by Melody Anne
Okay, the problem wasn’t her. It was him. She didn’t even know he was having these inappropriate thoughts, and she hadn’t tried to change him. It was just happening. He couldn’t even think straight.
Walking into his friend’s law office, he tried to look at the place through Misty’s eyes. This would all be incredibly intimidating for her. His friend was successful. He could have been working in D.C., New York, Seattle, L.A. — pretty much anywhere he wanted. Camden was that good, but he’d chosen to work close to home.
The residents of Montana were more than happy to have him. Camden might look like a pro football player, but the man had a mind more sharp and quick than anyone Bryson had come across. A twinge of jealousy hit as Bryson wondered what Misty thought about his friend. A lot of the girls fell over themselves to get Cam to notice them.
Bryson found himself picking up his pace to get to her. She’d been alone with Cam long enough. And as much as he tried to lie to himself, the truth was that it had been a couple of weeks since he’d last seen her and he couldn’t wait to be with her again. If anyone was going to break the rules with this woman, it would be him — not Cam.
“Good evening, Agent Winchester. It’s good to see you again,” Cam’s secretary said. “Mr. Whitman and Ms. Elton will be in conference room C in just a few moments if you’d like to head on in.”
“Thank you, Charlotte,” Bryson said as he passed by her desk, then walked down the wide hallway. He’d been there often enough to know his way around.
Once in the room, Bryson surveyed the sterile environment. The court reporter was set up, ready to begin, and looking bored. The lead attorney, Charlotte Adams, was sitting back, making some notes.
“Good evening, Charlotte,” he said, approaching her.
“Evening, Bryson,” she replied, and didn’t engage in further small talk. He took the hint when she looked back down at her laptop.
He took a seat at the end of the table and picked up the packet that was already laid out for him. Listed were the questions Cam would be asking Misty. As Bryson scanned quickly through them, another knot of tension formed in his stomach.
Tonight wasn’t going to be pleasant. Looking at his watch, he noted that it was a bit past four. They’d be lucky to get out of there by seven. And the hours that this took were going to be draining on Misty. He wished he could somehow take the pain on himself — not make her relive her time with Jesse Marcus.
At the sound of murmuring outside the room, Bryson looked up in anticipation. “Ridiculous,” he muttered.
“What was that?” Camden walked through the door with a smirk on his face.
Damn, Bryson felt like wiping that look off. All thoughts vanished, though, when Misty stepped through the doorway behind Cam, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.
With the barely heard click of the door shutting, they were all closed in. Bryson usually would have found the room a bit claustrophobic, but he wasn’t thinking in those terms right then. He could do nothing but devour Misty with his eyes.
He ignored Cam’s taunt and stood up, thinking she was just about the loveliest creature he’d ever laid eyes upon. Very little makeup adorned her high cheekbones, and her sparkling green eyes nearly had him drooling. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and hung free down her back, leaving images in his mind of her sitting atop him, her breasts peeking out through those glorious dark strands.
He was instantly hard as a rock. If he hadn’t sat back down immediately, he’d have gained a reputation as an unprofessional pervert. But he couldn’t help himself. One look at her and he was ready to demand that everyone exit the room so he could lay her out on the table and relieve this pressure that had been building inside him from the moment he’d tackled her in that crappy fast-food joint.
This woman was going to drag him with her to hell. It wasn’t a matter of if anymore. They were going to be together; there was no stopping it. He just didn’t know how far it was going to go — what the endgame would be. He knew beyond a doubt that they’d make fireworks happen when they came together. He just wondered whether once would be enough.
Somehow he doubted it.
His expression must have been predatory, because when she glanced up and met his eyes, her own grew large as she seemed to be caught by him, and then her chest heaved as if she couldn’t get her breath. Yes, they would certainly make fireworks happen.
“Sorry about your hard time getting here, Bryson,” Camden told him. “I hope everything worked out okay for you. Misty and I took the time to go over the process so she could be ready when we came in. Charlotte has agreed to let me ask the questions so Misty might feel more comfortable.” He led Misty to her seat and then sat down across from her. “We should get started right away, though, since we’re already running so late.”
