Page 30 of Cruel Hearts

“Is that what Black made you do, too?” Denton asks gently, not moving to touch me.

I drain the dregs of my coffee. I need food, but I don’t know how to ask if I can have something to eat. A meal seems trivial. Rinsing out my cup, I think of what to say. I wish I could trust him, but so far, he hasn’t given me much and nothing concrete.Using a ratty hand towel, I dry the mug and set it next to the coffeemaker.

Expecting the worst, Denton patiently waits for me to answer. On one level, it’s nice to have someone to talk to, who’s open to the idea Ash and Clayton Black are violent assholes up to their necks in bad deals. On another, I don’t know Denton well, if at all, and I’ll need more time to decide if he’s lying to me.

“Stella,” he prompts quietly, “I won’t think poorly of you. We all do what we have to do to survive.”

“He didn’t sell me. The opposite is true, actually. He cut me off from everything and kept me locked in a room alone doctoring a second set of books. He used my accounting degree to his advantage. I know more about Black Enterprise’s illegal activities than I ever wanted.”

Denton’s eyes light up. “Then you have proof they’re dirty.”

“Only up here,” I say, tapping my temple. No use telling him I wasted the hard proof I had turning it over to Zane. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I handed him that flash drive. Well, I do know. I was hoping he loved me enough to listen, but he doesn’t. He never did.

I have to think he destroyed it. I have to plan like it doesn’t exist, because it probably doesn’t.

He sighs and thrums his fingers on the tabletop. “Now what? Black’s after you.”

“Ash or Zane, it doesn’t matter.”

“Why would Zane care you’re back?”

“He hates me. He thinks I ran off to Italy with Sergio Cardello and wants revenge.”

Denton nods. “We need a plan.”

“I want to see Zarah. If she knows I’m okay, there could be a chance she’ll snap out of it. I need to tell her that what happened wasn’t her fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Zane. Henever believed me when I tried to tell him how dirty Ash is. He has too much faith in the Blacks, and that has hurt us all.”

“They won’t let you in to visit her. The last I heard, she was under high-security supervision. The rag mags report she’s violent if she’s not drugged up.”

That doesn’t sound like her. Not the sweet, innocent girl I knew. “What sets her off?”

Lifting a shoulder, he says, “I don’t know.”

I change the subject. I’ll always worry about Zarah, but there’s nothing I can do for her, at least, not right now. I need to see Quinn and then I can think of a plan. “Can you bring me to the hospital?”

“Are you hurt?” He quirks his lips in sympathy. “I’m sorry I tackled you so hard.”

I wave him off. “No, but my friend, Quinn, is. She was shot yesterday and I don’t know if she’s okay.”

“I can drive.”

“Then if you can drop me at the industrial park, I have a few things I need to pick up. Zane’s a lost cause. You know that, don’t you? He’ll never believe the truth about the Blacks.”

Denton shoots off his chair. “What are you saying? You’re giving up?”

“What else should I do? Someone’s after me. They murdered—” I swallow a sob. “I appreciate what you did last night, but you should have just let them kill me.”

“That’s bullshit. Don’t you want revenge? Don’t you want to make the Blacks pay?”

Tears burn my eyes. There’s nothing I want more. But I’m selfish, and the things they’ve made Zane believe about me and hurting Quinn are the crimes that have damaged me most.

Ash twisted Zane so much he killed Maryanne to get back at me. I hate him for that. Let the Blacks destroy the Maddoxes in some bizarre Hatfield and McCoy game.

I don’t care.

My heart broke the minute I found Maryanne with a bullet in her head.

I’m done.

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