Colby swallowed hard and quickly looked past my shoulder, then back at me.
“You like to record your rapes, don’t you, Colby?” I asked.
Colby looked up again and then focused back on me.
“You didn’t even try to hide the camera, you sick motherfucker,” I said.
Sargent Peterson turned to see what Colby had looked at. “Holy shit, he was recording it,” the officer whispered.
Smiling, I stood and put the chair back at the table, walked over to Colby, and leaned in close to him. “First thing I saw you do when we came in was glance over there with a panicked look. It doesn’t surprise me that a sick bastard like you would record it all. Congratulations, you just put yourself in jail, motherfucker.”
I took a step away. “Take a deep breath, because this is the last free air you’re going to be breathing for a while.”
Turning on my heels, I walked out of the kitchen, balling my fists up tight. It had taken an act of God not to punch the fucker, but I had somehow managed to keep my hands to myself.
I stood in the front yard with Kyle, Bishop, and Aiden, and watched as they eventually brought Colby out. He wasn’t shouting to be released, or threatening to get everyone fired. Nah, his ass was crying big old crocodile tears as Peterson put him in the back of a squad car, and then spoke to the officer who would be transporting Colby to the station. They parted ways, and I watched as the patrol car pulled away.
The moment the car turned the corner, I dropped to my knees and buried my face in my hands. Jack was instantly by my side.
“Jesus Christ,” Kyle said as he leaned over and rested his hands on his knees. “What are the odds of us walking in on him raping someone?”
Bishop ran his hand through his hair. “Pretty fucking slim.”
“I still can’t believe it,” Aiden said. “I’m fucking shocked.”
I shook my head, trying to get a handle on the anger that was still festering inside me. Every part of my being wanted to tear Colby apart limb from limb, and it had only been by the grace of God that I was able to keep my hands to myself.
I quickly wiped away the tears and took a few deeps breaths before dropping down onto my ass and resting my hands on my knees.
“You okay, Hunter?” Aiden asked, bending down to look me in the eyes.
I nodded. My heart pounded in my chest, and I tried to take a few more deep breaths.
“Dude, how did you know about the camera?” Kyle asked as he looked at me.
“When I first called out to him, he looked over his shoulder really quickly, and I simply got lucky and noticed the gesture. I followed where he was looking and saw the camera set-up. Then when he was being cuffed, he looked at it again.”
Aiden shook his head. “The stupid fucker is going to send himself to jail.”
“No better type of revenge than that,” Bishop added. He reached his hand down for mine. I took it, and he pulled me up.
Kyle straightened and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, man. I don’t know how you kept your shit together, but you did. Hopefully this fucker will pay for what he did to Arabella.”
“And all the other women he’s hurt,” Aiden said.
Peterson walked up to us and held out his hand. “I just wanted to say good work. I’m going to guess you weren’t here to simply talk to him?”
I shook my head. “No, sir, I wasn’t. But when we walked up to the house, we heard a woman screaming. I couldn’t wait for you guys to show up.”
He nodded. “I wouldn’t have waited either. Good job catching the camera. I’d like to hope we would have found it eventually, but that was great police work.”
“It was pure luck that I happened to see him look at it.” I replied.
Sergeant Peterson nodded. “Well, I’m just glad you caught it.”
“Will you keep me up to date on the case?” I asked.
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a smile. “I most certainly will. I just need your statement, and then you’re all free to head on back to New Hampshire.”
I pulled up to the gate and put my truck in park, then dropped my head against the steering wheel. Jack whined from the backseat, and I closed my eyes. “I know, boy, I feel the same damn way.”
Jack barked, and I sat back in my seat. I picked up my phone and pulled up Bella’s last text.
Bella: I can’t wait to see you! I love you.
The entire drive down from Maine, I’d gone back and forth over telling Bella the truth. Aiden had brought up the point that if Bella knew Colby had raped other women, she might feel guilty for not reporting her own rape. After talking to Aiden, Kyle, and Bishop about it all, we decided it was best if Bella didn’t know…at least not right now. The last thing I wanted was for her to have to think about that fucker, or to know I had lied to her.
It was the one and only lie I would ever tell Bella, and one I would never regret.
Looking over my shoulder, I smiled at Jack. “Let’s go see our girl.”
Jack barked and pawed at me, which made me laugh. I hit the gate opener and started my way down the long drive to the house. The moment I opened the door, I smelled something delicious. Jack raced past me and headed to the kitchen.
“Bella?” I called out.
“I’m in the kitchen!”
I tossed my wallet and keys on the small side table in the foyer and headed toward the kitchen. Taking in a deep breath, I let out a small moan.
Bella was at the island sprinkling something on a salad.
“What is all of this?” I asked, walking up behind her and wrapping her in my arms. She tilted her head back and looked at me, allowing me to kiss her on the mouth.
“I missed you and wanted to make you a special dinner.”
Laughing, I said, “I was barely gone two days.”
She gave a small pout. “I’m sorry you guys weren’t able to catch any fish.”
I shrugged. We’d decided to stay at Kyle’s family cabin last night and come home this afternoon. It had been nice to hang out with Kyle, Bishop, and Aiden like old times. And we actually did try to get some fishing in, though none of us caught a single thing. “Doesn’t matter. I enjoyed hanging out with the guys.”
“Just a heads up, Hudson wasn’t pleased he didn’t get invited on the bro trip.”
Laughing, I turned her around and cupped her beautiful face in my hands. “I’ll make it up to him. In the meantime, I want you to know how much I missed you. I missed feeling your body next to mine.”
Her cheeks had a beautiful light pink glow, and I couldn’t resist the urge to kiss them both and then her nose. I took her mouth once more, this time deepening the kiss.
Bella wrapped her arms around me and moaned into my mouth as I pulled her body against mine. When our lips parted, I leaned my forehead on hers.
She sighed contently. “We’re also celebrating something.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, taking one of her curls and spinning it around my finger. It was so soft, and it smelled like she’d used a different shampoo than usual. “What are we celebrating?”
Bella took a step back and smiled. “Dinner first, then I’ll tell you.”
I pulled her back to me. “Seriously? You’re going to hold out on me?”