Page 35 of Hard Heart

“You hid a child from her parents?”

“She’d only have run again, and she needed medical attention. Case in point—she took off as soon as the cops showed up and mentioned CPS involvement.”

“Why did she need medical attention?”

“An asshole set a dog on her. We cleaned up the wound, and I said she could have the storage room in the basement for fifty bucks a week. I’d have given it to her free, but I wanted to keep the arrangement strictly business.”

“Where were you expecting a child to get fifty bucks a week?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t. I figured I’d just grumble a bit and let it slide, but she paid up every single Friday.”

“And where did she get the money?”

“She said she was moderating an online chat room. Anyhow, the cameras were hers, and everyone else just went along with the plan. Believe me, it was easier that way.”

“That was a really dumb thing to do. Not the cameras, the whole ‘harbouring a minor’ thing.”

“Shades of grey, remember?”

More than fifty of them. I took a sip of coffee, and it was growing cold. Sykes noted my expression of disgust.

“You want a fresh one?”

I shook my head. “No, I want to hear the rest of this story.”

We hadn’t even made it to lunchtime on the day of the murder, and time was ticking. Levi had to go and draw a bloody possum. I picked up my pen because I knew I should be making more notes, but in truth, all I wanted to do was listen in rapt fascination and watch those lips. I’d made fun of Heidi’s friends for calling Sykes “the Sexy Strangler,” but I was beginning to understand the allure.

Really, it was a good thing he was in prison.

I might have done something stupid otherwise.

Like suggest getting a coffee, or run my fingers over that rough stubble…

Sera! You’re losing the freaking plot.

I’d just escaped from one mindfuck; I didn’t need to dive headfirst into another. Like Person A, I needed to keep my involvement with Sykes strictly business.

“You don’t have enough for your podcast yet?” he asked.

I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth. “It’s going to be a multi-parter.”

CHAPTER 13

LEVI

“Lunch was a nooner. A messy one,” Levi said.

Messy in so many ways. First, the condom had split. Not an issue in itself, because Ruby took birth control and she swore she’d never let another man inside her bare. But then Levi’s attempts to clean her up with a warm washcloth had led to an existential crisis. He closed his eyes, blocking out Serafina’s concerned expression as he recalled the day his life had fallen apart. The day Ruby had lost hers.

“You’re still taking your pills, right?” he’d asked her. “Getting tested regularly?”

“That’s not it.” She’d tucked herself against his side and rested her head on his chest. He’d felt the dampness on her cheeks, but he hadn’t commented on it. “I wish we could fast-forward through these next few years. I just want this to be over.”

“Want what to be over?”

“My job. Your codependence with your mother.”

“You could quit your job and try waitressing again.”