Page 94 of Keeping a Warrior

“You proud of yourself?” Hank went on. “It wasn’t enough you tried to ruin his career, you had to get him killed?”

“I got him killed? I planted the IED?” Devon’s voice was loud, defiant.

“You might as well have,” Hank shouted back. “His mind wasn’t on his surroundings. He was worried about his career, his relationship. All because of you.”

“He laughed while he watched two of his buddies hold me down and rape me.” Devon’s face was bone-white. “Maybe that was on his mind.”

“Rape?” Hank gave a mocking laugh. “Is that still how you’re trying to spin it?”

Devon raised her chin. “That’s not how I’m trying to spin it. It’s what happened.”

“Sure, it is.” Hank spread his arms. “You were so drunk you barely knew your own name. You never said no.”

“I never said yes, either.”

“Actions speak louder than words, dollface, and you don’t get to cry rape when you wake up the next morning stuffed full of regret.”

Devon opened her mouth to reply, then snapped it closed. “You know what? Fuck you. I don’t have to put myself through this again.”

Without another word, she spun on her heel and walked away.

There was a beat of shocked silence before Rhys wrestled his way out of Matt’s grip. “Devon!”

Suddenly she whirled around. “What do you need to know, Rhys? What I was wearing? How much I’d had to drink? If I smiled too much that night, or joked about sex? If I passed out in a guy’s bed?”

The pain on her face nearly stopped Rhys’s breath.

“If I said no when I woke up to guys I thought were my friends fondling me while I was so drunk I couldn’t even sit up?”

Rhys kept his voice soft. “There’s nothing I need to know.”

“You sure about that?” Devon let out a bitter laugh. “You don’t need to know how hard I fought them? Spoiler alert: I didn’t. Why? Because there were three of them, and one of me, and I just wanted to get out of it alive.” A shudder went through her entire body. “Anything else?”

“No. Because I believe you.”

Devon froze.

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Devon. You don’t have to convince me. I don’t have the right to demand details. I believe you.”

Devon’s mouth opened, but before she could say anything, Smudge yelled toward a group of men standing by the TOC. “Hey, fellas! Could someone come get this asshole? He’s stinking up the place.” He shoved Hank away from their group.

When Hank came back swinging, Smudge leveled him with one well-placed punch to the jaw.

“Hey! Yeah, you! Come pick up your trash.”

At that, the men hurried across the courtyard and dragged Hank up. A lot of yelling ensued, some more shoves and near-blows before they finally hustled him away. Once they’d made sure he was really gone, their platoon stomped past Devon and Rhys on their way to the gym.

“Fuck that dude,” came the mutters as they passed.

“He comes around again, let us know.”

“Fuckin’ prick.”

They disappeared into the gym with a bang of the door, leaving Rhys and Devon blessedly alone.

Devon pinched the bridge of her nose, and when she looked up at Rhys again, her eyes were shiny with tears. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Rhys took her hand.