Return of the Bad Girl (32 page)

What do you expect, man? You cut her off. You deserve it if she lets you rot.

Maybe he had overreacted to her taking off on him, but he hadn’t been wrong about the gravity of her sister’s accusations. Whatever her reasons, Ellie had ruined any chance he had for getting his business off the ground here. People wouldn’t trust him, even if Caroline got her to admit she lied. And even then, Caroline likely wouldn’t take his side over her sister’s.

It shouldn’t surprise him that the minute he tasted a moment of happiness, it was yanked away.

Karma still must have a hold of his short hairs.

“T
HIS IS BULLSHIT
!” Kyle yelled from the interrogation room. “I want my lawyer.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Sam said, standing up. Caroline stood on the other side of the mirrored window, watching Kyle twist. It would have been sweeter if Sam had left the cuffs on him, but since he’d been cooperative, Sam hadn’t felt the need.

As Sam came out the door, Caroline said, “I want to talk to him.”

“He asked for a lawyer, Caroline, so we’re just going to let him stew for a minute.”

“I’m not a cop, Sam. I can talk to him all I want,” Caroline said, trying to walk past him.

“There are procedures and rules,” Sam argued.

“I just need some time to get him talking. He’s an arrogant son of a bitch, and I know, if I can just get him riled, he’ll hang himself,” Caroline said, touching his arm. “If he had hurt your sister or wife, what would you tell her?”

Sam blustered for half a second before grumbling, “One minute.”

“Thank you.”

Before he could change his mind, she stepped into the room, her stomach tied up in knots. Kyle looked up at her, shock written all over his face.

“Kyle,” she said before she sat down across from him.

“I don’t understand.” Kyle tugged at his tie. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to make sure you never leave the Idaho prison system.”

“Oh yeah?” Kyle said, sitting back in his chair. “And how are you going to do that?”

“Well, it’s funny,” Caroline said. “Did you know that there’s no statute of limitations for rape in the state of Idaho?”

“Of course I do,” he said warily.

“So, if at any time, even if it’s not for another twenty years, I wanted to walk into a police station and say, ‘Kyle Jenner raped me in one of his guest rooms when I was fifteen,’ I can do that.”

Caroline experienced her first zing of triumph as Kyle sat forward, looking nervously toward the door. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, Caroline, but even
if
something had happened, it would have been consensual.”

“Consensual? Doesn’t a girl usually have to say yes for it to be consensual?”

“Oh, you said yes,” he said mockingly. “Several times.”

Keep your calm. By the time you’re done with him, he’ll be picking up soap in the shower, with ten other men calling him “sweet cheeks.”

“Did I? Funny how I can’t remember that,” she said, hating the way her voice shook with every word. “What I remember is feeling woozy before you carried me upstairs. I remember you taking advantage of me. You hurt me. And then, you threatened my sisters.”

“Whatever story you want to spin to make yourself feel better, that’s on you, but I don’t have to force myself on women to get laid,” Kyle said smugly.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline tried to remain in control. She could hold out long enough to make him hand himself in. Standing up, she continued, “Until recently, I hadn’t told anyone what you did, and it was like living in a hell I couldn’t escape. And the worst part was, I
let
you put me there. I took what you did and blamed myself for it. But it was never my fault. You’re the damaged one.”

Kyle’s face flushed nearly purple. “Damaged? I work for a prestigious law firm and have my pick of women. You were the one who got drunk and was all over me. I just took what was offered.”

“You can try to play it off however you want, but I finally understand that you are just a weak, disgusting waste of a human being,” she said, her tone mocking as she added, “I mean, it must take a real big man to force himself on a girl half his size.”

“Shut up, bitch,” Kyle snarled.

“What’s the matter, Kyle? Am I not your type anymore? Because I’m not scared of you?” She forced a laugh. “Maybe I just realized that underneath all that smarm you’re just . . . pathetic.”

He jumped to his feet and grabbed her shoulders, squeezing them painfully as he pushed her back onto the table. Caroline smiled like the cat that got the cream. She’d wanted to make him angry, wanted to throw him off.