“I apologize. After I spoke with another witness, my flight got delayed,” Bryson said, glad his voice came out clearly. No traces of weakness to be heard.
“Misty, we’re going to jump right into this because it could take a while,” Camden warned her.
“That’s fine,” she replied. She was obviously nervous, but she still sported a determined set to her shoulders.
Bryson felt a deep urge to jump up, to tell Misty she didn’t have to go through this — that they had enough witnesses, and they’d just keep her in protective custody until the trial ended. She’d been so afraid, so on edge, and although she was standing strong now, he suddenly didn’t want to hear this, not after what Cam had said, not after knowing something about how bad her life had been.
He had to protect her. Everything inside him screamed to do just that. But before he was able to make a fool of himself and say any of this, Camden asked the first question, and as he waited for her reply, he was grateful he’d kept silent.
“Can you tell us when and how you met Mr. Jesse Marcus?” Camden asked.
Misty took a deep breath. “I was working for a mini-mart gas and food store when he arrived at about three in the morning and came to the counter for cigarettes. I looked up and there he was in his uniform, and he began flirting with me. He seemed so charming, and I was taken in immediately.” She spoke with embarrassment, but she continued. “The next night he came back and asked me on a date. I said yes.” Though her voice started out quiet, as if she was ashamed of her stupidity, as she continued, her shoulders firmed, and a determined glint shone in her eyes. This might be therapeutic for her, might help her to realize she had nothing to fear now.
At least that’s what Bryson hoped.
“Was he still in uniform when he asked you on a date?”
“Yes. He was on shift. I got off at four in the morning then, and the third night he came back, meeting me at the end of my shift. I didn’t own a car then, but I lived a little less than a mile away, so I walked — I know, I know — but he offered me a ride home. I was so impressed that this officer wanted to take me home, keep me safe, so I took the ride. I thought, what could be safer than getting a ride home with a cop?” She shuddered. “So he took me home. He had a flower in the car for me. I was even more impressed. Jesse is a big guy, and at first, he seemed incredibly good-looking, leaving me to wonder what he saw in me.”
“So, Jesse dropped you off and then left?” Camden prodded her.
Misty sighed as she squirmed in her seat. “No. When we arrived at the apartment, he parked in the back of the building, where no one came in or out. I thought it a bit unusual, but then I realized he probably wasn’t supposed to give civilians rides, so I wasn’t concerned, assuming that he was protecting his job.” She stopped speaking, and it was obvious she was reluctant to continue.
“Please go on,” Camden prompted gently.
“I thanked him for the ride, and I reached for the car handle to get out. He grabbed me. He said there was no rush. I should have been afraid, but I was with a cop,” she said, her eyes a bit wide. “So we sat there and talked for a couple of hours. I heard traffic begin to pick up as the morning commuters
left for work, and then he grabbed my arm and pulled me against him and kissed me. I was so awed that this successful, handsome policeman wanted me enough to kiss me, I didn’t think about the fact that he wasn’t giving me a choice — that he’d just grabbed me and taken the kiss almost forcefully. Then, he got a little…‘handsy.’ His fingers tugged on my shirt as I squirmed to get away. At this point, I wasn’t comfortable anymore and didn’t want him touching me, but I wasn’t sure how to pull away. It all just happened so fast. When I was starting to get frightened, his radio went off and he had to leave. That was the end of our first date, I guess you’d call it.”
“What do you mean by handsy? Did he try to force himself upon you? You said he was grabbing at your shirt, but did he push it further? Please don’t hold anything back out of embarrassment,” Camden told her.
