Page 56 of Cruel Dreams

She leans against me in the elevator, and when the doors open, excited energy hums to us.

This is what we’ve been working for. This is what the pain we’ve tolerated is for. To pay Ash and Clayton back for all the suffering they’ve caused innumerable people.

I kiss Stella’s knuckles, and my upper lip grazes the rough plaster of her cast. She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

She squeezes my fingers and gently tugs her hand free of my desperate grasp. She walks down the hallway to the room she and Quinn share, and I swallow back an inexplicable fear that after tonight, I’ll never see her again.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Stella

Quinn watches herself apply foundation in the spotless mirror fastened above the vanity in the bathroom of our room. She’s toning it down—not so much black eyeliner—and Mel talked her into painting her nails pink instead of black and trimmed her hair. Because of the regular meals we’ve been eating, she’s put on some weight and her skin glows. She looks better than she did the day I ran to her for help after escaping Ash’s.

I try not to think I’m the reason she’s happier, but I know that’s part of it. While I was gone, she was confused, hurt, and resentful. I don’t blame her and only thank God she so easily welcomed me back into her life, no questions asked.

Zane’s words shook me. Offering to sell Maddox Industries or hiring someone to run it until Zarah’s capable of stepping into her father’s place, if she wants to.

He’s put me in a difficult position.

I could never ask him to give up his family’s legacy for me, but I wouldn’t stop him if that’s what he told me he wanted to do.I’ve made it no secret that the way Zane and Zarah live doesn’t impress me. I admit I’ve only seen the dark side of having that kind of money—the abuse of power, the entitlement, the greed. Zane could show me the positives, but even if he did, I still don’t know if I could live the way I’ll need to live if Zane and I marry and he keeps control of one of the most powerful companies in the world.

Especially after Black Enterprises crumbles. They must be doingsomethings legally to go undetected for so long, but I have my suspicions that won’t be enough to save them, to keep the DA’s office from shuttering their doors, even if Willow was capable of running it in her husband’s stead.

What will the collapse of Black Enterprises do to the economy of King’s Crossing, or to the rest of the United States? Maybe even the world? How many dominoes will fall when we tip this one over?

“Those are some heavy thoughts,” Quinn says, meeting my eyes in the mirror.

I asked Mel if Quinn and I could dress alone. When we spoke downstairs, Zane was trying to tie up loose ends between us, feel out our future. I appreciate him trying to hold a lantern up to the dark times ahead, but no one can predict what will happen after tonight.

“Zane said he’d sell his company for me,” I say, holding a mascara wand up to my face.

“Holy shit,” she whispers. “Are you going to let him?”

I shrug uneasily. “I think he’d grow to resent me later if he did.”

She nods. “You’re right. That company is all he has left of his mom and dad.”

I didn’t think of it that way, and I’m more dejected.

“Anyway,” I say, changing the subject and forcing a lightness into my voice that won’t fool Quinn, but I press forward anyway,“he wanted me to ask you what your plans are, and if you’ve given any thought to what you’ll do once we can go our separate ways.”

Quinn starts applying silver eyeshadow, but her hand trembles. “I don’t know. The past few weeks have turned me upside down. I don’t think I want to go back to New York, at least, not to the counterfeiting stuff I was doing. I took the job because I thought you left, and it was something to keep me from feeling lost.”

“You still like clothes though, right?” My heart sinks. Counterfeiting in King’s Crossing was the only way for her to feed her passion—creating clothes—and the promotion, if you want to call it that, was her way of founding her own fashion house. The only way she ever thought she could. Quinn’s my best friend and has been there for me whenever I’ve needed her. I need to give her something she wants. Something she can build a future on. Something she couldn’t have if Zarah and I hadn’t shared cheesecake and wine so long ago.

“Oh, God, I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving clothes. You should see the dresses I picked out for us. They’re lovely. I hope you don’t mind I did it without asking you first.”

“No, of course not. You have wonderful taste.” I apply a light coat of lipstick to my lips. I need to keep moving or we’ll be late. “Zane told me if you still wanted to go to the Fashion Institute, he’d pay your tuition, or if you want to study in Paris or London. You should do it, Quinn.”

She pales. “I’m...I’m not sure. I would have to think about it. Stella... I...I don’t think I can leave you yet. We weren’t close after high school, I know that, but we always lived under the same stars.” She laughs, but it’s weak. “Christ, that sounded like shit.”

I turn and grip her shoulders. “We were always living under the same stars, Quinn. And we always will be, no matter whathappens tonight. It’s okay. You don’t have to decide now, or next year, or even the year after. I doubt Zane’s offer has an expiration date. Do what makes you feel comfortable.” I hug her, and the weight of my cast is clunky as I try to maneuver around it. I feel terrible offering her something she isn’t ready for. Maybe that’s why what Zane said threw me off, too. I’m just not ready to think beyond tonight. “I’m never going to disappear again. You’ll always have me in your life.”

She hugs me back. “Thanks. I didn’t know how much I needed you, needed to know you were there for me, until you weren’t around.”

Neither of us wants to think about the five years I spent trapped at Black Enterprises, and we fall silent and finish applying our makeup.

Governor Guthrie is hosting the gala at the governor’s mansion. The fall month still holds all the heat of summer, and according to the gossip sites, the party will take place on the patio and spill out onto the immaculately landscaped yard.

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