His voice was deep, but gentle. He talked to Zoe the way a husband and a lover would.

He asked her to stop crying and said that he’d be back in Brookesville soon. On top of that, he’d arrange for some of his men to track down Ella.

Much time had passed when Zoe stopped crying.

Holding the phone, he listened to her light breathing, and couldn’t help but say softly, “I may have asked you to stop crying, Zoe, but I love it when you cry. I feel the urge to be meaner to you whenever you do. I wa