Page 7 of Stripping Bare
“I needyou.”
The caution on her face switched to surprise faster than he could ping aserver.
“I mean, I need your help. It’s about my sister Micki, and it’sserious.”
“Okay…” She shoved her hands into her apron pockets, but he could easily see they werefisted.
He’d apologized, after that night in his office. But even he knew that he’d fucked things up even more. That was when he’d realized it was best for him to stay far away from Tessa. He couldn’t seem to be around her without letting her down. Worse yet, hurtingher.
And that was the dead last thing hewanted.
“Do you remember how I once told you I hadn’t seen her foryears?”
“Of course I do.” Her tone made it clear she forgotnothing.
“Well, she’s back in North Carolina, but there’s aproblem.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t do individual counseling, if that’s what she’s lookingfor.”
He considered that for a second. Micki probablycouldbenefit from someone rooting around in that complicated brain of hers, but if he told her that, she’d tell him to go get his own damn headexamined.
Not something he was fired up to do, especially if Tessa was theexaminer.
“No, she needs you to talk with the State’s Attorney and the Asheville DA.” God, he was screwing this all up. No please. No thank you. Just whamba—
Nope, not goin’there.
He paced along the length of the porch while Tessa watched him from her spot near the front door. “It’s a long story. None of us knew it until recently, but Micki’s craphat of a boss has been blackmailing her all thistime.”
“Why would he do something likethat?”
Jonah squeezed his eyes closed for a few seconds. He didn’t want to stir up bad memories for Tessa, but he needed her to understand. He opened his eyes and pointed to the stone porch steps. “Would you… Could we sit down for aminute?”
Her nod had a jerky quality about it, but she moved away from the door and settled on the top step. Blowing out a silent breath, he did the same, keeping a good two feet between them. But that wasn’t enough to keep her cool scent from reaching him. He drew it in until his lungs couldn’t take anothermolecule.
Sweetly scentedtorture.
“Tessa, this isn’t easy. It’s about that night. Harrison Shaw’s party inAsheville.”
“The night I wasraped.”
The word hit him like a cinderblock to the head. To the heart. It was raw and ugly, just like the shitheads who’d drugged her and… “How can you be so casual about it?” hedemanded.
That seemed to spark something in her eyes, and they went hot. “I am not casual about it. But it happened. It’s a part of my past. It’s a part of who I am. I spent plenty of years stonewalling my way through sessions with therapists before I realized the person I was hurting most was myself. So, yes, I’m able to say it. To name it. To faceit.”
It wasn’t something he wanted to face.Ever.
But Micki needed him. After all these years she was allowing her family—allowinghim,even after the part he’d played in all this—to help her, and he had to secure this final piece for her to have the life she deserved. “There was videofootage.”
At that, Tessa froze and slowly turned her head toward him. “What?”
“God, no. Not that. Apparently the Shaws had some type of in-house camera security. Micki’s boss, Phil Flynn, was the onewho—”
“Is he slick—expensive clothes and gelled hair? Works out of LasVegas?”
“How did youknow?”
“Because he came here, after. Threatened my parents that he’d drag me through the mud if I went to the police. I was…fragile…for a while. They weren’t even sure I’d hold up on the stand if we did file charges. Mom and Dad decided it was in my best interests to let itgo.”
