Unbroken (The Disclosure Series Book 2) (25 page)

She came to the door in an all-black, curve-hugging dress and spiked heels. His eyes traveled her body, filled with contempt. But he had no choice but to accept what she wearing since her parents were home. He couldn’t afford to have them thinking he was anything less than perfect—couldn’t throw things at Embry and call her a whore until she changed into something more appropriate—so he put on a fake smile and they walked out the door.

It was a small victory. She behaved appropriately the rest of the night, said all the right things, agreed with him and followed his commands, but wearing that dress—the fact that it was one thing about her that he hadn’t been able to control that night—gave her back a tiny piece of herself that she’d thought was lost.

It made her bold. And boldness got you in trouble with Jack Stowe.

She’d said something at dinner, something so small and innocuous that she couldn’t recall it, even hours after she’d left him, but it was enough to set him off. They arrived back at his house after he refused to bring her home, and she was trapped by his rage.

He led her into his bedroom and she followed automatically. Then it started. First came the names and the gut-wrenching insults that she had no choice but to believe after hearing them so many times.

“You’re an embarrassment, you stupid bitch!”

She schooled her features, her face blank. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, beg him to stop, to look up and see just a sliver of humanity in his gray eyes, but she knew she’d find none.

Pushing away the hurt and holding back tears, she desperately tried to hide any sign of weakness, knowing he’d prey on it like a fucking vulture.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” she said robotically.

“You should be sorry,” he growled at her. “Because that’s what you are. A sorry piece of shit.”

Next came the yelling. His voice rising in decibels as he hurled more insults.

“You’re worthless, Embry. No one will ever want you but me.”

She cringed slightly as his voice made her eardrums ring, but she recovered quickly. He’d normally scream and yell, throw a holy fit until he exhausted himself completely, and then she could leave, or hide in the bathroom and cry until she found a way home. But tonight, it seemed like he was just getting started.

He stalked toward her, his voice dropping until he was scary quiet, his eyes cold and dead. She backed away slowly, but he kept coming, his words hitting her like daggers.

“You’re a fucking cunt. I can’t trust you to do what I say, can’t fucking take you anywhere.”

His hand shot out, violently grabbing the front of her dress. “Look at this, you look like a whore.” He shoved her away roughly and she stumbled backward until her calves hit the bed. He was in her face now, nose to nose as he spewed his hate. In the past, his words had stung, and she wasn’t a stranger to covering up a stray bruise or two when he’d been too rough. But this time was different. He was different.

Pure dread washed over her and her lip began to quiver.

“Don’t fucking cry!” he screamed, coming at her.

She raised her hands defensively in front of her. “Jack, please.”

His hands shot out, shoving her roughly and causing her to fall onto the bed. She scrambled back, her own fear propelling her, until she rolled off the other side. But Jack followed close behind. Jumping to her feet, she ran for the door, but he was faster. He gripped her arm, yanking her back roughly. She fought against him, pulling with all of her might and struggling to break free from his grasp until it felt as if her shoulder would be torn right out of its socket.

“Jack, please, stop! Let me go!”

“Not a fucking chance,” he growled.

He had her from behind now, his arms gripped tightly about her chest as she thrashed against him. Ice filled her veins, and her fight or flight instinct kicked into overdrive.

“Please!” She knew if she stopped fighting, stopped resisting and let him have his way, that it would all stop eventually, and she’d be able to leave. If she just gave in to his anger like she had so many times before, ever obedient and compliant, then he’d calm down. But that small rebellion inside of her that started with wearing a stupid black dress had turned into a full-on revolt. She had nothing left to give, nothing left to lose.

Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself before planting her legs and throwing all of her weight against him. He was thrown off balance, and his arms loosened just enough for her to break free. Then she ran for the door, her heart racing in her chest, blood rushing in her ears. She’d almost made it when she felt a violent shove in the middle of her back, sending her crashing face first into the doorframe.

She cried out in pain, cupping the corner of her eye as she felt the warm trickle of blood running down her face. Crawling slowly to her feet, she turned to see Jack sitting on the corner of the bed, looking at her in disgust as if she’d been the cause of everything that had happened.

“Get the fuck out.”

Embry finished her story then shook herself free of the memory. She stared up at Luke, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her secret was out, and she was ashamed—humiliated that she’d let someone treat her like that, let it go on for so long.

She’d expected to see disappointment, maybe even shame. But instead, his jaw was clenched, and he was blinking rapidly as if trying to rid his eyes of the moisture that seemed to have formed around the rim. He stared back at her, pure anguish written all over his face.

He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, closing his eyes momentarily before continuing. “And was—” His voice cracked, and he stopped to clear his throat. “And was there a witness at any time during or after this altercation?”

She heard the restraint in his words, saw his neck corded with tension. He wasn’t just hurting, he was fighting every male protective instinct he had to keep from stalking across the courtroom and introducing Jack to his fist.

And she loved him even more for it.

“There was a witness,” she said, her voice still shaky. “Afterward.” Her eyes searched the courtroom until she found Morgan, her best friend’s eyes red-rimmed and wet with tears.

Embry remembered with surprising clarity the events after she’d left Jack’s. She’d walked down his driveway, vision blurry with tears, holding one hand over her eye, the other cupping her cell phone to her ear as she’d called her best friend. Embry had been hysterical to the point of hyperventilating when she’d begged for her help.

