Page 107 of Cruel Hearts

I rest a hand on the back of her neck. “Shh, it’s okay, Z.” I pause. “They paid Ash to sleep with you.”

“They hit.”

My mouth goes dry. What she says shouldn’t surprise me, but I can’t wrap my mind around a man hitting a woman. Even at my worst, I never hit Nathalie. “Do you know why they hit you?”

“Because our dad cost them lots of business deals.”

Jed Miller, the one who wears the wedding band, has always tried to one-up Maddox Industries. After my father passed away, I didn’t have any contact with him, but there were rumors Nigel and I stepped on his toes quite a few times when he helped me pull the company out of the abyss I let it fall into.

I didn’t realize Clayton and Ash had started courting him. I wonder if he’s still one of Ash’s clients and if his wife knows. It will be my pleasure to see to it that she finds out.

Zarah leans into me, and I wrap my arms around her. She lets herself relax, and we sit like this until my ass turns numb.I wiggle, trying to find some relief, and she feels my discomfort. She stands and rolls her lounging pants to her feet.

“Do you want to go back downstairs?” I ask.

“No. Can we stay for a little longer? I like how I feel up here.”

“As long as you want.”

I sit in a cushioned patio chair while she explores the rooftop. There is so much that needs to be done, and I have no idea where to start. I feel like a little kid waiting for an adult to tell me what to do, except, I’m the adult and the one in charge.

I can direct a multi-million dollar merger, I can negotiate business deals with some of the richest, most powerful men in the world, but the idea of bringing my childhood friend to his knees terrifies me. So much is riding on doing this correctly, covering all our bases so that Ash and his father pay for every single crime they’ve ever committed.

Zarah basks in the sun, exploring the plants and the wet bar, feeling how warm the water is bubbling in the hot tub. She looks so much like our mother did, and she’s the age our mother was when she had me. Years of my sister’s life have been stolen and she’ll never get them back. Would she be married now? Would she have children?

She peers into a fridge that’s behind the bar, pulls out a bottle of water, and sits on a stool to drink it.

I stand to sit next to her, but my cell rings.

Ash’s name flashes at me.

I want like hell to let it go to voicemail, but I can’t. We all have parts to play. Stella needs to play dead, and I need to pretend Ash and I are still good friends.

“Ash,” I say, accepting the call.

“Zane. I heard the news about Stella. That footage is fucked up. You almost got shot. Why didn’t you call me?”

I never once thought about my own life on the sidewalk last night. It had been all about Stella.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s been crazy around here. Fucking mugger. I should have given him my wallet like he wanted.”

Ash scoffs. “Why? So he could use the cash to buy drugs?”

“Well, Stella would still be alive.”

“Who gives a shit? Good riddance as far as I’m concerned. She would have been a leech for the rest of your life.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” I grit my teeth. How like him to assume people who haven’t been able to do well for themselves only want to use you, when all along he’s been the user.

“I know I’m right, and so did you. You looked like you were going to slap the shit out of her. I would have liked to have seen that.” He laughs. “I never liked that bitch.”

Zarah’s still sitting at the bar, and she watches me. I’m close enough she knows who I’m talking to, and the color seeps out of her cheeks. This charade could hurt her, and going forward, she’ll need to know for certain where my loyalties lie.

“Are you going to give her a funeral?”

I choose my words carefully. Too callous and he won’t believe me, but I can’t be too sentimental because I’m supposed to be in love with Nathalie.

“Her body is part of an investigation. They won’t release it. When they do, I’ll look into giving her a proper burial. She doesn’t have anyone to do that for her.”

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