| |
All Adele saw was Jason and his sneering face. She stepped closer, the gun steady in her hands.
The moment he realised he was fucked was almost comical. Fear flickered in his eyes and Adele wanted to laugh.
“Not so brave now, Jase?”
When the bearded guy stepped forwards and put his hand on her arm, it made her jump. She’d ignored him up to now.
“Please don’t,” the man said. “It won’t help.”
“How would you know?” She didn’t take her gaze off Jason.
The guy stood his ground. “If you miss, you shoot my wife, and I won’t let you do that.”
****
Sylvie’s arms ached from the strain of holding on to Jason, and now she had the blonde pointing his gun at them both. She gazed helplessly at Alex, as he tried to stop the woman.
The woman’s arms quivered, and her finger trembled on the trigger. If Sylvie lunged forwards to stop her, Jason would get free again.
From the top of the stairs, there was another voice. “Adele, sweetheart, put the gun down.” It was Karl. He held Sylvie’s knife in one hand and a bunch of cable ties in the other. He helped Sylvie fasten Jason’s wrists together, then his ankles. Jason was going nowhere.
With Jason restrained, Karl moved slowly down the stairs to Adele, talking in a low soothing voice. She was still pointing the damned gun at Jason. Alex moved steadily towards Sylvie at the same time.
Karl reached Adele, and Alex stood on her other side, ready to move when needed.
Karl held out his hand, and asked for the gun.
Sylvie’s mouth was dry with fear. If the gun was fired, one single spark and the whole house might go up. Alex was soaked in fuel. He wouldn’t stand a chance.
Sirens wailed outside. Blue lights flashed and swirled through the glass panels in the front door. Still, Adele held the gun.
There was an unspoken message between Alex and Karl. Alex motioned one, two, three on his fingers, as if he were counting in a song. They grabbed Adele at the same time, Karl forcing the weapon from her hand while Alex pulled her arm down.
Sylvie closed her eyes in relief. Please let it be over now.
A heartbeat later, Adele was wrapped up in Karl’s arms, and Alex nudged the gun to a safe distance with his toe.
It was over. Thank God.
Sylvie scrambled to her feet and shoved at Jason, rolling him down the remaining stairs. He landed in a crumpled heap at Alex’s feet, cursing fit to burst.
Karl let go of Adele and returned Sylvie’s knife. “That was amazing,” he said, awe in his voice. “You were amazing.”
“Thank you.” She shoved the knife back into her boot, and then looked to see what Alex was doing. Someone needed to let the emergency services in.
Before anyone could stop her, Adele lunged forwards and kicked Jason in the face. Hard. Sylvie stared, speechless. There was a crunching sound, a spurt of bright red blood, and he gave a burbling, howling noise of pain.
“How does it feel, Jason?” Adele yelled. “To be helpless, with someone hurting you?” She kicked him again.
Jason grunted and passed out.
“Bastard,” Adele screamed. “I want you to feel this.”
****
As far as Alex was concerned, they were still in immediate danger from the petrol. Judging by the way the house was littered with paper, the psycho meant to torch the house with Lara and Nick inside. They stood at the top of the stairs, and Lara hid her face against Nick.
The world had turned blue with the flashing lights. A police megaphone crackled, and then announced their presence. “Drop your weapons and come out with your hands raised.”
Karl hurried to unbolt and open the front door while he shouted to the police about the fire risk
The world went mad. Armed police swarmed through the door and dragged Jason away. The fire brigade laid down a sea of foam across the soaked floors, drenching Alex and Sylvie in the process.
Nick clattered down the stairs to them. “You’re covered in petrol,” he said in disbelief. “Upstairs, both of you. Get into the shower. I’ll explain to the police.” He led them to the bathroom and started the shower, then pulled out towels for them. “Dump your clothes in the bath. I’ll find something dry for you to wear.”
Sylvie’s teeth were chattering. Delayed shock? Alex stripped her, and bundled her under the cascading water.
“You too,” she said.
He followed, and they stood clinging to each other under the hot water. It took a long time before she stopped trembling. Or maybe that was him. It was a nightmare to get clean. It took an entire bottle of shower gel before the stink was gone from their hair.
Alex gave her a lingering kiss. “You were awesome. I might have to hire you as a bodyguard.”
Her eyes danced. “Do you realise what happened? I broke the prediction. We averted the fire before it happened. We changed what might have been.”
Alex shuddered. The idea of being on fire was terrifying on an entirely new level. He never wanted to repeat the experience.
There was a knock at the bathroom door. It was Lara. “I hate to hurry you, but the police are keen to speak to you. I’ve got clean clothes for you to borrow.” She opened the door a little way and slipped a bundle inside.
