Page 41 of The Games We Play (Balance of Power #3)

SEAMUS

Present Day

I hold Mimi as she sobs in my arms. Tears stream down her face in waves as she stutters through telling me everything that Nathan did to her when he found her that night.

Not only did he violently rape her, but he almost fucking killed her. Nearly drowning her in the lake as she begged for her life.

My own guilt pulls at me, feeding my fury. I left her that night. I fucking left her because of a stupid fear of getting caught out of bed.

I could have saved her.

I could have helped her.

This could have been prevented.

Instead, Wes was the one who found Mimi in time to save her life. He beat Nathan off of her and got her help.

I haven’t asked any questions. I haven’t said anything, but I’m raging inside. I want to kill something, anything. My body trembles with so much anger, and I know I’m on the verge of completely fucking losing it.

The only thing keeping me grounded is her, so I squeeze her body tighter, pressing my lips into the crown of her head.

I force myself to breathe, calming myself, and focus back on her.

At some point, she collapsed as she was telling the story, and I slid over to her wrapping my entire body around her, like she needed protection. Protection from the words she’s held back saying, reliving a story that no one should have even experienced.

She’s rocking in my embrace as she apologizes profusely, and that only just feeds my fury. She has nothing to apologize for, nothing to feel bad about, and the fact that she feels like she has to, makes my vision blur with rage.

Pulling myself back, I cup her face and stare into her gorgeous eyes. The ones I fell in love with so easily. The ones I’ve seen only in my dreams for the past decade that are now drenched in tears and filled with shame.

“You did nothing wrong, Mimi. Nothing,” I grit out as I kiss her forehead, pulling her back into me.

I want to take her pain away. I want to strip her of the memories from that night, even if it erased the memory of us. I’d rather her remember nothing than anything at all.

We are still outside, perched against her front door on the porch, and even though I’m grateful for the crisp air, it’s too cold and I need to get her inside.

I press into my heels without loosening my hold and bring her to a standing position with me. Cupping my arm behind her legs, I lift her to my chest, carrying her bridal style as I step through into her entryway.

I kiss her temple and whisper in her ear, “One day I’ll be carrying you through a doorway because you’ll be my wife.” A wrecked sob heaves out of her as she grips me tighter, pulling herself even closer to my body.

I’ve never been inside her house, but I've seen most of it through my side window, so I don’t need her to tell me where to go. I already have the layout visualized in my head.

Lavender and honey, a scent so distinctly her, fills my senses as I enter through the front door. I kick it closed behind me and pass the kitchen and living room, heading straight to her bedroom.

The herbal floral scent is stronger in this room, and it invites me in as my legs move easily inside the dim space.

Twinkle lights line the bookshelf, giving just enough light to see my surroundings.

It’s simple and clean, unlike usual Mimi nature.

A yellow and blue velvet patterned chair sits in the corner stacked twenty items deep with articles of clothing.

I can assume she tried on, before taking them off and tossing them there.

Placing her on her unmade bed, she curls up tighter on the bed, but doesn’t release the fisted grasp of my shirt.

“Please don’t leave me.” Her soft voice cracks and it breaks my heart. She doesn’t want to ask me for anything, but she knows she needs it.

“Never.”

I’m never leaving her again.

I crawl into the side of her bed, pulling her body flush with mine, and wrap my arms around her.

We lay there motionless as the minutes tick by, and I mentally recap our time at camp, our nights together, and that final night that’s always been known as the best night of my life.

To find out it’s probably the worst of hers because of what happened, is a confliction of feelings I can’t put into words.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. Once, twice, and on the third time I know it’s Rocco. I shouldn’t check it now. I shouldn’t look at the details I know he’s sending to me.

But I need to know more.

Mimi’s breathing has evened out and her body lays heavy against mine .

Knowing she’s finally asleep, I pull out my phone and read the messages.

Rocco: Got the files. I’ll link them to you.

Rocco: I’m, uh…let’s meet in the morning. I’ll bring you the files.

Rocco: 0600. I’ll come by your house.

Seamus: Send them to me now.

Rocco: I don’t think that’s a good idea, boss.

Seamus: Send them.

Rocco: It’s not good.

Seamus: Send the fucking files!

Anxiety fills my bones as the link pops up. I know this is a complete invasion of her privacy and I shouldn’t be digging further into what she has already told me, but I need to know everything.

Clicking on the link, a summary list of items appears.

Court Order

Hearing

Jury

Witnesses

Evidence

Trial

Sentence

I immediately click on Sentence to see what happened to Nathan.

Fifteen years with the possibility of parole after ten.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but I couldn’t help myself. That sentence is complete bullshit.

Clicking back to the main screen, my finger hovers a brief moment over Evidence , as I look down at Mimi’s gorgeous face as she sleeps in my arms.

I don’t want to see how the night ended for her. I don’t know if I can handle seeing the photos of her like that, but she deserves for me to go through this with her.

I tap on the link, and the images that appear make my fucking heart stop.

I knew it was bad. I had no idea it was that bad.

Mimi’s battered face and bruised body in sectioned images.

Her eyes swollen beyond recognition. Her lips and cheeks bruised with bite marks and cuts over her jawline and ears.

Her wrists have a distinct black and blue line where he put a majority of his weight, holding her down.

There are so many bruises, and every image of her face and body is so swollen, I hardly recognize her to be the same person.

Images of the lake, her dress from that night, and shoes lay haphazardly near the blanket we laid on every night, and it’s too fucking much. I toss my phone aside and wrap my arms around her again, tucking my face into her neck.

“I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry.” My cracked voice begs, pleads.

Why did I leave her there? Why did I fucking leave?

The intense rage is still licking at my veins and I can physically feel my blood pressure exploding from my pores.

I have to force myself to calm my short breaths and just focus on the presence of Mimi comforting me, but the knowledge of what he did to her makes me feel a vengeance I’ve never felt in my life .

Even the anger I felt toward my father doesn’t rival the sensations rolling through my body at this moment.

The uncontrollable wrath that led me to almost beating my father to death has haunted me my entire life.

It wasn’t a mistake and I don’t regret it. But it put me on a path that I didn’t have control over, and even though I was built for the military and loved almost everything about it, I hated that I felt trapped because it wasn’t my choice. I was forced to do it because of him.

I have never made another mistake out of a fit of fury again, and I won’t start now. But Nathan will get what’s coming to him.

Picking my phone back up, I text Rocco.

Seamus: Pull everything on Nathan Simmons.