Page 105 of Hearts of Stone

“So do you have any details about this…” The male officer consulted his notes. “…Mr Big? A name, anything?”

“Daniel was always really secretive about him,” I said, and my lips twisted in a mirthless smile. “The first red flag, right?” The officers just watched me impassively. “I know he was rich. He turned Daniel’s head by taking him out to glamorous clubs and restaurants.”

“Did he say which clubs? Which restaurants?” they pressed.

I listed the ones that I could bring to mind, kicking myself for not remembering more. I’d shrunk back from discussing Big, because the vibe felt so off, and Daniel wouldn’t hear any even tentative criticisms of him. He got bored easily, being unlikely todate someone more than once or twice, that anyone who caught his attention was precious indeed.

“So you’re saying this relationship was always abusive?” the cop asked.

“Not initially, as far as I know. Daniel’s pretty into kink—”

“BDSM, that kind of lifestyle?” the officer said, flipping through his notes. “Is that what happened here? A scene that went wrong?”

“A ‘scene’, officer, does not entail beating someone to within an inch of their life.” You could almost hear the air quotes as Mellors spoke, his tone vicious. “It should be safe, sane and consensual.” He enunciated each word perfectly. “Even if Daniel could’ve consented to such a thing, it was neither safe nor sane.”

“Something you have knowledge of, mate?” the cop asked, with a cocked eyebrow.

“James Mellors, King’s Counsel,” he replied, offering his hand. The officer just eyed it before turning back to me.

“Any reason why you’ve got your lawyer here with you today?”

“I—”

“Jade will answer that if the question can be shown to be directly related to the case,” Mellors informed him.

“Right.”

The rest of the interview went by in a tense environment, with both officers keeping their eyes on Mellors as much as me, but they asked all of their questions until I felt empty and hollow.

Then they turned their attention to Harry, and hearing his side of things filled me right back up again, with fear and anger. And guilt; so much guilt. If I’d just— I didn’t get to finish that thought, because a nurse walked into the waiting room to inform me I could see Daniel.

When we reachedthe Intensive Care Unit, we were told we couldn’t go in, but we could sit outside his room and see him through the glass window, so as to reduce the risk of infection. I thought fervently that I never wanted to see a loved one like that again: motionless on a bed, with tubes all over him, shoved up his nose, in his mouth. Monitors recorded his heart rate, blood pressure and respiration with clinical precision. I looked past them to Daniel.

“Poor little bugger…”

Harry rasped that out, leaning his hands on the glass separating Daniel from us. On impulse, I covered one of his with mine. Our fingers linked together and Harry gripped tight as we both watched, sitting vigil, waiting for those brown eyes to flick open and wink, making clear that this was all a big joke.

But he didn’t move.

We sat there for god knows how long, time having lost its meaning. I saw the sun rise outside the window and knew the gargoyles would now be sleeping, while I sat here…

“I’m going to get coffee,” I said, standing up abruptly.

“I’ll go. You stay,” Mellors offered.

“No. I need to…”

I didn’t bother to explain, striding down the hall and out of the ward, then beyond that, down one endless white corridor, then the next. My heart was beating too fast, the ache in my bones reminding me of what I had been through, but I didn’t want to think about any of that. It was easier to pretend. Pretend that Daniel was fine; that I was just here to visit a friend having a baby, something joyous. That my whole world wasn’t imploding. But when I finally found the hospital cafe, I realised my mistake.

I’d forgotten I wasn’t wearing my own clothes. As they’d wheeled Daniel away, a nurse had taken pity on me as I stood there in my bathrobe and nothing else. She’d ushered me out of the room and given me the scrubs. Walking into the cafe, Ifelt off-kilter, my nerves ragged, and the bright lights and the sight of people chatting over coffee just felt wrong. Then I patted my pockets and realised I hadn’t brought my phone with me. Tears filled my eyes, then I berated myself: I was being pathetic. Daniel was breathing with a goddamn tube and here I was, having a sook because I couldn’t buy a coffee. But it appeared that the universe wasn’t done with punishing me, because as I turned around, I heard someone call my name.

“Jade?”

Adam stood there, not in a suit but well-fitting jeans and a t-shirt that somehow made him look a million times more approachable. His long hair was tied back in a loose man bun and a look of concern was on his face.

Fuck…

“Jade, are you OK?”

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