“You’re the pathetic one. Poor little Caroline; nobody loves her. You were so desperate for my attention,” he said, holding fast when she struggled. He leaned forward until he was nose to nose with her. His nearness made her skin crawl. “It was
so
easy. I just added a little nip of whatever I could get my hands on and a few of my mother’s sleeping pills. You just kept guzzling that disgusting punch until you were barely conscious.”

She’d known he must have drugged her, but hearing the words come out of his mouth made bile rise up her throat, choking her. Caroline heard the sound of the room’s doorknob turning, but she had locked it. She had wanted to be alone with him, to make him sweat.

God, she was such an idiot.

“I think my favorite part was when you woke up during and started to struggle, pleading with me to stop,” he taunted her.

Bringing her legs up, she planted them into Kyle’s stomach and pushed him back. As he released her, stumbling back, she got her bearings and jumped back onto her feet. Just as he started to stand straight, she slapped him, backing away before he could reach for her. She couldn’t hold it in anymore, not when he was mocking her with that night.

She wasn’t fifteen years old, drugged and helpless. Or walking down a dark alley.

She was ready for him.

“And Gabe? Why did you blackmail my sister into accusing him?”

He rubbed his cheek and tsked at her. “Caroline, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Forget lying, idiot, my sister has you recorded on her cell phone, beating her. Time stamped and everything.”

Kyle paled, and Caroline wanted to laugh that she had finally cracked his cool shell.

“That bastard got right where he belongs, all on his own.”

“Well, congratulations, Kyle, because we’re gonna be saying the same thing about you in a few hours.”

Kyle scoffed, but his eyes weren’t so sure. “Your sister is hardly a credible witness, no matter what she might have on her phone.”

“Oh, you’ll definitely pay for what you did to Ellie, but that’s not what’s going to put you away for half your life, if not more,” Caroline said, crossing her arms. “You know, I was sick every time I thought about what you’d done to me, but I had no idea how many others there were.”

“What are you talking about, others?”

“The other women you raped and paid off to keep quiet.” For the first time in years, Caroline felt in control. That she had some of her power back.

Sweat was starting to trail down the sides of Kyle’s face, and Caroline was enjoying every single second.

“It’s funny; once my father contacted them and told them you were being brought up on assault charges, six of them decided to make the trip to town to make statements,” Caroline said, grinning. “Three of them are here already. I wonder what they’re telling the nice officers about your very”—she looked down at his crotch—“
unimpressive
equipment.”

Kyle lunged at her with a roar.

Throwing her right shoulder forward, she twisted under his arm and kicked him as hard as she could in the groin. As he grabbed himself and groaned, she swung her right fist and hit him across his cheekbone, sending him crashing to the floor.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and the room filled with police officers and her father.

“Are you all right, Caroline?”

Shaking her hand out, she said, “Just working out my demons, Daddy.”

Sam came in, scowling at Kyle. “We got it.”

“Everything?” Caroline said, relief rushing through her.

“Yeah, you were right,” Sam said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you got him to hang himself.”

“Oh, believe me, I can irritate anyone if I put my mind to it.” Leaning over Kyle, she pointed at the camera in the ceiling corner with the red blinking light. “Wave to the camera, Kyle.”

Kyle turned his head, and when he saw the camera, he struggled against the cuffs. “Oh, you bitch . . . you fucking bitch,” Kyle groaned from the floor. Two of the officers reached down and hauled him to his feet.

“Caroline?” her father said, his mouth twitching like he was fighting a smile.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Have you ever considered a career in law enforcement? I have some connections . . .” he said, his lips still twitching with humor.

Surprised by his attempt to be funny, she laughed.

“Thanks, but I actually love the way my life’s turning out.” Turning to the chief of police, she said, “Sir, I believe you have something of mine, and I’d like it back.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“The three hardest words in the English language are not ‘I love you’ but ‘I forgive you.’ ”

—Miss Know It All

“G
ABRIEL
M
ORIARTY
,”
ONE
of the officers called out as he opened the cell. It seemed a little silly to Gabe, considering he was the only one in the cage.

