Page 101 of Shattered

“Sorry, Your Honor,” Mr. Walker apologized, though there wasn’t a hint of sincerity in his voice. “You said you were kept with other wolves, correct?”

“Yes, in the beginning, but I was being attacked, so they moved me.” Emmitt took a deep breath. “I thought it was to protect me, but they started to train me to be a performance animal.”

“Must have been humiliating,” Mr. Walker said.

“It was,” Emmitt agreed.

“Do you remember who shot you?”

“Marjorie,” Emmitt answered. “When she found out about Tiffany being pregnant.”

“Curious, you remember that, but not who experimented on you.”

The judge let out an exasperated breath. “Mr. Walker, my patience is wearing thin.”

The man nodded to the judge. “Did you complete your mental health evaluation as requested by the court?”

Emmitt swallowed hard. “I did.”

“Your honor, Mr. Silver isn’t fit to be on this stand. He remembers who shot him, but nothing about the person who held him.” He held up a packet of paper. “This is the state psychologist’s report. Due to the trauma, the gaps in his memory are vast, and he cannot prove who was responsible for his injuries while in the wildlife refuge, and, consequently, we can’t definitely prove either way if anyone at the park knew he was a shifter. Your honor, I beseech the court to throw this case out before the state makes a mockery of it, and with that, I yield to the court.” Mr. Walker returned to his seat beside Holly and grinned.

“I do remember,” Emmitt said. “I might not have seen his face, Your Honor, but I know his name. I know Holly Geithner, too, though we never officially met. She came to the sanctuary many times to see her brother, Henry Worthington. They gleefully watched as the stimulation machine shocked my genitals over and over again, collecting several ejaculate samples a day. They used my body sometimes until it would bleed, and only then, would they stop. But, in two days’ time, they would begin again. It was relentless, Your Honor. The torture. The searing pain running through my body. The electricity coursing through my veins. I thought I’d go insane, until I met Nicole, the woman who was found in the shallow grave. She was so nice and kind to me.”

“Uh, Your Honor,” Charles said, standing. “Can I guide the witness through this?”

The judge nodded. “Proceed.”

“You state your experiments were done to your genitals, for collecting samples, correct?” Charles hedged. “Do you know why?”

“Yes,” Emmitt answered. “To create the best of both worlds according to Worthington. A perfect soldier. Half shifter and half psychic human. He believed that humanity had become too complacent and needed a revolution. He planned to start it with these experiments.”

“Do you know who the surrogate for your children was?”

“No. Didn’t know I had any until Hayden told me, though I asked her not to,” Emmitt said.

Hayden bent her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. Mackenzie knew the girl’s heart had been in the right place when she told Emmitt. They were his kids, no matter what, and in her specific situation, it made sense why she did it. He deserved to know.

“However,” Emmitt added. “I understand why she did, and I am grateful. Eventually, the curiosity would have won, and I’d have to know. I’m sorry Nicole had to die, though. Guess it only seems right those babies had their mother beside them in this tragedy. They’ll never be alone now.”

The judge banged his gavel and announced there was going to be a fifteen-minute recess, so everyone could gather themselves. Mackenzie had been thankful. He needed to get out of there and breathe. He knew Holly was a horrible person. Knew what she could do and might be a part of some depraved things in her life, but that... It made Mackenzie sick. He stepped out into the hall and was greeted by Charles almost immediately. The look on his face did nothing to calm Mackenzie’s stomach one bit. “Why so glum?”

“Holly is up next. I want you to know this won’t be easy, so if you wish to leave, you can. I won’t hold it against you.” Charles tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Mackenzie appreciated it.

“No can do. I’m here to take a stand with my family,” he answered. “I’ll be here every day through the end. My being here is for the want of justice, and I will have it for everyone who is in need, especially my family.”

Charles gripped his arm. “Okay. Then let’s take out the trash together.”

When court resumed, Mr. Walker called his final witness for the day, Holly Geithner. The woman sauntered up to the stand, beaming. Her narcissism would be her downfall, Mackenzie knew it, and she’d been too blind to see it. She stated her name for the record once more, and he lobbed easy questions, trying to refute Hayden and Emmitt’s testimony. She cried on cue and had the performance of a lifetime.

Too bad Mackenzie could see right through her. Because, in the beginning, even when Kalkin tried to tell him the truth, he’d been too focused on his family. In proving he could help in the most inane, singular way. Now, even his children suffered, and it would be a long time before he’d forgive himself.

When Charles stood, he picked up a folder filled with the evidence they’d collected while in Massachusetts. There were pictures of the children who’d been left in squalor conditions, medical reports from the sick adults and children who’d been shipped across the country. It detailed how they were treated and how some were fed a pheromone-based drug, the same one Jase had been given all those years ago. It showed how some of the women were pregnant and how others feared they might be as well.

Hayden had helped put that book together once she got out of the hospital after she broke her hand. She spent time with every witness and every victim. Mackenzie had been so proud of his niece and his son when they completed the mission. Hell, he still was, even if he couldn’t properly express it.

“I want to take you back to the night of the auction,” Charles said. “You were in charge, weren’t you?”

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