Page 66 of Shattered Dreams

“Gage. What did Mallory have to say?”

“We were able to pull a few bits and pieces out of him. He said he was never at that warehouse and has an alibi to prove it. He did say someone murdered those girls to cover their tracks. There was a lot of experimenting going on at Quiet Meadows, some kind of dementia drug, and Zarah was a test subject. Jerricka has her now. She was supposed to fly to LA this morning, but Jerricka intercepted her at the airport and drove her to a lake cabin we can’t find. We’re flying to Bellwood tonight, see if we can pry some information out of Black.”

“Okay. Stella asked me to check on Lucille, and I’m driving out there now. I don’t want her hurt in the middle of all this mess.”

There’s something in his tone I haven’t heard before. “Pop? You and Lucille?”

“We might have kept in touch after we went out there for dinner,” he mutters.

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“We’re only friends. I don’t need to tell you every time I make a friend.”

“No, but it would be nice if you clued me in if you fall in love with one.”

Pop pauses. “It’s not...love. It’s more of a shared penchant for old movies and coffee.”

“Ah-huh. Just keep your head in the game. You’ve accused me of being blinded by love, and it’s almost gotten me killed.”

“Ten-four.”

He disconnects, and I join Stella and Zane near the staircase. He’s not too eager to board, I can tell that by a split-second look at his face. “Pop and Lucille?” I ask to lighten the mood.

Stella perks up. “Yeah? I didn’t see that coming.”

“Me either.”

“Mr. Maddox, if you’re ready, we’re cleared for takeoff,” the pilot says, shivering slightly in the wind.

“Right.”

Stella stands on the first step, and she’s equal height to me and Zane. She whispers into his ear and reaches for his hand. Over his shoulder she says to me, “It’s a forty minute flight. Will you be okay by yourself? We don’t want to be poor hosts.”

“Do what you gotta do.”

She smiles at me. “Thanks.”

If she’s planning on fucking him through his forty minutes of hell, I can’t say I blame her. This flight will go a lot more smoothly if she can ease his stress and anxiety. I won’t judge how she does it.

They disappear into a room at the rear of the plane leaving me and Baby alone. There isn’t a flight attendant, and the pilot pokes his head into the seating area. “If you can buckle up for takeoff, I’ll let you know when you can move about the cabin.”

“No problem.”

I settle into a leather chair the size of one of Pop’s recliners and don’t stop Baby from jumping into the one next to mine. They face another pair of seats, and a large table sits betweenus. I fasten my belt and look out the window. I’m trying hard not to think about Zarah, but it’s difficult not to fixate on why she let Jerricka bully her into leaving with her. I’m disappointed she still has so many doubts about me and my love she’d let Jerricka try to “fix” her. Wasn’t I clear enough that I love her just the way she is? Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned my choice not to marry her if she never recovers properly. I was trying to be chivalrous, trying to prove I wouldn’t use her for the money, but maybe all I did was tell her she wasn’t worth marrying if she was still mentally fragile. A real therapist could have talked us through that, but after all this, I’ll never spill my guts to a stranger.

I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t notice we take off, and if I didn’t notice, maybe Zane didn’t either.

Over the speaker, the pilot lets us know we can stand up and stretch if we’d like. He says we have a tailwind, and it will shave five minutes off our flight. Good. The less time we’re on this plane the better, but we still have to find Jerricka’s lake house and then fly back to King’s Crossing. Zane will be a pro by the time we’re done.

He didn’t mention if he owns this plane or if it’s a rental, and I’m not going to guess how much it costs to rent something like this on an hourly basis. More than I’ll ever see in this lifetime. I snoop around, not wanting to disturb anything, and I find the door to the room where Stella and Zane are hiding. In a tricked-out galley, I pour a snifter of brandy.

Baby’s been on the move, and I fill a bowl of water for her. Poking through the cabinets, looking for something I could possibly feed her, I find a bag of the brand of dog food she likes.

That could only be Stella’s doing. I don’t think I’ve met anyone who cares so much about other people. Calling Pop to ask him to pack me a bag and look after Lucille, arranging food for my dog. It’s no wonder Zane fell so hard. If I wasn’t socompletely in love with Zarah, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to crush on Stella.

Baby chows, stretches out on a loveseat and falls asleep, and I clean up the dishes we used.

I sit and try to keep my mind as blank as possible, but it’s damn difficult. There’s no way Jerricka isn’t abusing Zarah somehow. She’s already been through hell, and I wipe tears off my cheeks.

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