Page 74 of Cruel Hearts

“What’s that?” I ask.

“If we start at the bottom rung, that gives them time to cover up the big-time stuff.”

I think about that. So far, I’ve managed to keep Ash from finding out I know about his escort service. He might be suspicious after our talk this morning, but Ash is Ash.

Cocky and confident to a fault.

“Not necessarily. The Blacks have been doing this for years and because they have clients who have power like the mayor, they’ll think they’ll never get caught. They might be a little more on guard now that they know Stella’s out there and maybe they don’t know exactly what she knows, but theydoknow she has no one to tell. It’s not like she can waltz into the KCPD and claim Ash abducted her and kept her a slave for five years. Who the fuck would believe that? Especially since the Blacks planted those pictures online of her and Sergio Cardello and paid him off not to deny their authenticity. I don’t know how many cops are dirty in the police department, but the chances of Stella finding someone to seriously listen to her are slim.”

“What are you getting at?” Max is intrigued, his nose for news twitching.

“I’m saying we hit them everywhere. There are enough of us to come at them from all sides.”

“Who’s working with us? How can we trust them not to turn rat?”

“There’s me, you, Denton. Stella. Nathalie. Stella’s friend, Quinn, the woman who was shot outside my building. My sister. Ash was selling her, and once she’s clear of all the drugs he was giving her to keep her quiet while she was locked away, she’ll be a key witness. I hired a private investigator. She flew in from LA this morning, and I trust her.”

“Who’s Nathalie?” Max asks.

“She’s one of the girls working in Ash’s prostitution service. Mayor Huxley’s one of her johns,” I explain.

“And the woman Zane’s engaged to,” Stella says.

“We aren’t engaged,” I say impatiently.

She scoffs. “That’s not what I heard.”

I speak to Max—Stella’s too bitter to listen to the truth. Not that I blame her, but it’s going to get old, fast. I need her on my side. We all need to be able to trust each other.

“I told Ash I wanted to marry her and he cut her loose. I’ve been seeing her for a while, and I know she can help us. She’s worked for him for the past seven years, and she has connections at Ladies and Gentlemen. She knows how the club works, how the service works. Who some of the other clients are, not just hers.”

Max thrums his fingers on his laptop. “Have you been paying Ash? Are you going down when his client list is exposed? When lists like that come out, careers are destroyed. Reputations are ruined.”

“I’ve never paid.”

“Are you connected to him in any other way? Illegally, I mean.”

“Not that I’m aware of. We’ve only been friends.”

Max nods. “Okay, good.”

“Is there anyone else who can help us that we can trust?” I ask.

“I have a friend at Quantico. She’s clean, and she’s the one who told me about the black box. It’s how I knew to find Richard and Stella. But you’ve been playing with the big dogs. I can’t ask my friend to put herself in danger until we have something concrete.”

“I agree. My contact at the FBI has been lying to me. He’s known all along my parents were murdered. Proving it will be another matter.”

“What do we do next?”

“We meet someplace more secure.” I pause. “And I think we need to fake Stella’s death.”

The cat’s purring is the only sound in the entire apartment. Denton and Max stare at me. Stella looks at the floor.

I hadn’t planned on something like that, but it makes perfect sense. “Ash is trying to kill her, and she can’t be seen in public. She can’t help us and watch her back at the same time.”

“How in the hell do we do that?” Max asks.

“There has to be a way. For five years the Blacks led everyone in the world to believe Sergio Cardello and Stella were lovers. He’s Italian royalty, for Christ’s sake. If they can do that, we can kill her. She’s an orphan, no family. She’ll be a blip in the news. She’s already been a target—pushed onto the train tracks, the shooting outside my building, the river. All we have to do is follow through.”

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