Chapter 20
Nina managed one ear-piercing scream and a violent kick before a large hand covered her mouth and nose, cutting off her air supply.
In her panic, she forgot the knife in her hand.
She struggled, kicking out violently, but when he tore at her pants with his free hand, ripping the button and forcing the zipper down, her panic turned cold.
And when he touched her, his fingers pushing inside of her, she knew she’d rather die than live through the rest.
Nina didn’t think. She gripped her hands, preparing to claw and tear at him, and belatedly remembered the knife. She drove it backwards, into his leg, felt the moment flesh gave to blade.
He roared with equal parts fury and pain, spat, ‘Fuck!’ as she pulled the knife out, preparing to strike again.
But he plucked it from her fingers as if she were a child holding a toy.
She was dragged backwards, kicking and clawing, through her own house. Nina was distinctly aware of several things.
Though she would not make it outside, the front door was wide open. And it was such a beautiful day.
Though she could not breathe, she could smell the liquor and cologne on him, and it terrified her.
Though her phone was not on speaker, she could hear Markus screaming her name over the line.
Though she desperately wanted to live, she was probably going to die.
And when he threw her onto the floor and she saw him for the first time, only a second before Alex’s fist connected with her face and pain bloomed through her skull, she thought that dying might be better after all.
Hunt Ranch, Santa Barbara County – Present Day
Nina saw the moment that Maverick’s eyes flooded with recognition, but she couldn’t speak, couldn’t open her mouth and voice the words.
God, she could smell Alex’s cologne, the same one he’d worn that night.
And with the smell came the memories. His arm around her throat, his fingers tearing at her pants and pushing inside of her, and when she’d stabbed him with the knife, his rage.
Her back ached where she’d landed on the hard floor.
Her ribs, still injured, throbbed from where he’d kicked her.
And that was nothing compared to the memory of that first stunning blow to the face.
She saw Alexander casually inching closer, his hands in his pockets, his green eyes taking in the kitchen. ‘Nice place.’
Nina didn’t understand how somebody so beautiful, somebody who had everything – a successful career, money, looks – could be so twisted. So cruel. ‘What do you want, Alex?’
He held both arms out at his sides. ‘I wanted to check in. Make sure you were okay.’ His words were so friendly, his threat so clear.
Beneath her hands, Poppy shifted to look up at her and Nina’s heart broke under the weight of her own shame.
‘Hey, Poppy …’ Nina said.
Poppy’s big eyes were clouded with confusion, but she whispered, ‘Yeah?’
‘Why don’t you go ask Markus to braid your hair? He knows a bunch of fancy braids.’ Her voice was clear and strong, and she wondered how she could sound so normal when she was falling apart inside.
‘But—’
‘Poppy.’ Maverick cut off her argument, using a tone that brooked no argument. ‘Listen to Nina, please.’
Poppy seemed to want to argue. She looked back and forth between them for a moment.
Nina, remembering the promise she’d made, said, ‘We’ll ask him later, together.’
‘Promise?’
‘I promise.’
Seemingly appeased, Poppy said, ‘’Kay!’ and ran out of the room in search of Markus.
The moment she was gone, Nina felt that first trickle of relief, and when Maverick walked around Alex and came to stand beside her, facing the threat, she felt herself calm completely. She was safe here. Today. Absolutely.
And knowing it gave her the courage to demand, again, ‘What do you want, Alex?’
‘I just thought I’d stop by.’ His voice was so friendly, so casual. But Nina knew the monster that suave facade hid. ‘We’re waiting to film your last scene before wrapping.’ His eyes flicked over her. ‘You look good, Nina.’
Bile rushed her throat at the casual compliment. Considering he’d torn her clothes and forced his fingers inside of her, she knew as well as he did that the words were meant to fuck with her head.
Her entire body trembled with the force of her humiliation. And shame. Because this man had violated her, and instead of fighting back, she’d run.
Maverick placed one of his heavy hands on her shoulder, and Nina hated that she flinched against the contact.
He didn’t move it as her breath rushed out of her.
‘Get out.’ The words from Nina, the cold tone they were delivered in, surprised everyone, including herself.
‘Nina …’ Alex tried for shocked hurt.
His act didn’t fool her.