“Thanks, Lara. We’ll be five minutes.” Sylvie called back, before resuming the job of towel-drying her long hair. “Their house is a mess,” she said. “Should we take them back to Jordan’s tonight?”
“Shit. We need to tell Jordan we’re okay. He’ll be out of his mind.”
Their phones were inside their wet clothes, in a soggy bundle. Sylvie extracted her knife and cleaned it, before tucking it into her borrowed sock.
Alex sighed. “Okay, this turned out useful today. But I really don’t like you carrying it.”
She nodded. “I’ll put it into storage when we get home, okay? Now let’s find a working phone and call Jordan, then give our statements.”
****
Adele watched the police as they dragged Jason away. She had the satisfaction of knowing she’d smashed his face with her shoe and wrecked his good looks. That single moment of knowing she held his life or death in her hands was bizarre. She didn’t feel empowered or strong, just petrified. And after they gave their stories to the police and were allowed to leave, she stood on Nick’s doorstep for a long moment, wondering what happened next.
Karl had no doubts. He steered her into the car and took her back to his house.
It was only later that she realised the big guy and the dark-haired girl were AJ and Sizzle again. And she almost shot Sizzle. It made her want to throw up.
Adele snuggled on Karl’s sofa, his arms around her, and her face pressed into his chest.
“You should take the job in Houston,” he said.
She froze. Was this his way of breaking up with her? “But... what if I stayed?”
“You said you were falling in love with me. Did you mean it?”
“Yes. Every word.” She pushed against his chest, to sit up. She had to see his face.
His eyes were warm, his expression serious. “I love you, Adele. I want to make this work between us, and that’s why you need to return to Houston.”
Her thoughts dissolved. “You love me?”
He huffed a laugh. “I’m crazy about you. Can’t you tell?”
She wanted to kiss him, but they hadn’t finished yet. “So how can it work if you’re in London and I’m in Texas?”
“I’ll ask for a transfer. I don’t want you to resent me if you turn down a promotion to stay here.”
“What about your house?”
He cupped her face with both hands, brushing his thumbs over her cheekbones. God, she loved when he did that. “One step at a time,” he said.
Their lips met, but Adele hesitated. “There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What?”
She smiled. “Come back home with me for Christmas. I want to introduce my lovely new boyfriend to my family.”
“Sounds like a plan. Can I kiss you now?”
****
Jordan hugged Kate as they sat on the sofa. Everyone was okay. Farnley was safely in custody, while Alex, Sylvie, Nick, and Lara were all on their way back here. Aiden was on his way too, for a debriefing. Just like at Rhosneigr, Jordan’s London home seemed to act as the centre of the universe for everyone to congregate in. Kate set about making up a spare bed and sorting out food. Jordan took more Nurofen and waited for the others to arrive.
The group talked through the night’s events. Aiden told them that Jason was carrying a fake passport and a plane ticket to Spain. He was planning to head away for a new life, once his fun with them was complete. The police also thought Jason was responsible for feeding malicious stories about TM-Tech to the press.
Was this drama finally over?
Jordan had only been asleep a couple of hours when he heard a bumping noise and a low howl of pain. He leapt out of bed, and Kate sat up beside him.
Alex beat him to the kitchen, where Sylvie was slumped on the floor, muttering.
Alex scooped her up in his arms. “She’s sleepwalking,” he said. He looked pale in the dim lighting.
Jordan’s heart raced from the shock. Nick and Lara came up behind him, to investigate.
“Does she do this often?” Jordan asked.
“Only when she’s very stressed. I’m sorry, folks. Wait here a moment.” He carried her back to the bedroom and reappeared a few minutes later.
Kate was already boiling the kettle and making cups of tea as they gathered around the table.
Alex sat down and rubbed his hands across his face. He looked upset. “She has a pattern to her nightmares. She’ll sleepwalk, then a little later she has a nightmare and she may wake up screaming. It freaked me out when she first did it.”
Kate gave him a hug. “Why does it happen? What’s the trigger?”
“I’m not sure. I hope it’s the delayed shock from today.” He looked around the table. “Listen, guys, please don’t tell her about the sleepwalking. She’ll remember the nightmare, but it will terrify her if she knows about this as well.”
As they finished tea, Sylvie cried out from the bedroom, and Alex went back to soothe her. When she drifted out with him, tears were drying on her face. She looked surprised to see them all up. Kate offered her some tea, but she declined.
Alex sat, and Sylvie cuddled on his lap and buried her face in his neck, while he stroked her hair. “It was the fire again. I keep dreaming of the fire and Rico yelling to me. Why do I still dream it, Alex? We stopped it from happening,” she said.
He spoke softly and calmly. “It’s a nightmare, Syl; that’s all. We stopped the fire today, but the thought scared you, and that’s why you dreamed about it. Nothing more.”
