Chapter Forty
Tommy
“Urgh, what the hell did she put in that sangria? Absinthe?” Maya groans next to me on the bed.
My eyes spring open before closing again quickly at the sun burning my retinas. What time is it? I’m normally awake to watch the sunrise but the sun is well and truly high in the sky right now. I clumsily feel around for my phone to check the time.
Looking down at Maya, she looks like she has had a wild night, the minimal make up she was wearing is now smeared down her face and her hair looks as though she has been sat in a convertible on the motorway. She groans again as she curls into my side, hiding her face in my chest.
“I’m dying! Send help… and maybe a paracetamol,” Her muffled voice pleads.
I lean down and kiss the top of her head. “I know what would sort you out.”
“Absolutely not. I can’t promise I won’t be sick with the way I’m feeling right now,” She whimpers.
Wow she must be feeling bad to turn down orgasms.
“Okay baby, give me five minutes and I’ll come back with the goods.”
Once I’m up and about I head towards the kitchen.
Noises come from one of the bedrooms as I pass by, a consistent banging, the kind of noise that is usually coming from mine and Maya’s room.
From where I’m standing I can’t tell if it is coming from Max’s room or Jenson’s but one of them is definitely getting ‘busy’.
A breathless scream is then followed by a low grunt.
Filthy fuckers. Laughing to myself I carry on in the direction I was heading, I reach the living room door and hear yet another moan, but this time it is one of pain. Popping my head inside the door I see Gracie lying across the couch.
“Morning, are you okay?” I say cheerily knowing for a fact she drank just as much, if not more than Maya.
“Leave me to die in peace. I’ve been poisoned, one of you devils spiked me, I swear,” she complains, dramatically resting her hand on her head.
“Nope.” I pop the p. “You just drank like a sailor last night. Want some juice and drugs?”
“God yes, please! If I move my head I’m scared it will fall off.”
Fucking hell, how much alcohol did she put in that sangria? I’ve seen these girls drink before, and they have never been this bad.
I busy myself in the kitchen rallying up supplies for the injured troops as the front door flies open. Thinking its just another one of the weaklings I carry on with my business.
“Tommy?” Freddies voice sounds strained as he rushes towards the kitchen. “Mate, we’ve got to head back to England. Sam has just had confirmation that Jake has boarded a plane to Menorca.”
What.
The.
Fuck.
I freeze. The first thought in my mind is that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, I could simply push him off the cliff and no one would be the wiser, but still, I don’t want him anywhere near Maya.
“Is that the best thing to do?” I ask through gritted teeth, trying to restrain myself from exploding.
“Yes, if he’s coming to this island, it’s only going to be for one thing. The sooner we can get airborne the better,” he says so matter of fact.
“Okay, I’ll try and get a plane and get it sorted. Will you alert the others while I break it to Maya,” I ask, dread pooling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of her reaction to this. It’s going to go down like a lead balloon.
I hand over Gracie’s supplies. “Gracie’s on the couch, would you pass these to her?”
“Will do. I’ll go and tell them all to pack up now.”
Walking back up the stairs feels like impending doom.
He has to come and fucking destroy everything?
No! I won’t let him destroy her any more than he already has, she doesn’t know that I’ve noticed how much she panics when she’s touched unexpectedly or how when she’s lost in thought her brows crease together, worry taking over her usual masked expression.
Slowly I open the door to our bedroom to see she hasn’t moved an inch in the time I’ve been downstairs, her breathing is low and heavy as she sleeps peacefully.
Well fuck. The last thing I want to do is wake her up to this shit.
I set the juice and paracetamol on the bedside as I lean over her. “Maya?” I say gently as I rub my hand up and down her arm. “You need to wake up baby, we need to leave.”
“Leave?” she says groggily. “Where are we going?”
“We need to go home, Jake is on his way here and I want him nowhere near you. I’m going to go and sort a plane now for us all to head back.”
She bolts up-right in bed, her face turning a funny shade of green at the sudden movement.
“I’m gonna be sick,” She gags and runs to the bathroom. I chase after her and hold her hair back as she empties the alcohol from her stomach.
“Any better?” I ask, stroking the hair back from her face.
“Not really. So he’s on his way here? Where is he now?” she asks, small tears running down her cheeks from retching.
“He is currently on a plane so the sooner we’re out of here the better.”
“How did he get through security? He’s a wanted man,” She asks.
Funnily enough, that hadn’t even crossed my mind. How did he get through without being arrested on sight?
“I honestly don’t know but while I get answers you might want to chuck some things in a case.
Would you mind doing mine too? Just the essential stuff.
