Page 100 of Hard Heart

“Before work. Maybe eight thirty?”

“So,” Jerry said. “You visited the cemetery after Justin, which means you had the perfect opportunity to remove the orchid.”

“Why on earth would I do that?”

“To break his alibi. To help Levi.”

My turn to do the finger-ticking thing. “Firstly, I didn’t know Justin brought the plant. Secondly, I had no idea Amie Carlson was missing at that point. And thirdly, are you out of your freaking mind? I’m a lawyer. I swore an oath to uphold the law, not to break it for a client.”

“You’re not a lawyer in Virginia.” Jerry settled back in her seat. “And tell me, do all your clients call you from prison each day? Do you visit other convicted murderers on the weekends?”

My blood ran cold. “You’ve…you’ve been spying on me?”

“What, you expected us to turn a blind eye to your games with Levi? You’ve been spending time with him at the prison. There are four members of the Diamondback Devils incarcerated in Redding’s Hill, and two more downstairs in your parking lot. Did he give the brief for Amie, or did you? Because you fucked up. A pentagram has five points, not six.”

She was…she was accusing me of this? Of being an accessory to murder? The worst part…the worst part was that compared to some of the crazy theories flying around in this case, it actually sounded plausible. My heart began racing. My ears started ringing, and sweat popped out of every pore. Raelene jumped to her feet, but I could hardly make out her words.

“How dare you come in here and accuse my staff of a crime?”

“You invited us.”

“We didn’t invite you.”

Greyson leaned forward. “No, because presumably you thought it would be easier to browbeat me if I came alone. My tribute was a mixed bouquet, by the way.”

“We thought we could have a civil discussion.”

“We are having a civil discussion,” Braxton Vale told her. “Mostly.”

Zach Torres cursed under his breath, and Nolan de Luca put his head in his hands.

“Why don’t we all calm down?” Dawson Masters suggested, and it sounded like a plea.

“I’m perfectly fucking calm,” Jerry said through gritted teeth.

Well, that made one of us.

CHAPTER 30

SERAFINA

Okay, so I hadn’t been having a stroke earlier, but now I genuinely thought I might be. Or maybe it was a heart attack? My head was spinning, and my chest hurt. I gripped the edge of the table, trying to steady myself, but the dizziness got worse, and I needed to get out of there. If I could make it to the bathroom, I’d be able to lock myself in a stall and regroup. Sip some water. Cry. I got up and headed for the door, but then my knees felt weird, and whose arms were those?

Great. I was back in the chair.

“Easy, easy,” Dawson said, and his face was super close. Right in my space. “Just breathe, sweetheart.”

“Go away.”

“Her pulse has to be a hundred and fifty.”

“Sera?” That was Raelene. “What’s wrong with her? I’ll call an ambulance.”

An ambulance? No, no, no. I’d heard enough horror stories from Heidi about hospital bills, and even if I wasn’t going to lose my job, my budget was still stretched. Yes, my dad would help, but then he’d want to know exactly what was wrong, and how could I explain this dumpster fire? Honestly, having the coronary would be easier.

“No,” I choked out. “No ambulance.”

“She’s having a panic attack,” Jerry said. “Just chill.”