Afterglow: A Brother's Best Friend Romance, page 17
“Has he been arrested?” Dax growls.
Nixon sighs. “He’s missing.”
Dax’s face goes the brightest red as he clenches his fists by his side, a vein in his neck throbbing with his pulse. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him like this before.
“Of course he is. He should never have been able to get out of jail in the first place,” Dax yells.
My phone rings as the guys talk. It’s my school.
“Hello?” I answer as Dax sits beside me.
“Hello, is this Isabella Thatcher?” a female asks.
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, Miss Thatcher. My name is Rita. I’m calling on behalf of the dean at V.U. We were wondering if you could to come in for a meeting tomorrow morning.”
“Um… I have class in the morning.”
“We are aware but would still like you to attend this meeting.”
“Oh. Um… yeah, I can make that work.”
“Perfect, we’ll see you at eight,” she says and ends the call.
“Who was that?” Dax asks, his brows pulled together in concern.
“The university. They want to see me in the morning.” I nibble on my lower lip as a nervous bubble forms in my stomach.
Dax uses this thumb to get me to release my lip, and I stare into his calming eyes.
“Do you think they are going to kick me out?” My voice shakes with each word, and I wonder if I’m going to cry again.
“If they try, they’ll be hearing from your lawyer,” he states firmly. “This wasn’t your fault, Izzy. If anyone makes you feel like it was, tell me or Nixon, and we’ll deal with them.”
I look at Nixon, who is nodding.
“I’ve seen shit like this before,” he starts. “The university might try to get you to step away, but they don’t have a foot to stand on. They want to avoid a scandal, and lots of people take that route. Not to save face for the other person but to stop people from invading their personal space. I’m not going to lie, Izzy, if you stay at school, there are going to be people talking. You’ll probably get a lot of guys catcalling you. You might even have people wanting to ask you questions. I’ll do my best to keep people away, but it’s something you are going to have to be aware of.”
I nod and take a shaky breath, leaning into Dax. He wraps his arms around me, offering me his strength.
“I’m so sorry this is happening,” he murmurs into my hair, and I shake my head.
“The only person who needs to apologize is Leo.” I look at Nixon and say, “You need to find him. He needs to pay.”
“I’ve already called in reinforcements. We’re going to get him. Assholes like him deserve to spend their life behind bars.”
Chapter 22
Dax
To take this morning off, I had to pull a million strings, but there was no way in hell I was making Izzy face the university board by herself. Not that she would have been by herself without me. Obviously, Nixon was going to be here no matter what, but her brothers also wanted to show their support. Izzy prohibited them from coming, saying she was a big girl, but that hasn’t stopped them from blowing up our phones. Even with the support of so many other people, I had to be by her side.
If I could take the entire week off work so I didn’t have to let her out of my sight, I would have.
There is something in my gut telling me Leo isn’t done. He wants revenge, and I’m not going to let that happen. I refuse to let a single hair on Izzy’s head get hurt again.
“Is it just me, or is everyone who passes us staring at me?” Izzy asks.
I’ve noticed it too. I’m sure people are trying to figure out if Izzy is the girl in the video, or they have some sort of underlying thoughts about the video.
The school emailed everyone to delete the video, but I doubt most listened to them. I mean, why would they? It’s free porn. It doesn’t make me any less angry. I wish there were a way to get every phone from every person at this college and destroy them.
“It’s going to be okay,” I assure her instead of confirming or lying about her concerns.
Izzy nods and rests her head on my shoulder as we wait to be called into the boardroom.
Instead of sitting next to us, Nixon is standing directly in front of us, making sure people don’t approach.
“Isabella Thatcher,” a woman who appears to be in her early fifties calls out, and we both stand. Nixon and I are directly behind Izzy, ready to follow her in. “Um… it’s probably best if you come alone.”
Both Nixon and I shake our heads.
“If you want to talk to me, they’re coming,” Izzy tells her firmly.
The lady sighs but nods, letting us into the boardroom.
“Miss Thatcher, please have a seat,” the dean says.
Izzy reaches forward to shake his hand, and then we take our seats. “Care to tell me why I’m here today?” she asks with a strength I’m not sure she feels on the inside.
“We wanted to talk about yesterday’s events.”
“Are you going to tell me the school is looking into how it’s possible that their emergency alert system got hacked into and left one of their students vulnerable to a predator?”
I press my lips together, fighting back a grin at how amazing Izzy is doing. For hours last night, she was on the phone with Carson, who had been giving her pointers on topics to talk about. Clearly, the information has stuck.
The dean’s eyes go wide, and he looks at the board members whispering amongst themselves.
“It is our policy to investigate all incidents involving our school. We are not yet certain that it was our system that got hacked,” an older lady proclaims. “Considering the text message was sent to the entire campus, we have to take this seriously. Obviously, we are sorry this happened to you, but we must keep the rest of the student body in mind here.”
“I understand that the text was a disturbance to everyone, but I’m not sure why I’m here. I’m not the person who sent the message, and I was just as affected by it as everyone else. So, unless you want to offer me an apology on behalf of the university, I don’t really see the point of me staying.”
