Page 7 of Protected By the Mountain Man

Beside me, Brooke emits the most defeated sigh I’ve ever heard. “No. Don’t bother. It won’t do any good; it’ll probably make things worse.”

Asha’s gaze flicks to mine for a second before he leans forward and focuses on Brooke. “Why do you say that?”

“Because the head of security is Gilbert Denier. He’s Al’s best friend. That’s how my ex got his job.”

Well fuck! No wonder the prick has been able to erase video evidence.

“Okay.” Asha leans back, hands pressing into the table. Hard. If I wasn’t watching him so closely, I might have missed that small action. It’s the only physical tell he’s shown since Brooke began her story. “Let me get some paperwork and we can get a report on file. I’d like to talk with the officer you spoke to in Curning, too. Do you have his contact information?”

“No.” Brooke frowns. “I don’t remember his name, sorry.”

“That’s okay, it’s easy enough to find out.” There’s a small tic in Asha’s jawline and I know he’s not happy with the way the other department dealt with Brooke’s complaint. “Give me a second and I’ll be back.”

I wait until he’s almost out the door before turning to Brooke. “I’ll be back too. I need to use the restroom.”

“Oh. Okay.” Her smile is small, the edges trembling slightly, and I hate leaving her alone in here, but I want a word with Asha where she can’t hear.

In my rush to catch Asha, my chair scrapes the floor, making both of us cringe, but it also makes Asha turn. At his raised brow I say, “Restroom.”

“You know where it is?” He holds the door for me.

“Yeah.” Walking into the hall, I take a few steps away from the room then stop. Checking he’s closed the door I say, “Can I have a word?”

“Figured you might want that.” He tips his head in the other direction. “Let’s go to my office.”

Following, I try to sort out my thoughts. Try to think of the best way to approach this without Brooke feeling like we’re overruling her. But there isn’t any other way than to go against her wishes.

As soon as we step into his office I blurt, “You have to speak to this Gilbert guy and if he gives you the brush off, go above his head.”

“Are you telling me how to do my job?” From the smile on Asha’s face I know he’s not really taking offense at my demands but…

“Sorry. It’s just…” I try to shake my head clear of the memories from earlier, but it’s useless. “He had his hands on her! She’ll have bruises. You need to take pictures. He’s been harassing her from the beginning. Who the fuck keeps asking a woman to go out for months like that? You heard her, almost six months of him finding her every day and asking⁠—”

Asha lifts a hand. “I get it. I know how you feel about bullies. And I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to keep her safe, but we have to go through the right channels. If she’s going to be rid of him, either because he decides to go away on his own or gets arrested, we need all our Is dotted and our Ts crossed.”

“What you’re telling me is I can’t go find the prick and warn him off.” My fingers curl into fists at my side. “Punch him.”

“Not unless you want to spend time in my jail.” His mouth twitches like he’s holding back a grin. “But I get where you’re coming from.”

“Tell me what I can do then.”

“Brooke needs to take precautions, which I’m sure she’s doing, and if she’s willing to change jobs to remove herself from his orbit, that might help. Guys like him don’t like to look the fool and he’ll see her breaking up with him as making him that.”

“And she’s right there, every day, for everyone to see and remember…”

“Yeah.” Asha’s sigh is heavy. “I wish women didn’t have to deal with these kinds of situations. Unfortunately, it’s all too common.”

“So we make this report, I try to convince her to work for me, and⁠—”

“Actually, I heard Camden over at the Lodge is looking for staff. Maybe get her to give him a call. She might be more open to that than your offer.”

I mull over Asha’s suggestion. If she worked closer to home, and not at the same place as her ex, she’d be out of sight, out of mind. “That could work.”

“For now, we do this the right way.” Asha’s hand clamps over my shoulder. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe.”

I believe him. Except it’s not enough. I want to find this prick and give him more than a good talking too, but Asha’s right. I can’t unless I want to end up in jail. And where would that leave Brooke? With no one looking out for her. I can’t risk that no matter how much my instincts are telling me to find her ex and fuck him up.

“Go on, go back to her before she panics and leaves.”