Turning to Stone (Heart of Stone: Book 2)

Chapter 2: Confession

Chapter 2: Confession

I stared at Ed for several seconds, waiting for him to laugh or announce he was joking. Instead, he fiddled with his bracelet as his blue eyes stumbled around the room, his foot jiggling beneath the table.

By mentioning the bathroom, he'd done the one thing we needed: he'd confirmed specific details without us providing them. And as I let that damning realisation sink in, dread gnawed at my gut.

Burying my head in my hands, I groaned. "Fucking hell, Ed."

"I know, I know," he said, his voice pained as he rushed out the words. "But that's not the worst part of it."

The anxious lump in my stomach tightened, and I forced myself to look up at him again. "It's not?"

He shook his head slowly, swiping his tongue along his bottom lip as he shifted his nervous gaze away from me.

"Mark doesn't know I went to Putney. I knew he wouldn't agree to it, so I approached one of the new security guys and asked if he'd be willing to run me somewhere off the books."

At least he had the decency to seem ashamed, but that didn't ease my horror that he'd gone behind Mark's back. And Mark would be more than horrified: he'd be livid.

"Are you out of your fucking mind? Why would you do that?"

"Because I was in a weird place, okay?" His eyes swung back over to me, defensiveness blending with regret. "I felt stifled. I just wanted one evening where I could pretend to be normal. I picked a high-end bar, and I thought I was being careful. The girl didn't seem to recognise me, and I gave her a fake name. Obviously now I realise that she did know me..."

I drew in a deep breath and rolled my shoulders in an attempt to relieve the tension that had gathered there.

"Please don't judge me, Soph. I really need a—" He cut himself off and swallowed down the word that had been ready to leave his lips. "An ally. I really need an ally."

Friend.

He'd been about to say friend.

As much as I resented how my heart stuttered at his near slip-up, a rush of warmth rolled through me, temporarily thawing my cold response to his confession.

Taking pity on him, I sighed and shook my head. "You know I've got your back, Ed. I'm not judging. I'm just pissed that you looked me in the eye and told me you hadn't gone to Putney."

"Only because I didn't want Zola—"

I held up a hand to silence him. "That's not what I'm upset about. I'm upset that I believed you. I thought I knew you better than that."

His expression softened, the pity I'd just offered him now finding its way back to me.

"Soph, I've spent years perfecting my poker face. Don't take it personally."

Nodding, I pulled myself back on track. He hadn't even flinched when he'd lied—that was how skilled he'd become at his poker face. Although I hated being on the receiving end of it, I had bigger issues to address than my bruised ego.

His recklessness aside, I understood why he hadn't mentioned this in front of Zola. It would get straight back to Mark and Helen, and he'd end up in deep shit with both of them. Nobody enjoyed facing Helen on a bad day, but his relationship with Mark ran deeper than that. He'd never want his closest colleague to find out he'd gone behind his back.

"Is there any evidence?" I asked him. "Photos? Videos?"

"It's one of those places where phones aren't allowed."