“Tyler! Get off him!”

He didn’t even react, and I bit out another curse, then dove into the fray, moving in to restrain his hands—wishing I had a pair of goddamn cuffs—and yelling at Franklin to stay the fuck down and not move a muscle.

Naturally, the bastard didn’t. He kicked out twice, first knocking me backward, and then catching Tyler in the jaw.

Fuck.

Tyler retaliated by snatching Franklin up by the collar, then slamming him back with a fist to the face.

“Enough,” I said, this time managing to get Tyler’s arm behind him and hold him fast. He was bigger than me and stronger than me, and I knew he was pissed off enough to do something about it, but I damn sure hoped he wouldn’t. “Take a breath,” I said. “Take a breath before you kill the bastard.”

I heard footsteps, and looked up to see Angie and Evan rushing in. Evan came straight to me and Tyler, and I passed him off, figuring that Evan was better prepared to handle Tyler than I was. “Back it down,” Evan said. “Back it down or it’s going to get a lot worse.”

“He tried to rape Lizzy,” Tyler said, when he was finally calm and motionless. “He said that he’d seen her dancing at Destiny. He thanked me—he fucking thanked me—for sending him such a tight little piece of ass. That I sure knew how to pick them.”

“Oh, Tyler, no,” I said.

“And when I told him he was an ignorant prick, he told me that she wanted it. That she wore short skirts. That she teased him. That she asked for it.”

I saw the same fury bloom on Evan’s face, then watched as he stalked to Franklin, who still sat on the floor, breathing hard and looking like he was having the worst day of his life. He looked up, then flinched when Evan spat on him.

I met Angie’s eyes, and had to fight the urge to applaud.

Moments later, the security guard joined the fray, which really got the party started. He took initial statements and contact information, then cleared Angie and Evan to leave.

“Do you want us to stay?” Angie asked me.

“Go on back to the party. I’ll make sure Tyler calls tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said, then pulled me into an impulsive hug. “Take care of him.”

“I will,” I promised.

I moved toward Tyler, but the guard insisted that Tyler, Franklin, and I remain separated, so I sat on the floor beneath the jellyfish until I saw the detectives arrive. One went straight to Franklin. The other headed toward Tyler.

I stood, then walked toward the second detective, meeting him halfway. Then I reached into my purse and pulled out my badge. “Detective,” I said. “Could I have a word?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Self-defense, Detective,” I said. “Mr. Sharp had told Mr. Franklin that he had evidence that Franklin had sexually harassed an employee. Franklin attacked, and Sharp defended himself.”

“And you saw that?”

“I did. I’m not telling you how to do your job, but if it was my case, I’d just have everyone walk away.”

The memory played in my head, over and over like a broken record, blocking out everything else.

“You did the right thing,” Tyler said as we stepped inside his suite at The Drake.

They were the first words we’d spoken since leaving the benefit, and they sounded far away. “It doesn’t feel that way.”

“He files charges for assault, and the only way to defend is to drag Lizzy into this mess,” he said as he headed into the living room. “Would you want that for her?”

“You didn’t have to pound his face in,” I said. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that he attacked an innocent girl who’d already suffered enough.”

“Yes, I know. Of course.” I drew in a breath. “But, Tyler, there are laws against rape, even attempted rape. Lizzy could testify. Bring assault charges, attempted rape.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” he said. “A former stripper crying rape? What cop would believe her?”

“I would,” I said, and I saw the flicker of warmth in his eyes.

“Fair enough,” Tyler said. “But even if the DA did believe her, he’d get a slap on the wrist and no cage time, and we both know it. Justice doesn’t always go hand in hand with the law.”

I shook my head, knowing I needed to just drop this. That it was becoming too damn personal. “That doesn’t mean you can take it into your own hands.”

“Why not?”

I just looked at him, willing myself to stay silent.

“I’m serious,” he repeated. “Why not?”

“Because you can’t,” I snapped. “There are rules. There are codes.” I thought of my mother. Of my stepfather. And in my mind, I heard the sharp crack of a shotgun.

I shivered, turning away from Tyler. “Don’t you get it? There’s an entire foundation built around those rules and codes, that makes us civilized.”

He came to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “That foundation is full of cracks, and you know it.”

I shrugged him off, took two steps forward. “Yeah? Well, it’s not your job to fill them.”

“Christ, Sloane, listen to yourself. You’re a cop for Christ’s sake.”

I whipped around, spitting out my words as the memories pummeled me. “You think that because I’m a cop I don’t know about crossing the line? That I don’t know about getting dirty? About paying a price?”

I held my hands out in front of me, my breath hitching because I knew that they were covered in blood. “I killed him,” I yelled. “I killed my own stepfather, you son of a bitch, and I pay the price every goddamn day.”

I gasped the moment the words were out of my mouth, a sharp sound, like I was trying to suck them back in. But they weren’t coming back. Instead, they seemed to hang in the air between us.

I stood frozen, staring at him, expecting to see shock, revulsion, even surprise.

I saw none of that.

“Oh, god,” I said, collapsing to the floor. “You knew.” My voice was dull. Pained. “I’ve never told that to anyone. I don’t know why I told it to you. How did you know?”

He was on the floor, holding me, stroking me, making soft soothing noises. And I realized I wasn’t entirely sure when he’d done that. “Because I see you,” he said simply. What I heard was, because I love you.

I blinked, and tears spilled from my cheeks.

“You mess me up, Tyler.”

“Yes, well, the feeling is mutual.” He pressed a kiss to my head. “Will you tell me what happened?”

I didn’t want to go back, but at the same time I wanted him to know. Wanted to share the horror with someone who knew me. Someone I trusted. So I drew in a breath, and started slowly. “You know some of it,” I said. “It was like living a nightmare. He beat her. He raped her. He was a monster.”

I drew in a breath, clutching his hand tight. “When I was fifteen, he tried to rape me. He was drunk, and I fought him off, but I was done with him. I was so very done.”

“What did you do?”

“My dad’s a cop, and even though my parents had been divorced for forever, we’re close. So I knew things about evidence. And I knew things about my dad. Like the fact that he had a crappy old shotgun in his garage. It used to be his father’s, and it was a filthy mess. My dad wasn’t a hunter, but he wasn’t going to get rid of a gun. It just stayed there in the garage, unloaded, tucked in behind the spare fridge.”