And it didn’t fool Maverick either. He took one step in Alex’s direction, moving in front of her completely. ‘Now.’
Alex’s eyes clouded with well-practised confusion. ‘I don’t understand.’
Because she needed to face Alex herself, because she wouldn’t let Mav take the weight of her past in addition to everything else he carried, she stepped to his side again and took his hand.
She stared down at their connected fingers when she felt the tremors of rage passing through him and into her. He was literally vibrating with it.
His anger gave her courage, each ripple of it that passed from him through her fingers charging her with strength. She forced her eyes to Alex’s. She wanted him to see her vindication when she said, ‘I’m going to the police.’
Alex frowned quizzically, a born actor, a practised liar. ‘I’m not sure what you’re on about, Nina,’ he said in a quiet, coaxing voice. ‘If the strain of filming has been too hard on you, on your mental health, we’ll understand. Take more time to rest and think it through.’
His threat was clear, his use of ‘we’ pointed. But this time, Nina didn’t let it sway her. ‘When I tell everyone what happened, they’re going to want to see that scar from where I cut you, and then they’re going to match your blood to the blood on the knife currently in their evidence.
‘And when the media frenzy starts and the facts come to light, how many people do you think will stand by you?’
The shift happened so quickly. Alex’s green eyes turned hard and flinty. ‘I’ll ruin you for libel.’
‘We’ll probably ruin each other,’ she agreed. ‘But that doesn’t mean I’m going to keep quiet. And it doesn’t mean I’m going to settle either, so don’t bother having your lawyer contact me. No amount of money is going to keep you out of prison.’
He took a step towards her.
Maverick didn’t even move. He said, ‘You’re in my house, and I’ve just found out you’re the one who assaulted my woman. If you take one more step in her direction, I will kill you. And I will enjoy it.’
Maverick’s tone had a streak of fear gripping Nina’s spine, and when she angled her face up to look at him, her fear turned to pure terror.
He would do it. She could see the barely contained violence in his eyes, hear the cold, almost eager fury in his tone.
And because she was scared, not of him, but for him, for Poppy, she stepped in front of him, physically preventing him from taking a single step.
Clearly sensing that he was playing in dangerous territory, Alex held both hands up and backed away. ‘You know how this ends, Nina,’ he said.
And he smiled at her.
Nina’s spine locked with momentary terror even as her skin crawled like liquid in motion.
Alex turned, but it was only once the front door slammed shut that Maverick slipped around her and charged after him.
‘Mav!’ Nina ran after him, terrified of what he might do.
Markus was coming down the stairs, Poppy close behind him. ‘What on earth—’
She didn’t stop to explain. She opened the front door and stumbled onto the porch as Maverick strode towards the sleek black BMW that Alex had arrived in.
‘Is that Alex?’ Markus asked as he followed her onto the porch, his confusion clear.
Nina could only nod.
Alexander had opened the car door and was preparing to get in, but when he saw Maverick, he smiled and turned, leaning on the car arrogantly. ‘Look, this is all one big misunder—’
Without a word, Maverick gripped the car door and slammed it violently shut.
Alex screamed as his hand was crushed between the door and the car. ‘Fuck!’ He dropped to his knees, cradling his broken hand against his body.
Maverick took a fistful of Alex’s hair and yanked his head back. He leaned in close, but his words were stated clearly enough that Nina caught them. ‘That’s for touching my woman.’
‘She’s a lying slut!’
Maverick didn’t acknowledge that. ‘If you come here again, I will kill you.’
‘I’m going to sue you for everything that you have!’
Maverick ignored him. In a perfectly calm, quiet voice, he added, ‘I will bury you in a quiet spot somewhere on my acreage. Somewhere nobody would ever think to look.’ He let Alex go with a violent jerk of his hand. ‘Now get the fuck off my land.’
Alex scrambled to get into his car. But it was only once he was safely inside, the motor running, that he rolled down his window – just an inch – and spat, ‘My lawyers will be in touch.’
He sped out, his car kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake.
Nina watched as Maverick pulled out his cell phone. ‘Hey, Sandie. A black BMW is going to be heading out the gates in a few minutes. Take the plate number down. Make sure your team knows not to let it back in.’