Breaking Free (5 page)

“I’d seen evidence of his temper,” she said. “When other guys looked at me, he would get angry. Even the men on his crew, after we started seeing each other, got a warning if they flirted with me.”

The prosecutor looked at a few of the jurors, obviously trying to gauge their reaction. “Were you ever afraid of him?”

She looked torn, probably wishing she could avoid answering. “Sometimes.” She reached for her water glass. “When I told my friends stories about him, they said he could be dangerous. They thought he was too aggressive, too violent. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I’d seen his gentler side. They hadn’t.”

I closed my eyes as I sank back in my chair. This was going from bad to worse. Her testimony was killing me. Not only was she putting me away, she was ripping out my heart. How could she have been scared of me? Even though I’d only known her a short time, I would have laid down my life to protect her.

“Was it possible you were attracted to him because he was dangerous?” The prosecutor turned to face me, his hands behind his back.

I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help staring him down, trying to intimidate him. It must have worked because he shifted his attention back to his witness.

“You were an impressionable young woman who’d never been in any trouble,” the prosecutor said. “You maintained good grades, came from a good family, never got mixed up in drugs. Mr. Cooper was the opposite of that. He dropped out of school. His brother was killed by police. He was charged with assault and drug possession numerous times, but—”

“Objection!” my lawyer said, jumping up. “That’s irrelevant, your Honor.”

“Sustained,” the judge said, looking at the prosecutor. “Get back on track, Counselor.”

“Miss Lancaster, why don’t you tell the court why you were attracted to Mr. Cooper?”

For the first time since she entered the court room, Maura turned toward me and didn’t look away when our eyes locked. “There was just something about him that drew me to him. He was handsome, but it was more than that. He was dark and dangerous. I’d been used to dating guys who were younger and inexperienced. Coop was…” She finally blinked, breaking our connection as she turned back to the lawyer. “Different.”

“In what way?”

I was pissed the prosecutor was harassing her. I could only imagine how difficult it must have been for Maura to discuss our relationship with her parents present. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to demand the bully leave her the hell alone. But my hands were tied… and I hated it.

“He was enigmatic,” she said, sitting straighter. “Something told me to run away from him, to return to the safety of the guys I was used to dating, but I kept going back to Coop. No matter how hard I tried to stay away, I couldn’t.”

“Was it because of the sex, Miss Lancaster? Is that why you stayed with him?”

I fisted my hands on the tabletop until my lawyer nudged me, warning me to relax.

“I wasn’t a virgin when we met.” Maura blushed and looked at her hands. “I’d been with one other guy, but it was different with Coop. It was intense. He was intense, and I wanted more. He was like an addiction. I couldn’t get enough of him.”

I’d felt the same way about her. I couldn’t get enough. But it had never occurred to me that she was bad for me or that my feelings were unhealthy. Hell, until
that
night, I’d thought she was the best thing that had ever walked into my life. Just thinking about her made me smile, which said a lot, since I usually went through life mad at the world.

“Did you ever try to break it off with him? The night of the attack, did you try to break up with him?”

She nodded. “I told him it was over.”

But I hadn’t believed her. She was a spitfire, and she often exploded, telling me she hated me. Then within minutes, we would be having make-up sex that made her eyes roll back in her head.

“Is that when you left his apartment?”

“Yes.”

“Can you explain what happened after that?”

Maura lowered her head, and when she looked up, tears filled her eyes. “I was standing on the street corner looking for a cab, and someone grabbed me. I was distracted, looking at the door of Coop’s apartment building because I was afraid he’d come after me. I didn’t want to deal with him.”

“Because you were afraid of him?” the prosecutor pressed.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. I was just angry and frustrated. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.”

“Can you describe what happened next?”

I glanced at the back of the courtroom. Her parents were holding hands. I knew they didn’t want to listen to this any more than I did. Every time I thought about someone violating Maura that way, I wanted to put my fist through a wall.

