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

that!”
    I was taken aback by the vehemence in her tone. I’d thought we were past the hostility. “I’m sorry.” I sighed. “Look, I just want to know that you’re safe.”
    “I’ll be fine. I don’t need you to take care of me. I’ve been doing just fine without you all these years.”
    I reached for her arm when she turned away. “Don’t shut me out again.” When she didn’t respond, I swore softly, tightening my grip as I drew her closer to me. “You know I didn’t do this, so why are you still punishing me?”
    She looked at me. Her eyes were concealed, but her resentment was palpable. “Just go. Take care of Lana. She needs you more than I do.” Looking down at my hand, she said, “You need to let me go.”
    A couple walked by, eyeing us curiously, giving me no choice but to release her. “We’re not finished—”
    “That’s where you’re wrong,” she said quietly, stepping back. “I believe we are.”
     
    ***
     
    I held Lana, stroking her hair, offering gentle words to soothe her. I’d been there for hours, and she’d barely moved a muscle. I’d learned that the man who raped her was some jerk she met in a bar. She’d invited him back to her place for a drink, and he refused to take no for an answer when she told him she wasn’t into one-night stands. I’d wanted to lecture her about inviting a drunk stranger into her home, but she’d already beaten herself up enough. Nothing I could say would change what had happened to her, so I just tried to be the friend she needed.
    “I just wanted to feel safe,” she whispered against my chest, clutching my shirt. “I knew you could protect me. You wouldn’t let him hurt me again.”
    I kissed the top of her head. “I just wish you’d let me take you to the hospital. They can examine you and do a rape kit. That way if you decide to press charges—”
    “No!” she screamed. “I already told you, no police. He said he would come back for me if I called the police.”
    The prick who’d raped her claimed to be a lawyer, which meant he probably thought he was above the law or too smart to get caught. I’d love nothing more than to prove him wrong, but it had to be Lana’s decision. She was the one who would have to live with the consequences.
    “I’ll stay as long as you need me to, but we can’t hide out in this apartment forever. Eventually you’ll have to figure out how to pick up the pieces, Lana. I think a professional, maybe a therapist, could help you figure out how to do that.”
    “No!” She rolled onto her back. “I’m sorry I keep yelling at you, Blaise. I know you’re only trying to help me. The fact is that this is all my fault. I was flirting with him in the bar. I let him know I was into him. I invited him back here.”
    “Don’t blame yourself. He had no right to take what you weren’t willing to give. No man has the right to do that.” My rage, which had been simmering dangerously close to the surface since Maura walked away, was back with a vengeance. “You said no. That means no. Period.”
    She shot me a sidelong glance. “You okay? You seem even more intense than usual.”
    I wanted to tell her why I felt the way I did, but I was afraid to reveal anything about my past to someone who only knew me as Blaise. “My ex-girlfriend was raped,” I finally said. “It happened as she was leaving my place.” Of course I couldn’t tell her I’d been the one to take the blame, but it felt good to say the words aloud, to share my experience with someone who wouldn’t judge me.
    “Really?” Lana sat up, propping a pillow between her head and the gilded mahogany headboard. “When did that happen?”
    “A lifetime ago,” I whispered, tracing an artful tear in the knee of my worn jeans. “I was in my early twenties.”
    “You’ve never told me about any of your exes,” Lana said, pulling her knees to her chest. “Was it serious?”
    “Yes.” I cleared my throat. “I was in love with her.” I still