Page 46 of Forged in Peril

“I got used to those nights. Got used to being alone with Dillon in his office, sitting across from him at his desk, rifling through his cabinets, writing his notes, all of it. I wasn’t afraid of him. Not even a little bit.”

She laughed a bitter, aching laugh, and he wrapped his arm more tightly around her shoulders, bracing himself for what he knew was next.

He didn’t want to hear it any more than she wanted to say it, but he knew that he had no choice.

Neither of them did. It was too late to turn away from the evil now.

Bristol’s only hope now was to cast the secret out into the light, where it could be conquered once and for all.

“I should have seen the red flags,” Bristol continued, her words coming quickly now, her voice taking on a new strength the more that she shared. “The way that he complimented my thrift-store outfits, the way he asked if I had a boyfriend, the way that I thought I heard him talking about me with a couple of the less pleasant young attorneys.

“But I didn’t want to believe it. I respected him. I actually enjoyed working with him, at least most of the time. He taught me a lot. I liked Dillon, and I don’t expect you to believe that. I can hardly believe it myself, but it’s the truth.”

She glanced up at him, her features contorted with disgust.

“It’s not only believable, but totally understandable,” he said, his voice as sure and firm as he could make it. “It’s not always the slimy creep who is the predator. Sometimes it’s the last person you’d expect who is the most dangerous of all. The person who knows how to blend into the crowd, concealing their true nature until it’s too late.”

She allowed her eyes to meet his for just a moment before tearing them away again, leaning into his chest, her face hidden.

“Well, he had me fooled. All of my talk about female independence, all of my New York street smarts, even the pepper spray I carried with me in my purse every day. All of it was worthless.”

He braced himself again as she drew a shuddering breath.

“It had been just like any other one of our many late nights. It was after midnight on a Wednesday. A court date had been moved up unexpectedly to Thursday morning instead of Friday afternoon, and we had a lot to get together before then, down to the wire, the usual story. Just like that whole fiasco with Judge Hammerstein and the alarms on my phone. It happens all the time.”

She almost spat the words, and he realized that she was not only in pain and angry, but defensive, as though any of this had been her fault. He wanted to reassure her, but before he could speak, she continued.

“Finally, we were finishing up, and he asked me if I wanted to stay a little longer. It was clear by the way he said it and by the hungry look in his eyes what he meant. I was shocked and offended, I guess, but I don’t remember being scared. I can’t even remember my exact words. I think I told him that I respected him as a boss and I saw him as a friend, but I didn’t have time to pursue any more than that.”

“He laughed at me, Cam,” she said, her voice lowering to something just above a whisper, the anger gone out of it in an instant, replaced only with grief. “He actually laughed. And then he told me not to worry about that, because this wouldn’t take any time at all. Well, that part was true, I guess. It felt like hours, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. I tried to make him stop, and I tried to call for help, but no one could hear me. I never even found out if the security guard was working that night.”

Cam pulled her closer to his body, trying to reign in the blind fury that coursed through him.

Bristol still did not look up at him, pausing only long enough to take a breath.

“Anyway, a couple of days afterward, I went to the partners and told them what had happened. They didn’t laugh at me, but they probably should have. Dillon Warrington had played me completely. He’d gotten to them first, with his own story about how I tried to seduce him, and about how I offered him ‘favors’ if he would help me get ahead at the firm.

“It was his word against mine, and they chose to believe him. I know I could have gone to the police, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, especially since any…” she trailed off for a moment, drawing a long breath.. “Any physical evidence was long gone by that point, and I just wanted the situation to go away. Besides, even if he was successfully charged, I would lose in court. Dillon Warrington had the resources of Dorling & Porter behind him. I had nothing. So I quit. It’s done.”

Cameron swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat, his decision made at once.

“Tell me where he lives. I’ll take care of it,” he said slowly, his voice escaping in a growl that he hardly recognized.

His mind raced.

He’d have to bring Gabe along. If he went alone, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to contain his fury. As badly as he wanted to tear the man’s head off with his bare hands, he couldn’t allow himself to do evil, not even to those who deeply deserved it.

“You can’t,” Bristol said, looking up at him, her green eyes filled with unshed tears.

“He can’t get away with what he did to you. You deserve justice. FBS can help you get it. I can help you get it.”

Bristol shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. You can’t go after him. No one can. It’s too late. He already killed himself. I just found out recently.”

Cameron leaned back against the wall, glancing up at the ceiling tiles overhead.

Of course that piece of human filth had escaped the consequences for his crimes. Now, there would be no justice done in this life, but with what the man had chosen, he wasn’t feeling very optimistic about the man’s fate when he stood before the Lord.

“I’m so sorry, Bristol,” he said, hating the words even as he said them.

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