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Alex watched the burst of activity. “Is something the matter?”
Jordan hesitated before he answered. “It’s TM-Tech stuff. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Quite honestly, Jordan, I don’t ever want to set foot in your bloody office again. I thought I had bad memories of the last time I was there. This time isn’t any better.”
There was a hint of a smile on Jordan’s face. “You don’t wanna come work for us? I can find a nice office job for you, if you’re up for a career change?”
“Yeah, right.” He shifted his tired gaze back to Sylvie. She was wired up to a bank of monitors that bleeped and flashed with a reassuring monotony. It looked like something out of Star Trek. “I’m quite happy in my current career. Thanks. Or at least, I will be, when my bass player is up and running again.”
There were so many things he had to do, and they rushed around inside his head, each clamouring for attention. One of the first was to find out what Sylvie had been doing this past week. Taking speed had to be a new thing for her. He hadn’t seen any indications, and he should have. He wanted to kick himself repeatedly for not seeing the signs.
She could have been taking sleeping pills for a few weeks, and he never knew.
Would she need to go into rehab? He hoped not. Having experienced the delights of rehab himself, twice, Alex didn’t want to put her through that unless it was necessary.
Lara was asleep in her chair, while Jordan stared into space, massaging his temples. He looked deep in thought.
“Jordan?”
He looked at Alex, his gaze alert.
“What happened last week? With Sylvie? What can you tell me?” Alex asked.
“All I know is she went running to Dublin, looking for you. I didn’t see her again until she arrived here on Thursday with Daisy. And she was a mess.”
Alex winced, and then thought over what Jordan said. “She went to Dublin? Fuck.”
Jordan nodded. “You were there after all?”
“Yeah. I found a hotel and stayed in my room.” Alex looked back at Sylvie. “I fell off the wagon. I was out of it for three days.”
“Bad, huh?”
“You could say that.” Sylvie followed him there, and he didn’t know. He wished he could turn the clock back. That reminded him. He looked back at Jordan. “I had this weird dream. Rico was there, giving me a pep talk. It seemed so real.” He paused. “Syl dreams of him too.”
Jordan gazed back, his face open and honest. “She told me. She couldn’t tell you, because she thought it would upset you.”
At first it did, but after his own dream of Rico, it didn’t seem a big deal. And since her dedication at the memorial service, Alex had started to think differently about her relationship with Rico. And with him.
There was only one person he could talk to about this, and she lay in a stupor. Please Sylvie... Please wake up, babe.
****
Nick had only met Aiden Bradley in passing before now, but he knew the guy was a hotshot consultant that Jordan had brought in. He waited on the steps of the TM-Tech offices, climbed into the Saab beside Nick, and they raced across town to the club. Nick still wore his business suit, and Aiden was in similar attire. They’d stick out like a pair of sore thumbs at the mosh pit, but it couldn’t be helped.
Aiden had the printouts Adele asked for. He’d texted photos to Adele and Karl, and Adele had replied there was no sign of Jason. She’d keep watch on the bar with Karl. If they saw him, they’d call.
Rather than wasting time trying to find a parking space, Nick abandoned the Saab on double yellow lines outside the club. He hoped it didn’t get clamped. Aiden flashed an identity card at the guy on the door, and they were ushered in without fuss. They probably looked like plain-clothes police.
Adele waved to them as they entered the mosh pit. Her face was pinched and scared when she greeted him.
He couldn’t resist giving her a hug. “You okay?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She wriggled free and wrapped her arms around herself. Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “It’s really him, Nick. I’m not imagining it.”
Karl stood behind her. He placed both hands on her shoulders, and she leaned back against him. They looked comfortable with each other.
“You know,” she said to Nick, her smile wobbly, “you look like a cop.”
“You think?” He nodded towards Aiden, who was talking to the bar staff. They clustered around him, the manager joining too. “I think he might be.”
Aiden came back to them a few minutes later. “This is the guy they served earlier. He was here tonight, a couple of nights last week, and last weekend too.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost eleven. Do we know if Jordan is still at the hospital?”
“I’ll check.” Nick sent him a text.
Adele leaned over and spoke urgently. “I’m so sorry. I forgot about your friend. Is she any better?”
