I didn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with Hadley’s shit at the moment. I knew that she was likely just trying to get attention.
That, or wanted to be picked up from some party, which I wasn’t able to do right now and wasn’t something I was willing to listen to her bitch to me about again.
I still hadn’t figured out why she didn’t have a driver’s license. I mean, she had a damn car!
“Let’s get you home.” Aaron took my elbow. “You want me to take you to your house, or Tommy’s house?”
I bit my lip.
Although everything inside of me screamed to go to Tommy’s house, to be surrounded by everything that was him, I knew that I should go to mine. That was where all of Tallulah’s stuff was, as well as all my stuff. Not to mention that Tommy would know exactly where to go when he got out.
“Mine,” I murmured.
Aaron gave one nod, and offered one elbow to me, and one elbow to Imogen.
“Ladies.”
I took Aaron’s hand and walked stiffly as he led us to my car.
Ghost followed at my heels, walking Tallulah to her side of the car and strapping her all the way in without a word.
“You’re good with her,” I observed over the hood of my 4-Runner.
Ghost’s eyes caught mine.
“Thanks.”
With that he left, leaving my heart hurting for him as I watched him leave.
As I drove home, I thought about Tommy.
Thought about how his life would change now that he’d had this bullshit accusation thrown at him.
And I knew I had to do something. Anything.
I would not let some piece-of-shit liar ruin my man’s career, even if I had to ruin mine in the process of saving his.
Now, to figure out who this piece of shit liar was.
***
Tommy
I walked out of the police station, my head held high, and went straight to my bike that my brothers had made sure was there.
“Mr. Tomirkanivov, would you like to make a statement to KETP about the rape of a Mooresville College student?”
I turned my glare to the woman who’d asked that asinine question, and growled. “No comment.”
People continued to yell and scream at me, but I got on my bike, shoved on my helmet, and started the bike up with an angry roar.
I was still just as angry now as I’d been twenty-eight hours ago when the accusation had first been hurled at me.
I rode straight to the hospital five miles over the speed limit to make it in time for my shift, riding right past all the reporters, and barely resisting the urge to flip all those motherfuckers off as I hit the employee parking lot.
I shut off the bike moments later, angrily yanked the helmet off my head and slammed it down so hard on my bike seat that the entire thing shifted slightly in the gravel underneath the tires.
The moment Big Papa opened the staff door, he waved me inside.
“Anything?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Nothing. The lawyer’s your best bet for now. I have a man on it, but the stuff he’s found is hidden under a layer of red tape it’s taking him some time to decipher.”
I ground my teeth and stared with jaws clenching and unclenching as I tried to compose myself.
“Well that’s just fucking unfortunate.” I grumbled. “They tried to fire me.”
“At which place?” Big Papa asked as he gestured for me to follow him.
I did, unsurprised to find the rest of the men in the staff break room.
Thankfully, it was empty of any other staff besides the club.
“At the school,” I murmured. “The hospital can’t afford to lose me…yet. Though, they did try to say if I didn’t come in today they’d find a way to put me on probation.”
“Fuck them,” Sean grumbled, bringing a can of Dr. Pepper up to his lips and taking a healthy pull.
Aaron snorted.
“I’ve questioned Hadley’s friends on her whereabouts that night. Elba McGinnis, Jessica Silkerson, and Janna Maddox. They said they’d already given the same statements to the other cop. Apparently from their knowledge, she was at work. The boss is checking things on his end and is getting back to me.”
“Hadley Dunston,” I shook my head. “I knew she was a bitch, but I never thought she’d stoop this low.”
“I was able to pull up some details.” Big Papa said. “Got one of my boys on her background check. Drugs. Depression. Psychiatric problems. You name it, and she’s fucked up by it.”
“Just perfect,” Aaron murmured, leaning back and cracking his knuckles, an evil gleam in his eyes. “I’ll have some ideas. I might go shake a few trees, see what I can scrounge up.”
I nodded my head and went to my locker.
Once there, I yanked my t-shirt off—the same one I had been wearing for nearly forty-eight hours now—and traded it out for a scrub top.
I followed suit with my pants, and nearly had them up over my hips when the staff door room opened and closed.
Two arms wrapped around me from behind, and Tally buried her face between my shoulder blades.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she whispered fiercely.
I turned in her arms and wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling her in tight to my chest and dropping my mouth to the top of her head, inhaling deeply as I did.
“Fuckin’ A, you smell good.” I murmured desperately.
The door to the room opened again, and I looked up just as it closed behind Sean.
That was about the time she burst into tears.
“It’s okay,” I murmured softly. “Shhh.”
She hiccupped. “Whatever stupid bitch did this to you is in for a serious ass kicking.”
I pulled her face back so I could see her eyes, and my heart clenched at the devastation I read in them…for me.
“It’ll be okay, baby,” I murmured. “She won’t stay hidden for long.”
I wasn’t going to tell Tally of her friend’s betrayal. Not with her exams being right around the corner, and not with the stress of a sick child on her hands.
I’d tell her, soon…that was if she didn’t figure it out on her own. But in the meantime, I was going to let her be blissfully unaware of all the problems that were swirling around her.
“Now let’s get to work before the hospital finds a reason to bench me.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I think there’s at least four nurses and one PA who would all go on strike if that were to happen.”
I found a grin.
“That may be true, but the patients would suffer. Not to mention my paycheck.”
She winked.
“Yes, Sir, Mr. Teacher, Sir,” she said as she turned out of my arms and flounced toward the door.
I caught up to her before she could open it and pinned her to the heavy wood with my body.
“What were you saying, Student Smartass?”
She turned her head and looked at me over her shoulder. “Nothing.” She batted her innocent eyes at me.
Chapter 22
This sandwich was not made with love.
-Note on Tommy’s sandwich the next day
Tommy
“What’s wrong?” I asked Tally the moment I saw her the next day.
She looked just as haggard as I felt.
I’d been working a double shift—much to the chagrin of the hospital board—and she’d had her final exams.
Today was her second to last shift as a nursing extern, and I found myself gleeful.