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Capacity for violence. Attempted murder. Unchecked rage. Those were some of the most common headlines associated with Ridge's name after that night.
"You remember how I asked you to let Finn drive you home?" Ridge asked.
"Yes. Blake rode with me too. I thought it was strange at the time."
Ridge had assigned a bodyguard to her a few times over the years, but he'd never sent someone to drive her home from a restaurant until that night.
"I wanted to make sure you got home safe. I planned to confront Preston. I thought I would tell him to get lost, and that would be it."
Most people, even grown men, would heed a warning from Ridge. He was a professional football player in top physical shape. Words should have worked.
"I made sure you were in the car and safely on your way home before I cornered him in the parking garage." Ridge rubbed the side of his face and sighed. "He pulled a gun on me."
Everly gasped and covered her mouth. Most people wouldn't stand a chance against Ridge—unless a weapon was involved.
"I moved fast, and I was able to knock the gun out of his hand, and I jabbed my elbow into the side of his head. That hit probably knocked him out, but I didn't wait to find out. I was so angry that he'd been following you, and he had a gun. I kept beating him."
"Ridge," Everly whispered. Her stomach turned and rolled.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of him getting close to you with that gun. I lost control. All I could think about was making sure he never hurt you.”
Everly swallowed past her constricting throat. She didn’t want to believe what Ridge was saying. She’d always known Ridge would stand up for her, but not like this. She never wanted this or anything to happen to him.
Ridge sat up straight. “I told you he was at a rehabilitation center after that. They transferred him to a long-term care facility, and he hasn’t left since.”
Tears slid down Everly’s cheeks. That man’s life was changed forever, and she’d played a part without even knowing. Gratitude for Ridge’s protection overwhelmed her, but fear raged just behind it.
“He wasn’t able to testify, but the surveillance cameras in the parking deck proved that he drew a gun on me first. I told them all I knew, but I stuck to the story that I thought he was following me. Not you.”
Everly recalled his sentence. Aggravated assault could have gotten him up to twenty years in prison, but he’d walked away with three months in jail and six months of probation.
The guilt was swelling, and there was no stopping it. She’d been going about her life for years without this weight, and now she didn’t know how to get out from underneath it.
Blake wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I know this is a lot to hear, and I know we should have told you. I just hated the thought of you living in the shadows only to find out that it wasn’t working. You were happy when no one paid attention to you, and some guy was messed up enough to invade your privacy like that.”
“We knew you’d be upset,” Ridge added.
“You think? Upset!” Everly felt her lungs strain with the rise in pitch. She wiped her cheeks and rubbed the tears on her new black pencil skirt.
How had she not known some stranger was stalking her? She hadn’t noticed, but Ridge and Blake had. In the midst of their busy lives, they’d been concerned for her and taken it upon themselves to right the wrong.
Apparently, they were too concerned to tell her about the threat to herself. She was equally thankful and irritated.
A low sob broke from her chest, and Blake pulled her closer. She wanted his comfort, but she couldn’t sort out the mixed feelings. He’d kept this from her, and so had her brother. Sure, she would have been worried, but she wasn’t a baby.
Everly wanted the truth–always the honest truth.
Leaving the sports industry wasn’t about Ridge at all. It was about Everly, and Blake and Ridge had both lost their careers.
No, she hadn’t done anything wrong, but somehow, she felt responsible.
Ridge had served a jail sentence. He’d ruined his chances of getting most jobs, and he’d given up a multi-million-dollar salary. All to protect her and then keep it a secret from her.
Anger gave way to sadness. Had Ridge and Blake thought so little of her that they assumed telling her would break her? Had she given them that impression? She wanted to be strong, and she wanted to be seen as strong. How was she supposed to prove herself if the chance had been taken from her?
Everly pulled out of Blake’s embrace. “I need a minute.”
She didn’t dare look at Blake or Ridge. She didn’t want to see the fleeting thoughts in their expressions. For once, she wanted to walk away and deal with things on her own.
