Page 38 of Cruel Hearts

In silence, we drive to the hospital. I hope to God Quinn made it through the night. Denton lets me out in front of the main entrance and says he’ll wait in visitor parking. I won’t be surprised if he’s gone when I come out. I don’t know where I’ll go or what I’ll do, but we can do about as much together as we can separately, which is to say, nothing.

This time I’m smart and leave Quinn’s gun in the car, storing it in the glove box. Denton lifts his eyebrows in surprise, but I only shrug and say, “It’s Quinn’s.” I was lucky Quiet Meadows didn’t have a metal detector, but I know the hospital will.

The woman working at the registration desk gives me directions to Quinn’s room, and in the elevator, I let tears ofrelief fall. I’d been prepared for her to tell me Quinn passed away.

I dry my cheeks before stepping into her room. She’s lying in a reclined position, her arm braced in a sling, staring out the sixth-floor window. She sees me and starts crying.

She’s not only alive, but better than I ever expected she’d be, and tears stream down my face again. I need to be close to her, and I crawl around the rail and onto the bed. I’m careful of the IV when I hug her, and we sob together for several minutes.

Her frame feels fragile against my body, and I cling to her. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I whisper into the soft skin of her neck.

“It wasn’t near my heart, Stell,” she says, her breath fanning across my face. “It was a clean shot through my shoulder. I’ll be able to get out of here soon.” She rests her lips on mine, and I let her kiss me. I know her well enough to understand the kiss isn’t sexual. She’s telling me she loves me as a friend, and that she’s glad I’m okay, too.

I snuggle into her, and she does the same. There’s not one part of our bodies that isn’t touching. Now that Zane turned on me and Maryanne is gone, she’s all I have in the world.

“Maryanne’s dead,” I whisper, and Quinn tightens her grip on me. “I found her yesterday. Someone shot her.”

“Jesus Christ. Was it Ash?”

I shake my head, my hair rustling against her pillow. “Zane. I saw the pictures. The ones you thought were me with Sergio Cardello. He believed it, too. He wanted revenge, and he knows exactly how to hurt me.”

I start crying again. I can’t get the picture of Maryanne slumped in her chair out of my mind.

“They’re looking into me,” Quinn says, her fingers brushing at the tears on my cheeks. “But my records are clean. I’m lucky you took my stuff. Do you have my phone?”

I nod, and reluctantly, I slide off the bed. I don’t want to be away from her. I dig her phone out of my purse, now down to seven percent charge. Using one hand, she places two quick phone calls—one to her boss in New York who somehow already knew she’d been shot and was waiting to hear how she was doing and the other to Luis. She tells him to expect me and to give me a place to hide for however long I need it.

She disconnects and passes me the cell. “My charger is at the shop. Charge my phone, and I’ll call you when they release me.”

“Quinn, no.” I shake my head. “I have to get out of here.”

Her eyes fill with tears. “Pick a place, any place, and I’ll meet you there the second I feel good enough to travel. I need you, Stella.”

I drag a chair close to her bed and link our fingers. “I need you, too. But I’m always going to be on the run, you know that, right? Ash will never let me live in peace.”

“Thendosomething about it,” she says, her rough and tough personality surfacing despite the pain she must be in. I wish I possessed even a quarter of her strength, but I’m so tired.

“I can’t. I saw Zane and gave him the flash drive, and I haven’t heard anything since. He hasn’t looked at what’s on it or he didn’t believe it, but either way, it was my last chance. I have to think about myself now.”

A nurse wearing pink scrubs and grey tennis shoes walks into the room and she shoos me away. “You’ve been visiting long enough. She needs rest.”

“I’ll...” I fade off. I was going to say I’ll come back, but I don’t want to put Quinn in any more danger than I already have.

The nurse is determined to check her vitals, standing staunchly by the foot of her bed, and our privacy is gone.

Quinn knows what I’m trying to say. “It’s okay, Stella. Go back to the shop and tell Luis where his car is. I’ll call him whenI’m discharged and he’ll pick me up. If you can hang around that long...”

I don’t know if I can. I shouldn’t. I should leave King’s Crossing the minute I step foot outside the hospital, but I have too much unfinished business. “I will. I promise.”

The nurse watches me kiss Quinn’s cheek.

“Bye,” I whisper.

She smiles sadly and lifts her hand in goodbye.

I don’t want to start crying again and staring at the white-tiled floor, quickly leave her room.

Denton’s waiting in the parking lot, leaning against his car, his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants. He looks casual from here, and he almost pulls it off except for the rigid line of his shoulders.

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