Free Last Chance (Liar Liar #3) by C.A. Mason

it.”
    I connected the call as she reached into her purse for a tissue. “Hello.”
    “Blaise? Please.” The female on the other end was sobbing, making it difficult to understand her. “Help me.”
    “Who is this?” The pounding in my ears almost drowned out her plea. Almost.
    “It’s Lana.”
    Her tortured cries sent a chill down my spine. “Sweetheart, you have to calm down. Just tell me what happened.”
    “Blaise, I’ve been raped.”
     

Chapter Five
     
    I couldn’t even think straight as that foul word echoed through my head. “Lana, where are you? Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay, sweetheart.” I was frantic, thinking about the last time someone I’d cared about had been viciously attacked. I hadn’t been there to save her either.
    “Just please come. I need you,” she whimpered.
    “Where are you?” When the only sound on the other end was muffled sobbing, I asked, “Are you at home?”
    “Yes. Please, come quick. I’m scared. I can’t be alone. I’m worried he might come back.”
    Fuck! I gripped my head, trying to force my brain to work. “Does your dad know what happened? Have you called the police?” I sensed Maura watching me, but I didn’t trust myself to look at her. My fear and rage were bubbling too close to the surface.
    “No! I can’t call the police,” she shrieked. “He said he’d kill me if I told anyone! You’re the only one I trust to keep me safe. Please, Blaise, please. I need you.”
    “Okay, I’m on my way. Stay put. Lock the doors and windows and set the alarm. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    “Thank you.”
    I disconnected the call before staring at the phone in disbelief. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I slammed my open hand into the steering wheel over and over again.
    “What happened?” Maura whispered.
    When I looked over, she was cowering in the corner, pressed up against the closed window. I hissed, releasing a low, slow breath as I closed my eyes and tried to regain control. “I’m sorry, Maura. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    “What happened?” she repeated.
    “That was Lana.”
    “Lana?” Tension radiated from her as she clenched her hand in her lap. “Malcolm’s daughter? Your ex-girlfriend?”
    I thought that was over-stating Lana’s importance in my life, but I didn’t have the will to argue. My only thoughts were of getting to Lana and doing what I could to protect the person who meant more to my partner than anyone else. Malcolm was a widower, and Lana was the only family he had. If anything happened to her, it would destroy him.
    “Yes. She’s been…” I curled my hand around the steering wheel as I tried to force the word out of my mouth. “Raped.” I hung my head. “God, this can’t be happening. Not again.”
    “I’m sorry,” Maura said, reaching for the door handle. “For you and for her.”
    I reached for her, but she already had one foot out the door. “Where are you going?”
    “It sounds like you’re in a hurry to go.” She slipped free of my grip and slid out of the car.
    “Maura, wait!”
    She was already approaching the restaurant entrance by the time I caught up to her.
    “I have to go, to make sure she’s okay, but don’t think that means I’m abandoning your case,” I said. “I’m not, not at all. My guy will continue to work on it. As soon as he has something, he’ll—”
    She held up her hand to silence me as she slipped her sunglasses over her eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You have more pressing matters to deal with right now.”
    I hated leaving her, especially now that I knew the person who’d attacked her was living just miles away. “I want to get you a bodyguard, at least until the police have him in custody.”
    She crossed her arms. “No. It’s been years. If he wanted to finish what he started, he would have by now.” She’d firmly built a wall between us. Any trace of vulnerability was long gone.
    “Please, sweetheart—”
    “Don’t call me