Page 43 of Cruel Dreams

Behind me, Spike yells, “Fuck!” and I know Quinn paid him back for hurting her, but then there’s a slap and she cries out again.

Tears flood my eyes. I’ve put her through so much, and I have no doubt Ash is going to kill us. We baited him for too long, and he’s ready to take me out, personally and permanently. Not only to get rid of me, but he wants Zane to suffer. He really does know Zane.

Nathalie follows us down the corridor, her heels clicking on the tile. I wonder how Ash will reward her. A cut of Black Enterprises? Her own strip club? A coveted place in his prostitution service? She loved the role she played as a high-class escort and hated Zane for taking it away from her.

The bouncer yanks my arms behind my back, turns sideways, and using his shoulder, pushes the back door of the club open. We step into a paved lot where the cars that belong to the staff are parked between bright white lines that glitter in the bluish security lights.

Near a clean, green dumpster, a black industrial van idles, the windows tinted so dark I can’t see inside, and two men dressed in black tactical gear jump out of the backseat.

“We’re going to the docks,” Ash barks. “My shipment is finally complete and ready to go.”

The bouncer shoves me into the back of the cargo van, and the rough carpeting scratches my cheek. Spike pushes Quinn in next to me and slams the doors shut. Scanning the inside through the dark, I sit up, bracing myself against the wall. We’re the only ones in here.

The van lurches over a pothole or the curb, and my head hits the side.

Quinn scoots next to me and wraps her arms around me. “I never trusted that bitch.”

I try to laugh, but it squeaks out as a whimper instead.Itrusted Nathalie, and so did Zane. He’s going to hate himself for that. He already hated he had to spend time with her instead of me. He’ll be furious when he learns she was using him for information and it was all a waste.

“What’s going to happen to us?” I ask.

“I don’t know, sweetie. There’s no way to let Mel or Zane know what’s going on, either. We’re fucked.”

I wanted her to reassure me, not confirm my worst fears, and my throat constricts. Now isn’t the time to lose control, but I’m so tired of this goddamned mess.

“What do you think he meant by his shipment’s ready?”

“Could be anything, Stell. Guns, drugs.”

That definitely sounds like Ash.

We’re on the road for what seems like a long time, and the only clue we arrive is the long, low song of a foghorn. The scent of dirty water and dead fish permeates the air, and my stomach twists.

I never gave Zane a proper goodbye. I was too worried about smearing my lipstick. I should have attacked him, showed him how much I love him. Now I’ll never get the chance.

At least I can die knowing we saved Zarah. I hope her doctor will successfully wean her off the drugs and she can live a normal life. Maybe with Max. I’m glad that even though Richard Denton isn’t going to work at Maddox Industries again, he and Zane repaired their relationship. Denton could be a fatherly presence in Zane’s life. He’s going to need people around him to get through this. It breaks my heart to think he’ll go off the deep end like he did when he thought I betrayed him.

My death will be much harder on him.

The van rumbles to a stop, and Quinn squeezes my hand.

“Don’t do anything dumb,” I beg her. “Don’t be stupid and think you’re going to die for me or some crazy shit.”

“You give me too much credit,” she says, resting her forehead against my temple, “but if you go, I go, too.”

I pull away and grab her chin, my gaze boring into hers through the dark. “No. You need to be there for Zane. If Ash kills me, you have to try your fucking hardest to get away. Promise me. You saw how he was when he thought Paulo shot me. Take care of him,please.”

She sighs, but she’s not given time to answer me. The back doors fling open and a bright light shines in our faces.

“Them, too?” a gruff voice asks.

“Didn’t I say so?” Ash says, stepping into view. “I want them gone.”

“All right, all right. You get more for lookers like this—”

“I know what they go for, idiot. I don’t have time to negotiate. I just want them out of my face, permanently this time.”

“Where they’re going, no one’s gonna see them, ever again.”

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