53. Leilani

The deathly silence in the car is suffocating, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t feel like myself as I fidget with the flash drive in my hands and try to shake off the memories that took me out while watching that security footage.

I should be happy about this.

I have the evidence I need—the proof that what I felt when I saw Harvey that day was 100 perfect accurate and real. I hadn’t gotten it wrong.

But the fact that I got it right is awful.

So awful.

Glancing at my boyfriend’s face, I watch the muscle in his jaw tic as he clenches and unclenches his teeth. He’s furious. His white-knuckle grip on the wheel, the way his breaths are short and kind of shallow. There’s a lethal vibration coming off him, and I… I don’t know what to say to make this better.

There’s nothing to say.

I need to take this to the police, and Asher… shit, he’ll probably need to start packing boxes.

Unless I don’t go to the police.

I stare down at that flash drive, letting the turmoil whip through me.

Do I fight for justice and cause Asher all this pain, or do I?—

“I’ll take you to the police station. There’s just something I need to do first.” His voice is terse, but when he looks at me, his expression softens for just a minute. “Is that cool?”

“Y-Yeah. I mean, you don’t have to take me. This is a lot, and I don’t want to torture you unnecessarily. I can go on my own.”

“You’re not going on your own.” His tone leaves no room for argument. I’d usually ignore this fact and spit back a little venom, but I just don’t have it in me.

I’m drained. Exhausted.

I need this to be over.

But it won’t be anytime soon.

Squeezing the flash drive, I shuffle in my seat to face him. “When you said there’s something you need to do first, are you… talking about morning classes or…?”

His response is a nostril flare that makes me nervous. “I can drop you wherever you need to go, and we can meet up later, go to the station.”

“Asher, where are you going?”

His jaw works to the side as he pulls up outside Huxley Hall. “I’ll see you later. Call me when you’re out of class.”

“I’m not getting out of this car until you tell me what you’re up to.”

He huffs, a sharp, irritated sound. His finger taps on the steering wheel, and I bore him with a look that I hope is unrelenting enough.

“Asher, come on. What?—”

“I have to go see Harvey.”

My stomach sinks, and I can feel the blood draining from my face as I gape at him. “Why? What are you going to say?”

He turns to me with the most dangerous look I have ever seen. “Nothing.”

I gape at him. “Asher, I?—”

“Get out of the car, Leilani.”

I stare at him for a moment longer, trying to come up with a valid argument to stop him, but my brain is dead. My mouth is void of any decent words, and even if I could say something… I don’t think it’d be enough.

I can’t stop him. The look on his face is kind of scary, so I slip out of the car. As soon as I shut my door, the tires squeal and he takes off down the road.

“Shit,” I whisper. Why did I just let that happen? I never acquiesce without some kind of fight, and I let one lethal look push me out the door? “Fuck,” I mutter, wrenching my phone out of my pocket and searching for any number I can call.

I start with Asher, because maybe I can talk him into turning around, but he, of course, doesn’t pick up. I should have known he wouldn’t.

Turning my back to Huxley Hall, I start hustling down the sidewalk and turn left toward campus. I scour my phone in vain. I don’t have contacts for any of the Hockey House guys, so I go for Mikayla’s number. She doesn’t pick up, so I try Caroline instead. She stayed with Casey last night, I think.

Her phone goes straight to voicemail, which probably means she’s in class… where I should be.

I check my watch and swear again. I need to contact someone and tell them what Asher is up to. The way he was looking, I wouldn’t put it past my boyfriend to end Harvey on the spot. I can’t let him do that. As much as Harvey deserves a good swift kick in the balls… and maybe a little castration, I don’t want my boyfriend getting in trouble.

Enough shit is gonna rain down on him as we pursue this matter with the police. I don’t want Asher ending up in a jail cell with blood on his knuckles.

Picking up my pace, I start sprinting for Hockey House, hoping one of the guys will be there. I need Ethan. Or Liam. They can race after Asher and talk some sense into him, right? Maybe they can stop him before he does something insane.

I make it to Hockey House completely out of breath and ring the doorbell incessantly, trying the door handle and grunting in frustration when it won’t budge.

“Is anyone home?” I shout, starting my doorbell routine again.

A dog starts yapping just as a voice calls from inside the house.

“I’m coming!” I think it’s Rachel. “Calm down, Fezzi, it’s all right. We’ve just got ourselves a visitor.”