“No. Not yet. She’s in a bad way.”
His phone buzzed with a reply from Jordan. He was still there. There was no change in Sylvie’s condition.
The Saab hadn’t been clamped, so they all piled into it and headed back to the hospital. It was easier to take Adele and Karl, to talk it through with Jordan. Nick drove, while Aiden made and took calls. Who was he talking to at this time of night?
“Aiden,” said Nick, his curiosity getting the better of him, “who do you work for?”
“TM-Tech.”
Nick laughed, not believing him for a minute. “I’m sure if I flashed my TM-Tech staff pass, people wouldn’t be as accommodating. What did you show them?”
Aiden held up a finger to hold the conversation, and took another call.
It was almost midnight when they walked into Sylvie’s room. She lay as still as before. Lara threw herself into Nick’s arms. “The nurses are looking in every fifteen minutes,” she said. “They hope she’s going to wake soon.”
Aiden walked over to Alex and spoke softly with him. Nick didn’t realise they knew each other. Meanwhile, Adele hung back with Karl, who gazed at Alex, a frown on his face.
“Should we find somewhere quiet to talk?” Nick addressed Jordan, but Alex replied.
“Stay here. I’m keen to know what you found.”
“We told him,” said Lara. “Alex and Sylvie are caught up in this as well.”
The private room looked as though it normally held three beds instead of one, and there were spare chairs stacked against the wall. It was easier to stay here, for Aiden to explain.
“The bar staff said a man matching Jason’s description minus the facial hair is there every few weeks. And most times he’s there, he goes home with a different woman. Usually one that looks unsteady on her legs. It’s a large contingent of staff, though, and they didn’t think anything unusual of his behaviour.”
Jordan asked the million-dollar question that sat on all their lips. “Is there a chance that Jason is still alive? That someone else went under the train?”
****
If Adele trembled any more, her teeth would start chattering. Her peace of mind depended on that bastard being dead. Karl squeezed her fingers, and then let go, to slip his arm around her shoulders. He was anchoring her in the here and now, and a whisper of relief rippled through her.
Nick raised his eyebrows, but then he looked away.
“It has to be a real possibility,” continued Aiden. His voice was smooth and calm, as though he hadn’t detonated another grenade in Adele’s life. “I’ve spoken to the mortuary where the remains were taken. And it was remains.” He glanced at Adele, apology in his grey eyes. “They had to scrape him off the tracks with a shovel. There wasn’t enough left to identify him. In theory, it could have been anyone.”
No. The breath stuttered in Adele’s lungs. She couldn’t handle this.
“Okay,” said Jordan. “So how did they identify him?”
“His wallet lay next to him. The driving licence and credit cards survived, although there was no sign of either keys or a phone. Then, when they went to his apartment, they found a suicide note.”
“We’ve both seen him since.” Lara’s voice was scared. “He’s been outside our house in the middle of the night.”
“And outside my apartment.” Adele forced the words out.
They all looked at each other.
Aiden opened his mouth to reply, when Alex sat upright. “Sylvie.”
****
Sylvie’s eyelids fluttered, and she moved her fingers in Alex’s hand. The nurse told him to call if there was the slightest change, so he pressed the red Call button beside the bed.
Within seconds, the room was bustling with nursing staff. Jordan shooed his people out, but Alex stayed. They’d have to physically remove him before he left her again.
He watched helpless, his heart in his mouth. Please, Sylvie. Please wake up.
A nurse checked Sylvie’s pulse, another her blood pressure, while a third person opened her eyes and flashed a torch into them.
There was the tiniest of groans from her. Alex increased the pressure on her fingers, hoping she’d feel it. The wait was agony.
Sylvie’s eyes drifted open, and she stared at him. She blinked and looked again. He saw fear, then recognition.
“Alex?” she whispered. “Are you really here?”
His vision blurred, and he swiped at his eyes. He leaned closer, placing his hand against her cheek. “I’m here, babe. I’m not going anywhere.”
They remained like this for an age, hands clasped, a quiet point of calm in the hubbub that surrounded them.
“Tired,” she murmured.
“She’ll sleep again now,” said the doctor. “You should be able to leave for a few hours. Her vital signs have stabilised, and we’re running tests on her liver and kidney functions. So far, they’re fine. She’s very lucky.”