“He had a knife.” Maura’s voice trembled, and twisted her hands in her lap. “He told me to get into the back of the van, or he’d slit my throat. I panicked. I wanted to fight back, but I was scared. I thought he was going to kill me.”

“Was there anyone else on the street corner?” the prosecutor asked, walking back to his table for a photo.

“No, it was late. I didn’t see anyone.”

“You mentioned a van,” the prosecutor said. “Did it look like this one?” He held up an 8x10 glossy photo of a white work van with no windows in the rear of the vehicle.

“Yes,” she said, nodding.

“Your Honor, the court would like to submit this photo of Mr. Cooper’s work van as evidence.”

A gasp moved through the packed courtroom as I clenched my hands. I didn’t know she’d been raped in a van that looked exactly like mine. Glaring at my lawyer, I whispered, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me—”

“Not now,” he muttered, waving his hand beneath the table to silence me.

“Had you ever been in Mr. Cooper’s work van before, Miss Lancaster?” the prosecutor asked.

She blushed again before glancing at me. “Yes, the first night we went out together and a couple of times after that.”

“Did you ever have sex in the back of that van?”

She closed her eyes, obviously embarrassed. “Yes.”

The prosecutor turned on his heel to look at my lawyer, the look on his face saying, “
I beat you to it.”
I didn’t understand why he wasn’t giving my lawyer the opportunity to ask these questions. Perhaps he wanted the jury to see we had no defense. Or maybe he was trying to spare Maura a hostile cross-examination. All I knew was that I already felt defeated, and the trial had barely begun.

“Can you tell us what happened after you were abducted, Miss Lancaster? Take your time,” he said, lowering his voice. “I know this is difficult for you.”

Maura took a moment to collect herself, setting her water glass down carefully. Her hands were trembling. She was terrified to relive that night, and I hated that they were doing this to her. I wanted to hold her, to swear I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her again, but I knew they wouldn’t let me within ten feet of her. Who was I kidding? She wouldn’t want me within ten feet of her.

“Like I said, he had a knife. He forced me into the back of the van, and he jumped in with me. He sat on top of me while he tied my hands and feet and gagged me.”

I felt as though I would throw up. I could only imagine how she felt.

“Go on,” the prosecutor said gently. “Tell the court what he did next.”

Go on?
Can’t you see this is killing her? Leave her alone! Don’t make her do this!

“He drove for about ten or fifteen minutes before parking and getting out. He jumped in the back and—”

“Did he walk around to the rear of the vehicle?”

“No, he just crawled into the back of the van without getting out.” She paused until the lawyer nodded for her to continue. “Then he…” She glanced at the back of the room, no doubt looking to her parents or boyfriend for support. “Cut my clothes off with a knife. It wasn’t difficult. I was wearing a dress, no bra, and”—she dipped her head, looking ashamed—“no underpants.”

Damn it.
I thought of how enraged I’d been when I’d learned she wasn’t wearing panties that night. I’d accused her of trying to attract other men, but never in my worst nightmares did I suspect she’d attract a psychopath who would try to kill her.

“What happened next?”

Tears fell down her cheeks quicker than she could brush them away. Her flawless makeup smeared, and her beautiful blue eyes swelled. “He took the gag off, and I begged him not to hurt me.”

“Was he still wearing the mask?”

“Yes. He never took it off.”

“What did he do next?”

If I hadn’t been compelled to stay, I would have ducked out of the room. I couldn’t stand to listen to the details. I couldn’t stand to watch what it was doing to her. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t deserve this.

“He raped me.” She bit her lip, her voice trembling. “He was rough. It hurt. I cried, but he wouldn’t stop. It seemed to go on forever.” She closed her eyes, the tears still falling. “But I was afraid for it to stop because I knew when it did, he’d kill me.”

“He told you he’d kill you?”

“Yes.”

I covered my mouth, fearing I might throw up all over my lawyer’s polished shoes. I couldn’t imagine the hell she’d endured or how she could have thought I would do that to her.

“Did you recognize the man’s voice?” the lawyer asked.

