Page 99 of Cruel Fate

“Ash, leave her alone!” Zarah screams.

His grip tightens, and his gaze never leaves mine. “No. Go do your fucking job.”

I wrap my hands around his wrist to try to loosen his grip and let me breathe, just a tiny bit. Tears start to drip down my cheeks. I’m no match against his strength.

The light shining from the chandelier above us dims.

This is the way I’ll die.

If Ash can sell Zarah, then he’ll have no qualms about killing me. One well-told lie, and Zane wouldn’t ask any questions.

Zarah, knowing she doesn’t stand a chance against Ash and his power, turns.

He tilts his head, studying me.

Suddenly, he lets me go, and I crumple to the floor, the luxurious carpeting soft under my hands and knees. Painfully, I drag in ragged breaths. My throat burns.

“I’m willing to negotiate.”

“No. Whatever it is, no.” Zarah rushes down the staircase and drops to the floor beside me. “She’s nothing,” she says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as I wheeze.

The spots fade, but a pain slams through my skull and it’s difficult to swallow. Lifting my head, I meet his eyes, and I clench my hands into fists to keep myself from flying at him, from tearing the disgusting smile off his face.

“She’s hardly nothing. I have plenty of clients who would love to play with Trailer Trash Barbie, and pay a good price to do it. I admit, I’ve thought about it once or twice myself.”

The thought of having sex with Ash nauseates me and my stomach churns. I push back the urge to vomit. “Come on, Zarah,” I rasp. “Let’s get out of here.” I stand and tug her to her feet. We don’t have to listen to a second more of what this lunatic has to say. Zane will believe both of us.

Ash lets us shuffle a few feet down the empty corridor. “You don’t get it, do you?”

I stop and look over my shoulder. It was stupid to think he’d let us go, and tucked into the back of the hotel, there’s no one around to help us. Everyone is at the party.

He laughs. “How thefuckdo you think I can force my sweet fiancée to do what I want? How do you think I’ve made her spread her legs? What did the last job do to you, sweetheart? You couldn’t walk for two days.”

I cover my mouth and moan her name between my fingers. “Zarah.”

Ash ambles to us, casually straightening his bow tie. “How do you think I can make Zarah do that? Any ideas, Stella?”

I scramble to process what he said. Why would Zarah allow herself to be abused? Because she loves her brother more than anything. He’s her only family. “To protect Zane.”

Zarah grabs my hand and squeezes my fingers.

“That’s a partial answer, and you guessed it quicker than I thought you would. Gold star. There are some wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours after all. Let me fill in the blanks. I have something on Kagan and Lark that would destroy Maddox Industries and leave Zane nothing but broken. Humiliated. He’d be a pariah, driven out of the city with nowhere to go. All Zarah has to do is obey my every command, and I’ll keep the information buried.”

“Is it true?” I ask Zarah. Her mascara is streaking down her cheeks, and vaguely, I think she looks like a hot mess in a horror movie, running from an evil that can never be stopped.

“Yes,” she whispers. “I did it to save Zane. His reputation.”

I don’t believe him. “What is it?”

“You are in no position to demand explanations. But, to take, one must give. Do you know why Kagan and Lark were killed?”

My mouth dries. This goes back to Kagan and Lark’s plane crash?

I shake my head.

“He was caught betraying the United States of America. Selling arms on the black market to guerrilla war leaders. The wrong person found out, or the right one, it seems. Homeland Security took the plane down. That’s why the FBI didn’t find anything during their investigation.”

My heart beats painfully beneath my ribs. Quinn was right all along. Kagan Maddox was involved in some very nasty things and was killed for it. Lark, collateral damage.

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