Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“We support you. The organization, the team, we’re all behind you,” Coach Warner tells her. “We don’t want to see him get away with what he did to you, or perhaps do the same to others.”
“I don’t know if there are others. I know he cheated on me, so I could only assume so. I wasn’t close to any of his friends in LA. I stayed to myself and tried to toe the line where Chaz was concerned.”
“Rowan, baby, what do you want?” I ask her. “Don’t think about me or the team. Think about what you want. Tell me, and that’s what we’ll do,” I tell her.
She pauses, staring down at her hands, one of which is entwined with mine. I can’t seem to let her go, even when I can see she’s safe sitting right next to me.
“I don’t want him to hurt anyone else.” She pauses, and we all stay quiet, giving her time to work through her emotions. Slowly, she lifts her head to look at me. “I’m stronger this time,” she tells me.
“Damn right you are. You were strong then too. You left him, Rowan. You’ve proven that you’re a strong, beautiful badass who can fight back.”
She looks over at Roger. “I’m so sorry for all the trouble this has caused the team and the organization.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t accept your apology, because there is nothing for you to apologize for. You are innocent in all of this, Rowan. If my vote counts, I say we nail this slimy bastard with every charge they can toss at him. We are behind you.”
She sniffs. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that so much.” She clears her throat and sits up taller in her chair. She squeezes my hand. “I want to press charges.”
“There’s my fierce girl,” I tell her.
“I don’t know where to go from here,” she confesses.
“That’s okay. I took the liberty of calling Officer Simpson, a close friend of mine on the Nashville force, and her partner to this meeting. They’re waiting outside. The team is also pressing charges for assault of an employee. We’re not going to let this go, Rowan.”
She nods, and Roger buzzes his assistant to bring the officers in. We move to the conference table on the other side of the room, and for the second time today, Rowan tells her story from start to finish. The mood in the room is somber, but there is a sense of relief that something is finally being done. He’s going to be stopped.
“Thank you, Ms. Mills,” Officer Simpson says. “This is enough to hold him.”
“Hold him?” Rowan asks.
“Yeah, he’s been in lockup. Officer Hughes delivered him to Nashville late last night.”
“So, he’s not—he can’t get to me?” Rowan’s voice cracks, as does my heart, hearing her fear.
“No. He can’t get to you. These charges, with eyewitness reports of Coach Warner and the other players present, he’s going away for a while. I can’t see any judge not making him pay. They’ll make an example out of him because of his status as a professional athlete.”
“Other players?”
“We all reported him,” I tell her. “Each of the guys, and well, I’m supposed to give mine now.” I nods at Officer Simpson. “The guys went down to the station first thing to give their reports on yesterday’s events.”
“Really?” Tears swim in her eyes.
“You have an incredible support system, Ms. Mills. Use it. Lean on them.” Officer Simpson smiles, although it doesn’t quite meet her eyes. I can’t imagine the things she sees in her line of work.
“Are you ready to give your statement?” Officer Simpson asks me.
“I am.”
She nods, slides me a piece of paper, and tells me to write down the events that happened last night. I do so quickly and efficiently. I try to leave my emotions out of it, but it’s hard to do when it’s the woman I love who was attacked. Signing my name at the bottom, I hand the form back to the officer, and she nods at her partner as they both rise from their seats.
“We’ll be in touch with any updates.”
“Will you tell me if he gets out?” Rowan asks her.
“I will, but this is a high-profile case. My guess is that bail will be denied because of that.”
“Thank you.” Rowan slumps back in her chair, her relief evident.
“I’ve called a press conference in an hour from now. I’ll handle the reporters and ask that they give you both your privacy during this difficult time,” Roger tells us.
“Thank you, sir.”
“I’m sorry, Rowan. It’s a hard pill to swallow that it was one of our own. We had no way of knowing when we signed the trade deal.”
“I didn’t want you to know,” Rowan tells him. “I wanted to put it all behind me. I actually considered quitting, and running, but this one—” She turns to me and smiles “—and his friends, your players, along with Corie and her best friend, Sloane, talked me out of it.”