Page 28 of Vain (Tempest #2)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

MATILDA

I’m both relieved and pissed that it takes the cops four hours to arrive on set.

I know I didn’t want to miss filming, but I can’t help but be exasperated by how lackadaisical they are about it all.

I mean, if they’d told Aiden it was too important to wait, I’d have dealt.

But no, they were more than happy to take their time.

Heck, I’m surprised they showed up at all.

True to his word, Aiden kept them occupied as long as he could, giving me enough time to wrap things up a little earlier than I’d planned.

Nobody complained about finishing early.

Everyone had been committed to making this film great, but that didn’t mean the long hours weren’t taking their toll on us all.

Now, at least, everyone could enjoy a long weekend before heading to the studio on Monday.

Knowing we’re on the home stretch is comforting in the current chaos.

It helps me put on my game face as I wave goodbye to my AD and head to my trailer.

Though people have been speculating, I’ve kept quiet about what’s happening.

If they’ve asked, I’ve been deliberately vague.

They probably think I’m being a bitch, but I’m just trying to minimize the damage.

I dread what the studio would do if they found out I had another flipping stalker.

It’s not something I want to risk when we are so close to being done.

I walk to the trailer, not surprised when the door opens, and Aiden walks down the steps to me. I know even dealing with the police, he’d have kept one eye on me the whole time.

“You are so getting laid tonight.”

His serious expression cracks as he stalks toward me and scoops me up, holding me tight. I take a second to breathe him in. I always feel so much calmer when we’re together.

“You get everything done you needed to?” he murmurs against my cheek.

“Yes, thanks to you. How goes it with the boys in blue?”

“They’re still waiting for a forensic team to come take photos and prints.”

I huff out a laugh. “I guess now they know what it feels like.”

He chuckles and lowers me to my feet before taking my hand. He leads me to the trailer as I take a deep breath and prepare myself.

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad will this be?”

“Having been interviewed by them, I can say probably a fifteen. But I’ll make it up to you with drive-thru ice cream on the way home, followed by a bottle of wine and a naked massage.”

“Ooh, now you’re talking my language.”

“Miss Carson.”

I look up and bite back a curse when I recognize the officer standing in the doorway of my trailer. He’s been to see me before and has been nothing but dismissive.

“Officer Reeves. I’d say it was nice to see you again, but…” I let my voice drift off when he scowls at me.

“If you’re ready to conduct this interview, please take a seat.”

He indicates that I should follow him inside. I bite my lip to avoid pointing out it’s my seat anyway.

“Is this okay? I thought you were waiting for forensics to arrive.”

“As your prints will be all over this space, it will make little difference.”

Okay then. I take a seat and move along the bench so Aiden can squeeze in beside me.

“This would be better if I interviewed you alone.” The asshat side eyes Aiden, making my hackles rise.

“Aiden is my bodyguard as well as my partner. He is rightly concerned about my safety, so I think it’s safe to say we’d both feel more comfortable with him here.”

“Right,” he drawls, looking around for his partner, who is looking at some of the Post-it notes.

“Can we just begin?” I sigh, feeling a headache form.

“You called us, Miss Carson, and made us wait at that.”

“I came as soon as you requested. As you needed to see my trailer and interview Aiden, what was the harm? And again, I was under the impression you’re waiting for forensics, not me.”

I can feel Aiden growing more and more tense beside me, so I slide my hand over his thigh and squeeze it. His hand covers mine as the detective continues.

“Walk me through the flowers.”

“I’m sorry, walk you through what? Do you mean how they got here in my trailer?”

The guy crosses his arms and frowns. “They were delivered yesterday?”

“Yes, just as we were wrapping up for the day, well, night. We didn’t get out of here until almost ten.”

“You recognize the driver?”

“No, but I would if I saw him again.”

“And you’re sure he hasn’t delivered flowers to you before?”

“Well, no?—

“So it is possible you have had flowers delivered by him. Do you get flowers often?”

“No—”

“So it stands to reason you should remember someone who isn’t part of your regular crew?”

I don’t speak. I wait as he gets impatient.

“Are you going to answer the question or waste my time?”

Any moment now, Aiden is going to jump up and punch this asshole. I dig my nails into his tense thigh, urging him to stay seated and not let this guy push his buttons.

