His Princess; The Devils Daughter - Book 2

Chapter 6

“Maya...you can't stay in here forever.”  Krista sat at the foot of her sisters bed. 

Mayah rolled from one side to the other, turning away from Krista.  She understood that she was worried for her but her recurring nightmares haunted her whether she was asleep or awake.  Hearing a knock at the door, she silently groaned to herself. Today was the start of Marco’s trial. She and Krista agreed to testify but that was before she knew that Jackson was running around town.  Since their run-in with Jackson at the mall and Mayah, they’ve seen him on two other occasions in public.  

“Fine, will you at least eat something?”  

“I’m not hungry.”  she mumbled from under the covers.  

“Girls, we have to go soon”  Roach called from outside the room.  “We leave in thirty minuets. Mayah, listen to your sister.”

She threw the covers off and stomped towards her closet.  “Krista, I don't want to do this anymore. I can't testify!”  Grabbing some clothes, she headed for the bathroom. She had been having second thoughts about taking the stand. 

“We have to.  If not, he wins...he gets out if he's not convicted.”  Krista leaned against the bathroom door frame as Mayah finished getting dressed.  

“They’re charging him with more than the stuff he did to us...why can't they just go after him with those charges?”

Krista bit the inside of her cheek as she followed Mayah out of the room.  She was trying to be strong for her sister but deep down she was just as scared.  

“Ready to go?”  Roach stood up as the girls entered the room.  He knew they were having second thoughts about testifying against Marco.    

The three exited the house to see Devils Angels members sitting on their Harley's ready to escort the girls to court.  He had hopped this would help Krista and Mayah feel a little better. They smiled at the group of bikers and nodded. He smiled at their response.

Once they made it to the courthouse, Roach had Doc, Stitch and eight other members come in with them leaving the rest of the members outside.  He wanted to make sure that the girls didn't feel intimidated in anyway. Once they passed through security they made it to the courtroom where District Attorney Jonathan Tucker was already there with an impatient look on his face.

“Really Sam?  You bring muscle in a courtroom?” He approached Roach.  “The defense is going to say-”

Roach held his hand up silencing Jonathan.  “First...unless you are charging me with a crime, you better never call me Sam again.  Second, don't tell me s**t about muscle. They wouldn't have to be here if you would have kept your end of the deal and kept that little bastard Jackson behind bars!”

“I had no control over that.  I didn't know they were going to go behind my back!  He had information that my superiors felt was worth letting him walk...it must have been pretty good too.”  

“I don't care!  You made them a promise that they wouldn't see the light of day,” he hissed.  “Wait, they didn't tell you what information he traded?”

Jonathan shook his head.  “No. Look, I know you're upset.  Let me prep the girls so they're ready to take the stand.  Just make sure you're trolls don't draw attention to themselves.  We don't need Marco’s defense to try and say we are intimidating him.”  He nodded for Krista and Mayah to follow him into a room off to the side in the hall.  “Hey girls, how are you doing?”

Krista rolled her eyes.  “Just perfect.” she responded sarcastically.  “By the way, Jackson says hi.”

“Look, I know I promised you two he would be in jail for the rest of his life after you guys testified against him...my bosses blindsided me.  They voided the deal I made and gave him a different one.”  

“Well tell your bosses we’ve seen him, how many times Mayah?  Three?” Her words dripped with venom.

“Krista, just stop,” whispered Mayah.  She knew she was furious but she also knew that the deal was done and there was nothing that they could do the change it.  “let's just get this over with.” She got up and walked out of the room. She had spent days mentally preparing herself for this day and she wanted to get it over with.  

They took a seat directly behind Jonathan's table where Roach, Kace and Adriano were already waiting.  Feeling knots form in her stomach as the bailiff walked Marco into the courtroom, she buried her face in Adriano’s shoulder.  She thought she was ready but all of a sudden felt panicked. Each side gave their depositions before taking their seats.  

“The defense would like to call their first witness...Marco Montoya,” said his defense attorney.  Mayah watched as the bailiff escorted him to the witness stand. “Mr. Montoya, today you are being charged with a long list of felonies...some including, kidnapping, r**e, attempted r**e, abuse, assault and even murder.  Two of your accusers sit here in court today. Please tell the court, did you kidnap, assault, abuse, r**e and or attempt to r**e Mayah Cortez?”

Marco made eye contact with Mayah before responding.  “No, actually I was her legal guardian after her parents passed away.  She and I fell in love, I proposed to her on her fifteenth birthday. She accepted.”  He plastered a fake smile on his face as he stared at her. “She ran away from her boarding school.  The people who took her in poisoned her against me.” He looked at the jury trying to give them a hurt look.  “I knew that people would accuse me of r**e, or worse... that's why we decided to wait until she was eighteen to get married.  She’s still a virgin...or at least she was before they took her from me.”

