I swallow my shock.
“Who is it, Raleigh?” Dalton has stepped up next to me, a friendly hand rests on my shoulder.
Focusing on the task at hand, I address the officer first. “That won’t be necessary, I’m also listed on the restraining order—”
“Raleigh, what’s going on?” Dalton’s grip grows tighter, but it’s a desperate touch, nothing rude or harmful. Raising a hand, I mouth at him to wait. He exhales and finally lets go of me.
“I can come down myself and identify him.” Hanging up after the officer confirms the details, I turn to face Dalton with as calm of a demeanor as I can.
I open my mouth to relay the information but both a shaky breath and another ring of a cell phone interrupts.
It’s Dalton’s this time. I motion for him to answer it. Secretly, I’m thankful for a moment to compose myself, but I quickly understand that Dalton’s caller is involved as well.
“It’s Mitch,” Dalton begins, turning on his speaker.
“Hi, Mitch, it’s me.” Dalton says, not missing a beat. “I assume this is about the incident at the hotel?”
Mitch sighs. “I tried to call Raleigh first, but her line was busy. I just got a call from one of the men on our team, detailing what happened. Mae’s asking questions, and I don’t know how to proceed. Could you come back out and explain it, or tell me what to do?”
Though I truly feel for Mae and all the things she has to go through at the level of fame she holds, I can’t bring myself to want to be in her presence at the moment. Stepping in, I try to take back some control. “Take her where she feels most comfortable. If that’s in her hotel room, that’s fine. If it’s somewhere else entirely, that’s fine too. Just keep me updated until I can get there and tell her to keep her phone on. Make sure she answers when Dalton or I call. I’m going to go take care of this at the station.”
Before either of us can hang up, I hear Mae’s muffled voice telling Mitch that she’s tried to call Trenton, but after hanging up the first time he isn’t picking up. Sighing, I decide at this moment to be the adult in the situation. “Just put her on,” I say, stamping my foot.
My defenses go up the moment Mae’s watery voice meets my ear. She sounds scared and confused. “He wouldn’t let me get a word in! He told me he wanted to stay in a separate hotel tonight, and that he was going out and then hung up. Raleigh, I heard a woman on the other end of the line giggling like she was right beside him. Now he won’t answer.”
My eyebrows lift in Dalton’s direction but he motions me to keep going. “Mae, are you okay?”
“He’s cheating on me, isn’t he?” Her voice is trembling now.
I need to take control of this situation.
“I don’t know, honey. This is going to be a long night but I need you to try and hold it together until I can get to you. Can you let Mitch take you up to your room? I’m going to go take care of legal and then I’ll come straight to you okay?”
A drawn out sniffle gives pause to the conversation.
“We need confirmation, sweetheart,” Dalton says, coming to my aid.
“I’ll be okay,” she answers.
Trying not to break Dalton’s phone screen, I smack the end call button.
I hand the phone back to Dalton, but he grabs my whole hand instead. Sneaking it away from my grasp, he pulls me into a hug. I don’t let the world around me matter as I hug him back. I allow myself one single moment to let the sadness do its work. Taking in the scent of him, I’m transferred back to Christmas Eve and the way I had fit so perfectly into his life. Here, I fit so perfectly into his arms.
As the ease of Christmas fades away and the complexity of the evening takes over again, I come to my senses. Pulling away, I champion the depression and plaster my professionalism to my face and body.
“Drive me to the station?” I ask.
Dalton studies me a moment, his eyes raking in the sight of me. If he’s concerned or confused by me, he doesn’t voice it. Instead he crooks his finger and gently tilts my chin up at him. The urge to tumble back into his arms and hide is nearly overpowering, but somehow, I manage to save face and keep it together.
Finally satisfied, Dalton nods and lets his hand drop to his side. He makes a quick call, and seconds later, a car is screeching up to the back door.
Chapter 28
Dalton
I’VE RARELY FELT THIS helpless before. They took Raleigh back to identify the offender and give her statement, and she chose to handle it herself. I’m proud of her, in awe of that kind of courage, but at the same time, I want to be there for her in those tough moments. She’s been through hell tonight, and I’ve been able to do nothing but sit back and watch.
Despite the negativity of the evening, there is one thing that will hopefully give us all a bit of relief. It’s the fact that the disgusting individual who violated his restraining order will be going away for a lot longer than we thought he might. The police discovered this man had been to every city alongside Mae and Raleigh since he was first serviced. Something I know will make Mae feel uncomfortable and add to the mounting guilt that Raleigh is feeling.
