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    The Injustice of Being
    The Injustice of Being
    The Injustice of Being
    Ebook138 pages2 hours

    The Injustice of Being

    By Carol Lynne

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    Sometimes justice is worth risking everything for.

    After a hung jury results in a mistrial for alleged rapist, Paul "Jigger" Robinson, victim Eric Kloiber and Will James, the detective in charge of the case, must come to terms with the possibility that Jigger may well get away with his crimes.

    When Will sees the despair plaguing Eric, he becomes determined to leave no stone unturned in his search for more evidence against Jigger. In the midst of his ongoing investigation, Will begins to feel protective towards Eric and soon the two embark on a risky affair.

    Despite his new feelings for the hunky detective, Eric can't stop his obsession with making Jigger pay for what he's done. If the justice system won't help, Eric vows to take Jigger down on his own, even if it means putting himself in danger. When Eric's pursuit of vengeance gets in the way of Will's investigation, the two must come to an agreement or risk losing everything, including their relationship.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPride Publishing
    Release dateOct 22, 2012
    ISBN9781781841099
    The Injustice of Being
    Author

    Carol Lynne

    An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. While writing her first novel, Branded by Gold, Carol fell in love with the M/M genre. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. With well over one hundred releases, one thing is certain, Carol loves to keep busy writing sexy cowboys, shifters, bodyguards, vampires and everything in between. Although series books are her passion, Carol enjoys penning the occasional stand-alone title. As founder and President of GRL Retreat, Inc., Carol helps organize the annual GayRomLit Retreat. Now in its sixth year, GayRomLit is an annual retreat that brings together the people who create and celebrate LGBT romance for a one-of-a-kind, must-attend gathering of dynamic, informal, and diverse fun.

    Read more from Carol Lynne

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    • 2/5
      This is the only series of Lynne's that managed to keep me reading, but it was hard to keep going with this book. It should have been interesting - it's right up my alley and I liked the previous story which concluded here - but I struggled past the 30% point and ended up giving up around 79%.

      Reading Lynne's books are always very much like settling for a hot dog when you really wanted a steak - it deals with the hunger but leaves you feeling a bit gyped.

    Book preview

    The Injustice of Being - Carol Lynne

    Page

    The Injustice of Being

    ISBN # 978-1-78184-109-9

    ©Copyright Carol Lynne 2012

    Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright February 2017

    Edited by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

    Pride Publishing

    This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

    Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

    The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

    Published in 2017 by Pride Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

    Pride Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

    Campus Cravings

    THE INJUSICE OF BEING

    Carol Lynne

    Book sixteen in the Campus Cravings series

    Sometimes justice is worth risking everything for.

    After a hung jury results in a mistrial for alleged rapist Paul ‘Jigger’ Robinson, victim Eric Kloiber and Will James, the detective in charge of the case, must come to terms with the possibility that Jigger may well get away with his crimes.

    When Will sees the despair plaguing Eric, he becomes determined to leave no stone unturned in his search for more evidence against Jigger. In the midst of his ongoing investigation, Will begins to feel protective toward Eric and soon the two embark on a risky affair.

    Despite his new feelings for the hunky detective, Eric can’t stop his obsession with making Jigger pay for what he’s done. If the justice system won’t help, Eric vows to take Jigger down on his own, even if it means putting himself in danger. When Eric’s pursuit of vengeance gets in the way of Will’s investigation, the two must come to an agreement or risk losing everything, including their relationship.

    Trademarks Acknowledgement

    The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

    Wild Turkey: Skyy Spirits, LLC DBA Campari American LLC

    Wrangler: Wrangler Apparel Corp

    Batman: DC Comics Warner Communications Inc.

    Lexus: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha TA Toyota Motor Corporation

    McDonalds: McDonalds Corp.

    Teen Wolf: Music Television (MTV), MGM Television

    Rohypnol: Hoffman, LaRoche, Inc

    Chapter One

    Eric Kloiber concentrated on the small tag of skin he was desperately trying to remove from the corner of his well-bitten nail. He wasn’t normally a nail-biter, but his sore, bloody cuticles had suffered as much as his head and heart since the night he had been drugged and raped.

    Something’s wrong, Eric mumbled to himself.

    Excuse me?

    Eric glanced at the police officer posted outside the courtroom door. Sorry. I was… He shook his head. Never mind.

    The officer went back to his post, leaving Eric to wonder what the hell was going on. What should have been a speedy trial had turned into the hardest two weeks of his life. After his initial testimony, the defense had suddenly produced a copy of the prescription Jigger had used to get the Rohypnol in the first place. According to the defense attorney, Jigger had been prescribed the sleeping aid because of his odd employment hours. Coincidentally, the prescription had been signed by Jigger’s brother, Dr. Adam Williams. The prosecutor argued that the evidence should have been presented to them in the discovery phase of the hearing, but the defense claimed they’d only just obtained the copy from a mail-in pharmacy Jigger used.

