Oliver raised an eyebrow and leant towards the microphone. “White. It’s Detective Sergeant White. Your papers must be out of date.”
Because Lucas had, for all intents and purposes, marched Oliver down to the registry office to make an honest man of him the moment the investigation drew to a close. Oliver bit the inside of his cheek as he spun the obnoxiously expensive platinum wedding band around his finger. The tiny diamonds dusted across its surface felt oddly comforting under the pad ofhis thumb. He hadn’t asked for such a luxury, but marrying into a family of high end jewellers made it difficult to say no.
The defence barrister flushed and re-shuffled his papers.Oliver one, Patrick’s legal team, nil.He heard Patrick scoff from behind the perspex screen.
“Y-Yes, DS White,” the barrister said, the white curls of his wig sagging in the midsummer heat. “Is it true, DS Reed?—”
“White.”
“Is it the case, DS White, that prior to your tenure on Operation Sceptre, you were engaged in a romantic relationship with the defendant, Patrick Coletta?”
Nothing about the relationship had been romantic, but alright…
“That’s correct,” Oliver replied, tapping the toe of his shoe against the pedestal.
“And is it also correct, DS Reed?—“
“White.”
This guy had to be taking the fucking piss.
“—DS White, that you aborted Mr Coletta’s unborn child when he attempted to end the relationship?”
Oliver’s brows pulled into a deep frown.Straight for the fucking jugular, then?
“Objection Your Honour!” The prosecution barrister waded in.
“Objection denied. Continue.”
Oliver sucked his teeth and said, “That’s incorrect.”
“Is it DS White? Because your medical records state that you did.”
Oliver smirked and cleared his throat, deciding to test the barrister’s metal. “Do they?” Because there was no fucking way his GP would have granted access to his medical records without his consent.
“I’ll be the one asking the questions, DS Reed.”
“White.”
“DS White. My client also tells me you had him assaulted by your brother-in-law when he attempted to leave the relationship. Correct?”
“That’s incorrect.”
Oliver’s eyes slid to Patrick, giving him a look that said‘you’re a fucking weasel.’The alpha only smirked in return.
The barrister’s eyebrows disappeared under his wig. “Is it? Because I have the police report here,” he said, shuffling his papers. Oliver’s stomach dropped. He knew they’d bring it up, but it made him no more prepared for it. “It says here that one Dr Julian Smithson-Reed of Irving Way, West Newton repeatedly punched and kicked Mr Patrick Coletta before forcing him into the rear of his vehicle and driving him to the next town over. As a result of the attack, Mr Coletta sustained a broken nose, two black eyes and a broken wrist.”
Well, putting it like that made it sound fucking horrific.Oliver nodded, which drew a wide smile from the barrister. “So you agree, DS White?”
He sighed. “I agree with the wording of the report. But the assault was not arranged.”
“You agree that your brother-in-law attacked my client in 2017?”
Sorry Julian.
“I agree. But it was an act of protection under old pack laws.” He was about to blurt out‘Because your client is an abusive, heat-hoping, sex trafficking scumbag that wouldn’t take accountability if it slapped him in the face.’But—with Oliver’s mouth being the treacherous little shit that it was—he bit his lip and kept it to himself.
The barrister nodded. “I see, I see. A little excessive, don’t you think? Especially given that you also infected Mr Coletta with a sexually transmitted disease only one month prior.”
