He threatened to have me deported if I told anyone what, in his words, ‘I made him do.’ I left the next day with so much fear, guilt and shame that for the longest time, I believed him.”
He frowned. “Did you seduce him?”
“Of course not! How can you ask?”
“Then why did you believe him, Kelly? Why didn’t you fight him?”
Damn it all, she couldn’t stop the tears sneaking silently down her cheek. She swiped at them, angry with her own weakness and angry that she could not explain how vulnerable she felt in those terrifying moments. When she realized Campbell was assaulting her, shock and panic became twin emotions. She had tried to fight him off, but he was too strong, too fast, and he had hurt her. While Campbell had pumped into her, uncaring of her pain, her mother’s words echoed in her head that her body would get her into trouble one day. Although innocent, Campbell’s accusations that she seduced him continued to haunt her because her body had betrayed her and she carried the shame. She could never explain that to Evan.
She swallowed hard. “A part of me believed him, Evan. There’s more to it, but I really cannot talk about it. Besides, Buzz was so handsome and kind. Charismatic, really. I developed a crush on him as would any impressionable young woman. I suppose you’d call it hero worship. But, Evan, I can assure you, I never said, did, dressed or acted in any way to entice him other than be attentive when he spoke and return his smiles, the same way I respond to everyone.”
* * *
YES, SHE DID respond to everyone with attention and smiles. That was one of the most attractive traits Evan admired about Kelly, but it never occurred to him to rape her over her friendly nature.
Seeing Kelly humiliated at the hands of Buzz Campbell shot the senator to number one on Evan’s scum-of-the-earth hit list. Campbell was going down. Evan would make him accountable for his actions and, if humanly possible, have the slimeball thrown in jail.
And, to think Evan had been about to publicly endorse the senator as a presidential candidate. The thought of how the man carried on his duplicitous life made Evan’s stomach heave. For all intents and purposes, Campbell appeared as a family man with unquestionable moral character. His wife and children adored him. On national television, Madeline Campbell spoke with nothing but love and admiration about their twenty-year marriage. Now the senator would be lucky if Evan didn’t knock those pearly whites down his throat the next time they met.
He seethed inside as he offered Kelly his steady and calm attention. He didn’t want to make her too skittish to trust him, and understood how much fortitude it had taken her to confide as much as she had, because he was sure there was more. While he had suspected a secret lay behind Matt’s parentage, he never thought that Kelly had been raped. She was too congenial, welcoming and, damn it all, kind, to be carrying a soul-rending burden that would bring most people to their knees and destroy their lives.
Watching her sit with legs tucked beneath her, red hair falling about her shoulders, eyes misted with tears, his caveman urge to protect this woman surged into overload. The ferocity of his anger against Kelly’s violation squeezed his chest stronger than any outrage he’d ever felt. But, before he gunned for Campbell, he had to set a strategy in place. And he needed Kelly’s compliance.
“Evan! Can I play basketball?”
Matt’s question broke his internal tirade. He smiled at Matt, who looked as if he’d grown tired of the pinball machine and found the basketball.
“Sure, champ! Give me a few more minutes with your mom, and I’ll play some hoops with you.”
Matt dribbled the ball as best he could, focused on the hoop towering above him and shot—not even coming close. Chasing after the ball would keep him busy awhile longer.
He looked at Kelly. “He’s a great kid.”
She shook her head. “He’s about to get walloped, and I don’t know how to protect him.”
“We’ll get you through this.”
She leaned forward, desperation lighting her eyes. “Evan, you don’t understand. New York State law does not protect a mother or a child born from rape if the assailant files for custody rights. My biggest fear is that Buzz Campbell will come after Matt, and I’ll have to comply!”
Evan was shocked. “That can’t be true.”
She dropped her voice to a