The Debt 12 (Club Alpha) by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online Page A

getting loud.   She stared at Monique.   “Don’t talk that way.”
    Monique’s gaze fell to the table.   “Sorry.”
    “You don’t have anything to apologize
for.   He’s got your head spinning
and he’s obviously undermined your self-esteem.   It’s not okay,” Faith told her.
    The other woman looked up again, and now
the tears in her eyes were falling, trailing down her cheeks as her jaw
trembled.   “I’m so scared,” she
whispered.
    Faith stood up and walked over to where
Monique was sitting.   She leaned
down and hugged her tightly from behind.   “You’re going to be okay.”
    “I need help,” Monique said.   “I don’t know what to do next.”
    Faith let go of her and knelt down beside
her.   “Can you return to
Atlanta—go and stay with your family?”
    “I—I think so,” she replied,
nodding hesitantly.   “I have a
little money saved up in a secret account that Steve doesn’t know about.   I’ll buy a ticket for tomorrow morning.”
    At that moment, Chase stepped into the
kitchen.   His face told Faith that
he’d perhaps heard some of the conversation—or at least, enough of it to
know what was happening.
    “You can stay here tonight and we’ll take
you to the airport tomorrow,” he told her firmly.
    “I couldn’t impose on you like that.”
    “It’s no imposition,” Faith said.   Of course, it wasn’t really her place to
say that.   But Chase obviously felt
strongly that he wanted to help, and Faith thought it only right to reassure
Monique that she had their full support.
    Monique hung her head and now the crying
had gotten more apparent, as her shoulders shook.   “I can’t thank you guys enough.   I think I really need help.   I need to get away from him
before…before he does something terrible to me.”
      Chase came further into the room.   “We’re not going to let him hurt you.   You’re safe here.”
    He said it with confidence, but Faith
wasn’t so sure.   Was Monique really
safe?
    Monique thanked them over and over again
through her tears.
    Faith looked over to Chase, her heart
beating strong in her chest.   His
eyes were somber and she knew what he was thinking.
    Life was about to get very complicated.

 
    ***

 
    A little while later, Monique was in the
guest room, and Chase and Faith were in the master bedroom.
    He was pacing back and forth in front of
the bed, while Faith sat on the bed and reading on her cell phone about
domestic violence and how to help someone who was a victim of it.
    “Maybe we need to get her to a shelter?”
Faith said.
    “She’s flying home in the morning,” Chase
said, running a hand through his hair.
    “Well, maybe.   We don’t know if she even bought herself
a ticket yet.”
    “I’ll buy her a damn ticket,” Chase replied,
his voice rising.
    “Don’t talk so loud!” Faith
whispered.   “We don’t want to make
her feel bad.”
    “We’re the last people she needs to worry
about.   Velcro’s going to make her
feel bad if he gets hold of her again.”
    “Don’t get upset,” Faith said.   “We need to stay calm.”   She continued reading about victims of
domestic violence.   It was
frightening how often women were hospitalized or even killed by their husbands
and their boyfriends.
    It was so common that their spouse or
boyfriend would be the first person questioned by police if a woman was
murdered.  
    “How can I not get upset?” Chase
asked.   He stopped and faced
her.   “This guy is on my team.   And he’s the most popular person on the
team, in the locker room and with the media and the fans.   Now I’m going directly up against him
and the front office by helping his fiancé run away.”
    “I know it’s a tough situation—“
    He laughed bitterly.   “It’s a lot more than that.   In case you hadn’t noticed, my
performances aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire.   This isn’t the time to try and throw my
weight around.”
    “What do you want to