We’ll be coming back here soon anyway,” I ask, I hate to ask this of her right now knowing she feels like shit but time isn’t something we have right now.
“Yes of course I will. You go and figure shit out and I will sort in here,” She says, her face still looking ill. “Tommy, we’ll be okay wont we? He won’t find us?”
“I promise baby, I’ll kill him before he comes anywhere near you.”
I rang every connection I have and managed to charter a yacht from here to mainland Spain, then a jet from Spain to home.
What a fucking mess. All the girls and Max are beside themselves, Jenson has taken on the roll of head coordinator with the guys, barking out orders at them like it’s his job, which I assume once upon a time it was.
“Jenson, did you find out how he managed to board a plane without being caught?” I ask, curiosity about the sneaky bastard taking over me. How is he doing all of this?
“He used a fake passport but without telling you too much, we have access to facial recognition and found him that way.” his eyes never leave his phone as he types away. “I can’t say anymore,” He adds bluntly.
I couldn’t give a shit, I’m happy for him to use any means possible to keep Maya safe, now I just hope we’re not too late and get away without him knowing. The main issue we have is that there is only one airport on the island, which we need to avoid to save bumping into him there.
Maya’s phone rings next to me, her mums name lighting up the screen. I reject the call knowing she wouldn’t want to speak to her right now. She has nipped to the bathroom before we head to the port and what she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.
“I’m ready,” She says walking back over.
She looks a lot more human now she’s up and about. I can’t say the same for Gracie, Blair and Fallon though, they look like they’ve been dug up.
The drive to the port of Mahón is short and our charter is ready and waiting for us.
“Fucking hell, hangovers and boats don’t mix well,” Fallon announces as she clambers up the steps, the rest of us following behind her.
“Why do we need to flee the country again? This all feels a little dramatic,” Blair complains, looking seasick already.
“Because we don’t know what we’re dealing with. If we knew it was just him working alone he wouldn’t be an issue. I just don’t see how he can achieve all he has without having help,” Jenson replies.
Blair sighs. “He’s pissing me off is what he is doing.”
We all sit at the front of the yacht as we sail towards Spain. We’re going to be on here for a while, so we all get back into our swimsuits and enjoy the sun while we can.
“I’m going to miss this,” Fallon says, as she lies back on the large leather square at the front. “I’m not ready to step back to reality.”
“Me neither. Tommy, you’ve got us accustomed to a life of luxury now,” Maya jokes.
She will always live with luxury now that she has me, I’ll make sure of it.
She would never have to work a day again if that’s what she wanted but I know it isn’t.
She enjoys working with her best friends and having her own money.
I could see how much its killed her having to use my card the past few weeks we’ve been here.
It feels like an eternity before we make it to Spain but we make it just in time for our scheduled departure. With it being a late night flight, we can all sleep on the plane for an hour or two, unlike on the boat, the further out to sea we got the choppier the water had become.
Once we’re up in the air I recline my chair so Maya can crawl onto my lap, she curls up and falls to sleep instantly. Her rhythmic breathing lulling me into my own sleep, I just wish we could stay like this forever.
The queue through security was long as hell. It made me wish we had children with us to speed up the process but we’re finally on the other side now, collecting all our luggage from the carousel. We walk through to the other side, about to leave to head for our cars.
“I’m going to nip the loo before we go, I won’t be able to hold it all the way back,” Lucy announces, with everyone nodding their heads sleepily in agreement.
It’s going to be a long arse drive back with how tired I’m feeling. We take turns so someone is always watching the cases but when I head back out Maya is nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Maya? I ask.
“She’s still in the bathroom, I’ll run in and check on her,” Gracie offers as she strolls back in.
A minute passes, and they’ve still not exited. I hope she’s feeling okay, she’s been so queasy from the night before it wouldn’t surprise me if she was still vomiting.
Gracie runs back out towards us, her tanned face now a deathly shade of white. “She’s not in there! I’ve checked in every stall and called for her but there’s no answer.”
“What! Who did she go in with?” I bark out, panic taking over me.
No, no, no, no.
“Me but I assumed she had already come back out!” Fallon shrieks, looking like she might be sick again.
“I’ve been stood here the whole time, I would have seen if she had left. I’ll go in and check,” Freddie announces, marching over to the ladies room.
Fuck it, I need to know that she’s okay and follow along behind him.
Feeling Max at my back as he comes along too.
Woman shout and demand us to leave as we start to check every stall but there is no sign of her at all.
That’s when I notice, just around the corner of the last stall, there’s another door.
A fucking exit door.