“As you keep answering for me and not giving me a chance to finish a sentence, I figured there was no point.”

His mouth snaps shut. His partner, who is doing a piss-poor job of pretending he’s not listening, looks over.

“As I was trying to say, I didn’t recognize him.

However, he might have delivered flowers before.

I’ll be honest, Officer, I don’t remember faces of delivery drivers unless I have the same one repeatedly.

However, it is possible. I don’t get flowers often, though, unless the studio sends some, and they use a runner to deliver them. ”

Officer Reeves thinks over his next question before opening his mouth, which makes a nice change. “And what state were the flowers in when they arrived?”

“Exactly like they are now, minus the vase.”

“You didn’t tell the driver?”

“The driver had eyes and could see their state for himself. Aiden even questioned what I would do with dead flowers, but the guy said it wasn’t his problem.”

“And what did you do with the flowers?”

“I threw them in the trash and forgot all about them until I saw them again over there.”

“Who on set has access to your trailer, Miss Carson?”

“Just myself and Aiden.”

“And neither of you entered the trailer before lunchtime?”

“No, sir,” I answer, and Aiden confirms his answer with a nod.

“Do you always lock it?”

“Yes, after what happened before, I always lock it or watch Aiden do it.”

“How can you be sure you didn’t forget?”

“Because I check it three times, always, without fail.”

When he seems about to say something else that will annoy me, I hold my hand up to stop him. “The door was locked, officer. I’m one hundred percent sure.”

“What can you tell me about the notes?”

“Nothing. I’ve looked at them less than you have. We found them, then called the police.”

“You both found them?”

“Well, I did. Aiden was getting food.”

“So you were here alone for a while then?”

“Briefly, yes.”

He makes a hmm sound that grates on my nerves.

“It says Mr. Church here called the police. I have to ask, Miss Carson, if you found all this, why didn’t you call them immediately?”

I shake my head. “I was in shock. It took Aiden to snap me out of it.”

“What were you doing when he walked in and saw all this?”

“I don’t know…standing, staring, trying to process that this is happening all over again.”

“Would you be willing to submit a handwriting sample for analysis, along with a few drawings?”

“You didn’t ask me for those.” Aiden’s pissed-off voice rumbles out of his chest.

“Yes, well, the incident with the notes predates your arrival here.”

“I’m sorry, officer. Am I a suspect in my own stalking? And if so, do I need to call my lawyer? I was under the impression I was reporting a crime. But yet again, I’m sitting here feeling more like a suspect.”

“I’m just doing my job, Miss Carson.” The contempt in his voice has Aiden standing up and glaring at him.

“We’re done here. We’ll contact Matilda’s lawyer and let them know what’s happening. If you want to talk to either of us again, let the lawyer know, and we’ll come down to the precinct.”

“I’m not done,” Officer Reeves snaps, stepping closer. Aiden doesn’t give a fuck. As I slide out of my seat, Aiden moves closer to the cop. I see his partner tense, hand resting on the butt of his gun.

“Oh yes, you are. We’re leaving. It’s been a very long day. Matilda needs food and sleep. I trust you can see yourselves out when you’re finished.”

I slip my hand into Aiden’s. He tugs me under his arm and herds me toward the door.

“Miss Carson, you’re making things very difficult?—”

I take a leaf out of Aiden’s book and cut him off. “I’ll be lodging a complaint with your captain. It’s clear you have some kind of prejudice against me. That’s fine. I don’t care, but I deserve to have an officer here who’s interested in helping me, not blaming me.”

Aiden hauls me outside before anything else can be said. I’m so damn mad I could spit fire.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here. I promised you ice cream, and I’m a man of my word.”

The ice cream helped calm us both down on the drive home. Well, me more so than Aiden. He knew I’d had issues with the cops, but this was the first time he saw firsthand what they’ve been like.

“I wanted to rip that motherfucker’s head off,” he admits, though, with less of a growl in his voice than before.

“You and me both.” I laugh. “Honestly, I’m over it. I will ask for a new officer to liaise with from now on.”

“Good. I’d really rather not go to prison for murder. If he speaks to you like that once more, I’m not sure I could be held accountable for my actions.”

