Page 59 of Shattered Dreams

“I told you it would pinch.” Blood begins to trickle into the tube. “And you’re wrong. Hedidlove me, but our visions of our future together failed to mesh. That’s why he cheated. We wanted different things. As I said, I’m seeing someone now who appreciates my professional goals. I wanted more and always have. That’s why you’re here, Zarah. You’re going to help me put our studies on the map.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Do you think this started when your brother pulled you out of Quiet Meadows?” She scoffs. “I think not. Ashton Black had foresight. He had innovation and drive. He knew where we wanted to go, and he helped lead us there. He convinced your brother to give him power of attorney and said we could do whatever we liked to you.”

She lowers herself onto the chair in front of me, slides the needle out of my arm, and presses a cotton ball to the small puncture wound. She secures a bandage over it and seals the tube full of my blood. Blood that will tell us if I’m carrying Gage’s baby.

“Ashton Black saw the future. He gave us your mind to help elevate our studies to heights we only dreamed possible. He gave us permission to use you however we needed to.”

She rubs her thumb over my lips, and I fight off a wave of nausea.

“And we did.”

CHAPTER TEN

Gage

Zane’s words echo through my skull.

She trusts that woman.

That was one thing I never understood, one thing Zarah never bothered to explain to me, either. Why she trusts Jerricka Solis so much. Is it because of the time she spent with her? A year and a half is a long time to see anyone twice a week without trusting them. Is it because in some way, Jerrickadidhelp with Zarah’s recovery? Or maybe the drugs Zarah’s been taking all these years have dulled how she perceives people, which does not bode well for our relationship and how she’ll see me once she’s weaned off all her medication.

“Jerricka won’t hurt her,” Zane says, focusing on the road.

We’re on our way to the office. Pop and I stored Dr. Mallory’s watch in our safe, and we need it to confront him. He was there the night someone killed Ingrid Flannigan, maybe even did the deed himself. We’ll have leverage if we show him we have evidence of his involvement, and he better have a rock-solid alibi if he wasn’t there and someone wanted us to think he was.

“Are you saying that for my benefit or for yours?” I ask, trying not to punch the dashboard out of sheer fear and frustration.

“Mine.”

“Good, because I know better than that. I’ve spoken to that witch, and she’s a manipulative bitch. She tried brainwashing Zarah into thinking I would leave her if we didn’t have sex. I have no fucking clue why she would do that, but I told Zarah that wasn’t true and I’m lucky she loves me and believed it. I’ve done nothing but try to give her what she needs when she needs it.”

I fucking hate talking to Zane about my sex life, but Jesus Christ, every time I turn around, someone’s fucking someone they shouldn’t be and it’s causing a whole mess of problems. Women can’t keep their knees together and men can’t keep their peckers in their pants.Fuckin’ eh.

“My sister never had a positive sexual experience until she met you. I’m sure she talked to Jerricka about how that made her feel. Fuck, sex was probably ninety-nine point nine percent of their conversations. Even I warned her before she invited you out to the house that if she wasn’t ready to go down that path to be careful and not get too close to you too fast. We all want it, Davenport, don’t pretend you’re any different.”

“I don’t need it at the expense of her mental health.”

“Yeah, but at some point—and how long would that take, three years, five years?—you’d decide if she’s not mentally healthy enough to be intimate, maybe she’s not mentally healthy enough to be in a relationship at all, and you wouldn’t be wrong. All I know is Zarah loves you, and she’s afraid you’ll get tired of dealing with her.”

“Yeah, well, she doesn’t understand that I feel the same way. I’m not exactly the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. We’re all insecure slobs when we fall in love.”

“You’re not kidding.”

“I want to think Jerricka helped her, if only for Zarah’s sake, but I also think she made Zarah believe untrue things about me, sex, and relationships in general. While I was trying to be what she needed, Jerricka was filling her head with lies, and it’s no wonder Zarah’s so confused. Now that bitch is keeping her at a lake cabin that could be miles in the middle of nowhere, telling her God knows what.”

“We’ll get her out of there.”

“And press charges for kidnapping. She had no business approaching Zarah this morning. I want her license yanked and serving time.”

“Zarah went willingly,” he says, but the pull of his mouth suggests he doesn’t quite believe that.

“Maureen said she heard Jerricka taunt Zarah about me. Jerrickaknewjust where to hit Zarah the hardest. I told her I didn’t want to marry her until all this unraveled. I didn’t want it to look like I was taking advantage of her if we married while she was still on all that medication, and Jerricka smacked her with that, right between the eyes. She twists what Zarah tells her. It’s sick and abusive.”

Zane’s saved from trying to calm me down as he veers off the street and into the lot of the strip mall. The office lights are dark—Pop’s at home. Spring is just a dream, and the sun set hours ago. The streetlights blinked on in retaliation, the dirty parking lot hidden under a thick layer of sparkling snow. The twinkling stars do nothing to ease my fear. Zarah’s alone with Jerricka Solis, and she is not okay.

“I’ll be right back.”

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