Page 99 of Stealing Second

“What do we know about the father or his girlfriend?”

“How long have you been sitting on that?” she asks.

“Since she said her mother died.”

“He’s been single for years. They started dating a few months ago.”

“And?”

“Marks flew a guy down to the DR this morning, simply because she’s from California. Doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a precaution.”

“It’s something, Gwen.” I swallow back bile. “And why isn’t Marks here yet?”

She sighs. “Alarm was tripped at Wags.”

“Has he checked in?”

She nods.

“Going to be a long weekend.”

“His capture is a matter of one misstep. We chill until that happens.” Her eyes narrow on me. “Does Chloe know that William was trying to?—”

“No, and she doesn’t need to.”

I look at the TV.

“But you need her to know so you can talk to her. You need to talk to her, CeCe, because until you can put words to it, it’s poison?—”

“He didn’t rape me.”

“But—”

I glare at her. “He didn’t.”

“Love you, kid, but I’m calling bullshit in the most loving-and-wanting-you-to-heal way I can while still maintaining my bitchy badass rep.”

“It was grooming; it was fucking disgusting, but it wasn’t rape or penetration.”

“It was sexual assault.”

“And had Cora not been born and Chloe stayed locked up or decided to run, it would have been worse.”

“You know it’s one in five, right? One in five women?—”

I nod. “I know.”

“The odds of being in a room with five women and none having been assaulted is?—”

“Fucking terrifying and why I’ve not ever put myself out there since the asshole I dated as an undergrad.”

“And now Roman.” She sits on the other end of the sectional, and Elle stands up and stretches before moving to her.

“That could never work.”

“Turn off that voice.”

“Do you think he’s safe, his mom, his sister, his?—”

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