“It’s not okay,” I snapped. Jacob winced, and just seeing that made me subside into silence because I wasn’t the victim here, I was the outsider who needed to stay the hell quiet for a while.
“This needs to be done by the book,” Lloyd said, and held up his hand to stop me from interrupting. I guess that was in case I had some explosive comment to add fuel to the already burning situation. I cursed him in my thoughts, and gripped Jacob’s hand. “We need to make an official report to the police. Can I ask again why you had independent tests and didn’t immediately report this to the authorities?”
Jacob deflated, and I’d never seen him look so defeated. “I’m six-five, I weigh two hundred and fifty pounds, I’m a grown man who should’ve never been in that position, I’m stupid, mortified, and horrified that I let it get to this. Terrified that I was so wrong in trusting him, and ashamed that I didn’t listen to Ryker or my gut.” Everything spilled out of him so fast, each syllable dripping with self-hatred and regret, and I burned inside as if I had hell in my heart.
“I could tell you that you shouldn’t feel shame at what someone has done to you. But as the victim, and as a man, you have a unique mix of qualities that will make it hard for you to reconcile everything. I’m so sorry, Jacob, that we have let you down, and before we call the authorities I want to apologize on behalf of the University of Arizona.” He cleared his throat “Please know that we will be following every policy, procedure, and law, and supporting you regardless of who the other party is or what they may have donated to the college. You are an employee, a friend of the faculty, and this will be taken seriously.” He picked up the phone but paused. “We need to get the authorities involved.” He was asking Jacob a question and at this point it was Jacob’s choice as to what happened next. “Do you want me to call them?”
Jacob glanced at me, and I gave him a smile of what I hoped was reassurance, but probably looked like a grimace. He was still staring at me when he nodded.
“Yes.”
I don’t recall much of the rest of the day, it passed in a blur of interviews, some at the college and the rest in the station. The worst of it was the accusations wrapped up in questions. How could you let it happen? Were there no signs? Were you trying to seek favor with the very rich man? I knew everyone was only doing their job, but it wasn’t me who called an end to the latest interview full of pointed questions with a demand for a lawyer. As soon as Jacob said that he felt he needed one, I was straight on the phone to Vlad, who didn’t judge, or comment, but said he’d deal with it.
I had to call in the team, they needed to know where my head was, so there was that, but also with the might of the management team in my corner, maybe I could be of more use than just holding Jacob’s hand. This issue was going to affect the Raptors when it inevitably linked to me and to one of the richest men in Arizona. It would come back on me, because there was no way I was backing down in my support.
When Vlad arrived at the station he had Marc with him, owner and general manager, plus one of the team lawyers and a whole list of demands that they launched into. I’d never been more relieved to see Vlad, who made a comment about my bruised eye, the stitches in my lip, and the tooth I’d lost to break the uneasy silence that had fallen over the room when it was just us in there. The lawyer and Marc had vanished to do whatever they needed to do, and Jacob was quiet.
“You lost a tooth?” Jacob seemed surprised, and I realized we hadn’t even talked about it, and he hadn’t touched his phone to check out his texts, or emails. I knew he was trying to avoid Adam, so he wouldn’t have seen reports of the game. “I thought you just got a high stick or something. I should have asked you what happened.” He cradled my face, and I wanted to cry at the pain in his expression.
“It’s nothing, just Tate, a puck, and one of his slapshots, then me minus a tooth,” I joked.
“Did you get your jaw X-rayed?”
“Yep.”
“And you’re okay? Can I do anything?” Typical that the big man was trying to look after me.
“You mean put my tooth back?” I hooked a finger in my mouth and showed him the space, but it hurt too much and stretched the stitches so I let go.
He leaned over and pressed a butterfly kiss to my nose. “If I could magic the tooth back I would,” he said.
“I just hope there are no scars by the time we have our wedding photos.” I touched my lip and winced. “Maybe they can just photograph my good side.”
Jacob made an mmm sound and subsided into silence.
“Do you even have a good side?” Vlad joked, and I tried to smile, but Jacob had retreated into himself, taking a seat opposite me and closing his eyes. I didn’t like the fact we weren’t touching and I moved to sit next to him, and I think Vlad picked up on the new tension that had been added to the already fucked-up situation. He made a show of standing and brushing himself down. “I need to call Tate, he’s at a signing today.”
“I’m sorry if you were supposed to be there with him,” Jacob murmured.
“Me? With Tate the all-American hero and everyone fawning over him?” Vlad huffed a laugh. “Do you know how many people I’d have to kill if they touched him?”
He sketched a wave, and finally it was just me and Jacob in the room. I reached for a hand and gripped it. “I love you.” I thought that needed saying.
He squeezed my hand. “Maybe you’re right, and we should cancel the wedding,” he murmured.
“Wait, I never said I wanted to cancel our wedding. I said I understood if you wanted to delay—”
“What if we do cancel?” Jacob turned in his seat to face me, and he was so fierce with his expression. “This could get ugly and you’ll be caught up in it—”
“I can handle ‘ugly.’”
“What if I don’t want you to handle ugly? Huh? I could go somewhere, and this could stay private and no one would have to know you were connected to this at all. Think about your career.”
“Okay, I’ll think,” I said, and tapped my chin with finger. “Okay, here’s the thing. If you take one step away from me that isn’t to meet in front of an officiator at our wedding, then I will stand on a box in the middle of the city and tell everyone who you are to me. Then when everything hits the fan, they’ll all know that my husband has me in his corner, along with all of the Raptors fans.”
“All of the Raptors fans?” Jacob deadpanned.
“I know for a fact we have at least a hundred of those now.” In fact, we had thousands with the last few games being sell-outs, but I was going for the joking/serious balance the same as he seemed to be.
“And you’re going to stand on a box?” Jacob half smiled—trust him to pick up on the one thing I had no thoughts about before it left my mouth.
“A big box. Or, your shoulders. I could sit there and then we’d be as tall as a sequoia and you do that so well.”
“Being a tree?”
“Holding me up I mean. That’s what you do, Jacob, you hold me up because you’re so strong, but you know what? It’s my turn now, so you’d better turn up to the cabin in that tux Apollo found you, so we get married.”