ALL Marcus remembered was his natural instinct to lean away as the van hit the front passenger door and the screech of metal upon metal as the car spun around. Even so, the impact thrust him sideways, and he smacked his head against the doorframe, producing a searing pain around his neck as the airbags inflated, and he blacked out.
When he awoke in a hospital bed, the doctor appeared to be more bothered about checking for a concussion rather than the fractured collarbone, which was apparently far less serious than the associated pain. Once he was fully conscious, Marcus’s only concern was about the other passengers in the car.
“Everyone’s fine,” reassured Dr. Kimura, a tiny but clearly capable woman. “Fortunately the other driver was not traveling at great speed. The children don’t even appear to have been shaken up—both were sleeping at the time.”
“What about my friend Tom?”
“Absolutely fine,” she said, and then her expression turned a little reprimanding. “He had the foresight to call an ambulance when he realized you’d been hurt. He’s in the waiting room now. The grandmother took the children home. But your friend won’t leave until he gets to see you. Do you feel well enough?”
“Yes, of course,” said Marcus.
Five minutes later they led an ashen-faced Tom into the hospital room. First he took in the bandage around Marcus’s head before meeting his eyes.
“Marcus. Jesus, I am so sorry.”
“Wasn’t your fault. The other guy backed out without looking.”
“I should have spotted him. Should have been more vigilant.”
“Tom, stop trying to be a superhero. I’m fine.”
“Honestly, Marcus. Exactly how bad is it?”
“Minor. Doctor says I’ll have my left arm in a sling for a couple of weeks, minor fracture of the clavicle, but they’re keeping me in overnight because of the bump on my head. How are the girls?”
“They’re okay. Worried about you, naturally. Charlotte slept through the whole thing, can you believe? Katie was the one who realized you weren’t moving. Put the fear of God into me. I can’t lose—”
And in that instant Tom lost control. Marcus was caught off guard, but with his good arm, he pulled Tom’s head down onto his shoulder.
“Hey, hey, Tom,” he said into his friend’s ear, trying hard not to breathe in the man’s wonderful musk. For reassurance, he squeezed his arm around Tom and held him tight. “It’s minor. And you’re not going to lose me. I’ll be out tomorrow, I promise. It’s just one night.”
Over Tom’s shoulder, Marcus watched as the ward door opened, presenting none other than Daniel Mosborough, who sauntered in, togged out in Bermuda shorts and a white polo shirt, but then froze when he saw the scene before him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” asked Marcus. Tom straightened up then and turned to see whom Marcus had addressed.
“Nice way to greet a friend,” said Daniel, offering his hand to Tom. “Dan Mosborough. Marcus and I went to school together.”
“You’re the cop at the water park,” said Tom, shaking hands.
“Ah, so I’ve already been talked about, have I?”
“Tom was admiring our similar taste in swimwear,” said Marcus, beginning to laugh again but then thinking better of it. “I thought you might be here in an official capacity. I’m just surprised you found out what happened so quickly.”
“I was chatting to one of my team, who was passing the water park and offered me a lift home in his squad car. Stopped when we got to the scene. Then one of my boys mentioned your name and what had happened. I thought I’d head over here to check on you.”
“Listen,” said Tom, “I’ll let you guys chat. I need to go and fetch the girls. See you tomorrow, Marcus. Call me if you need anything.”
After they’d all said their farewells, Dan stayed behind and pulled up a chair. “He’s a bit of a hunk.”
“Hands off, Mosborough. He’s straight.”
“Oh yeah? I caught the two of you having a quick smooch.”
“We were not bloody—shit,” said Marcus, wincing. “Please don’t make me laugh.”
“Sorry, mate.”
“So are you here to interrogate me?”
“Course not. From what I understand, there’s not a lot to tell. Van driver—guy in his twenties, no previous—using his driver’s side wing mirror, tried to avoid a car parked on his right and didn’t see you until it was too late. Luckily Bradford wasn’t driving fast, otherwise it might have been much worse.”
“He’s a bloody good driver. Honestly, Dan, all I remember is waking suddenly to see the back doors of the van hit. Then I blacked out.”
“Yeah. Apparently Bradford told my colleague the same thing. You in much pain?”
“Doctor’s got me on some expensive meds. Just waiting for them to kick in. But no doubt it’ll hurt tomorrow.”
“Dr. Kimura’s more worried about him showing any signs of concussion, Sergeant,” interrupted the staff nurse, coming to the end of the bed and checking a chart. “We’re keeping him in overnight, just in case. If you start to feel dizzy or nauseous or if you have trouble with your vision, make sure you press that buzzer straightaway.”
She disappeared as quickly as she’d turned up. A short pause fell between them.
“Good to meet you today, Dan. And now it’ll definitely be memorable.”
Marcus let Daniel chuckle without joining in.
“Hope you don’t mind me sticking around?” said Dan, pulling up a chair. “I’ve got bugger all else to do. Not back on duty until tomorrow. But I’m having a pint with some of the lads later.”
“Had it been my choice, I’d have preferred a chat over a pint too, but I suppose here’s as good a place as any. So where shall we begin? Maybe you could go first. Anyone special in your life since school?”