Her pretty face appears behind the wood. She’s holding Fezzik, who’s still barking up a storm and wriggling in her arms. She looks over his little head, her confusion turning to a smile that quickly drops to a frown.

“Are you okay?”

I walk past her, frantically moving into the dining/kitchen area and scoping out the place. “Are any of the guys home?”

“No, they’re all in class.” She puts Fezzik down and he scampers across the tiles, sniffing my ankles while his tail goes nuts. His little paws come up to my knees as he stretches to sniff my legs, but I’m too stressed out to appreciate how cute he’s being.

“I need to find someone. Asher needs help.”

“What’s the matter?” Rachel’s eyes round as she reaches for her phone.

“He’s gone after Harvey.” I show her the flash drive in my hand. “We now have proof that he was the guy at the party.”

“Oh no.” Her expression crumples. “He wouldn’t have taken that well.”

“Nope.” I shake my head, my chest starting to heave as panic tries to take me out. “We need to go after him and stop him before he does something that’ll get him in trouble.”

“Do you know where Asher’s going? Or where Harvey is?” Rachel holds the phone up to her ear, then frowns and hangs up with a huff. “Liam’s not answering. Everyone’s in class right now.”

“I know,” I whine. “I’m supposed to be there, too, but I can’t just—” I click my fingers and point at her. “Can I borrow one of their trucks or something? Maybe I can chase Asher down.”

“Do you even know where he is?”

“He’s probably gone to Lennox or?—”

There’s a knock at the door, and we both look toward the entryway, then back at each other.

Rachel’s eyebrows dip together as she wanders to the door. It’s probably a Jehovah’s Witness or someone collecting money for charity. I hope it’s the latter. I have some cash in my wallet, and we can get rid of them quickly and get back to the problem of finding Asher.

“Hi. Can I help you?” Rachel’s always so polite, her sweet smile appearing automatically.

“Yeah, I’m looking for Asher. I need to talk to him.”

My heart does a hard double tap, then lodges in my throat.

I know that voice.

Shit, it’s Harvey.

I need to scream at Rachel to shut the door. Lock it! Bar it!

But her pleasant smile is still in place. “Uh, he’s not home right now. Can I take a message?”

“Yeah, that’s cool. Unless it’s okay for me to come in and wait for him. I won’t be any trouble.” His voice is so cordial and sweet. So fake! “I can just read a book in his man cave or something.”

Rachel hesitates and glances back through the archway to look at me. I shake my head, and she looks back to this unwelcome visitor and politely tells him, “I don’t actually know you, so…”

“That’s okay, sweetie.” Harvey softens his tone, and my skin starts to crawl. “Man, you’re beautiful. I bet people tell you that all the time.” He sounds so fucking sincere. “What’s your name?”

Rachel pauses, and I would rather slit my throat than have her answer that question.

A fury like nothing I’ve ever felt before rises inside me—an erupting volcano. He will not touch Rachel. He will never touch any innocent woman again!

Storming into the entranceway, I fire a glare at Harvey’s flirtatious smile and warn Rachel, “Don’t say a word.”

Harvey’s eyes bulge, and I know he recognizes me immediately.

As much as it terrifies me, I raise my chin and keep my glare in place. “Get out of here, Harvey.”

Rachel gasps and tries to start closing the door, but he grabs the edge and forces it back open. She’s not expecting it and lets out a little gasp as she trips backward. She finds her feet before falling over, but not in time to stop Harvey from charging at me with a spit-filled rant. “You are so out of line with everything you’ve started here!”

Fezzik starts barking, his little puppy growl sounding way too feeble against this big, mean man. Flicking out his foot, Harvey lightly kicks him aside and Fezzik yelps, scampering away to cower behind Rachel.

She picks him up, soothing him with soft words while Harvey decides to yell some more.

“I’m not going to let you get away with it! You can’t just make up lies about me and drag my name through the mud!”

I shuffle back before he can touch me, fisting the flash drive in my hand and willing myself to stay strong. I need this healthy dose of rage to keep burning. I won’t fall back into the pit of fear that’s held me hostage for so long.

He’s a liar… and a rapist! And a… a shit-eating fucknugget!

And he has no power over me. Not anymore.

Harvey wouldn’t dare touch me in this place. I remind myself of that as I ping my shoulders back and tell it to him straight. “I’ve got evidence now. And I won’t stop until you go down in a burning ball of flames, you arrogant piece of shit!”