Morgan had found her on the side of the road near Jack’s, snuck her into her house and hid her away in her room. She’d cleaned her up and stuck a butterfly Band-Aid over her eyebrow, saying “No scars for this pretty face.” Then she snuggled next to Embry all night, holding her hand as Embry told her best friend everything.

“Who was the witness?” he prompted, his control still barely contained.

Embry wiped the tears from her face. “My best friend, Morgan Maxwell.”

Luke composed himself and continued with his questions, covering Embry’s return to New York and Jack’s subsequent harassment by phone, until they got to the altercation at The Dock.

“Now I’d like to talk to you about the most recent altercation that involved physical abuse. When did this altercation with the defendant take place?”

Embry explained Jack’s appearance at Thanksgiving and at The Dock the following night.

“And when did you see the defendant at The Dock?”

“I—” A shiver ran through her, and she choked on her words as she remembered the terror that had run through her that night.

She saw the struggle in his Luke’s eyes as he fought to remain detached, professional, and act as her attorney and nothing more. But emotion showed all over his face.

“Miss Jacobs, I know this is uncomfortable for you to talk about. Just take your time, and please tell the court exactly what happened when you saw the defendant at The Dock.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “Mr. Stowe attacked me when I was leaving the restroom.”

“And when you say attack, what do you mean, specifically?”

She recounted her confrontation with Jack in great detail as Luke listened and nodded, shooting her follow-up questions to fill in all the gaps of her story.

Jack’s attorney objected here and there, trying to throw off their rhythm, but the judge was clearly engrossed, stopping to ask questions and clarify when needed.

Embry was on a high as Luke wrapped up his direct examination, having painted a vivid picture of Jack’s abusive behavior that began with control and jealousy and ended with physical violence. But the tiny spark of confidence that she’d gained was shattered as Jack’s attorney stood, a wicked gleam in his eye, and approached the witness stand.

“Good afternoon, Miss Jacobs.” He nodded coolly to her.

“Good afternoon,” she responded cautiously.

“My name is Garrett Hines, and I represent the defendant, Mr. Stowe. I’m going to be asking you some questions now, if that’s all right?”

“Yes, that’s fine.” Embry bristled at the fake politeness with which Mr. Hines addressed her, especially when he was about to tear her apart.

His cold eyes narrowed on her as he dove right in. “Isn’t it true, Miss Jacobs, that Mr. Stowe spent Thanksgiving with your family this past year?”

“Yes, but—”

“And isn’t it true,” he cut her off, “that he did so at the invitation of your own mother?”

As much as Luke had tried to prepare her, there was no way she could have ever been ready for this kind of assault. The questions came at her, blow after blow, knocking her down and weakening her resolve.

Luke sat behind the prosecutor’s table, hands clenched in his lap as he tried his best to separate himself from his feelings. It was as if his heart had been wrenched free from his chest, and he ached for Embry and everything she’d been through. The thought of that piece of shit making her bleed, or doing anything to harm her, tore him to fucking pieces. He understood now why she hadn’t wanted to share that story twice. Some things you just never wanted to relive, and he hated that he had to be the one to ask her to do it.

As he watched Mr. Hines attempt to tear her apart on cross, Luke was still struggling to keep his composure, to somehow detach himself from the proceedings. Being emotionally invested was a bad place for any attorney to be. He wasn’t seeing clearly, red edging in on his vision. Today was the biggest test he’d ever had as an attorney, having to tamp down his emotions and curb the innate need to protect his girl by dragging Jack and his dumbass attorney into the parking lot and beating the fuck out of them both until they were bloody. He wanted them to pay for making her suffer. His hands involuntarily formed into fists, a shiver running straight up his spine as he thought about what Embry had endured. He’d never forget the look of terror and sheer agony on her face as she recounted her last night with Jack. It nearly broke him.

Hines’ slimy voice cut into his thoughts.

“Isn’t it true that you did nothing to indicate to Mr. Stowe that you did not want him to call you? Not unlike the fact that you continued a sexual relationship with the defendant while he allegedly abused you for two years?”

Luke exploded from his seat. “Objection, Your Honor! Badgering the witness. It’s well documented that many women who are abused continue relationships with the abuser out of fear of leaving.” He was seething, his hands on the table in front of him for support.

“Yes, yes, counsel.” She waved her hand calmly at Luke. “Sustained.” Then she directed her attention to Mr. Hines. “Let’s move this along, shall we, Mr. Hines? And if you’re going to ask a question, please allow the witness time to answer.”

The cross-examination continued much in that same manner, Jack’s attorney going so far as to bring Luke’s representation of Embry into question due to their personal relationship.

He sat behind the table, biting the shit out of the inside of his cheek to keep from having any real outburst that could hurt the case. His vision was red, and his chest heaved as he tried to keep his calm. It was physically paining him to have to watch Embry go through such a tough cross-examination and not be able to help her in any way, other than tossing out an obscene amount of objections like a fucking rookie lawyer. But she held her own, keeping her head held high despite the fact that Hines was ripping her apart.

That’s my girl.

When Mr. Hines finally wrapped up his cross, Embry came back to her seat beside Luke. He was struggling to sit still, to remain professional when every fiber of his being told him to pull her into his arms and keep her safe from all of the horrible things she’d been through.

Instead, he reached out, briefly squeezed her hand, and bent his head to whisper in her ear. “I—” His voice was thick and overrun with emotion.

In that moment, he realized there were no words that could even come close to telling her what he was feeling, or how proud he was.