

“I don’t blame you. I blame him.”

I adore her for being concerned about me at a time like this. “What’s his name, sweetheart?”

“David Rogers. He’s the only person, until today, who knew me by both names. It had to be him.”

“You’ve never told anyone, even your family?”

She shakes her head. “I haven’t seen or talked to my family in eight years.”

I’m saddened to be reminded of how alone she’s been for all these years. Well, she’s not alone anymore. I want every detail of what happened to her, but asking for that now isn’t what she needs. So I sit with her, holding her hand and offering her sips of hot chocolate until a knock on the door announces the doctor’s arrival.

I’m relieved that Gabe’s cousin is a woman. I’m further relieved when she doesn’t make a thing of who I am. Rather, she focuses all her attention on Natalie.

“Hi there, I’m Doctor Janelle Richmond.” She shares dark hair, eyes, complexion and a general family resemblance with Gabe.

I get up to shake her hand. “Thanks so much for coming.”

Natalie glances at me, her trepidation palpable. “You called a doctor?”

“I thought it might help to get something so you can sleep.”

“Maybe I could have a moment alone with Natalie?” Janelle asks.

I don’t want to leave, but I defer to her. “Is it okay with you?” I ask Natalie.

She grasps handfuls of the down comforter on my bed. “I guess.”

“I’ll be right outside the door. Call if you need me.” I lean in to kiss her forehead before I leave the room, closing the door behind me.

Addie finds me in the hallway. “How is she?”

“A little better than she was.” I run my fingers through my hair repeatedly. “Can you call Emmett for me?”

“Sure.” She goes to the living room to get her phone and returns to my post outside the bedroom door. “Here you go.”

I take the phone from her. “Emmett.”

“What can I do, Flynn?” As the chief counsel for Quantum, Emmett Burke is a friend as well as a colleague. He’s also a member of Club Quantum, our secret BDSM club. “I can’t even imagine how upset you must be.”

“I’ve moved past upset straight to enraged. A lawyer named David Rogers in Lincoln, Nebraska, handled Natalie’s legal name change. She says he’s the only person on earth who knows her by both names. I want him buried.”

“I’m all over it.” After a pause, he says, “Flynn… I know you’ve been tending to Natalie, but what they’re reporting about what happened to her… You… um… You need to prepare yourself before you read it. It’s h-hard-core, man.”

In ten years in business together as well as a close personal friendship, I’ve never heard the supremely confident Emmett Burke stutter or stammer. That he is doing both now only adds to my anxiety. “Give me the highlights—or lowlights.” I brace myself for what I’m about to hear.

His deep sigh comes through the phone loud and clear, letting me know how difficult it is for him to tell me these things. “Her father was a top aide to former Nebraska governor Oren Stone. They were lifelong best friends. The families were close, and Natalie—or April, as she was known then—babysat Stone’s kids. She traveled with them on family vacations and spent many a night at the governor’s mansion.”