“I’m staying.” Alex yawned, weariness hitting him like a sledgehammer.
The doctor nodded. “I’ll look in again later. Let the nurses know if there’s any further change. It’s all looking good, but we’ll know more in the morning.”
****
Adele lurked in the corridor with the others, and watched as nursing staff darted in and out of the private room. One of the nurses stopped by with an update. She explained that Sylvie appeared to be waking, which was good, but they had to wait outside while more tests were done.
Karl went in search of coffee, and Adele took a moment to go to Nick, while Lara was talking to Jordan and Aiden.
“Hey.” She tried to smile, but it was impossible.
“Hey, Melda,” he replied softly. “You okay with all this? I can’t begin to imagine how you must be feeling.”
“I don’t know what to think. It’s like a nightmare I keep waking up from, then finding I’m still asleep.”
“I know what you mean.”
She needed a change of subject. Something to distract her. “Your friend, Sylvie. Is that her husband in there? He looks familiar.”
Nick nodded.
“I saw him come to the service late. Does she work at TM-Tech?”
His face cleared. “She used to. She’s Lara’s best friend, and we used to hang around together. She was in the blast, though. Stuck in the rubble. This is the first time she’s been back there.”
“She’s lucky to be alive.” A sudden thought hit Adele’s tired brain. She grabbed Nick’s arm. “If Jason’s alive, it means he wasn’t murdered. So you and Karl are in the clear.”
He huffed a sigh. “That would be bloody good. Some poor bastard was pushed under the train though. That’s another mystery.”
Sometime later they were allowed back into the room, where they settled down to resume the earlier discussion.
Aiden was brisk. “We need to keep an eye on that club, to see if he reappears. I’ll also do some digging into his background, turn up his contacts and friends, and start looking for him discreetly.”
“And I’ll update the police,” added Jordan. “Although, be warned, folks—this will probably result in another round of interviews.”
Karl spoke next. “There was the other club we went to, the XP, where Jason took the brunette home. Should we check that one out too? He might be a regular there as well.”
“Okay.” Aiden tapped notes into his phone. “I’ll get that looked into.”
“There’s something else we could try,” said Karl. “Chat rooms. We could go looking for other women who’ve been attacked in the area, and see if there’s a pattern.”
“Good thinking,” said Aiden. “That’s easy to set up.”
There was little more to talk about. Everyone was tired, except Adele. She didn’t think she’d ever feel safe enough to sleep again.
Nick was preparing to take Lara home. He looked at Adele. “I could fit you two in as well, if you’d like. Drop you at your apartment?”
The last place she wanted to go was her apartment, with Jason potentially hanging around again. She didn’t know where she might be safe, but she wasn’t going there.
****
Jordan refused to go home. It was unthinkable to leave Alex alone for the night. He managed to persuade Alex to stretch his legs for five minutes, splash water on his face, and get some fresh air. He was reluctant but took Jordan’s advice and returned looking much more awake.
There were some conversations that could only be held in the silly hours of the morning, in the gap between night and day when the entire world was asleep. Jordan was in the mood to talk. “Hey, Alex. You said you were out for a few days?”
“Yeah.” Alex was wary.
“I’ve been there too. Maybe not three days, but I’ve lost entire weekends. Gone home with a bottle on Friday, and the next thing I remember would be crawling to work again on the Monday.” Jordan held his gaze. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. We all make mistakes.”
“I had no idea.”
Jordan shrugged. “It’s not something I talk about.” He saw his friend’s concern, and knew he had to explain. “It was when Kate left me. It was a bad time.” He thought back to those dark days and remembered his despair. The sense of hopelessness. “It’s ironic, but it was Marcus and Louisa who straightened me out and rescued our marriage.” He’d felt so sad that he hadn’t been able to fix his oldest friend’s marriage.
They sat a little longer before Alex spoke. “I need to know who supplied Sylvie. I have an idea, but I want to be sure.”
“What are you planning to do?”
Alex looked at Sylvie’s hand and caressed it. “I don’t know. But it won’t be good.”
“She’s not a child. She had to know what she was doing, to some extent.”
Alex glowered but kept his voice low. “She’s an innocent. She’ll have thought it was harmless. Lara said she described the speed as a herbal supplement, for fuck’s sake.”