“Something tells me a judge would be lenient, especially if they’ve dealt with him before.”

He reaches for my hand, laughing. “You might be right there. Okay, fuck the cop. I want to know how you feel now that part of the movie is all wrapped up?”

“Honestly, I feel relieved, tired, happy, excited to get to the next stage. I’m feeling a lot,” I admit. “What about you? Are you feeling happy to get your AC next week?”

“You want to know how I feel? I feel fucking proud. You did it, Tilly. You fucking amaze me.”

He lifts our joined hands and kisses my fingers.

I look over at him with a grin that quickly morphs into a scream as a large truck comes out of nowhere and barrels toward us.

Reacting instinctually, Aiden floors the car.

When the truck hits us, it doesn’t hit the driver’s side door.

Instead, it clips the rear of the car, sending us into a spin.

Somehow, Aiden manages to regain control of the vehicle, but instead of stopping, he puts his foot to the pedal and speeds off.

My heart thunders in my chest as I turn in my seat and see the truck chasing us down.

“Call the cops. Tell them where we are and what’s going on,” he orders, his voice sounding cool and calm as if high-speed chases are an everyday occurrence for him. God, maybe they are. But they aren’t for me, and I can’t even begin to pretend I’m not terrified.

“Phone, Tilly. Call them now,” he orders, pulling me out of my shock.

I pull my phone from my pocket, and before I can think about it, I turn and snap a couple of shots of the truck, zooming in on the license plate before dialing the police.

When the call connects, I tell the dispatcher what’s happening and who I am. Telling them where we are is a little trickier. I give them a close enough whereabouts, where we’re coming from, and where we’re heading. With no mile markers or signs on this stretch of road, it’s all I can give them.

I hang up just as the truck bumps the back of the car, jolting it forward. The seatbelt locks tight around me as Aiden pushes the car harder.

“Okay, Tilly, I need you to dial another number for me. Are you ready?”

I nod my head as I pull up the keypad on my phone. He reels off the number, which I tap in and wait.

“Put it on speaker for me, baby.” With a shaky hand, I do as he asks and hold it closer to him so whoever he’s calling can hear him clearly.

“Who’s this?” a deep voice answers.

“Banner? It’s Aiden. We’re being pursued by a black Ford truck trying to run us off the road. Cops are en route, but if anything happens…” He lets his voice fade out, the implications clear. If we don’t make it, he wants his team to know what happened.

“I’m on it. Tell me where you are, and I’ll go through the traffic cams and see if I can figure out who the fuck is chasing you. The girl?”

“Matilda is in the car with me. They were aiming for my side of the car.”

I look at him and frown, wondering why that’s relevant.

“You think they were looking to take you out so they can snatch the girl?”

“That was my first thought, but they’re not exactly being careful here either. If I lose control of the car, we’ll both be in trouble.”

“Just focus, and I’ll see what I can find.”

“Wait,” I jump in before he disconnects. “I took pictures of the car, including the license plate. I don’t know how clear they are, but I can send them—” I squeal when the car is hit again. I squeeze the phone tightly as Aiden curses.

“What the hell is going on? Are you guys alright? Someone answer me!” this Banner guy roars down the phone.

Wanting Aiden to focus on the road, I answer for him. “We’re okay. That asshole hit us again. I’m not sure how long we can hold him off for.”

“I’m not gonna let them get their fucking hands on you, Tilly,” Aiden promises as tears prick my eyes.

“Trust him, sweetheart. Aiden knows what he’s doing.”

I blow out a shaky breath as I fiddle with the phone and send the photos. “I sent the photos,” I tell him quietly.

“I’ve got them. Good job. These are perfect. Aiden, I’ll call you right back on this number.” He hangs up, leaving me staring at the phone.

I look behind me and see the truck dropping back a little.

The band tightening around my chest loosens a touch.

As Aiden puts more and more distance between us, I take a deep, steadying breath.

I begin to relax right before Aiden grabs a handful of my hair and pulls me forward, my seat belt cutting into me at the last second.

“Fuck!” he snarls just before the glass smashes in the back window. The car jerks violently to the right and we’re airborne and flipping. My head smacks against the passenger-side window before blackness swallows me whole.