Chapter 25 #2
Maverick, with his kind, gentle heart made her want to be stronger.
He made her realize that while he constantly went out of his way to protect and help people, nobody did the same for him.
His parents were gone. Sierra and Benji, though they loved him fiercely, were both just trying to survive their own storm.
Poppy was protective of him, sure. But Nina loved him enough to give him the gift he’d given her daily since they’d met, even when she’d been a stranger.
So, she’d protect him. And she could only hope he’d forgive her when the time came.
Mav levered up to kiss her forehead. ‘Was that okay for you?’ he whispered.
Nina smiled. She said, ‘Ruthless.’ And although she was decided, she needed this night to say goodbye. Because Mav would be hurt. He would feel betrayed. He might never see that she had done it for him – because she loved him. He might not take her back when it was over.
So, she’d take tonight.
And tomorrow … Tomorrow, she would do what she had to do.
She fell asleep on his chest in minutes as the day’s events caught up to her.
Maverick memorized the feeling of her slight weight pressing into him.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the familiar coconut scent of her hair, and when she stirred, he wrapped both of his arms around her because she had once told him that it made her feel safe to sleep that way.
Nina shifted. She sighed in her sleep and then settled again.
Mav stayed like that, holding her while she slept, for over an hour. But when a glance at the clock showed him that it was nearing seven, he gently rearranged her and slid off the bed.
He picked up his phone from the nightstand and carried it through to the lounge that sat just off the bedroom, making sure to turn off the light on his way out.
He grabbed a bottle of water and the room service menu before he sat down on the couch and unlocked his phone.
There was a text from Sierra:
How did it go?
And one from Benji:
Tell Nina not to go online.
Mav frowned at that, but because he didn’t want to be angry when he was still basking in the afterglow of her, he didn’t open his web browser either. It wouldn’t serve a purpose. He believed Nina absolutely. He loved her indefinitely, and that was all he needed to know.
He called Sierra so that he could update her and say goodnight to Poppy.
She answered on the first ring with: ‘How is she?’
Mav ran one hand through his hair. ‘Not great, but she’s holding on,’ he said honestly. ‘She passed out about an hour ago …’
‘I can imagine.’
‘Yeah. She’s a trouper.’
‘And the police? What did they say?’ Before he could answer, Sierra continued, ‘Benji told me that Alexander Cane accused her of assaulting him. Apparently, it’s all over the news.’
‘Yeah. But the assistant chief of police believed her. Apparently, this isn’t the first time he’s run into that fucker.’
‘There was another woman?’
‘Yeah, but she changed her story a few days after reporting it.’
‘He paid her off,’ Sierra said.
‘Probably. Which also means she would have signed an NDA, so she won’t talk.’
‘Do you know who she is? Maybe we can find her, ask her to help us …’
‘I don’t.’
‘Let me look into it. I have a friend who works in admin for the LAPD. If the report’s not public already, she’ll get it to me.’
‘I don’t know. Dragging someone else into this feels wrong.’
‘So, we ask. But let her decide what she wants to do. We can do that much for Nina, Mav. Numbers matter in situations like this …’
‘Fuck.’ But because he knew she was right, he closed his eyes momentarily, said, ‘Okay.’
‘Stay positive, Mav. We have to believe that good will win. Otherwise, what’s the point?’
‘The cop put us in touch with a really good lawyer. So, that’s something.’
‘How long until you come home?’
‘We’re going to head back tomorrow and then come down when we’re needed.’ But because he was already dreading the months ahead, he felt that he had to warn her. ‘It’s going to be a long haul here, Si.’
‘Yeah.’
‘I’m sorry in advance.’
‘You can’t choose who you love, Mav. I know that better than anyone. And even if you could, I wouldn’t choose anyone else for you. Seeing you and Nina together …’ She sighed. ‘We’ll pull through. We’ll find a way to make the resort work – even if we have to become a social media hub.’
Mav shuddered at the thought. But he could live with it if it meant having Nina there with him. ‘It’ll die down.’ Hopefully.
