Page 83 of Cruel Fate

“Tell me what you were doing in Richard Denton’s email.”

I swallow. “You know about that?”

“Yes, I do. I know your every movement, Stella Mayfair. Zane is my best friend. You didn’t think I wouldn’t keep my eyes on you?”

“I love him, Ash.”

He heaves a sigh, and I think maybe I’ve gotten through to him. Finally. I’m not out to steal from Zane or use him to further my own ambitions. I fell in love, and I couldn’t stop it.

People rush around us, staring at Ashton Black, heir of Black Enterprises. A young woman and a group of her friends hurry by. She can’t pry her eyes away from him, and one of her high heels snags in a grate in the sidewalk. Her friends laugh as she bends over to free her shoe.

He doesn’t pay attention. He’s too focused on me, on the pulse in my neck that reveals how nervous I am. “I hope you do. If I find out you’re using him, I’ll ruin you.” Calmly, he turns, and his driver lets him into the car.

I’m left standing on the sidewalk, my hands clenched into fists in the pockets of my trench coat.

Nothing I do is private. Denton could have told Ash I was snooping, but I think somehow Ash discovered what I was doing all on his own.

Suddenly, I want nothing more than to see Zane, but Douglas is nowhere to be found and there’s no way to contact him unless I text Zarah and ask. It’s late, and she’s with Ash. I don’t want to disturb her because I want something so mundane.

I lean against the hotel wishing I had the guts to walk away. Walk away from Zane and Zarah and the messed up games they play. Walk away from whoever killed Zane’s parents. Walk away from Denton and Cramer and hide.

Only, it might be too late for that.

I’m stuck in the spider’s web, and the more I struggle, the more entangled I become. When did it start? The minute I looked into Denton’s email, or the day Zane and I made love in his office? When I accepted the job as his assistant, or further back still? The day I took the job in payroll?

When Simon asked if I would let Zarah shadow me, I should have said, “No, thank you.”

How was I to know how much Zarah’s friendship would cost me. Now I have no choice. Zane and Zarah need me. I can’t be the coward Ash thinks I am.

The buses are quiet at this time of night, but it’s still a half an hour ride and I get off at a stop a block away from Maddox Industries.

I never did see Hector, though I can’t shake the feeling someone’s watching me.

Standing on the steps where the press conference is going to be held, I text Zane and ask if he’s busy. He replies that he’s not, that he’s in the penthouse, and he tells me the security code to the private lift.

He’s waiting when I step out of the elevator, and he sweeps me into a tight hug, burying his face in my hair.

I’m trapped in this life, and I’ll never feel safe unless I’m wrapped in his arms.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Zane

“Will you stay?” I murmur against the soft skin of her neck. She feels good. Solid. Sometimes when I think about her, she seems like a dream, but her smile is tangible and the look in her eyes is real. They shine bright, but there’s a shadow over the happiness, like a cloud passing over the sun.

Something is troubling her.

Maybe getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Maybe something else.

I’m painfully aware I don’t know much about Stella. I know what will make her come, but I don’t know her deepest fears or how many secrets she hides.

I want to know all of it.

“I don’t have clothes to spend the night, but I’ll stay for a little bit,” she says, slipping off her shoes.

I saw her this morning, but it feels like it’s been too long. “Are you hungry?” I ask, holding her hand and leading her into the living room. “Lucille made a pork roast.”

Stella blows out a breath. “Yes, thank God. Zarah and I were at the Lyndhurst. We sampled the main course that will be served at your dinner, but I have to admit, I’m not used to the...portion control.”

---