Page 88 of The Love Penalty
“Harvey did fuckin’ what?” Ethan barks.
I slump against him, ignoring his question as his hold on me immediately loosens. He lets me lean against him for a second while I try to wrap my brain around this bullshit.
“You guys all right? What’s going on?” someone calls from the other side of the parking lot.
“None of your fucking business!” Ethan shouts, his tone a friendly warning.
“Whatever, dude!”
An engine starts and then another. Cars drive away, but we stay there—a circle of four shell-shocked guys trying to absorb this.
It can’t be true. I shake my head. It can’t be.
Casey sags against my truck with a heavy sigh. “She didn’t want me to tell you, but when she saw him today, she knew right away. It’s him.”
“No.” I keep shaking my head. “She said she didn’t know who it was and… and Harvey wouldn’t do something like that.”
“She was raped?” Liam whispers, his expression wounded. “When?”
“Back in February.” Casey winces. “It was at a party at the football frat…” He shakes his head.
My ears start buzzing as I picture the scene, Harvey’s face appearing in my mind as he spun Lani around and roughly entered her.
Snapping my eyes closed, I choke out the words, “No, it can’t be him.”
“She was puking in the bathroom, man. She was crying and screaming and having a breakdown.” His voice kind of shakes, like witnessing that was harrowing for him.
As much as that picture burns me, my stupid brain still can’t compute. “You’re lying. She had her period. She…” Agony rips through me like a sword blade. “He didn’t even recognize her. They hadn’t met before.”
“That might be genuine,” Liam murmurs, stepping into my line of sight. “Doesn’t he sleep around a lot?”
I close my eyes, fisting the back of my hair and fighting to contain the roar rattling inside me.
“This can’t be true. It can’t be?—”
“I’m sorry, man, but I think it is.” Casey’s voice is a low rumble.
“Oh shit,” Ethan murmurs, obviously still struggling to absorb all of this. “I don’t even know what to say. I mean, it’s?—”
“Shut up,” I rasp, my fingers curling into fists as I stumble to my truck and smash the hood. “Fuck!” I smash it again, one hit for each profane word. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuccck!”
The guys stand around me, letting me lose my shit, quietly supporting me with their hands in their pockets and their heads hung low.
Their expressions tell me that the foreboding in my gut is probably right.
Lani’s telling the truth, and my cousin, the guy I’ve looked up to and loved for most of my life, is a fucking asshole.
“Shit.” I seethe the word, shoving Casey away from my door and jumping behind the wheel.
“Where are you going?” He tries to stop me, but I flick the lock before he can open the door.
Starting up the engine with a high rev, I screech away from them. They’re forced to step back so I don’t run them over. I’m being an asshole, but my brain’s on fire, and I can’t tell them where I’m going. Because I’m not exactly sure yet.
Do I pound on Lani’s door, asking for every detail?
Or do I track down my cousin and beat the shit out of him?
CHAPTER 40