Page 67 of Shattered Dreams

It feels like we’ve been in the air for only a few minutes when the pilot announces we’re circling over the Bellwood airport and we should fasten our seatbelts. I do, relieved. I need something else to think about.

The landing is as smooth as you’d expect it to be in a tiny plane like this, and Stella and Zane don’t emerge until we roll to a stop. He looks a little worse for wear, like a kid who bit off more than he could chew insisting he was up to an adult rollercoaster ride. But he did it, even if there is a waxy sheen to his skin and a haunted look in his eyes.

Standing behind him, Stella shakes her head at me, and taking the hint, I don’t congratulate him on surviving the flight or ask for a high-five that would earn me a punch in the face. I only thank Stella for the dog food, and wrapping her arms around Zane’s waist, she says, “You’re welcome. I’m glad you found it. I forgot to mention it.”

A heavily-layered ground technician wearing a chartreuse and neon orange vest opens the plane’s door and positions the staircase. I shrug into my jacket. It’s colder than hell out there, and it doesn’t help it’s close to nine o’clock.

Stella stands near the door, shivering without her coat.

“Aren’t you coming?” I ask.

“No. I wanted to be here for Zane during the flight. You two can talk to Ash without me. I’d prefer never to see that son of abitch again. If you want, I can keep Baby here. I doubt the facility will let her inside.”

My respect for her doubles. I didn’t know it could, I already admire her so much. “Thanks.”

A driver pulls up to the plane in a sleek black Jeep, and slowly, I’m getting used to all these things appearing just when I need them. I rub Baby’s neck to say goodbye and trot down the staircase, the evening wind whipping against my face. To get out of the cold, I climb into the passenger side of the Jeep and crank the heat.

Zane stands on the jet’s staircase, kissing Stella like he’s never going to see her again.

The pilot edges around them and tips his hat, but either they don’t see it or don’t care. He tips his hat at me. I nod my thanks through the windshield, and he scurries inside the airport.

Zane finally leans away, and Stella and Baby disappear inside the plane. Once he’s hurrying across the tarmac, the technician closes the door, sealing them in against the cold.

In a burst of freezing air, Zane climbs in behind the wheel. The cold wind, or maybe Stella’s kisses, gave his cheeks a hint of color, and he looks a lot healthier than he did before our flight.

“Feeling better?”

“It’s hard to feel bad when a woman’s got her lips wrapped around your cock.”

“You’ve got a keeper. She thinks of everyone but herself.”

“That’s Stella.”

“You okay now?”

“Clayton killed my parents and I’ll never be okay with that part of it, but they’ve been gone seven years. It’s past time I get this under control. Let’s go.”

He searches the destination list on his cell’s maps app, and the penitentiary pops up. It’s a ten minute drive, and we set out,the headlights catching big puffballs of snow drifting from the sky.

“Do you know what you want to ask him?”

“All I care about is where my sister is. That slimebag knows, but I doubt he’ll tell us. Why would he? He’ll laugh at us, maybe jab at me because I was desperate enough to get on a plane. If we can convince him to tell us anything, I’ll consider us lucky.”

I don’t want to say I was thinking the same thing. Ashton Black won’t gain a damned thing talking to us, but if we can be as manipulative as he is, we might be able to sneak an idea or two past him and at least gauge his reaction. The trick is to hold on to my temper and not let him get the best of me. He can’t answer questions if he’s laughing hysterically at my lack of self-control...or through loose teeth and bloodied lips.

The facility doesn’t look at all how I expected. I romanticized it in my head, giving it a grey and gloomy appearance, miles of barbed-wire fence, and turrets that would house guards and their rifles while the inmates have their playtime outdoors. But there isn’t any of that. It looks like every modern government building I’ve ever had business at, though it’s huge, sitting on a piece of land that rivals the acreage of Quiet Meadows.

Mounted to the walls, security lights shine, and we park in visitor parking near the main doors. Staff parking must be located behind the building—we’re the only car in the lot.

“Think they’ll let us see him?”

Zane kills the engine, and with it, the headlights and heat. “I hope so. I didn’t go through all that for nothing.”

“All what? A blowjob?”

Scowling, he says, “Funny guy.” He opens his door letting in a gust of cold that cuts through what little warmth was left inside the truck.

“Wait. Leave your shit here. They’ll confiscate it if you don’t. All you need is your ID.” From the deep pockets of my jacket, I dig out my wallet, cell phone, and keyring.

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