by Sofia Grey
“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.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sylvie wasn’t sure if she was awake or asleep. Everything was jumbled up inside her head, as if she had a fever, but she knew one thing—somebody was holding her hand.
Please let it be Alex. She thought she’d seen him but didn’t know if it was part of the kaleidoscope of dreams that tangled her brain and tied it in knots. Something beeped behind her, and she lay on a hard surface. It didn’t feel like her bed. There was a strange smell too. Disinfectant?
She opened her eyes. The lights were low, but she saw him right away. Alex.
It might be another dream.
He squeezed her hand, a huge smile breaking across his lovely face. “Hey,” he whispered. “Welcome back.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Hey,” she tried to say, but her throat constricted on the word.
“Don’t cry, Syl. I let you down, and I’m so sorry. I love you so much, babe.”
She needed to hold him. She felt stiff and cramped, and for some reason there was a drip in the back of her left hand, but she was desperate for his embrace.
Gently, he wrapped his warm, strong arms around her. Her Alex.
“I’m sorry.” He sounded anguished.
“Me too.” Her
voice was croaky. “I’m happy you’re here. This isn’t another dream, is it?”
His hug tightened a fraction. “I’m real. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere without you.”
Sylvie closed her eyes and nestled against his chest. She had Alex back. Everything was right in her world.
Her throat was dry, and there was an ugly metallic taste in her mouth. Did she take more of Frankie’s pills? She licked her lips, but her mouth felt as though it had sand in it. “I need some water,” she whispered.
“I’ll get it.” Alex leaned her back against a pile of pillows, reached to the side, and produced a glass. He held it to her lips, and she took a sip. It was warm and tasted of plastic, but it was nectar to her parched throat. She swallowed. That was good.
Her eyes were working better now, and she saw another face close by in the unfamiliar room. “Jordan?”
“Hey, Sylvie. Good to see you.” His soft drawl was reassuring.
“What happened? I remember being at the service.” Her brain was stuffed with cotton wool. “I spoke for Rico, didn’t I? Then it’s all fuzzy.” Alex plumped up her pillows and took her hand again, twining their fingers together.
“Where were you?” she asked. “I thought you’d gone to Dublin, but I couldn’t find you.”
“I was there. Where did you look?”
“Everywhere.” She took another sip of the water. “I rang every hotel. I looked in every bar. How did I miss you?”
“I called myself Alexander Smith. It never occurred to me that you’d come looking.”
“I was close. Nearly found you, Rock God.” She remembered phoning the hospitals, the police stations, the car-hire firms, and the hotels. So many hotels. And he’d been under her nose the whole time.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“In hospital. You collapsed after speaking for Rico.”
Did she? It was lost in the fog inside her head. A thought nagged at her—something important she had to remember—but it slipped out of reach.
****
By eight in the morning, Alex was exhausted from watching over Sylvie all night. Jordan had to be feeling the same, and now Alex was watching him too, for signs of illness.
Sylvie was brighter, though, and that was all Alex wanted to focus on. Her liver and kidney tests came back clear, and she wanted to leave.