“No. He didn’t force me down or anything; he was just very…aggressive — I guess that would be the word to use. We were kissing, and his hands…wandered beneath my shirt, over my…uh…breasts.” Misty’s cheeks turned scarlet, and she shifted, lifted her water glass, and took a long sip before going on. “I was in no way ready to have sex in a car with a virtual stranger, but I now know that if the radio hadn’t buzzed, he would have pushed it to that point. He was reaching into my pants. I thought at the time that he was just worked up, that he would have stopped…”
“This isn’t your fault, Misty,” Camden assured her. “You are the victim.”
“Thank you.”
“When did you next see Jesse Marcus?” Camden asked immediately. It was better to press forward.
“The next night, I was off work. There was a knock on my door, which always alarmed me because I didn’t live in the best part of town. When I looked through the peephole, I saw that it was Jesse in his uniform. I was a little surprised that he knew which unit was mine, because he hadn’t walked me to my door, and it’s a large complex. Then I remembered he was a cop and it wouldn’t be difficult for him to find my place. I opened the door and he came inside. As he looked down at me, that was when I felt the first stirrings of fear. What was he doing there? But I was still feeling a mixture of fear and excitement.” She fidgeted in her seat.
“So, was he still working if he was wearing his uniform?” Camden asked.
“Yes. He said he wasn’t off the clock for a few more hours and he’d like to take me to breakfast when he was off.”
“Did he leave after that?” Camden knew the answers, but it needed it all to be on record.
“No. He sat down at the table and told me to come over to him. I was scared but still excited. He was a cop, one of the good guys, and he was giving me attention,” she said with disgust. “I walked over to him and he pulled me down onto his lap. His belt pressed against me, but before I could think about being uncomfortable, or think about how strange the situation was, he was kissing me again. Jesse was a very forceful kisser. He didn’t even give me time to breathe. His hands were once again wandering all over and I could barely get enough oxygen, but I was overwhelmed. I thought he was so aggressive because he was excited about me,” she practically whispered.
“Please go on,” Camden said when she paused.
“When he yanked off my shirt, I asked him to stop, but he laughed, as if he thought that was real amusing. It all happened so fast. One minute I was on his lap, the next, he was carrying me to the couch. I told him to stop a few times, but he ignored my words.”
“I know this is hard, but I need you to continue.”
“He…uh…we had sex,” she sighed. “It was over really quickly. He didn’t even undress, just pushed his pants partway down. When he was finished, he sat on the couch and pulled me into his arms, cradling my head against his chest. He told me it was all okay, that everything was fine. We were going to be real good together, that I was perfect. He said he’d be back in a couple of hours for breakfast. Then he left. I was so stunned, I didn’t know what to think. He was a cop. Had I done something wrong? Had I encouraged it? I was so confused. I showered and put on layers of clothes and then waited. He showed up and took me out to eat, acting as if nothing was wrong. I thought I had to be the one in the wrong at that point.”
Misty glanced over at Bryson and saw the unadulterated fury in his eyes. This wasn’t easy for him to listen to. She had a feeling that if Jesse were in the room with them right then, the man would find a bullet in his head. She turned away from Bryson’s intense gaze and focused on the table in front of her. It was either that or she’d never be able to finish her story. It only got worse from here.
“I don’t know how it happened, but within a week, he took over my life. He moved me into his place even though I tried to protest. It was like a whirlwind. One minute, I was on my own, and then the next I couldn’t do anything without his permission. The first time he hit me was when I told him I didn’t want to leave my apartment. I only got a black eye from that exchange. It was one of the least painful punishments,” she said, hanging her head.
“Can you tell us a little about your childhood? The jury needs to understand you, understand why he was able to bully you.” There was no judgment in Camden’s voice.
“I was an orphan. My mother dropped me off at a fire station when I was a baby. The only things that were with me was a dirty old T-shirt and a note that said to contact my brother, Damien, when I got old enough. I don’t know how that note stayed with me through the years, but somehow it did. Not that I was able to ever contact him. I wouldn’t know where to start, even if the person ever really existed. No last name, you know. I was bounced around a lot, and life wasn’t easy, but that’s not an excuse…”
Misty didn’t see the way both Camden and Bryson tensed at her words. This wasn’t something Camden had asked earlier. This wasn’t something she told people often. For one thing, she didn’t think the brother really existed. For another, whom would she tell? She had no ties to anyone.