    The whole thing was fucked up. Even worse, everyone had told him it should be a quick deliberation for the jury, but that hadn’t turned out to be true either. Six days. What the hell was there to discuss in an open-and-shut case for six fucking days?

    Eric stood and began to pace back and forth in the marbled hall. He wished he’d asked Becket to sit with him while they waited for the jury’s decision, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Becket had attended every day of the trial with his boyfriend, Locky. It wouldn’t have been fair to ask him to miss the verdict. Even though Jigger was being tried for Eric’s rape, Becket had also been one of Jigger’s victims. Unfortunately, Becket had kept his rape a secret until it was too late to obtain the evidence needed for a conviction.

    The heavy door to the courtroom opened and Eric stopped walking at the explosion of voices filtering into the hall. Cries of outrage from several familiar voices took Eric’s breath away. He lowered himself back to the bench and stared up at the detective who had been in charge of the investigation. Will James’ light brown hair, was longer than it had been at the start of the investigation, but Eric assumed his attention had been too focused on putting Jigger away to worry about something as trivial as his appearance. The grim expression on Will’s face seemed to confirm Eric’s biggest fear.

    Not guilty, Eric surmised.

    Will nodded and sat beside Eric, his much larger frame making Eric feel small and vulnerable. Not guilty on the drug charge. They couldn’t reach an agreement on the rape charge. The judge had no choice but to issue a mistrial.

    Mistrial. As he said the word, Eric’s body began to go numb. What exactly does that mean?

    Will rested his forearms on his thighs and rubbed his hands together. The prosecution will take a second look at the case and decide whether or not to retry it.

    You mean they might not?

    Trials are expensive. Evidently we didn’t have enough to convince this jury. Will sighed. Sorry, kid, but I honestly don’t know what Byron will decide.

    Misplaced anger filled Eric. Whether he was mad at Byron Long, the prosecutor, or the whole fucking judicial system, he didn’t know or care, but he lashed out at Will. I’m not a kid. You don’t go through what I’ve been through and remain a damn kid.

    Will sat up. You’re right. I apologize.

    The heavy door opened again as people began to leave the courtroom. The last place Eric wanted to be was at the center of his friends’ pity. I gotta get outta here.

    Before Will or anyone else could stop him, Eric jumped to his feet and ran down the hall. He considered hiding out in the bathroom, but he knew that would be the first place Becket would search. Instead, he ran down the wide staircase, taking the steps two at a time. He slowed to a walk as he got to the security station and nodded to the guards before exiting the building.

    Eric didn’t realize until he was two blocks down the street that Will hadn’t told him whether or not Jigger would be freed. Fuck!

    * * * *

    How the hell did that happen? Will asked Byron as the prosecutor left the courtroom.

    Not enough concrete evidence.

    "Jigger’s an ex-con. His sperm was found on Eric’s jeans. Eric was sitting at the bar being attended by Jigger at the end of the night, and Rohypnol was found behind the bar, in Jigger’s work locker and in his home. Will took a deep breath as he continued to tick items off on his fingers. Not to mention the array of sexual tools found in the trunk of his car."

    "But no one saw Mr. Williams give Eric the drug or leave the club with him, and since Eric can’t remember, it simply isn’t enough, Byron explained. And going to prison for six months at the age of eighteen for stealing a car to go joyriding with his friends is a long way from a hardened criminal past."

    Will’s hands curled into fists. It wasn’t the first time Byron had subtly reprimanded Will for his use of Paul Williams’ nickname. Are you going to retry him?

    Byron stopped walking and turned to face Will. Not unless I have more evidence. You get me that, and I’ll do my part to get a conviction. In the meantime, Mr. Williams will be released on bond, pending another trial. He leaned toward Will. If you get me something more to take it to trial.

    The thought of Jigger out on the streets brought Eric’s safety to mind. What about Eric, can he take out a restraining order or something?

    The judge issued Mr. Williams several warnings before he set bail. Unless he defies those warnings, Eric shouldn’t need to petition for a restraining order.

    Will inwardly groaned. The pressure to produce more evidence was overwhelming. Not only was Byron counting on him, but he knew Eric’s faith in the justice system hinged on a conviction. It was something Will didn’t know if he could deliver, because despite his skills as an investigator, he couldn’t produce evidence out of thin air. Hell, he’d worked his ass off building the case in the first place. He’d questioned every person Eric remembered seeing in the bar the night he’d been drugged and raped and…nothing. He hadn’t come up with a goddamn person who remembered seeing anything unusual the night Eric was left bleeding in the lobby of the dorm. It was something that had always bothered him.

    After glancing at his watch, Byron set his briefcase on the floor and shrugged into his beige trench coat. I’m due at the office. By the way, the jury was locked at nine to three. We’re almost there, but not quite.

    Will nodded as Byron picked up his briefcase and started down the steps. He should get back to the station, but before he dug back into the files, he needed to make sure Eric was okay. No, he admonished himself. The best way for him to assuage his guilt was to do his job. Holding Eric’s hand would make Will feel better but not because it was the right thing to do. It

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