He refused to think what else it could mean.
****
Lara was exhausted on Wednesday morning. Jordan suggested she and Nick take the rest of the week off work, while they sorted out their house. They needed professional cleaners for the carpets and had to replace the mattress, since Jason fired his gun into it.
She couldn’t thank Sylvie enough. It was Sylvie who disabled Jason before he could burn the house down, with her and Nick inside.
She also needed to talk to Nick about Adele. They called a truce last night, but in terms of elephants in the room, this was a particularly large one waiting for attention.
Jordan came to sit with her and Nick at the kitchen table. “How soon is Tess coming back, to run the Programme Office?” he asked with a smile.
“The week after next.” Lara felt a wave of disappointment. She enjoyed the challenge of managing the team, and once Tess was back, Lara would revert to her previous role of Senior Planner.
“I have a proposal for you to consider,” said Jordan. “You don’t need to let me know right away.”
His voice was serious, and she met his gaze with a flicker of alarm. What now?
“I was very impressed with the work you put in to uncover the fraud, and I know you did equally good work on the audit team last year,” he said.
Lara nodded and waited.
“I’m concerned there are too many loopholes in the current processes. I’m recommending to Thaddeus that we install a permanent internal audit team in the London office.” Jordan smiled. “What do you think about that?”
“That would be a great idea. There are so many gaps, mainly because of the disruption with the bombing, then the temporary offices and the move back. All kinds of security processes need to be tightened.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.” Jordan paused a moment. “How would you feel about a secondment, to get it established?”
“Me? I’d love to. Really?”
He nodded, his eyes twinkling.
Disappointment knocked. “I don’t know if Nick mentioned it, but—well—I’m pregnant. I’ll be going on maternity leave in the middle of next year. Are you looking for someone longer term?”
“He did tell me, and I’d like to add my congratulations. That’s why I suggested a secondment. Six months should be ample time to get a team in place before you have to leave. Then, when you’re ready to come back, it can be to run the team. That’s assuming you decide to come back.” Jordan stood and brushed away some toast crumbs. “Anyway...” He was brisk now. “Let me know next week?”
She stood and grinned, holding out her hand to shake his. “I don’t need to think about it. Thank you, Jordan. I’d love to do it.”
He nodded. “I’ll get started on the paperwork. Good luck with the clean-up, I’ll see you both on Monday.”
Lara glanced at Nick, who sipped his coffee at the table.
He gazed at her with an expression of such pride, her heart turned over. “Well done.” His voice was soft and tender. “There’s nobody better for the job. I’m very proud of you.”
Her head spun with excitement. A promotion. A team of her own. The chance to start it all from scratch. What a fantastic opportunity. She looked around, but nobody else was there. She moved to stand beside Nick and reached for his hands. His hair was sticking up, wild and uncombed, and his smile was warm but nervous.
“Nick, babe, I need to know where I stand. Where we are.”
She saw the sadness in his eyes. “I made a mistake, Lara.” He hesitated, and then kissed her fingers. “I’ve been a complete dick. I’ve fucked up our marriage and hurt you. Is there any way you’ll let me come back to you? Anything I can do or promise, to let you know how sorry I am for everything?”
Lara took a deep breath. “It will take me a long time to trust you again, Nick. I might be paranoid about where you go and who you see. I’ll nag you and bitch at you. I’ll keep you on a very tight leash. Can you live with that?”
He stared up at her, hope in his eyes, but she hadn’t finished. “I want you to support me having our baby. Even if you’re not happy about it, I want you to be happy for me. This is our child. Our future family. If you stay, you’re in this for the long haul. I won’t let you bail out a few months down the line if you change your mind. And”—she paused for breath—“I know she’s your friend, but I want you to only see Adele when you absolutely have to, at work. No more coffees. No more squash with her.”
He smiled, and it was a beautiful sight. “If I say yes to everything?”
“If you say yes, we can go pick up your things. I guess they’re still in the car?”
She was amused at his fleeting look of horror when he realised his most personal possessions had spent the night in a car, on the car park of the local shopping mall. He squeezed her fingers and stood, to take her in his arms.
“Yes, to everything, unreservedly and totally.”
It was enough for Lara. She had her husband back, and it felt good.
****
Jordan said goodbye to Sylvie and Alex when he left for work on Thursday. He’d probably see them on Saturday, with Callum and Daisy, and they were in such high spirits, their excitement was infectious. Sylvie sleepwalked again last night, and Jordan heard her anguished cries when she woke up, so he was glad to see she wasn’t worried about it.
“It’s foggy again today. Take your time, driving back.” Jordan clasped Alex’s hand. “Hey, you’re old enough to not need my advice. And it will probably be equally thick on Friday, when we’re coming up. What time are you setting off?”
