Page 88 of Danger and Dominance
But he felt the pressure of being team lead in more ways than one.It was harder now that they were all civilians.The rules were looser.The expectations not as strict.There were more shades of grey and room for interpretation and all the things he hated trying to navigate.New relationships were at the top of the list.
He was incredibly out of practice when it came to romance.
Point in fact—the way he was going to change the topic of conversation right now.
“Great.Well.Okay.I look forward to that.”He took a sip of his coffee, gearing up for the switch.“The other thing I wanted to talk to you about was your flat tire.Naomi mentioned it last night—is there a reason you didn’t tell me about it?”He did his best not to sound accusatory.
“I… I wasn’t sure it was something worth mentioning.”She said the right words, but her gaze averted, flickering away from him as she lifted her mug to her lips, both hands wrapped around it.“And since Drew knew, I figured if it was, he would say something.”
Suspicion rose up inside him.
“Well, Naomi said something to me.”She hadn’t been worried but had just wanted to mention it.Drew hadn’t, though he had probably written up a report about it that would be on David’s desk on Monday.He would tell Drew to let him know verbally, immediately next time anything happened with Cassidy.“Is there anything else you haven’t thought was worth mentioning?”
“I’ve been tailgated a few times, but it was by different people.”The words came out in a rush, and she made a face as she said them, like she was judging herself for thinking it was a problem.
“Tell me about it.”David wasn’t going to judge until he’d heard the details.
She went over the incidents—three of them, including one when Naomi had picked her up.That one was less suspicious, other than the fact that it had been after she’d gotten her flat tire.
“Did you get a look at any of their license plates?”
She shook her head.
“They were moving too fast after they came up behind me, and once they passed me, they turned off the road… and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really thinking of it.I should have.”Shrugging, she took another sip of her coffee, watching him warily, like she was waiting for him to either laugh at her or freak out.“I know it sounds paranoid to be frazzled over a few tailgaters.If it wasn’t for Don disappearing, I would have just shaken my head at the drivers being jerks.”
Rubbing his hand on his chin, David had to nod.
It sounded like they were probably different people.
“Next time, especially if someone else is in the car, mention it and try to get at least a partial license plate.Anything helps… though don’t chase after the car.”He gave her a strict look, and her expression was almost hilariously bewildered.Good, she hadn’t been thinking about that.“It’s probably nothing, but I prefer an abundance of caution to a lack.”
Cassidy’s shoulders relaxed—he hadn’t realized how tense she was until they did—and she smiled at him as her expression softened.
“I didn’t use to, but right now… my brain is constantly running a mile a minute with possible scenarios, all the time.”She looked sheepish but also tired, and David couldn’t help himself anymore.Moving around the island, he came to her side and put his arm around her.
She leaned into him, sagging even more as he held up some of her weight.
Fuck.
“One of my exes was stalked,” he admitted.He hadn’t meant to talk about Tasha, but he wanted Cassidy to know that she didn’t need to be ashamed of being scared.He got it.“She ended up in the hospital after she got a restraining order.At the trial, he had several previous girlfriends come forward, too.”
With a shuddering sigh, she put down her coffee cup on the island and fully turned into him, pressing her face against his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle.David hugged her back, holding her up and comforting her at the same time.
“I keep worrying about that,” she whispered.“What if he goes after someone else?Kincaid said they were keeping an eye on him, but now that he’s disappeared… what if he’s not after me?What if he’s just gone somewhere so he can start over where no one is watching him?What if he hurts the next woman even worse, and there’s no one to help her?”
He could feel her trembling against him, and he tightened his grip on her.A little wave of guilt went through him as he remembered his first conversation with Lincoln about her.He’d wondered if she’d even considered what might happen to the women who came after her.
Now he knew.
It wasn’t her fault, though.She wasn’t responsible for Don’s actions.She wasn’t the one causing the problems.If he hurt another woman, it wasn’t because of anything she did or didn’t do.It was because he was a shithead, and society and the justice system were set up to allow him to get away with it.Just as he’d been thinking that it would be her fault for not going to the police, even though he’d known that far too often, the system didn’t work.
Even if she’d come out on top and he’d gone away for assault, the likelihood of him spending any real time in jail was small.And then when he’d gotten out?What was to stop him from coming after her again?A piece of paper?
Yeah, the ‘right’ thing to do might be to press charges, but it wasn’t a black-and-white scenario.Especially with how little use doing the ‘right’ thing actually was.
“All you can control is what you do,” he murmured, smoothing his hand over her hair.“You’re doing your best, and you need to keep yourself safe, too.You can’t do anything about what hemightdo, though we’re all doing our best there, too.”
That was the honest truth.
