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CHAPTER THIRTY

arden

I’m at work when my phone starts blowing up. Every three seconds, it’s vibrating in my pocket. I’m working solo today. No Whit. No Autumn. Either something happened with my dad, or hell is freezing over. Nobody should be contacting me this much.

I stealthily pull my phone out of my scrubs as I stroll down the hall, my brow furrowing at the mounting notifications. Whitney, Autumn, both of my sisters, Penny, Noah… Carter. Lots from Carter.

Serena’s text is the most recent, so that’s the one I open first.

Serena

Oh my god! The nerve! Have you seen this?

She sends me the link to a social media post. My stomach sinks when I see the bruised face of the man who squeezed my ass all of those weeks ago. That’s him. That’s Collin. It’s a video from his public account, and in a fancy font, he’s titled it :

POV: you were assaulted by a beastly defenseman.

Oh, hell no.

I watch in horror as Collin retells the story, including a couple of significant tweaks that are completely untrue.

My gut sinks as he talks. He never mentions Carter by name, but his Forkerro jersey is hanging from the curtain rod behind his head.

He’s treading carefully, saying a lot without saying much at all.

He’s coming forward publicly without risking any legal repercussions.

To sum up his bullshit: He stumbled into me. Apparently. Then, Carter went crazy.

I know that isn’t true. Carter knows that isn’t true. Collin knows that isn’t true.

My blood is positively boiling, staring at his bruised face, knowing he filmed this ages ago and likely waited for everything to calm down before he sent it all back up into flames again.

I pick up the phone and dial my fake boyfriend.

He answers instantly. “Red.”

“Are you okay?” I ask quickly, sliding into an on-call room. “I just saw.”

He lets out a long breath. “Are you okay?”

“Carter, I’m fine,” I bite out, running a hand over my face. “I… He’s lying. About you. You… You didn’t just attack him for nothing. ”

“We know he’s lying,” he reminds me gently. “That’s all that matters. We have the truth on our side. He doesn’t.”

“It’s a smear campaign.”

“Of course it is,” he says, and the calmness in his tone soothes my panic.

“But we knew it was coming. I’m showing up to everything I have to show up to.

I’m being a good citizen. My lawyer is handling everything.

He’s just…embarrassed, I th ink. Apparently, someone leaked his name this morning and this came shortly after. ”

“He didn’t stumble, ” I seethe.

“I know, Bub. I know,” he says softly. “It was going to get worse before it got better. It’s why we worked to get ahead of this. The public already knows what he did to you. I told them. Only a moron would believe this guy now.”

“But what if they do?” I whisper, leaning against the wall.

“Then they do,” he says simply. “I did hit him. I’m owning that. Anything else he wants to aim at us, we’ve got it covered.”

I’m quiet for a moment.

“I don’t like that he’s minimizing what he did to you, Red.”

It’s the first time he sounds angry. My eyes flutter shut.

I don’t like that he’s maximizing what Carter did to him. We have so many witnesses on our side. Why would he ever think that this was a smart move? Who told him to do this? Shouldn’t his father, a police officer, warn him about implicating himself in these situations?

“I’m okay,” I tell him, and I am. I’m angry for him, not for myself.

“I know it’s not my night, but do you want to meet me at Icebox tonight? We’re going out. Sweets will be there.”

The last place I want to be is the very bar where Collin Donahue smacked my ass and Carter screwed up his life to punish him for that very stupid decision. I don’t want to be anywhere near that bar right now. What if Collin shows up with his friends? Will I be able to remain calm? No.

Will Carter? Hell no.

“I’m tired. I’m just going to go home.”

He’s quiet for a second. “Alright. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“See you.”