“Fine,” I tell her, my tone rough. “But I’m not giving in on calling the police. This needs to be reported.”
She gives a small nod. “I know. Even if I didn’t want to, my parents would insist.”
I take another moment to calm my raging nerves before I start my truck and pull out of the parking lot. The whole way to Luna’s house, the cab is filled with silence.
* * *
I insist on carrying Luna to the door, despite the protest she gives me. There’s not a chance in hell I’m letting her walk on her own. I not only need to carry her in case she becomes dizzy, but I need to feel her in my arms. I need that reassurance that she’s okay.
I don’t bother knocking on her door, since I have her right there with me. Grabbing the door knob, it’s yanked from my hand when the door is suddenly pulled open. The scowl on Kian’s face drops when he sees his daughter in my arms.
“What in the fuck happened?” he growls.
“I’m fine, Dad.” Luna tries to placate Kian, but he’s having none of it.
“Your jaw is fucking bruised, you have a cut on your lip, and you’re being carried. I wouldn’t say that’s fine.”
“Move back so I can set her down on the couch. We’ll talk then,” I tell him. It’s in his eyes to argue, no doubt not wanting me in his house, but he relents.
Luna’s mom enters the living room just as I get to the couch.
“Oh my God!” She rushes forward, getting to her knees by Luna’s head just as I carefully lay her down. “What happened?”
Neither me nor Luna have had a chance to answer. The moment my back is straight, my throat is gripped in Kian’s tight fist.
“What the fuck did you do to her?” he growls in my face.
“Daddy!” Luna cries from behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Luna’s mom grabbing Luna’s arm to keep her on the couch.
I get that her dad is angry and worried. He has every right to be. My own anger is still very much alive. I can’t imagine all of the shit that’s going through his head right now. But what pisses me off is the accusations flaring in his eyes. I’d lay down my life for Luna. And I’d take a life from anyone who thinks to harm her.
Kian doesn’t know that though, so I try to control the irate feelings coursing through me.
“Let me go,” I snarl.
The pressure around my neck tightens, and I grab his wrist, applying my own pressure. I don’t back down or cower like he wants me to. Kian’s a big man with a body built for fighting, but I’m just as big and can hold my own. I let him get his licks in the night he caught Luna and me together because he deserved to deliver them. But that shit ends now.
“Daddy! For God’s sake, let him go! He didn’t do anything! He saved me.”
It takes a moment after hearing Luna for his hold to drop away. He huffs out a breath, taking a step back. His head swings to his daughter and his enraged expression morphs to one of love and concern. He sits down beside her, bending at the waist to rest his elbows on his knees. The struggle he’s going through at seeing his daughter with a bruised jaw and a bloody lip is plain to see from the strain on his face.
“Tell us what happened?” He asks the question with more calm than I feel at the moment.
I pace the room, my hands clenched at my sides and my pulse pounding, as Luna tells us all what happened that led up to me finding her in the locker room. Surprisingly, she also includes what happened the day after the baseball game. The more she speaks, the angrier I become. From Kian’s body language, he’s right there with me. Her mom, though, doesn’t seem surprised when she explains what happened the first time.
I already have my phone out when Kian announces that he’s calling the police. I hold it up as I scroll through my contacts for Spencer Erikson’s number.
I bring it to my ear and tell the room as I listen to the rings, “A friend of mine’s father is a detective with the Silver Falls Police Department.”
With his jaw ticking, Kian jerks up his chin.
Ten minutes later, I hang up the phone and shove it in my pocket.
“It’s time for you to go,” Kian announces after I tell everyone that Spencer’s on his way over.
I’ve been expecting this, but it still angers me to hear it. I rescued Luna from a horrible ordeal, but it still doesn’t give me the right to be here for what comes after. Kian’s not at fault for wanting me gone, but he’ll have to knock my ass out and toss me from the house to get me to leave.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him, angling myself toward him. If he wants to fight this out, I’m all for it. “Not until I know she’s safe and after I hear what Detective Erikson has to say, plus I’ll have to give a statement.”