“We are just concerned that this could happen again,” the same lady says, her tone patronizing.
“Well, the most effective way to do that would be to hire a better internet security team,” Izzy says. “You can say all day long that you’re not certain your system got hacked, but there really isn’t any other way someone could have pulled this off. My lawyer has been asking if I want to sue the university. I don’t think that’s necessary. I just want to continue my classes and forget this event happened.”
The dean’s eyebrows shoot up, and the board starts whispering again.
“That’s enough,” an older man barks out, standing and glaring at the board. His face softens when he turns his attention to Izzy. “I’m sorry for all of this. If you need any time off, let the admin office know, and you will be excused without any repercussions. But you are also free to attend classes again whenever you feel ready.”
Izzy smiles and nods. “I’ll attend my afternoon classes today. Thank you.”
After we leave, Izzy says, “That went better than I thought.”
“I thought that old lady was going to shit her pants when you threatened a lawsuit.” Nixon laughs.
“The look on her face was priceless,” I add.
“I kind of want to throw up,” Izzy confesses, and I rub her back gently.
“Are you sure you want to go to afternoon classes? Why not just come home and relax in the Jacuzzi? Take a load off, and you can start fresh tomorrow.”
Izzy shakes her head with a look of pure determination on her face. “I told you I’m done letting Leo control my life. I’m going to class this afternoon, and I’m going to be happy about it. I’m sure I’ll feel fine after lunch. It’s just all the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I’m glad I spoke to Carson last night, though. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have had the gumption to push back.”
“They were going to try to get you to step away from the program,” Nixon says.
“I wonder how often they get students to step away when they haven’t done anything wrong,” I ponder out loud.
“A lot more often than you would think. It’s usually young females or marginalized communities,” Nixon adds, which has Izzy shaking her head.
“It’s so dumb,” she says. “The victims already have so much to deal with, then people in power pull shit like this. They want to swipe everything under the rug and act like nothing bad ever happens here, but it doesn’t stop the bad from happening. It actually makes it worse because people think they can get away with almost anything.”
I don’t have words, so instead, I hug Izzy and kiss her forehead.
“Come on, let’s go for quick coffee before I have to go back to work,” I say. She nods, takes my hand, and lets me lead us out of the school.
“How was your day?” I ask Izzy when I get home. She’s dishing up our plates with my favorite pizza, and I can’t help but smile, even though it was a long-ass day.
“Not that bad. Obviously awkward, but my teacher made sure to set the bar high. She said if anyone brought up the incident at all, they would be removed from the class for the day and possibly face suspension. I wish she were with me the entire day. Thankfully, Nixon has perfected the glare and kept most people away. How about your day?”
I shrug. “Honestly, I was distracted. I just kept thinking about you. It’s hard on me to have you out of my sight for so many hours of the day. I trust Nixon to keep you safe, but that doesn’t make it easier not to think about you. Leo is out there, and if he does anything to take you away from me, I’m not sure I’ll survive.” I kiss her. “I love you, Izzy.”
Her eyes go wide, and I second-guess my words. Was it too soon? Should I have waited longer?
“I love you too.” She pulls me back, her lips pressing firmly against mine. “Can we start with sex and end with dinner tonight?”
“As amazing as that sounds, we need to eat. We’re going to need our strength for what I have planned.” I wink.
Her eyes light up at the expectation of what’s to come, and it makes me consider skipping dinner, but I know we shouldn’t.
“Come on.” I tilt my head. “The faster we eat, the faster we can have…” I pause and let my eyes roam up and down her body. “Dessert.”
She giggles, sits at the island, and takes a big bite of her pizza.
I chuckle, and we eat quickly, neither of us talking much. We want each other more than food, but sustenance is important first.
Once dinner is finished, Izzy heads to the bedroom, and I clean up the couple of dishes we used before putting the leftover pizza in the refrigerator, all the while thinking about being buried balls deep inside the beautiful woman waiting for me.
The past couple of days have been tough on both of us. But I’ve had it easy compared to Izzy. She’s acting strong, but I know all of this is eating her up. I can’t imagine trusting someone with something so personal only for them to break that trust the second they are no longer getting what they want. What I do know is I have the power to help her forget about everything, if only for a little while.
Tonight, I’m going to worship Izzy. Show her how a real man behaves. I’m going to prove to her not all men are scum like Leo. I’m going to pour all of my love into her.
As I walk into the bedroom, Izzy isn’t in position. She isn’t anywhere to be seen, actually. That isn’t like her at all. As I’m searching the room, whimpering from the bathroom alerts me to her location. I rush to her, my heart pounding, and when my eyes finally land on Izzy on the floor in the fetal position crying, it’s like I’ve been stabbed in the gut.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I kneel next to her and wrap her in my arms.
“I thought I could ignore everyone,” she says, tears cascading down her cheeks. “That I could forget the entire school saw my sex tape, and it wouldn’t matter. I would just continue my studies, and everything would be fine. But now I’m not so sure…” She pauses, handing me her phone.