‘Yeah … Mav …’
‘What?’ he asked, sensing her tone.
‘We shut the gates today. Security called a few hours ago to say that news vans were pulling up outside.’
‘We knew this would happen.’ But he hated it.
Hated them, for what they were doing to Nina, who had already suffered so much, and for threatening his family’s livelihood, which they’d all worked so hard for.
And for what? So that the general population could be apprised of the intimate details of one stranger’s life?
It sickened him.
‘Yeah,’ Sierra agreed.
‘Do me a favour: keep Poppy close.’
‘I’m offended that you’d even ask.’
‘Sorry.’
‘You’re forgiven, but only because you have a lot on your mind.’
‘Is she awake?’ he asked.
‘Yeah. One sec.’ Sierra shouted through the house, ‘Poppy! Your dad’s on the phone!’
Maverick heard Poppy’s excited squeal and her little footsteps running. When she took the phone, she was breathless. ‘Hi, Daddy!’
‘Hi, baby!’ he greeted her in the same tone and smiled despite the day they’d had.
‘Where are you?’ she asked.
‘I’m in Los Angeles with Nina, remember? But I’m coming home tomorrow.’
‘Okay!’
‘Are you having fun with Sisi?’
‘Yeah! We made steak. And then we watched Trolls in the fort Uncle Benji built.’
Mav’s eyebrows shot up at that. ‘Oh? Uncle Benji’s there?’
‘Yeah. He’s sleeping in the spare room because you’re not here. But he says the bad man won’t come, so don’t worry, Daddy.’
Mav’s heart ached. His voice was tight when he said, ‘I won’t worry,’ even though he would. ‘Uncle Benji and Sisi will look after you. But make sure you listen to them, okay?’
‘I’m good, Daddy,’ she reminded him.
‘The best,’ he affirmed.
‘I’m going to go finish Trolls now.’
‘Okay.’
‘Oh, wait,’ she said. ‘Can I speak to Nina first?’
Mav smiled. ‘She’s sleeping, baby. But we’ll see you tomorrow, okay?’
‘’Kay!’
Poppy hung up before he could speak to Sierra again, but Mav didn’t call back. He shot Benji a thank-you text and then put his phone down and closed his eyes, exhausted.
‘Mav?’
He opened his eyes, asked, ‘Hey. Did I wake you up?’
Nina shook her head, but he knew immediately that she had heard at least part of the phone call. ‘Poppy wanted to speak to you.’
‘I heard. I … can’t.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m so sorry, Mav.’
‘For what exactly?’ he asked, because he didn’t blame her for anything.
‘For going to Hunt Ranch!’ her voice came out loud and panicked. ‘For getting involved with you when my life was a mess! For endangering …’ She took a deep breath, rasped, ‘For endangering Poppy.’
‘Nina, come here.’ He held out one hand for her, and when she took it, he tugged her onto his lap. ‘Life is messy. Almost always. But I’d rather do it with you than alone. And you never endangered Poppy. Alexander Cane did.’
‘It’s not that simple,’ she insisted.
‘Yes—’ he brushed her long hair behind her ear ‘—it is. But you have to be willing to accept that you are a victim – a survivor.’
He hated when her eyes welled with tears. ‘I don’t want to be weak.’
‘Being a victim doesn’t mean you’re weak.
It means something happened to you. And being a survivor – that means you’re still moving forward despite it.
’ When she started to argue, he talked over her.
He asked, ‘Take yourself out of it, Nina. Put any other woman in your place.’ Though he hated the thought, he pushed, said, ‘Put Poppy in your place.’
She bit back a sob.
‘What would you tell her if she was in your shoes?’ he asked. ‘One day, when that little girl is a grown woman, we might be having this conversation with her. So, what will you tell her? As her dad, I need to know what you’d say to her.’
‘That it’s not her f-fault,’ she managed eventually. ‘And that she didn’t do anything wrong.’
‘Exactly.’ He wrapped his arms around her, felt his heart settle when she nestled against him. ‘It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.’ And because he could feel her pulling away, he added, ‘I’m with you. I’m not going anywhere.’