Chapter 2
The world spread below the aircraft is white and flat as Detective Inspector Hanna Ahlander peers out of the window.
In the distance she can make out dots of light, suggesting that they are approaching a town, but she can’t work out which one.
It is almost seven o’clock in the evening, and they are heading north.
“Where are we going?” she asks for the third time, turning to Henry Sylvester, who is sitting opposite her in the cream leather armchair.
He shakes his head, managing to look both mysterious and pleased with himself.
“I’ve told you—it’s a surprise.”
He raises his champagne glass in a toast as the flight attendant comes over to offer a refill.
Hanna doesn’t know what to think. When Henry said he wanted to come up with a fun way of celebrating her thirty-seventh birthday, she had imagined a night of luxury at one of ?re’s hotels, as he had told her to pack an overnight bag.
The fact that they drove to Moland airfield outside J?rpen, where a plane was waiting for them, left her speechless.
She usually tries not to think about the fact that Henry is an extremely successful financier, since his immense fortune stresses her out.
Today however, traveling by private plane for the first time in her life, she can’t ignore it.
She tells herself to stop brooding, enjoy the moment.
She raises her crystal glass and toasts her companion. In the soft glow of the cabin lighting, he is strikingly attractive. Intelligence shines from his deep-set eyes; his sharp profile conveys strength and inspires trust.
She feels a tingle deep in her belly, then leans back and takes another sip, allowing the bubbles to roll slowly over her tongue.
She tries to relax, let go for once, simply allow Henry to take command.
The fact that he is so secure in himself is one of the things she really likes about him.
He doesn’t appear to be in the least bit threatened by having a detective inspector as his girlfriend.
This is the first time she has experienced a relationship like this, and she is enjoying not having to tone down either herself or her professional role. Which is something she has had to do many times with other guys.
A voice comes over the loudspeaker system.
“We are approaching our destination and expect to land in Kiruna in fifteen minutes.”
Hanna looks up. Kiruna?
She glances at Henry, who is still wearing his secretive expression.
What has he come up with? Could they be on the way to the Ice Hotel in Jukkasj?rvi?
Hanna has only heard about the famous venue, which is rebuilt every year with ice from the River Torne.
A stay there is out of reach for someone on a police salary.
“Are we going to the Ice Hotel?” she ventures in an attempt to wheedle information out of him.
“Nope.”
“Oh, come on—give me a clue!”
Henry shakes his head, and Hanna can see how much he is enjoying keeping her on tenterhooks.
“You’re like a curious child,” he says. “Have you never been told that patience is a virtue?”
Hanna wrinkles her nose. “It’s not my style.”
Henry spreads his hands wide, pretending to give up on her. “I ought to know that by now.”
When Hanna looks at Henry, it still surprises her that they have gotten together.
He is a billionaire who mingles comfortably with the elite in both Stockholm and Saint-Tropez.
She is an ordinary cop who works in a rural community, with a salary that has usually been spent by the time the next paycheck arrives.
Technically they have been dating for around eight months, although Hanna hasn’t told anyone. Not even her sister, Lydia, who is ten years older and the person Hanna relies on most in the entire world.
Henry wants to show her off, but she is doing her best to keep the relationship secret.
Nor has Hanna said a single word to Daniel, her closest colleague.
He has really struggled over the past year, since separating from his partner, Ida.
His new life is anything but straightforward, as Hanna has learned from their frequent chats as they travel between ?re and ?stersund, where the Serious Crimes Unit to which they are both attached is located.
Informing Daniel that she was seeing someone new would have been tactless—at least that’s what she tells herself.
Nor does Daniel know how she felt about him before she started going out with Henry.
Hanna rests her forehead on the cool glass of the window to chase her complicated thoughts away.
Why is she thinking about this when they’re off on a dream vacation?
She ought to focus on Henry, who has gone to all this trouble, instead of getting entangled in old crap like her unrequited feelings for a colleague.
Henry’s voice brings her back to reality.
“Okay, one little clue,” he says, emptying his glass. “When we land in Kiruna, a helicopter will be waiting for us.”
Hanna frowns.
A helicopter?
As far as she knows, it isn’t very far from Kiruna to Jukkasj?rvi, it would hardly be worth flying there by helicopter from the airport, bearing in mind what it would cost. And in any case surely you’re not allowed to fly in the dark without special permission?
Then again, with Henry you never know. Nothing is impossible for him.
The rich are different, she once read. Indeed they are. She has definitely learned that since they started seeing each other. It’s not that Henry is trying to impress her. He’s not the kind of person who throws his money around or behaves arrogantly just because he is phenomenally rich.
In fact he has already made it clear that most of his fortune will go to a foundation when he dies, rather than to his three sons.
But there is something else that comes with having unlimited resources—as if it gives him a kind of armor. No one can get to him, and he has unlimited freedom to do whatever he wants.
How does it affect a person when they never have to think about what things cost? It is a position that separates Henry from ninety-nine percent of humanity, and Hanna has often wondered whether she should envy him or loathe him for it.
Purely on principle she doesn’t believe that anyone should have that kind of income; it is neither healthy nor fair. The thought of what she and her colleagues earn also drives her crazy, given that they risk their lives in the line of duty.
However, it’s hardly Henry’s fault that society doesn’t reward its police officers according to what they deserve.
He leans forward, gently caresses her cheek. The smell of his fragrance fills her nostrils, a seductive blend of cedarwood and bergamot with a base note of vetiver, which has an immediate effect on her.
“You’re going to love it,” he says softly. “But you need to relax. Trust me.”
Trust is not her strong point, especially as her former partner cheated on her for months before dumping her, but Hanna decides that Henry is right.
For once she is going to give herself permission to be taken care of.
Tomorrow is her birthday.