Page 32 of Vicious Hearts

Ben narrows his eyes. “Iamcoming with you, Rox. Let them see you’re not alone. I won’t let anyone push you around.”

* * *

It’s too early for Ali to be at work. I knew it would be the case, but I wish she were here for me to talk to before I face the inquisition.

Oliver is fussing around behind his desk, trying to cram files into an already overstuffed drawer.

“I’m sorry about all this,” he says. “I have a protocol to follow, I’m afraid. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He looks up at Ben and smiles uneasily. “And who is this gentleman friend of yours? Have we met before? My memory is atrocious.”

“We haven’t met, no.” Ben stands up and the two men exchange a handshake. “Benedikt Voratov. It’s good to meet you, Mr. Buckley. Roxy has told me all about you.”

No, I haven’t. What’s he doing?

“There’s not much to tell,” Oliver shrugs, accidentally knocking over a stack of pamphlets. “This office is too damn small—I’m always looking for new premises. I desperately need space to keep thingssafe. I just try to keep the place running smoothly and keep Her Majesty happy.” He scuttles into the back office, closing the door behind him.

“What’s he talking about?” Ben asks.

“He deals with every referral personally,” I reply. “Makes notes and starts a new file for each of them, then has nowhere to put them. That’s why it’s mayhem.”

“No,” Ben says. “I mean Her Majesty.”

“Oh, Isee. He’s referring to Moira Coffey. Remember her? The senator’s wife. She’s our most prominent trustee and really put the organization on the map. She’ll be in my corner today.”

“Ah, I remember now.” Ben frowns. “Does she know the Bratva brought all that heat down on her husband?”

“Shhh!” I lower my voice. “No. She and her little son Eddie were kidnapped and released. That’s all she knows. Her husband had a lot of enemies, and no one cared to try very hard to work out what had happened to him, so she let it be—she was trying to distance herself from the whole affair, it’s understandable. Ali got a clean slate, so our Bratva connections are unknown too. If you keep from shouting about them, maybe they’ll stay that way.”

The door buzzer sounds, and Moira sweeps in, dusting hailstones out of her hair. She’s statuesque and chic as always in a Chanel winter suit, her heavy overcoat sweeping the floor.

“It’s foul out there, just foul,” she says. “Good morning, sweetie. Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

She ignores Ben and opens the meeting room door. I look inside to see the other trustees are already waiting for me. Ben takes a step toward me, but Moira shakes her head.

“I’ll look after her, I promise.”

Ben glances at me, but I shake my head. I turn away and head into the meeting room, Moira at my heels.

10

Roxy

“Ican’t get into details, but you’ve been called out for poor judgment.”

Oliver is looking at the form before him instead of at me. This isn’t his natural habitat—he’d rather supervise a lemonade stand or lead a fun run. But he’s the manager here, and he has to do this.

Moira sits beside Oliver, her face stony. At his other side, Hillard taps his badge on the table at his other side as though to remind everyone he’s the law. Here, he’s just another trustee, but he doesn’t seem to realize that.

“What poor judgment?” I ask.

Oliver opens his mouth, but it’s Hillard who speaks. “You encouraged a mentally unwell man—a man who confessed to a series of hideous murders—to believe he is innocent and should appeal his sentence. That’s misguided and dangerous, Roxanne. I tried to warn and guide you, but you wouldn’t be dissuaded.”

I fix him with a stare. “Do youknowFarraday, Detective Hillard?”

Hillard shrugs. “I know enough. I sat with him for hours in those interviews, and I’ll never be the same.”

“As you said, he’s unwell.” I sit up straight in my chair, trying to project confidence. “And that was—”

The door opens behind me, and for a minute, I think it’s Ben. The latecomer takes a seat beside Hillard.

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