Page 83 of Beneath the Scars
The security officer next to Addie starts to puff up, but when Addie melts into me, he relaxes.
Addie, on the other hand, is radiating anger. She turns her head toward Ronnie and the security officer. “Veronica. She knocked me out in the bathroom and then tied me up in one of the rooms. She set up an entire scene as if she were me.”
My lethal gaze lands back on the woman in question. I don’t even need to see her terrified expression to know she was the mastermind behind everything. “I want this woman arrested for kidnapping and assault.”
The man nods. “We can detain her, but we don’t have legal authority to actually arrest her.”
“Then find someone who does because I will not let her get away with this.”
“Michael, please,” Ronnie whines. “That’s not what happened. She’s lying.”
The security guy waves us toward a door at the back of the club. “Let’s take this somewhere without an audience.”
At my nod, he leads us across the room. I wrap my arm around Addie, encouraging her to snuggle into my chest. I’m so fucking relieved she’s okay. My insides are roiling at the thought of what she was put through. I don’t even have the full story, and I want to rage. I’m going to have to keep my shit together while Addie tells me the rest. I have a feeling I’m going to want to kill Ronnie by the end of this.
The officer leads us through an employee-only area until we reach a small surveillance office. On one side is a U-shaped desk filled with monitors and a couple of swivel chairs. The other side has a loveseat and two leather chairs around a low-sitting coffeetable.
Ronnie gets placed in one of the swivel chairs while I lead Addie to sit on the couch.
Another officer with slicked-back brown hair comes in before I can ask for the full story. “I’ve contacted the Greensboro Police. They’re on their way here now.”
“What?” Ronnie screeches. She tries to stand, but the security guys make her stay sitting.
“I’m Travis, head of security for the club,” the new guy introduces himself. “First, I want to profusely apologize to you, Addie, for what you’ve been through tonight. This is wholly unacceptable, and we will be taking action to rectify the situation.”
“Thank you,” Addie responds in a scratchy voice. I’ve never felt more useless than I do right now. I want to bundle her into my chest and hightail it out of here. I wish we could be alone instead of surrounded by strangers and the woman who fucking attacked her. How can she sit here as if she’s totally fine? I’m dying inside, and I’m not the one who was hurt tonight.
Travis nods. “The man you were with has made it clear he’s willing to cooperate in any way the police need. He’s currently in another office with the club’s manager.”
“What man?” I growl.
Addie gently rubs my arm. “Can I explain when the police get here? I don’t want to have to start all over again.”
I deflate. “Of course.” She leans against me, seeking solace in my arms. I hold her tight, trying to convey that I’ll be by her side no matter what happened tonight. I’m naturally jumping to the worst-case scenario, and I hope like fuck it didn’t happen.
Tense silence hangs over the office while we wait. It takes the police almost twenty minutes to get here. Two officers are led in by a svelte-looking woman who leaves almost as quickly as she came.
The tall, lanky officer speaks first. “Good evening. I’m Officer Justice, and this is my partner, Officer Peters. Someone reported being assaulted?”
“I was,” Addie says, straightening from her position against my shoulder. “Veronica”—she points at the woman—“accosted me in the bathroom in the club. She hit me over the head with something—I didn’t see what—and while I was knocked out, she somehow carried me into one of the rooms where she proceeded to restrain my arms and legs, blindfold me, and gag me.”
“That’s a lie! I didn’t do anything!” Veronica shouts.
“Excuse me.” Officer Peters interrupts. “Is there another office I could escort Miss Veronica to wait in?”
Travis nods. “Yeah, I can show you where.”
Officer Peters leads Ronnie out of the room behind Travis while she rants about how unfairly she’s being treated. The whole room seems to deflate once she’s gone.
Then Officer Justice nods toward Addie to continue her story.
“I assume Ronnie left after restraining me because I heard the door close. Then a man entered sometime later. I didn’t recognize his voice, yet he seemed to know who I was. I quickly surmised that Ronnie had pretended to be me and set up an entire scene with this man. I did my best to get out of the restraints, and it was only after several minutes of fighting my bindings that the man finally realized I was not consenting to the scene. He helped me out of the restraints, and I got away from him and pushed the panic button. I do not believe he was being malicious. I think he genuinely thought I knew the prearranged safe word, or action, and since I hadn’t used it, I was fine to continue.”
“Jesus, Adalaide.” I run my free hand through my hair as I take a deep breath. I can’t imagine how terrified she was in such a vulnerablestate.
Officer Justice makes a noise of acknowledgment. “I assume the man next to you isn’t the same man?”
Addie huffs a humorless laugh. “No. This is my boyfriend.”
