Free Breaking Free (Siren Publishing Classic) by Grae McTavish Page B

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    Danny called in sick the next morning, feeling broken and bruised inside. She’d tried several more times to call Gabe, but his phone went right to voicemail, so eventually she gave up. The final capper for her day came just after noon with a knock on her door.
    Hoping against hope that it was Gabe, she flew to the door only to have her heart plummet into her feet at the sight of two uniformed police officers.
    “Can I help you?” she asked the tall, handsome, older office r . His wide smile and salt-and-pepper hair would normally have put her at ease, but she was strung so tight she was beyond that point.
    “Yes, ma’am, I’m Officer Douglas, and this is my partner, Officer Kline. I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with us down to the station.”
    Shaking her head in disbelief, Danny tried to make sense of what he’d said, but her mind just couldn’t grasp it.
    “It’ll be okay, I’m sure this is a misunderstanding, but we have a warrant for your arrest, so if you’d please come with us, we can take care of this as quickly as possible.” Officer Douglas gave her a reassuring smile as he let her process what he’d said.
    “Arrest? I don’t understand,” Danny whispered. It was like she was in a nightmare and couldn’t seem to wake up. Things just kept getting worse and worse.
    Opening the warrant, he skimmed it before saying, “Apparently an individual by the name of Wesley Dandridge has filed assault charges against you. If you’d please come with us, I’m sure we can get this straightened out.”
    Danny felt her mouth fall open. “The little prick actually filed charges against me?” Her voice rose, and she was close to losing it. “But he attacked me. I was just defending myself.” This couldn’t be happening!
    “I’m sorry, ma’am, but like I said, come along with us , and we’ll see if we can figure out what’s going on. In the mean time I have to read you your rights. If you promise not to make a fuss we can forgo the cuffs.”
    Danny could only stare at him in shock as he began to read from a small, tattered card he pulled from his uniform pocket . This can’t be happening , her mind screamed again , but she was too numb to do anything more than nod when he finished. In a shocked stupor, she followed them down the stairs and crawled into the back of their squad car.

    * * * *

    The finger printing and picture taking were all a blur, and the next conscious thought Danny had was getting into Gloria’s car after her faithful friend had come to bail her out. She hadn’t even bothered to call Gabe. She’d given up on him. She’d given up on everyone.
    She’d ended the day by crawling into bed with a bottle of wine and a box of Kleenex.

    * * * *

    The next few days passed in a blur for Danny. The University had put her on administrative leave until things with Wesley could be “ sorted out. ” The students seemed supportive of her, but the faculty was split, with the majority favoring Wesley. Many had seen her new look and figured she deserved whatever she got.
    She’d met with her court-appointed attorney, who advised her to plead guilty since it was going to be a matter of who the judge believed , and Wesley certainly seemed the more believable witness, with all his bruises .
    Arraignment was short and the trial set for 10:00 a.m. the following Monday morning.

Chapter Nine

    Gloria was desperate. She knew her friend had all but given up , and the trial was just around the corner . Danny wasn’t even fighting the charges against Wesley. She’d given her attorney the bare facts and told him to do what he could. She simply didn’t care anymore. It was so uncharacteristic for her once-bubbly friend, and she knew if something didn’t happen soon, Danny was going to simply melt away. She’d stopped eating, started drinking, and spent her sober time off riding in the countryside on her bike.
    For lack of anything else to do, Gloria had showed up on the door step of