“How old were you when you first got hooked?”
Alex was outraged. “Twenty. Twenty-one. What of it?”
“Sylvie is... what? Twenty-three?”
“Yes, but—”
“She’s not a child. And she knows about your history. And maybe she felt that she was in control.”
Alex looked furious, and Jordan continued. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
There was a long silence, while Alex smoothed Sylvie’s hair back from her face. He glanced up at Jordan. “You might be right. I’m so fucking angry about this.” He hesitated. “I guess I’m partly—if not wholly—to blame, and that’s not easy to accept.”
He haltingly talked of his decision to break up with Sylvie, the way he’d felt second-best to Rico, how he’d refused to listen to her, and how he’d run away. “We were talking at cross-purposes. I can see that now. I feel so stupid. I’d made up my mind that I was right, and nothing could shift it.” There was a glimmer of a smile. “I can be a stubborn bastard sometimes.”
****
Adele trailed along the hospital corridor with Karl, while he phoned for a taxi. She listened to his conversation and to her shoes tapping along the floor. Anything to stop thinking about going home tonight.
Karl put his phone in his pocket. “They’re on the way. Here in ten minutes. Let’s sit down near the entrance. We’ll see them when they arrive.”
Adele found them a wooden bench in the dimly lit foyer, and Karl slipped his arm around her shoulder. She rested her head against him. She was exhausted and could go to sleep right here. He wore his down jacket again, and it would make an excellent pillow.
“Karl, I don’t want to go back to my apartment. I’m scared he might be there again.” Her voice was quiet in the darkness. The words hung there.
He hugged her closer. “Yeah. I wondered about that. You can always... I was going to ask you... if you want to...” He hesitated. “My place? I have a spare bed.”
Her relief was immense. “Yes, please.” Although she might reconsider the spare-room option later. “By the way, what’s the weather forecast for tomorrow? Or today, I mean?”
“Dunno.” He sounded puzzled. “Why?”
She raised her head to smile at him. “You promised to take me out on your bike. Did you forget?”
He smiled back, and it lit up his face.
Adele lifted a hand and rasped her fingertips across his delicious stubble, already thick and dark. Their gazes locked.
“I need a shave,” he muttered, not looking away.
“No, you don’t.” She stroked his cheek again. “You look cool like this. I like it.”
His eyes darkened, and the smile grew another notch. Their faces were inches apart.
She willed him to kiss her.
She smelled traces of coffee on his breath, a hint of shampoo in his hair. They eased closer a fraction more, and he brushed his lips against hers. His other arm came up to enclose her, and she nestled into his embrace as he gently tipped her head back.
Adele loved the first kiss with a man. Some girls hated it, but not her. She adored how fresh and new it could be, stepping into the unknown and taking a gamble. And this time, it paid off. His lips were soft and warm, his arms strong from working out and playing squash.
Time stopped for a little while. It was just Karl and Adele, their lips and hands, his breath hot against her skin, his heart beating beneath her hands.
Safe. If she had to describe how he made her feel in one word, it would be safe.
It was cold when they climbed out of the taxi at Karl’s house. He fumbled with the front door key but opened the door and led her in. It was pleasantly warm inside.
Karl placed a hand on the radiator in the entrance hall. “There’s some heat left. Come on in.” She followed him into the lounge and watched him flick on small, discreet lights.
“Drink?” he asked.
It was almost three in the morning. Definitely time for a drink. “Please. What do you have?”
“Hang on.” He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with two tumblers and a bottle of malt whisky. “Is this okay?”
She accepted the drink he poured, and sniffed it, drawing the fragrance deep into her lungs. It was a rich, dark colour, and it smelled of peat and coffee, heather and seaweed.
“My brother gave it to me for Christmas,” said Karl. “I think it’s a good one, but I don’t usually drink spirits.”
Adele sipped it cautiously. She liked it. Now she was here, she was unsure how to move things forwards. Their easy intimacy in the dimly lit hospital foyer had slipped away.
Karl walked over to a hi-fi setup and flicked through his CD collection. “Are you okay if I put some music on?”
