Page 4 of Harboring Shantae

This had to be the reason she reached out after so long. Something was wrong with this Zion fella.

"I'm not one to listen to gossip columns or rumors without some hard evidence, which I did find, and I'll get to that in a minute, but it would seem our boy Zion Harris is an asshole when it comes to women. Likes to rough them up. No formal charges, it appears, but plenty of allegations have been swept under the rug. I'm digging deeper, but from the little I did find, this guy isnotsomeone I would be marrying my daughter off to." Ray shot his hand out. "If I had one, that is. Which I don't, since kids aren't exactly my jam. I mean, I like them, but I'm by no means what people would call a good role model."

Panther ignored Ray's rambling and was already working out what he would tell Wes so that he could take time off. He needed to get to D.C. and fast. If this guy was even half as bad as what Ray discovered, then it was no wonder Shantae said she needed help. There was no way she could be blind to how bad of a guy Zion was.

“Show me what you found.”

“It’s not pretty and I had to do some illegal digging to get this because the cops who took the statement buried it. And I don’t just mean tossed it in a file to forget about, but really buried it. The only reason I found it was because they referenced a hospital visit and I might have hacked into the hospital records.”

He flipped through the report Ray had passed him and each new page had him seeing more red. His stomach clenched and fire shot through his veins. "Jesus Christ. How the fuck did someone cover this up? This woman's body is covered in bruises, broken bones, and there's no denying she was raped. Multiple times. Anyone with half a brain cell could've seen this was enough evidence to press charges.”

“You would think, but when your father has enough money and clout to get people elected or likewise fired from their positions, you easily find a way to cover things up.”

It was sickening. The more he saw, the worse it got. He needed to get Shantae out of that situation immediately.

"In all that information you found, was there a physical address?"

He imagined the P.O. Box was for his benefit. It was the extra layer of protection that kept him from searching for her over the years. He figured if she didn't want him to know where she lived, then maybe she had a good reason. Although, he was happy to know that reason wasn't that she was married, and he was her dirty little secret. Or that everything she told him was a lie. So far, her age lined up with what he knew about her, as did the fact that her father was a senator. It explained why she liked to keep things to herself.

Ray moved back to his computer. "Not yet, but I will. I have a few programs running as we speak. I should have her address before you land in D.C." Ray stopped and looked at him. "You are flying out there, I assume. I know you don't like to talk about them, but I'm assuming this has to do with the letters you receive. Shantae is the woman who sends you them, right?"

No, Panther didn't like to talk about the letters. His team knew he received them. It was hard to hide it when at one point they were all living together, but only Hollywood really knew anything.

"Yeah, Shantae is the one who send me letters." He turned on his heel and headed back out. "I need to speak with Wes."

Panther wasted no time seeking out his boss. When he couldn't be found in his office, Panther headed to the situation room. Sure enough, Wes stood at the front of the room in a heated discussion with both his wife and Trista.

"Don't you dare use that tone with me, Westley James!" Jennie snapped.

He was tempted to back away and come back another time. If things weren't so dire, he would've done exactly that. His best bet was to cut in before things got too heated. The two women in the room were hotheads on their own. Together, things could get volatile real quick. If he wanted any chance of speaking, he needed to do so now.

Panther cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt but this is important and can't wait."

His boss actually looked relieved by the interruption, but it was the glances Panther received from the two women that stopped him short. Instead of being upset that he was foiling whatever tirade they were about to go on, both looked concerned.

"What is it, Panther?"

He answered his boss with efficiency, despite how much he hated to share about his life.

"I need some time off to handle a personal matter in D.C."

Sharing anything personal didn't come easily to him. Wes knew more than most about his past but only because there was no way the man would hire anyone without a deep background check. The things Wes discovered were never mentioned, and outside of his boss, the only other person to know his secrets was Shantae.

So Panther was grateful when instead of questioning him further, his boss merely nodded his approval.

He was about to turn and leave when Wes spoke up. "Ask either Falcon or Blue to fly you out. It’ll be quicker."

Panther simply dipped his head but stopped again when his boss called out. "Oh, and, Panther." This time he met his boss's intense gaze. "Your team has your back if you need it."

There was nothing to say to that. Knowing his team had his back was one thing. Allowing them to actually help him was another. Panther always struggled with the latter despite their nearly five years together.

***

Falcon agreed to fly him out. Just as he figured, his team leader didn't ask why. It was why, when his boss suggested he choose one of their two pilots, he went with the person who wouldn't hound him.

At least, that was the plan.

But plans don't mean shit when women are involved. Especially when the woman was none other than Falcon's wife.

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