Chapter 2
Zach
The crowd in the meeting room did nothing to calm the hum that snaked beneath his skin. The heel of his state-issued boots drummed a quick rhythm on the floor. Another meeting with Lauren. Why did she keep doing this? What was in it for her?
For him, it meant digging up the past, reminding him that he was a monster who deserved this punishment. Breaking up the monotony was icing on the cake. Every day was boring with a side of annoyance.
That is, until Lauren Vincent showed up. He got a few minutes of entertainment before he had to walk away. Her irritating sweetness made him want to ram his fist through the stone walls. She was his opposite—the daylight to his midnight.
The door opened, and Lauren stepped into the room with her shoulders pushed back and her chin high. It was amazing, really. She didn’t look anything like the scared woman he shouldn’t have held against her will.
What did she want this time? She’d once said she had questions, but so far, she’d only asked how he was doing. It was stupid, considering he was locked up in the little house of horrors.
The closer she got, the harder his heart pounded. Did she have to be so ridiculously perfect? Straight hair, long lashes, full lips. She even had curves in all the right places, but it was her eyes that affected him the most. Every time she looked at him, he hated himself a little more.
She pulled out the chair beside him and gracefully sat, wafting a faintly floral smell in his direction. Her smile held confidence and radiated a glow he couldn’t understand.
“Hi. How are you doing?” Lauren asked.
“Let’s skip the pleasantries,” Zach said. “What do you want?”
Lauren spread her hands flat on the table. “I’m not sure yet. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
That was enough chit chat. Zach stood and turned. “Sorry you wasted your time.”
“Wait.”
He turned around to find her holding out a candy bar between them.
“I brought this for you,” she said.
Snickers. His mouth watered as he eyed the offering. “You brought a candy bar? Are you trying to bribe me like a dog?”
Lauren’s perfect brows pinched closer together. “With a Snickers bar? Eww, no. Do you know what happens when you give chocolate to a dog? I’m trying to bribe an inmate to have a conversation with me.”
At least she was honest. “What’s the catch?”
“Nothing. Just talk. About anything.”
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.”
Zach leaned on his elbows. “What are we doing? Why are you here?”
She looked down at her hands, picking at her fingernails and looking nervous for the first time. “Because I heard the way you talked to your brother. I know you wanted to do the right thing. I saw something good in you.”
He chuckled. “That’s a huge stretch. There’s nothing good in me, angel.”
“Stop acting,” she demanded. “Stop pretending to be worse than you are. I know how to read people, and you’re putting on a front. Just be real with me. Would that be so hard?”
Wow. He had to admire her tenacity. “Probably.”
“Now, stop being difficult, or I’ll use the other Snickers I brought to bribe Mack to shine his flashlight in your face every night while you sleep.”
He bit his lips between his teeth until the urge to grin faded. “You brought another one?”
“Is it yours or Mack’s?”
Zach studied her while he considered his options. She’d found his weakness, or maybe that was what she’d become.
“Two minutes,” she said. “Anything you want to say to me?”
A strand of her hair fell over her shoulder, and he traced the line with his gaze. There were a million things he wanted to say to her. “Can I please have that Snickers?”
Lauren reached beneath the table and pulled out the prize. “You were nice, and you didn’t die. I’d say that’s a total win.”
He took the candy bar and held it up between them.
“Time’s up,” Mack said from behind Lauren.
Lauren stood and brushed her hands down her shirt. “Well, I guess that’s it. Should I bring Snickers, or is there another treat you prefer?”
Zach rose to his feet, towering over her small frame as he studied her. Who knew when she’d be back. “A picture. Something sexy.”
Her smile didn’t falter as she clasped her hands in front of her. “Snickers it is. Have a good day.”
“See you later.”
He didn’t deserve another visit from the angel of light, but he didn’t have anything else to do except hope.