Page 65 of Cruel Hearts

I need him to agree, but he does, and it adds another crack to my heart.

“Where did he hide you? How did you escape?”

“Black Enterprises. That building is full of secret hallways and hidden rooms. It took a lot of planning. Meticulous planning. Memorizing schedules, the layout of the building. That wasn’t easy—the place is like a maze. Ash planned to go out of the country and I knew it was time to try. He very rarely leaves King’s Crossing. I almost didn’t make it. Willow saw me, but she turned the other way and let me go. She knows the monster she married...she knows the evil man her son grew up to be.”

I draw in a deep breath. It feels good to push all this off my shoulders, but Zane says nothing, stands still as stone. I can’t tell if he believes me or not.

“How many times?” he whispers.

My lips part in confusion. “How many times what?”

“How many times did he put his hands on you?”

“He hit me once in a while, but I’m a fast learner. I’ve had to be.”

Zane flinches, but his sympathy doesn’t help me now. The slaps and the split lips Ash gave me are distant memories.

“Did he do anything else to you? Let anyone else do anything to you?”

“No. I told you that morning in my apartment that since we met in your kitchen I haven’t been touched by anyone but you.” I’ll never forget the evening in the garden at the Lyndhurst...no matter how much I want to.

“Then I apologize again. I took you thinking you and Cardello had been together the whole time. Fucking him. Giving him babies. The pictures online—”

“I’ve seen the pictures. Richard Denton showed them to me. They look real but the woman posing as me doesn’t have my tattoo.”

Zane pours himself a drink at the bar, downs it, and pours another. I envy him the freedom to let his guard down. If I got drunk, I could get sloppy and end up dead.

“Denton’s been helping you,” he says.

“He wants to know why your father and mother were killed. He believes Clayton Black had something to do with it.”

Zane leans against his massive desk. “Come here.”

“No.” I don’t trust him. He could want to punish me for what I said. Or the complete opposite. We’re not a couple, and I don’t want him kissing me.

“Stella, if we’re going up against the Blacks, we need to be able to tolerate each other. We have to trust each other. I know you have my back—”

I open my mouth to protest.

“—if only for Zarah’s sake. I was wrong. I believed what Ash told me. I believed in his friendship more than I believed in our love. You paid for that, and I’m not going to stand here and tell you how miserable I’ve been since you left. That would be insulting to you, and to my sister who, up until yesterday, still lived under Ash’s control. My blind faith in his friendship hurt the two people I loved most in this world, and if Denton believes Clayton had something to do with that plane crash, then I believe it, too. Please, Stella, come here.”

My feet move of their own volition, and I step between his legs and let him wrap his arms around me. Cautiously, I rest my head against his chest.

In his embrace, I hunger. For human touch, for human connection. Maybe that’s why Denton and Quinn are always touching me...they see me as a thirsty flower, and they try to water me with touch. I’ve been so alone, but I don’t go so far as to hug him back. I don’t know what he thinks is going to happen between us, but I want no part in it.

I’ve realized my place, and it’s not by his side.

My arms hang awkwardly, my fingertips brushing the skirt of my dress.

He doesn’t release me.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, his lips brushing the top of my head. “For Zarah. She wasn’t treated well at Quiet Meadows, and Ash has been drugging her to keep her quiet. We were both there yesterday after the bomb scare you orchestrated to get in to see her, and he threatened her. He didn’t think I saw it, but I did. I wouldn’t have suspected anything if you hadn’t broken into her room, so, thank you. For opening my eyes.”

I want to say I did it only for Zarah, deny I did anything for him, but it’s a lie anyway. I loved him with all my heart. Even if Ash would have driven me to my execution, I still would have gone to protect him.

I jerk out of his arms. He feels too good, smells too good, and I need to keep my distance. “Just remember, your unwavering faith in Ash did this. Zarah didn’t tell you he was selling her because she knew you wouldn’t believe her. I tried to tell you he didn’t like me, that he intentionally scared me, but you wouldn’t listen. If you want Clayton and Ash behind bars, you’re going to have to push childhood loyalties aside for the people in your life now. You’re going to have to choose sides, Zane.”

His hands grip the edges of his desk until his knuckles turn white. He hates what I’ve said, almost as much as he hates that I pulled away.

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