“No.” She looked torn as she looked from me to her parents. “He whispered the entire time, this fierce whisper. I never heard his normal speaking voice.”

“I see.” He shuffled through some notes. “Tell us how you got away, Miss Lancaster?”

“After he was finished…” She cleared her throat and looked at the jury. “He buttoned his pants. I thought he was going to let me go, but he started tracing his knife all over my body. Some places he pierced, others he just grazed.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “He drew blood. He seemed to get off on that, watching the blood break through my skin.”

“Can you tell us what happened next?”

“He moved behind me, tipped my chin back with his hand, and slid the blade across my throat.” Her voice broke again, and she took a moment before she continued. “Then he dragged me out of the van. He pushed me down an embankment. I rolled once or twice before a rock broke my fall. He waited for a few minutes, I guess until he was satisfied I wasn’t going anywhere.”

Even the prosecutor seemed impacted by her horrific story. He gave the jurors a moment to absorb those images before he asked, “How did you survive?”

She was sobbing. “I couldn’t die out in the middle of that field. I’d lost some blood, but the wound obviously wasn’t as deep as he’d thought. I knew that because I was still conscious. I was terrified he was going to come back, so I knew I had to try to find help before it was too late.”

Quiet fell over the courtroom. Everyone admired the brave woman who’d fought for her life and won.

“How did you get help?”

“I heard a dog growling from the top of the embankment. I was scared at first. It was a big dog, a German Shepherd, I think. His owner was out walking him, off leash. He came to find out why the dog was barking and found me.”

“Thank you, Miss Lancaster. Nothing further of this witness, Your Honor.”

My lawyer prepared to stand, but I touched his forearm. “Don’t.”

“Excuse me?” he asked, seething. “I have to cross examine her. We have to discredit her. If we don’t, you don’t have a prayer.”

When I looked up, she was looking at me, ravaged and wrecked. “I don’t care. She’s been through enough. You’re not going to put her through any more.”

“You’re going to go to prison for the rest of your life, Cooper. Is that what you want?”

It wasn’t what I wanted, but dragging her through hell wouldn’t change the outcome. The writing was already on the wall
. Life in prison.

April 2008

I woke up and tried to move my hands, but they were stretched above my head, cuffed to my headboard. She was on top of me, using my cock to get her off. Not riding me, just using the tip of my swollen cock to rub her clit. She opened her eyes long enough to look at me, to make sure I was watching her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Watching her come was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. Watching her take her pleasure was even sexier.

“Oh God, Coop,” she moaned, using her free hand to pinch her nipples.

She had amazing tits. It was one of the first things I’d noticed about her. That, and her tight little ass, ripped abs, and toned legs. Yeah, her body was everything I loved. Sex with her had quickly become my obsession.

“Fuck, baby, you look so hot. Let me touch you. Let me lick those nipples. Come on, you know you love it when I do that.” She could come just from watching me lick and suck her tits, that’s how responsive she was.

“I get to be in charge this time.” Her pace quickened as she rimmed her opening with the head of my cock. “I can do whatever I want to you this time, and you can’t stop me.”

I knew she loved it when I took charge. She was used to an inexperienced, submissive man who bent to her will. I was anything but, and it turned her on. We’d experimented with all of the things she’d fantasized about in the bedroom. She liked it kinky, and I was more than happy to oblige.

I moaned deep in my throat as she sat on my cock. “Fuck, yes.”

“No,” she said, sliding out my cock. “You’ll have your turn later. Let me come first.”

My eyes were trained on her bouncing tits as she glided my cock through her slick folds. She was close. I felt her tensing, saw her body quivering.

“Let me taste you, baby.” Nothing got her off faster than that, and if anything would tempt her to set me free, that would be it. I licked my lips. “Come on. Just a little taste. Please.” I wasn’t used to begging, but seeing how much it turned her on turned me on.

“No,” she said, gripping my dick harder as she used it to circle her clit. “God, I’ve always imagined doing this, using a guy’s body to do exactly what I wanted.”