“Sure.” She was curious to see what he’d choose. Moments later, a familiar track started playing. “Event Horizon. Their seventh album, Every Journey Has a Start,” she announced. “This isn’t the first track, though.” She listened to the haunting strains of the ballad. “This is Thanks Be, isn’t it?”
Karl grinned. “Yeah, but I thought you were a rock fan. You disappoint me.”
“What? I got the band, the album, and the track name. What did I miss?”
He shook his head in mock sorrow and sat on the sofa, drink in one hand, CD case in the other. He chuckled at her confusion. “I can’t believe you didn’t recognise him. Tut tut.”
Adele kicked off her shoes and knelt on the settee next to him. “Recognise who?”
“Lead singer of Event Horizon is...?”
“Well, duh. AJ, of course.”
“Right. And AJ is also known as...?”
She frowned. “Alex, I think. Not sure of his surname. Something Scottish? MacTavish?”
Karl snorted with laughter and passed her the CD case. “How about Hamilton?”
“Okay, so it’s Alex Hamilton. What of it?”
He gestured towards the CD cover. On the back were pictures of the band members. Charlie Jones, Mick Dewhurst, AJ, and Sizzle. She still didn’t see what he was talking about.
Then she realised.
“Oh.” She stared at Karl. “Alex at the hospital is AJ? Fuck me.”
Karl leaned forwards and fleetingly kissed her lips. “I was hoping to.”
She laughed in delight and looked some more at the cover. This was why he was familiar. Another thought hit her. “That means that Sylvie is Sizzle?”
Karl nodded.
“How incredible. Nick must have known. He said Lara is Sylvie’s best friend, and they’ve known her for years. He never said anything. I’m going to text him and tell him we know.”
She was reaching for her phone, when she realised Karl had sat back, a disappointed look on his face. She glanced at her phone, and then looked back at him and switched it off. “You know what? It can wait until I see him on Monday.”
Karl’s sexy smile was her reward. As was the kiss that followed.
****
Alex noticed Jordan was rubbing his temples again—something he did a lot these days. “You okay? Headache?”
Jordan took a long time to reply. “Yeah. It’s bad at night.”
“This is a hospital. Why not ask the nurses for a painkiller?”
Jordan half-smiled. “I’ve already had some, but thanks.”
They sat, Sylvie’s hand loose in Alex’s. She slept properly now. Little snuffles punctuated the silence in the room.
Jordan sighed. “I’ve been getting them for a few weeks. I guess I need to get checked out, but I don’t want to frighten Kate.”
“Why would it?”
“Because it may be the underlying symptom of something more serious.”
“I never figured you as a hypochondriac. Everything may be the symptom of something more serious.”
Jordan held his gaze. “I had a head injury a few years ago. There was a lot of damage, and they warned me I might have problems in the future.”
Alex was stunned into silence. He’d learned more about Jordan in one night, than he had in almost a year. “What the hell happened?”
“Some idiot hit me. My skull was cracked. Little fragments of bone everywhere.” Jordan shrugged. “There’s always a chance one of those fragments embeds itself in the brain tissue. There’s a long and complicated medical term, but basically it means I’d be fucked.”
“But—”
“Like I said, I don’t want Kate to start worrying. Not right now, when she’s newly pregnant again.” He pulled a face. “It’s been a weird kind of day today. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“But surely there are tests you can have? Scans? X-rays? It could be something else.”
Jordan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, as though signalling the end of the conversation.
Fuck that. “Jordan, you have to find out.”
There was no response, so Alex tried again. “The longer you leave it, the worse it could get. Jesus Christ on a piece of toast. If you don’t go, I’ll bloody well drag you to the doctor myself.”
“And if I’m tested, and they find a problem, I’ll have to tell Kate. And I won’t do that at the moment. She lost our first child, Alex. She had a miscarriage, probably brought on by stress. You can pressure me all you like, but I won’t take that risk again.”
“So what am I supposed to do? Pretend this conversation never happened?”
Jordan opened his eyes and focused his stare on Alex. “Yes. When I’m ready and Kate’s past the twelve-week mark, I’ll go to the doctor. But not before.”
“Fuck me. I thought I was stubborn.”
“I know you, Alex. You wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
He was right; Alex wouldn’t tell Kate. But there must be something he could do to help.