Mayah listened to Marco’s defense to each charge that was brought against him averting her gaze every time he would look her way.  “The people call Mayah Cortez.” She walked to the front and took her seat. “Ms Cortez, you told investigators that Mr. Montoya had indeed abused you, and even kidnapped you after killing your parents.  Is that true?”

She glanced at Marco and then to Adriano who gave her a reassuring smile.  She nodded and looked back at Jonathan to answer. “Marco- Mr. Montoya. He-”  she choked on her words as she watched Jackson stroll into the courtroom and walk to take a seat directly behind Marco.  She knew that Marco was using Jackson to try to intimidate her, and it was working. She was already having second guesses about agreeing to testify. 

“Ms. Cortez?  Ms. Cortez, are you okay?”  He followed her gaze to where Jackson sat behind Marco.  Clearing his throat, he repeated his question hoping to snap her out of her daze.  “Ms. Cortez, you told investigators that Mr. Montoya had indeed abused you, and even kidnapped you after killing your parents.  Is that true?” Jonathan stepped directly in front of her, blocking Mayah’s view from Marco and Jackson.  

“I can't do this.”  she mumbled and without warning, Mayah jumped out of her seat and sprinted towards the door.  Ignoring the people calling her to come back, she ran into a stall in the women's bathroom. She felt sick to her stomach.  Mayah felt the contents from her stomach rise to her throat and began to vomit.  

“Princess?” Called Adriano from the door.

“Go away!  Please leave me alone.”  she sobbed before vomiting again.  She flushed the toilet and sank to the floor bringing her knees to her chest.

“Mayah, its Krista...are you okay?”  she walked past Adriano and her father.  Another bailiff stood at the door preventing them from going in.  “Mayah, please let me in. Open the door.”

“I can't do this Kris...I can't.”

Krista bent down to look under the stall.  She slid under the door. She was at a loss for words.  She knew Jackson probably planned to walk in right when she was on the stand on purpose.  “Come on, lets go.”

“I'm not going back in there...I can't”  She had no intentions of testifying anymore.  

“You don't have to.  I’ll tell dad.” She guided her up from the floor and opened the stall.  “We’ll go home.” she said as they walked out of the bathroom where Jonathan and everyone else stood.  

“I got the judge to grant a ten minute recess,” he said to Mayah as the girls walked past him.

“I’m not testifying against him.”  Mayah responded. “I cant.”

“Mayah, we need your testimony.”

“No, you don't.  That's the problem.  If you had all the evidence that you said you had when you charged Jackson, I wouldn't have had to testify but I did it.  I took the stand and told the world how Jackson, tortured me! How he beat and burned me! How he humiliated me! And for what?  So he can walk around and a free man? So he can pay a fine because he was only charged for misdemeanors? What's the point? Do you know what Marco will do to me when he walks free after we testify?!”  She was screaming hysterically at Jonathan before Adriano pulled her into a tight embrace.     

Jonathan was speechless,  He knew that Mayah was right and there was nothing he could say or do that could get her to change her mind.  He couldn't blame her. He watched helplessly as the girls headed down the hall. He didn't dare tell them that the state’s case depended solely on their testimony because the evidence against him had disappeared.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marco watched as Mayah fled from the courtroom.  If everything went according to plan, he would be walking out of court within the next two weeks.  After a short recess that the district attorney requested was over, he smiled in triumph as he watched Jonathan enter the courtroom without Mayah or Krista.  I’m going to have to give Jackson a raise, he thought to himself. It's a good thing I decided to let him live. He smirked inwardly to himself not wanting to show his excitement.  He stood up to follow his lawyer out of the room.  

“Mr. Montoya, the judge ordered a continuance.  He wants to give them a chance to change their mind about not testifying.” said his lawyer as they walked into the interview room.

“They won't.  By the time I’m done with her, Mayah will never go against me again.”  He leaned back in his chair. “when is the case being recalled?”

“In two days.  If they don't testify, we can request the case to be dismissed.  The judge would grant you your release.”

“Good.  It's about time.”  Marco was annoyed that he was in jail for this long. 

“Sir, did you want Jackson to continue to follow them?”

“No...wait until I get out.  I don't trust him to be alone with her for too long.”  He stood up as the bailiff entered to retrieve him and take him back to holding.  “If I’m not out by the end of the week, the next person who Jackson’s going to visit will be you.” he said before walking out.