‘This is the man who assaulted Nina …’
Chapter 24
The LAPD’s assistant chief of police, Aiden Flint, was a towering, lanky man with a build that implied many late nights and skipped meals. His hair was dark brown and a little unkempt, as if he was constantly running his fingers through it. Nina thought he might have been intimidating were it not for his eyes, which were big and brown and gentle.
Those eyes studied her calmly as she and Maverick took a seat in his office.
That morning on the drive to LA, they had called Alison, her agent. And though it had been a difficult conversation, Nina had told her everything.
Alison had been shocked and hurt and enraged on Nina’s behalf, but after she had worked through her own emotions, she had powered forward unquestioningly, gathering resources and contacting the assistant chief, whose children went to school with hers.
‘I read the report on your attack three weeks ago,’ Aiden Flint said. ‘I’m very sorry that happened to you.’
‘Thank you. I …’ Nina trailed off as she thought about what to say.
Mav reached over and took her hand in his. He gave her a small squeeze, but he didn’t let her go.
‘I lied,’ she rasped. ‘In my statement.’
Aiden Flint didn’t even blink. He nodded slowly. ‘We know.’
‘Excuse me?’ Nina asked, confused.
‘Miss Keller, as of yesterday afternoon, we’ve been trying to contact you for an interview regarding two alleged assaults, both of which were reported by Alexander Cane.’
Maverick’s hand jerked in hers.
Nina barely felt it.
Her blood ran cold, sending a shiver up from the base of her spine to the top of her head. She blinked slowly as the reality of her situation dawned like news of some fatal disease. ‘He … I’m sorry, what did he say exactly?’ she whispered.
There were no tears. Only bone-deep exhaustion.
‘Mr Cane said that he went to check up on you because you hadn’t been handling the stress of filming well. He stated that you got into an argument and that when you attacked him with a knife, he fought back – in self-defence. He alleges that he left the scene because he was afraid for his own safety, and that he didn’t report it at the time because he was concerned for the assault’s impact onShadowlands.’
The assistant chief didn’t pause. ‘He then asserted that when he went to Hunt Ranch to speak to you about what had happened, you—’ he looked at Maverick ‘—slammed his hand in his own car door. X-rays show that he has four broken fingers.’
Maverick released her hand to lean forward in his chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and said, ‘Good,’ clearly. Slowly.
Aiden Flint’s mouth quirked.
Nina couldn’t feel anything. She was numb down to the soul.
‘Someone has already leaked the story to the press,’ Aiden Flint continued.
Nina closed her eyes. Though she wasn’t aware of doing it, she rocked slightly in her chair.
‘What I can’t figure out is why you’re here without a lawyer and why you’re not telling me to go fuck myself?’
Nina heard the words. Slowly, her mind made sense of them. She opened her eyes to look at Aiden Flint.
‘Miss Keller—’
‘Nina.’
He tipped his head. ‘If you think I believe that a six-foot man had to knock you black and blue, render you unconscious, and crack two of your ribs to disarm you, you’re not as smart as you look. And that’s not saying anything about the state of your clothes when you arrived at the hospital.’
A warbled sob slipped from her lips. Nina covered her mouth with her hand, mortified as the tears started. Her entire body shook with the force of holding them back.
