Page 31 of Cruel Hearts

“We don’t have the resources to do that. The Blacks have local law enforcement in their pockets, and they’re working with the FBI to cover up Kagan’s and Lark’s deaths—”

A satisfied grin stretches across his mouth. “I knew it!”

“Knowing doesn’t help. Even proving it is a lost cause. Zane doesn’t want to believe. He hates me and fired you. We’re the last two people on earth he’d listen to. Especially when we have shit to say about his precious Ashton Black.”

Denton palms his keys, and they jingle between the terseness of our words. “You’re probably right about that, but there’s one person he’ll still listen to.”

“Nigel Wagner?”

“Perhaps, but we need someone a bit closer to home.”

“There’s no one.”

“There’s Zarah.”

“If she’s as bad as you say she is, we’d have a better chance of asking Santa Claus to talk to Zane.”

“I admit, it’s a long shot, but it’s all we got.” He jerks his head. “Come on.”

Denton drives a nondescript beige mid-sized car. Old, greasy bags of fast food fill the back seat, and my stomach rolls with hunger and queasiness.

The temperature dropped, and it’s almost pleasant to be outside. I try to relax and let my guard down around him. We seem to be on the same side, but out of anyone in this fuckingmess I thought I’d be able to trust, Richard Denton would have been the last on the list. Okay, the only person on the list. All right, so I had no list.

Maybe I should keep it that way.

Quiet Meadows is a huge facility located on the south side of King’s Crossing. The grounds are beautiful—flowers and little fountains and ponds create a serene and peaceful atmosphere. When we pull onto the property, through a wrought-iron fence we catch glimpses of patients in the distance enjoying the unexpected mild temperatures aided by their nurses. Some look like they’re doing okay, holding conversations, their faces animated. Others trudge along as if in a fog, attendants walking nearby, prodding them to keep moving.

“Don’t want to know how much this place costs,” Denton mutters, steering into the freshly paved parking lot.

He parks in the rear under a tree, and heat begins to fill the car the second he turns the engine off. He sits for a moment, clenching the keys, tired and sad, a faraway look in his eyes. I often look like that myself, wishing to go back to a time when things were happier. When Zane still loved me.

Zarah and I weren’t the only ones who lost time because of the Blacks, and I touch his arm in commiseration.

He turns his head and meets my gaze. “You don’t trust me, and that’s probably wise on your part. But I want you to know, for what it’s worth, I admire you. For what you did for Zarah.”

“I didn’t do it for Zarah. Well, maybe a little, but I did it for Zane more. I loved him. I would have done anything for him.”

Covering my belly, I close my eyes and relive him screwing me on my bed. He didn’t wear a condom. Not like before when he wanted to protect me. How long do sperm live inside a woman’s body? Do I still carry a piece of him with me?

I miss him. The old Zane. Or maybe there was never an old Zane. Maybe I turned him into a person who doesn’t exist. I’dneeded him, desperately, but he’d never truly been who I needed him to be.

“Still, not just anyone would do what you did. I respect you for that.”

“Thanks.”

We climb out of the car, and I breathe in a lungful of fresh air.

“They aren’t going to let us see her. This place has a massive amount of security, and all their clients have approved guest lists. Walking up to a nurses’ station and asking to see Zarah Maddox, the sister of one of the most powerful men in the country, will be the fastest way to get both of us arrested.”

“Then what should we do?” I ask, nervously glancing around the lot, though nothing seems out of the ordinary. I can’t forget someone is after me. Denton can’t ensure my safety. No one can.

“I thought about that on the drive here. I think we should pose as a father and daughter and inquire about services. If we ask for a tour, maybe we can get a bead on where Zarah’s room is.”

It’s the best we’ve got, but I joke, “We don’t look like we can afford five minutes in this place.”

Denton colors, a red stain climbing up his neck. “Black froze all my assets. I had a small off-shore account he didn’t know about, and I’ve been living off that while searching for proof to nail the son of a bitch.”

“I’m sorry.” That explains his pathetic living situation.

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