“You have a brother?” Bryson asked, interrupting the deposition and getting a stern look from Charlotte Adams.
“I don’t know. That’s just what the note said,” she answered, looking at him with wide eyes, wondering what she’d said that suddenly had both men so uneasy.
Bryson was glued to his seat as he began putting puzzle pieces together. He’d loved her eyes, the beautiful green color, the shape, everything about them, but something about them had bugged him from the beginning, almost as if he’d seen them before.
Now, he knew. He knew a Damien. It couldn’t be possible, of course, that this was the same man she was speaking of. The world didn’t rotate that way, didn’t connect like that, did it?
“Not now, Bryson,” Camden warned him. “Let’s continue, Misty. Tell me what happened next.”
Misty spoke for a while longer, telling about her time with Jesse. Her eyes filled with tears a few times, but she kept her emotions in check and spoke almost like a robot.
“…and then I couldn’t take anymore. I went to the police and filed a report after he punched me so hard that one side of my face swelled. It nearly left me blind in one eye. I tried to leave him,” she choked out.
“Did the police help you?” Camden asked.
Misty laughed, a chilling sound that dropped the temperature in the room by at least several degrees. “Jesse found me at the hospital. He took me away from there, his eyes colder than I’d ever seen before. No one tried to stop him. He told me he was going to show me exactly what happened to women who betrayed him.” Her voice was frightened, as if she were reliving that horrific moment in her life.
“He handcuffed me and forced me into the back of his car, then drove home to the apartment and marched me up the stairs. My head still hurt from the last beating he’d given me. People watched him take me in. No one said a word to stop him. I was so frightened, I didn’t even try to resist — I knew it would only make it worse. As soon as we were inside the apartment, he forced me to my knees, my hands still handcuffed behind my back. I had to perform…I…he…thrust him
self into my mouth, pushing so hard I threw up a little, and somehow my lip was cut and throbbing. I begged him to stop when I could speak… I couldn’t even breathe… But he just laughed. I could see how much he was enjoying it. When I thought it was all over, he pulled me to my feet and took me to the bedroom… He undid the cuffs long enough to remove my clothes, then he cuffed me to the bed. The torment lasted for two days. He took turns raping and beating me.” Misty’s voice came out in a monotone as she forced herself to withdraw, to think of that time as a movie, not her own life. If she pretended she was speaking of some other person, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much.
“This needs to stop,” Bryson demanded, his eyes glittering with rage.
“I know it’s difficult, Bryson, but if you can’t handle it, you have to leave the room. We need to do this.” Camden shot Bryson a dark look.
Bryson looked as if he was going to come out of his chair and throttle his friend. The two had a stare-down and Bryson wasn’t backing off.
“I’m fine, Bryson. I promise,” Misty said. The last thing she wanted was to see a fistfight start.
He didn’t look pleased, but he sat still, arms crossed, as he waited for her to continue.
“I didn’t really know how much time had passed. I went in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t till it was over that I realized it had been two days. He never let me up from the bed. I was lying in my own…urine…”
The shame was there for them to see, making it even harder for Bryson to listen to her talk of such humiliation. He wanted to kill Jesse with his bare hands for doing this to her.
“He broke three ribs, fractured my jaw, and I had an infection in my wrists. When I did finally get to the hospital, I lied, said I was kidnapped, but got away. He told me that if I gave any other story, the next time I wouldn’t be alive to tell another soul.”
“Were you in fear for your life?” Camden asked.
“Definitely. He told me of his last girlfriend. He told me she would never be found. He said there were several ‘bitches’ who would never be found, because they’d been stupid enough to betray him. He said the only reason I was still alive was because he hadn’t finished with me yet.” A shudder passed through her. “He won’t rest until I’m dead,” she added, the words sounding so strange coming from her flat, almost expressionless voice.