Kickin’ It by Rachel Van Dyken

Author:Rachel Van Dyken [Dyken, Rachel Van]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542006606
Published: 2019-06-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

MATT

She sagged in my arms like she’d been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I felt like the biggest dick in the universe for not seeing it sooner.

The way she hated being backed into a corner.

Her fear of darkness.

The way she lashed out.

Her behavior toward men in general.

I should have seen all of it.

From her attitude to the way she carried herself, I should have known. I was better at my job than that, not that I was trained to notice those sorts of things, but I’d still like to think I should be better. I’d let my own anger at my attraction turn me into someone I didn’t even recognize.

And now I just felt guilt and a hell of a lot of shame that I’d possibly made her feel even worse about herself when all I wanted was to take all the pain and humiliation away.

“I feel guilty for not telling Willow,” she said against my chest, her breath warm, her body hanging on mine like she couldn’t stand on her own two feet even if she tried.

“Why haven’t you told her?”

“Talking about it makes it real,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. “I just . . . I hate him so much, I hate him.”

“Want me to send a guy after him? I’m sure we could make it look like an accident.” Her lips twitched while she wiped away another tear. “Think about it, we make it look like an accident, superglue his dick to his hand, turn on the puppy channel, and then pump his drink full of Viagra. Nothing worse than when a pug does it for you . . .”

Parker burst out laughing against my chest. “Sounds like a plan, I’ll ride shotgun.”

“Attagirl.” I hugged her tighter. “You aren’t the only victim in this, Parker . . . just think about what that means . . . and know that as your agent I’ll stand behind you no matter what you decide, but as your friend I encourage you to go to the proper authorities, because he’s just going to keep doing it until he gets caught. He’s a narcissist through and through.”

“I still . . .” She pulled away and looked up at me, a mixture of hope and worry in her eyes. “I still let him,” she said, her voice cracking.

“I’m going to ask you something, and no matter what your answer is, know there isn’t any judgment, alright?”

She nodded.

“Would you have let him had he just come on to you and not mentioned your career? Making or breaking you?”

“No.” She said it quickly and then slumped forward, her forehead resting against my chest. “I’m a horrible person.”

“No!” I gripped her by the shoulders. “You’re not a horrible person. You were put in a shitty situation with someone who abused his authority. That’s not on you, that’s on him.”

“I wish I believed that,” she said with a watery smile.

“Give it time.” I wiped the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs.

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