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I cling to him and wrap my arms around his neck, soaking him even more with my wet body. “I’m so sorry.”
“Never apologize to me, babe. I’m sorry no one was around to take care of you. As much as I want to take you to bed and curl you in my arms, we have a very upset group we need to get to downstairs.”
I nod and allow him to pull us out. Toweling me off gently, his eyes meet mine with tenderness. I force myself not to cry again because the worst is yet to come.
Chapter 29
Keep Her Safe
Robbie
Ember gets dressed slowly, taking time to try to reduce the swelling of her face. She looks in the mirror and huffs before turning back to me.
“Do you think we can postpone this family meeting until my nose and cheeks can return to normal size?”
“Do you think I can keep Cruz and Alex away for five more minutes?”
“Fine! But promise me you have some kind of trick up your sleeve when my dad goes fucking nuts.”
“Can’t do that because I’m trying to hold in my own shit.”
Her eyes go soft and start to glisten.
Shit! I think of something that may make her eyes sparkle. “For once in my life, I wish Charlie was here. She’d have taken your sister and mom down in one swoop. Maybe we should put her on alert.”
Ember throws herself against me on the bed and giggles. She laughs so hard her chest starts heaving. When she looks at me, her dimples shine. “I think I like Charlie.”
“She’s a crazy nut.”
“Let’s do this?” she asks me and presses her lips briefly against mine.
We walk down the stairs hand in hand, and I freeze when I see not only my parents but Finn waiting for us with the rest of Ember’s family. Thad looks like he could kill and die at the same time. When his eyes hit Ember, they start to water.
“Ember?” he asks quietly, looking for any sign of anger.
“Daddy, I’m okay. But I need to apologize because I think Robbie and James were right. I may have been a bit traumatized when faced with Natalie and Serena today. I lost my voice, and when they told me what they did years ago, it shocked me. Maybe I’m more damaged than I thought.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I wrap my arms around her protectively. “You’re not damaged- you’re perfect.”
Cruz and Alex are holding hands, and it’s obvious that Cruz is about to lose his mind. His eyes are dilated as he watches Ember’s every move closely. Alex is equally as tight, his fist flexing in his lap. He gives me a curt nod but focuses back on Ember.
My mom comes and grabs Ember from me, pulling her into her arms. Chloe follows, and then a few sniffs are the only sounds in the room.
“I hate to break this up, but I have a few questions,” my dad says stiffly. “Ember, would you like talk to a woman detective?”
“Detective?” she asks, stepping out of the embrace.
“Yeah, I think we may have grounds for charges of rape.”
I watch the color drain from her face as she drops to the ground. No one can get to her fast enough.
“I wasn’t raped.”
We all watch as the emotions wash over her. I sink to the floor and wrap my arms around her shoulders.
“This is so humiliating,” she whispers as Cruz sits next to us. He takes her hand, and she smiles weakly. “Mom told me Natalie was in trouble because she owed a guy some money. I’d met him a few times, so I agreed to try to talk him into letting Natalie slide. He was a nice guy, not your stereotypical drug dealing ass. He was cute and kind, and made me feel wanted. What a fool. I thought he actually liked me until two days later, when I woke up in his bed and saw him by the pool with Natalie. It was crushing, so I left.
“Now I know Mom bartered me for my sister’s drug debt.”