Marcus couldn’t be sure, but he thought he noticed a slight flicker of sadness cross Dan’s face before he paused to consider.
“I did. Zane. Six years ago. Fellow copper, different unit. Unlike me, though, he wasn’t out, so difficult doesn’t even begin to explain our relationship. But let me tell you, it’s tough being with someone who refuses to put even one foot out of the closet. Spent most of our time together either in his flat or mine, watching cable movies, eating takeout and drinking beers, followed by nights of pretty amazing sex. But being indoors all the time gets old fast. Wouldn’t even entertain the idea of a movie night at the cinema in case he got spotted with me. Final straw came when we went to the other side of the planet on holiday together—San Francisco—and he wouldn’t even let me touch him in public. No way to live a life.”
“I’m really sorry.”
Daniel shrugged, but the experience had clearly affected him. “Since then, nobody special. Threw myself into my career instead.”
“You and me both. You ever see him? Zane?”
“Couple of times. Even though it was the right decision, you can’t just turn off your heart. The couple of times we’ve run into each other—usually some official meeting or another—my stomach goes into a tailspin. So how about you? Anyone special?”
“Nah. An occasional roll in the hay, but no keepers.”
“You and Tom Bradford seem pretty tight.”
“Come off it, Dan,” said Marcus, but Tom’s instant of vulnerability earlier had confused him. “He’s got enough on his plate right now. Taken on a whole lot of strife since Raine died.”
“You fancy him, though, don’t you? I can tell by the way you look at him.”
“He’s family. But I once told Raine that if he’d had a gay twin brother, I’d be the first in line.”
Once again they both fell silent.
“Talking of Raine, you obviously remembered the crash that took her life.”
“Difficult to forget.”
“At the time, she was traveling with a man called Damian Stone.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. At first Tom thought she might have been having a fling with the guy. But that’s not the case. They attended the same yoga class. But then they died on the M25, nowhere near the yoga school. I still keep asking myself why.”
“Sometimes we don’t really know those closest to us.”
“You’re not a fan of radio chat shows, are you?”
“Huh?”
“Sorry. In-joke between Tom and I. Yes, I’ve heard that people close to us can turn out to be a total mystery. But you know me, and I did know Raine. She would never do anything like that. She had too much to lose.”
“But the mystery remains. What was she doing in the car with this guy?”
“Exactly. Tom said just let it go.”
“Wise words. Nothing’s going to bring her back.”
“Yeah, Tom said that too.”
“But you want me to look into it?”
“No, of course not,” said Marcus firmly, before hesitantly continuing. “Unless. Could you? I mean, I wouldn’t want to get you into any trouble.”
“You wouldn’t. To be honest, it’d be a doddle. There’s bound to be a case file, probably on computer. Not as though it’s a murder case or anything. But you’ll owe me.”
“And what exactly would I owe you?”
“Dinner?”
“I think I can manage that.”
Just at that moment, Marcus’s phone buzzed. Tina’s face popped up on the display as he raised the device to his ear. He took a deep breath, wondering how he would explain his current predicament.
“And maybe a blow job.”
“Yeah,” replied Marcus, grinning. “Well, let’s see what you come up with before I commit to any after-school activities.”
Daniel had a nice laugh, and Marcus smiled as he answered the phone.
“Who’s that laughing with you?” asked Tina. “Someone clearly in a good mood. Where are you?”
“In hospital. Being treated for concussion and a fractured collarbone.”
“What! Are you being serious?”
Marcus took a few minutes to explain to Tina, who calmed significantly when he explained the less serious nature of the accident. What took a little longer was convincing her that she did not need to rush to see him.
“So what’s up? Why are you calling on a Sunday?” said Marcus, trying to distract her from her mother hen routine.
“Well, I’d hoped it would be good news, but it depends on you now, and how quickly you’re going to recover. Kurt Bruckmeyer’s managed to get the New York deal back on track.” Since their return, a couple of key investors had decided to back out despite Tina’s efforts to convince them of Marcus’s commitment to the project. “He’s managed to drum up a batch of new investors, but he wants us to move fast. Apparently that celebrity chef program you featured on just aired in New York. But it means there’ll be back-to-back meetings in three weeks’ time. So, of course, they want to meet the star in person. Are you going to be okay?”
“Physically, yes. But am I going to have to shag Bruckmeyer just to prove good faith?”
Marcus had to look away from Dan’s shocked expression to stop from laughing, but Tina’s comeback caught him off guard.
“I think that ship has already sailed, sweetie.”
“Ow,” said Marcus. “How long are we going to be away for?”
“Hard to say, but I’d clear space for three weeks to be on the safe side.”
The humor left Marcus then. Not only would he need to brief his staff to cope without him, but he’d need to reschedule things with Tom and Moira. When he ended the call with Tina, he noticed Dan still standing there.
“Anything I can do to help?” he asked.
“Yeah. Put the bloody sports channel on the TV and then bugger off and see your mates. At least one of us should be enjoying a night off, and it looks like I’m stuck here on my back for the night.”
“Hey, keep smiling. Let me see what I can do to trace your man.”
Even though he chose to live alone, once Daniel had gone, Marcus had never felt so abandoned in his whole life.