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“He spent three weeks in intensive care. As a John Doe. We couldn’t place him. Not until he was reported as a missing person.”
I can’t breathe. I plant my palms flat on the table while the whole room seems to swim. “I didn’t do that.”
How did I not see this coming? I should have. I knew it was a possibility. I was too confident. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I could protect Ivy. I wasn't prepared for the cruel lengths Nicole Hawthorne would go to in her attempts to keep control of Ivy.
“We have evidence,” the detective says.
“You haven’t said anything, have you?” Jason barges into the room and takes the chair beside me. He pops his briefcase on the table. “Sorry I’m late.”
“I didn’t do it, Jason.” This is ludicrous. “They’re trying to—”
“Shut up,” Jason orders me. “What is my client charged with?”
Brody sneers at me. “Aggravated assault. Bodily harm. Possibly intent to murder.”
“Jesus.” Jason hisses between his teeth.
“I told you I didn’t—”
Jason cuts me off with one finger held up. “What evidence do you have?”
“Multiple video sources of the first altercation. Eyewitness accounts,” Brody says. “We have a witness that saw him fleeing the scene of the second altercation. They were certain it was Rogue Maddox. They described his tattoos.”
“Everyone knows what his tattoos look like,” Jason argues.
“We have his blood on the victim’s clothes, Brody says. “And a warrant for DNA testing.”
Jason opens the file and scans the contents like a man on a mission. His expression doesn’t change from the moment he flips the front cover until he closes it again. He doesn’t look at me. The corners of his mouth don’t twitch like they do when he knows he has his opponent over a barrel. “I want to talk to my client.”
“I’ll give you the room.” Brody stands and takes the file with him.
The door closes and Jason turns to me. “Tell me you didn’t do this.”
“We told you about him,” I say. “He got the better of me and I hit him. A couple of times. But those pictures…”
“That’s a lot more than a couple of fists.” Jason winces.
“Nicole Hawthorne is setting me up,” I say. “And the only reason the charge isn’t upgraded to murder is because Nicole thinks Ivy will do anything she says if she dangles a little hope in front of her.”
“Any chance you have an alibi for the night before Ivy came home?”
“Security cameras in the lobby.” I’d spent the night at home by myself. I’d needed the space from my family and wanted to make sure everything would be as comfortable as possible for Ivy’s homecoming. I sink into my shoulders. “I did go for a long ass walk to clear my head though.”
“Did you see anyone who could verify where you went?” He starts taking notes. “Did you talk to anyone on the phone?”
“I was having a panic attack,” I snap. “I forgot my phone. I don’t even know where I went. But I know I didn’t try to kill anyone.”
The only blood on my conscious is Ivy’s.
“Someone got to him after you did,” he says.
“That’s what it looks like.” I slouch as much as I can. I can’t stop my leg from shaking. “Do you think he saw it coming? Did he know what he was getting himself into when he agreed to help Nicole and Alec?”
“You really believe he was paid to take this hit?”
Marty is in Phoenix trying to find concrete evidence that Nicole paid the man who is currently sitting in prison for the death of Ivy’s dad. “Yeah, I do.”
Jason eyes me critically. “Did you have any clue what you were getting yourself into when you decided it would be a good idea to get in bed with a Hawthorne?”
