Page 37 of Set In Stone

“Suzanne Jacobs? Justine’s friend? What makes you thinkthat?”

“It was something she said on the night of the charity ball. I just passed it off as drunk ramblings, but now I don’tknow.”

“Krystina, what did she say?” I demanded a little tooharshly.

“It was nonsense, really. I haven’t even thought about it until now. She kept carrying on about how I didn’t know the real you. She was talking to me like I was just a silly child, but it was the way she said your name.” She hesitated and shook her head. Her vision seemed to cloud as if she were trying to piece somethingtogether.

“What do you mean? What about the way she said it, Krystina?” I fought the urge to shake the answer out ofher.

“She said I was naïve and emphasized your name, like your name was a joke. Then she said that I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. I don’t know, Alex. It could benothing.”

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. Justine was close to Suzanne. There was a good chance that she didknow.

“Fuck!”

“Alex, don’t jump to conclusions. I could be wrong,” she said and put a placating hand on myarm.

“She’s a woman scorned. She’ll talk. To hell with whatever stops Hale pulled out. If Suzanne does know, andThe City Timesfinds this out, that’s all the corroboration they need to publish.” I sat back and pulled her close. “I’m sorry, angel. When I told you my story, I should have told you everything. I just didn’t think my old name held any relevance. But now, with Charlie’s interview, I know how everythinglooks.”

She settled into my arms easily, her warmth comforting the mounting fear I wasfeeling.

“It’s just a name,Alex.”

“I wish it were only that, angel,” I said and began to stroke the top of her hair. She had it styled up, bobby pins restricting her otherwise unruly curls. One by one, I began to pull them out, needing the feel of her soft locks between my fingers. She didn’t protest, but rather assisted my dismantling of her elaborate up-do.

“It is just a name,” she reiterated as she dumped a handful of bobby pins into her clutch. “You are Alexander Stone. While I might be hurt that I didn’t know all of this sooner, I understand why you did what you did. Others willtoo.”

“No, Krystina. You’re not seeing the big picturehere.”

I took her face between my hands. Her now free curls cascaded down over her shoulders. The passing streetlights reflected behind her, casting a halo effect around her head. She was a vision, an angel that would save me from eternaldamnation.

“Tell me, Alex. What am I missingthen?”

“The gun I threw in the river, while I might have been just a child, Charlie’s interview is much more damaging than the actions of a distraught boy. The name change, my demolition of the old projects…those were decisions I made as an adult. I lookguilty.”

“Are youguilty?”

“I don’t know, angel. I ask myself that same question everyday.”

14

krystina

When we arrivedat the penthouse, Alexander immediately went to the living room, grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the wet bar, and poured some into a lowball glass. No ice. Two fingers, not one. He threw back the amber liquid and poured another. I frowned. Alexander always exercised control when he drank. This was way out of thenorm.

He braced his arms on the edges of the wet bar and dropped his head to his chest. His back was to me, but I could tell he was taking a few deepbreaths.

“Alex?” I questionedcautiously.

“What?” he snapped, but didn’t turnaround.

“What’s wrong? You never drink thatfast.”

He picked up the glass that held his second round, stared at it for a moment, before tipping back thecontents.

“Every man has his poison of choice. Today, mine’s whiskey,” he statedbitterly.

Alarmed, I moved toward him slowly, like he was a wild animal that could be spooked at any moment. Slipping my arms around his waist, I moved my hands up to feel the slow and steady rhythm of his heart. We stayed like that for a long moment before he eventually seemed to calm. Turning toward me, he wrapped his arms tightly around my back and cocooned me to hischest.

---