On the screen is a web browser opened to a thread of people talking about Izzy and the video. Heat flashes through my body as the anger rises. A pounding begins in my ears, and the urge to throw the device is strong. I want to ask her how she found this, wondering if some asshole sent her the link, but she doesn’t need my pestering.
“What do you need from me?” I ask after a few heartbeats as I adjust myself to sit on the floor so I can hold Izzy.
She shakes her head against my chest. “I don’t know. I want to go back in time and make sure I never met Leo.”
“I wish I had a time machine,” I say as I run my hand up and down her back.
I hold her and try to think of what to do. I want to make all of this disappear for Izzy, but I can’t. The only thing I can do is be there for her.
“Why don’t we go soak in the Jacuzzi for a little?”
She nods but doesn’t move, so I stand with her in my arms and carry her to the Jacuzzi. Fuck the robes tonight.
I gently set Izzy down on the bench once we are outside, hating that I have to let her go. I pull back the top before returning to my girl, stripping her down, then doing the same for myself.
Once we are both naked, I hold Izzy’s hand, helping her into the warmth of the Jacuzzi, both of us letting out contented sighs. Sitting down first, I pull Izzy into my lap, squeeze her tight, and let the warm water envelop us.
“Would you like to make another appointment with Elijah?” I ask once her body relaxes into mine.
“That’s probably a good idea,” she murmurs in a sleepy voice. “I’m also wondering if maybe I should call the admin office and take a few days off. I wanted to prove how strong I am to everyone, but maybe it’s okay not to be strong at a time like this.”
“It doesn’t make you weak to take care of yourself and need some time after something like this.”
“I just feel like by not going to school, I’m giving Leo what he wants. I’m letting him control my life again. I’m so fucking done with all of this. It would be nice if he could just get hit by a goddamn truck or something,” she grumbles, and I kiss the top of her head.
I’m not normally a man of violence, but I would love to watch the life drain from his eyes. My blood pressure rises every time we talk about him, but the idea of killing him almost makes me smile. I’m not sure what that says about me.
I know Izzy is feeling a little better when she moves to straddle me and trails kisses up and down my neck.
“Can you help me forget everything for a little while?” she purrs into my ear.
“Always,” I respond with a smirk, gently place my hands on her face, and pull her lips to mine.
I devour her mouth like a starved man, and my cock grows between us, pressing against her center. When she pushes her hips against me, I growl into her mouth.
Breaking our kiss, I bend over to suck a nipple into my mouth. Izzy’s back bows, and I place my hand around her to stop her from going too far.
“Your body is fucking perfection,” I whisper against her skin.
Her hips move again, her pussy rubbing against my cock in the most delicious way.
“Rise for me, baby,” I instruct, placing one of my hands on her hip and the other on my cock.
Izzy moves so I can guide her onto my throbbing erection, and as she slides down, I groan at how perfect she feels.
“I love you so much,” I say and kiss her again.
As we make love in the Jacuzzi, we hold each other close, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt something this perfect before.
This might not be kinky fucking, but it’s still fucking amazing. Everything with Izzy is. She’s becoming my everything. I’ve never been in love before and didn’t know it would be this incredible.
I would do anything for this woman, and I have a feeling she would do the same for me.
A buzzing in my pocket pulls my attention as I make my way to my car after leaving the office.
“Any leads?” Riley asks as soon as I answer.
I sigh. “None yet.”
“It’s been two fucking weeks. How have they found nothing?” he growls out, and I blow out a breath.
I’ve been asking myself the same thing, but Nixon ensures me his team is working as hard as they can. I believe him, but it still pisses me off.
“They’re doing the best they can,” I tell Riley, and he grumbles on the other end of the phone.
“I thought that having a private investigation team would help us find the bastard quicker,” he sneers.
I’m focused solely on the conversation I’m having with my best friend instead of paying attention to my surroundings, which I realize is a mistake the moment something hard hits me upside the head and the world goes dark.
Chapter 23
Izzy
In the middle of making dinner, my phone rings on the counter. I ignore it once I realize it’s my oldest brother. Since the text fiasco the other day, my siblings have called every day, multiple times a day, to check in on me. It’s honestly draining at times. Since I already spoke with Riley this morning, I don’t feel bad for not picking up.
Once the phone stops ringing, it immediately starts again. It’s Riley again, which makes me pause. Why the hell is he calling two times in a row? I’m sure he’s just trying to check on me, but I have this gut feeling that it could be more.
“I’m fine,” I answer, attitude obvious in my tone.
“I’m glad to hear it, sis, but Dax isn’t.”
My whole body turns cold as if I was doused in an ice bath. “What… do you mean?” My words come out slowly and carefully.
“I was just on the phone with him, and the line went dead. I tried calling him back, but it went directly to voicemail.”
“Maybe his phone died.”
“I heard something before the line went dead. It was like a bang and a whoosh of air from him.”