“We’re picking up Callum at nine. With luck, we’ll be home for two-ish, even if we have a couple of toilet stops along the way.”
Sylvie laughed. “Would that be for Callum or you, babe?”
“Cheeky.”
It was good to have things back to normal.
Jordan left them teasing each other, kissed Kate and Poppy, and headed to work.
His first meeting was with Karl, who’d requested to see him. Jordan was impressed with the effort Karl put in with Aiden, to find other possible victims.
He offered Karl coffee and asked how he could help.
Karl gave him a nervous smile. “I probably shouldn’t know this, but Marcus Reeve asked Adele to consider a promotion in Houston in a little while. I believe you’ve approved the move in principle?”
Jordan nodded. “She’s the best person for the job.” Where was this leading?
“This is the wrong way to do this,” continued Karl, “but can I ask your honest opinion?”
Jordan nodded again and waited.
“If I wanted to transfer to Houston as well, would you please put in a good word for me? Adele is thinking of turning it down, to stay here with me. It seems such a waste, especially if I could move there with her instead.”
Jordan wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. He smiled, to put Karl at ease. “There are always openings in the IT department in Head Office, and I’d be glad to recommend you.” He flicked through a business card wallet and plucked one out. “Neil Wilkinson is head of IT Services. I’ll give him a call to introduce you, and then send him your CV. As you said, it seems a waste for Adele to turn the job down if there’s another way around that.”
Karl went away smiling, and Jordan gazed absently out the window. His office was on the twentieth floor, high enough to be lifted out of the thick fog blanket that covered the city. It was strange to peer down on it. The ground was obscured, and the usual traffic noises were muffled.
He shivered.
Alex and Sylvie would be on their way out of London by now. He hoped they’d be okay.
****
Sylvie and Alex picked up Daisy and Callum on time, loaded up the Audi with Callum’s bags, and then had a tearful farewell with Margie and her husband, and Catherine, the social worker. Callum was alarmed to be loaded into the back of the car. He cried and resisted at first, and it took a while for Daisy to quiet him. She had a variety of toys and snacks, along with a pile of brightly coloured picture books to entertain him. There was also a portable DVD player with a selection of cartoons ready to watch.
He’d settle into the journey soon. She was sure.
Traffic out of London was the usual crawl, slowed by the freezing fog. She flicked through the travel updates on her phone. Apparently, the fog was thick across most of the Home Counties and extended as far north as Oxford. Wonderful. Thickest fog in almost ten years, proclaimed the news, and they should be prepared for travel delays. It could be worse. Callum was quiet now, dozing with the slow movements of the car, and they had all day to get home.
Alex squeezed her hand and smiled at her. “Happy, babe?”
She smiled back. “Apart from the weather, I’m pretty happy.”
“Only pretty happy?” He was teasing, and she loved him for it.
“I’m looking forward to getting home. What do you think Callum will make of the beach?”
“I don’t know, but it’s gonna be fun finding out.”
Life felt good. Sylvie and Alex were closer than ever, and they had everything to look forward to. She flicked through the playlists on her phone, selected a lively mixture of songs, and they settled down for the journey.
To her alarm, the fog became thicker as they drove west up the M4. They only had a short stretch to go, then they’d pick up the M25 right next to Heathrow Airport, and circle north around London until they reached the M40. As they crawled closer to the M25 junction, the fog closed around them, visibility reducing with every mile.
Sylvie felt shivery and spooked. “Alex, is there anywhere we can come off? Try the back roads instead?”
He glanced at her. “We’re better on the motorways, believe it or not. Everything is going in the same direction at least, even when it’s about as slow as you can go. The back roads will be as bad.”
She shivered again and peeked in the back of the car. Callum was asleep in his car seat, his mouth slightly open, and Daisy was reading a magazine.
“Here’s the M25 junction.” Alex eased the car into the correct lane, as they approached. Even he looked anxious about the fog now.
****
Alex didn’t know what happened. One minute he was indicating and moving across the lanes, the next another car side-swiped them from the left, and they spun. Something barged into them from the right. He didn’t know which way they were pointing. He couldn’t do anything to control the car. They were skidding towards a lorry. Time expanded in his mind.
He saw the lorry topple over and crash to its side.
He heard Callum wail in fear, Daisy cry out, and Sylvie gasp.
He saw the cars on either side converging on them again.
He saw the lorry in front, as they careered headlong into it, and tried to steer into the giant tyres, in case they made a softer impact.
Alex blinked. There were unreal, unearthly noises of metal on metal, and tyres screaming.
He smelled burning rubber.
He felt multiple bone-shaking jolts and crumps as other cars collided with them.
He felt his seatbelt cutting tighter, as he jerked from side to side.
His last thought was for Sylvie.