Merissa hurt for him. She remembered her dad being very much like Cannon; a caregiver, a protector, always there whenever she needed him. He’d made her laugh when she was sad, encouraged her when she felt like giving up and loved her without restriction. Never, ever, had he laid a hand on her in anger.
Even after her father’s death, her mother and Cannon had given her everything she ever needed. There hadn’t been a single day where she’d ever felt unloved. She couldn’t imagine her own parent turning against her the way Armie’s father had turned on him. “I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged that off. “I haven’t seen either of them since that day.”
So he’d lost first his mother, and then four years later, his father, too. Her heart tried to break, but Armie didn’t need her to be wimpy. He needed her strength—and her understanding. “Good for you.”
“I’d just finished school and I had a job, so as soon as the cops left, I gathered up my shit and walked out.”
And went where? She recalled him spending a week or so at their house. But that was shortly after her father’s death and she’d been grieving, paying less attention to her brother’s hunky friends.
“I had no idea if I should get a lawyer, or how I’d even do that on minimum-wage pay.” As he talked, Armie began to gather up the dishes, so she helped.
“Did you get arrested?”
“That’s what Mr. Baley wanted.” Armie stacked plates in the dishwasher with the ease of long practice. “He was shouting that his daughter had been abused, calling me a savage and saying I should be locked away so I didn’t hurt any other girl.”
Merissa tried to find some understanding for the father, knowing he’d only heard one side of a story. But the image of Armie so young, hurt but proud, made it impossible.
“Didn’t work out quite the way Baley wanted, though, because the officers, a guy and a woman, said they had to investigate the concern before they started arresting anyone.” His posture defensive, face averted, Armie paced away to wipe off the table. “Unfortunately, that meant talking to everyone who’d been at that party, which included most of my friends. I’d walk by and people would stare, then whisper.”
“They’re idiots. If they knew you then they should have known better.”
“They probably did—at first. But you know how it is with nasty rumors.”
“They spread like wildfire,” she acknowledged, cringing for him.
“That damn story circulated so many times, hell, I almost started to believe it.” He came back to the sink, braced his hands along the counter and stared out the window. “Overnight, everything changed. I don’t mind admitting, I was pretty scared. It was my word against Lea’s, and her father seemed not only influential, but hell-bent on seeing me crucified.”
Even though it was in the past, it crushed Merissa to hear what he’d gone through—so how must it have been for him to live it, and forever remember it?
“My options seemed hopeless...” Armie turned his head toward her. “Then your brother stepped in. He worked a few miracles...and gave me the advantage.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
SOUNDED LIKE HER superhero brother. “Cannon to the rescue?”
“Pretty much.” A slight smile chased the grim memories from Armie’s eyes. “I figured it was going to come down to my word against hers, and with her daddy’s money, I wouldn’t stand a chance. But Cannon had other ideas. The night Lea’s dad claimed I raped her, the party was at this nice house with security cameras at each door. Cannon was friends with the family, so they didn’t mind giving him the different video feeds.”
“The police hadn’t asked for them?”
“They probably didn’t know about them.” He shrugged. “I didn’t. The cameras were hidden, and since there weren’t any in the rooms where she claimed I raped her, the home owners might not have thought about it, either.”
“But Cannon did.”
“Yeah, and good thing. See, there was one in particular from the front porch that showed Lea kissing me goodbye, grabbing for my junk, riding my leg and basically hanging on me until I finally had to pry her away.”
Merissa felt like her eyes might fall out. “Wow.” She cleared her throat. “And that would have been after you’d supposedly forced her?”
“Yeah. It was pretty clear that I was trying to get away and she was doing what she could to get me to stay.” Armie’s gaze held her. “After I drove off, she was twirling in the yard, all happy and shit.”
Picturing that, Merissa almost felt sorry for the foolish girl—except that she’d put Armie through hell. “That sounds like powerful evidence.”
“Embarrassing, too, especially for her.” Next to Merissa, he leaned on the counter, his arms folded over his chest. “Cannon and I talked about it and decided it’d be best to see Mr. Baley before we took that video to the cops.”
So even then, he’d been a gentleman. “Amazing.”
“Don’t saint me, Stretch. I knew if we took it to the cops it might’ve prolonged things while they sorted it out. So we took it to Baley. I wanted to go alone, but you know your brother.”
“Yes, I do.” And she could guess his argument. “You were already under the microscope. Cannon didn’t want anyone to be able to pin more trouble to you.”
Armie nodded. “So I stood back while Cannon showed the video to Lea’s father. The man almost blew a gasket, threatening us both, lunging for Cannon, getting in his face.”
Merissa didn’t know Baley, but she’d still put her money on Cannon. At eighteen, her brother had been incredibly fast, strong and capable.
“I couldn’t stay apart from that. But Cannon was right—I didn’t want assault charges on my back, too. So I told Baley I was calling the cops.” Armie drew a breath. “That, and the fact that Cannon didn’t back down, that he didn’t even flinch, forced Baley to calm down.”
“I almost wish Cannon could have hit him a few times.”
Armie gave a rusty laugh. “Yeah, me, too. But Cannon kept his cool. He told Baley he could round up more evidence from cell phones, that he could find a dozen of our friends to explain how Lea had chased me. How she’d chased me even after the supposed rape. Put that way, Baley had no choice but to let it go.”
“To spare his precious daughter’s rep?”
“And his own, I assume. But he was still furious, claiming I’d somehow drawn in his baby girl, that I was the one who’d corrupted her. He gave me a choice—fade away so there’d never be any chance of Lea seeing or hearing my name again, or he’d destroy me. He made it clear that he had enough money to do it, that not only could he buy witnesses and judges alike, he’d drop enough cash on my own father to get him to testify to whatever he wanted. He said regardless of any truths, the entire world would believe what he wanted them to believe if I didn’t keep a very low profile.”
“The nerve!”
“At the time, I just wanted to let it go.”
“Why?”
Armie met her gaze. “Because he threatened Cannon, too. He said we’d both go down. And I couldn’t take that chance.”
Merissa already knew exactly how her brother would have reacted to that. “Cannon wanted you to fight back.”
Armie cut a hand through the air. “Cannon wants to defend everyone he cares about. But this wasn’t his fight! Hell, you guys had just lost your dad and he was trying to make things better for your mother, and for you.” He worked his neck, as if trying to ease the tightness. “Your brother didn’t need to take on my bullshit, too. Besides, I never thought it’d be an issue. Until Cannon got into the SBC, I figured I’d be a fry cook or something most of my life, just doing MMA for the fun of it. Nothing public about that.”
“No reason for Lea to ever encounter you again—unless she came looking.” But now he was in the SBC, already making headlines. There would be endorsements, interviews... Did Armie honestly think, after all this time, Mr. Baley was still willing to go after him? The man would have to be insane.
He crossed his arms. “Lea did try to get hold of me again.”
“That bitch!” Merissa gasped.
Armie’s smile twitched.
“What,” she demanded, “is funny about her trying to stir up more trouble?”
“Not a damn thing, and believe me, I wasn’t as nice when I told her to get lost.” He touched one fingertip to the corner of her lips, and his voice went deeper. “But curse words sound funny coming from this soft mouth.”
A rush of heat dipped into her belly and scattered her thoughts. “I...um...don’t curse often.”
“I know.” He dropped his hand and took a step away. “Don’t hate Lea. She was just a pampered kid who wanted to spread those wild oats you mentioned. Unfortunately, her dad is a ruthless prick and he’s never let it go. Over the years he’s sent me subtle reminders that he’s still aware of me, and still waiting for an excuse to shred me.”
“But you have proof!”