“Yeah,” he said, sitting up.

“You’ve been cleared, son.” The officer opened the door and stepped back. “You’re free to go.”

“How was I cleared?”

The officer shook his head. “Chief just said you had an angel on your side.”

Gabe walked out of the cell and knew exactly who the angel was.

After he finished his paperwork, another uniform drove him down the road to the apartment. He got out of the car and took the stairs two at a time, only to find the front door unlocked.

Caroline looked up from the kitchen table, a pen and paper in her hand.

“You’re home,” she said breathlessly.

Gabe nodded. “Seems the charges were dropped. I’m guessing that was you.”

“Yeah, Ellie had a video of Kyle beating her,” Caroline said, standing up. “And I provoked him into admitting what he did to me, and my dad had found some of Kyle’s other victims. It’s finally over.”

All he wanted to do was take her into his arms, but he wasn’t sure what was allowed. Or if he should start something up again. Maybe he had put too much pressure on her—and what was between them—the first time around.

“What were you writing?”

She looked away. “I was actually writing you another apology letter. I didn’t get very far, though.” Caroline picked up the paper and handed it to him.

Gabe,

By now they’ve released you. I need to tell you again how sorry I am, over and over if I must. I left in a moment of sheer panic, but I knew it was a mistake the minute the plane took off.

He could understand what she meant about a moment of sheer panic. Hadn’t he been fighting his feelings for her over the last month? Telling himself he didn’t deserve her? And when she’d bailed, he’d told himself he deserved it.

“Look, maybe we just jumped into this too fast. Maybe we just need to step back and take things slowly,” he said, the words eating him up, even as he spoke them. “I can stay at the shop.”

“It’s okay,” she said, her voice sounding strained. “My sister said I could stay with her. I’ll take Possum and Googlie with me, so you don’t have to bother with them.”

“They aren’t a bother,” Gabe said.

“I know,” she said, walking toward him. She lifted her hand to stroke his cheek before walking past him.

Gabe almost reached out and hauled her into his arms—that’s what his impulsive side would’ve done. But time apart would be good for them, would help them decide if they were really right for each other. Or whether intense pasts and close quarters had brought two people closer who really didn’t belong together.

As the front door closed behind Caroline, he sank into the couch, resting his head in his hands. His cell phone rang in his pocket. When he answered it, an unfamiliar voice said, “Mr. Moriarty?”

“Yes?” he said.

“Rick Jameson for the
Rock Canyon Press
. I would like to interview you for the paper tomorrow.”

“Interview me? Why?”

“Why? An innocent man set up by an alleged serial rapist for protecting his girlfriend? You, sir, are big news,” Rick said. “Now, is your last name spelled M-O-R-I-A-R-T-Y?”

“Yes, but I have to ask you, who leaked the story?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Moriarty, I cannot reveal my sources.”

“That’s okay. I have an idea.”

Maybe it was too easy, but it was hard not to forgive a girl who fought to prove his innocence
and
save his reputation.

C
AROLINE WAS MISERABLE
, and she’d only been back on her sister’s couch for four days. At least no one had been keeping her up late.

Since Ellie had cut a deal with the DA in return for testifying against Kyle, she’d been on house arrest, except for her court-ordered community service. All in all, she’d gotten lucky, although she certainly didn’t seem to act like it.

Then again, Caroline hadn’t felt like the world was all sunshine and rainbows either.

“Can I ask you again why you and your devil cats aren’t sleeping at your own place?”

Caroline was lying on Val’s couch with Googs and Possum sleeping on her chest while she watched
Reality Bites
. Googlie lifted his head long enough to hiss at Val. Much to Caroline’s amusement, her kittens had despised Val and her dog on sight.

“I told you; it’s being fumigated.”

“Right,” Val said, whacking her with a pillow and startling the cats. “Letting off a bomb in your apartment takes one day, so explain why you’ve been a bump on my couch for four?”

“What can I say? We have big bugs,” Caroline said, reaching for her Coke and rubbing the wounds the cats’ nails had left as they’d escaped. “Now get out of my way. This is the good part.”