The candy bar called to him, and he took it. He could leave after he ate it.
Lauren sat down, and he took his seat again as he unwrapped it. “What do you want?”
“Nothing, except I want to know why you didn’t want to kill me like your brother wanted to.”
Zach took the first bite and savored the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. “You don’t pull punches, do you?”
“What’s your answer?” she asked.
Zach ate a few more bites while he chewed over his options. Finally, he settled on the simple truth. “You didn’t do anything wrong. We picked you up in the library parking lot.”
“Yeah, I remember. But that didn’t matter to your brother. You didn’t pick a random woman. You took me for a reason. You thought I knew where Anthony was.”
Zach’s jaw froze. That got his attention. He’d planned to squeeze some thousands out of Anthony Swindle, but the guy vanished—completely dropped off the radar. Trying to force his whereabouts out of Lauren hadn’t worked out too well.
“Do you?” Zach asked.
She tilted her head to one side, then the other. “No. I was kind of hoping you did.”
Zach shook his head. “Sorry to let you down, angel. You should’ve seen it coming.” He ate the last bite and crumbled the wrapper. “Did you bring me anything else?”
Lauren sat forward and propped her elbows on the table. “So, you’ve decided to accept my bribes? Candy bars were the only thing they would let me bring. I think Mack has some idea that I’m dangerous.” She turned and waved at the guard by the door.
“Or he’s got a thing for you,” Zach pointed out. The guy would have to be dead not to be at least a little affected by her.
Lauren scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. He’s just warming up to me. I’ve only been here nine times.”
How dense was she? It was like she didn’t know she was walking sunshine. Every time she stepped into the room, another sliver of his heart turned to stone. She could have been killed, and it would have been his fault.
Lauren looked around. “What’s it like in here?”
Boring. Monotonous. Soul-crushing. He finally settled on, “Fine.”
“Do you want me to bring you a book?” she asked.
“A what?”
“A book. Pages with words printed on them. Stories.”
“I know what a book is. Why would you bring me one?”
“Because I work at a library, and books are awesome.”
Zach cursed. She was more innocent than he thought.
Lauren leaned forward. “Which book taught you that one?”
“Not a book. Daddy dearest.”
Her small nose scrunched. “He sounds lovely. Does he visit you?”
“He’s dead.”
Lauren sat back, wringing her hands. “Wow. This conversation is full of surprises. I keep stepping into sore subjects like landmines.”
“Maybe you should quit while you’re ahead,” Zach suggested. He wasn’t ready to go yet, but it would be a win if she caved first.
“I’m not ahead. I’m also not a quitter. We have twenty minutes. Well, five now. If you can tough it out for a year in prison, you can spend twenty minutes with me.”
