Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
“SO, IT’S A fundraiser?” Luke asked. “Can’t I just send a cheque?”
Rob shrugged. “Yes and no. There’s usually some sort of auction to raise money, but what they’re really after is your time. Blackwood’s always looking for mentors.”
“Mentors? What do you mean?”
“They don’t dish out free stuff to the kids. They teach them the skills they need to hold down a job and look after themselves. That’s what they want people to help with.”
Mark nodded his agreement. “You can say what you want about Emerson Black and her murderous tendencies, but she’s put a lot of effort into the Blackwood Foundation. Their work’s made a big difference to crime rates, especially in the East End. The number of rough sleepers is down too. I’ve heard Emerson even takes on some of the kids personally.”
“I take it you two have got involved, then?”
“I’m working with a sixteen-year-old lad at the moment,” Mark said. “We arrested him seven times last year for nicking cars, but now I’ve sat down and talked to him properly, I know he only did it because he needed the cash to survive.”
“I can’t believe there are kids living like that.”
“Too many of them. Blackwood found this kid somewhere to stay, and now he’s taking an automotive repair course at college. Getting good grades too.”
“How about you?” Luke asked Rob. “What have you been doing?”
“My kid lives on one of the big council estates with his mum, but she’s not all there. Dementia. Blackwood helped him to get the right care for her so he can go to college. When I caught up with him last week, he said the weight of the world’s been lifted from his shoulders.”
His kid? Rob had really been sucked in by this, hadn’t he? “So you can see you’re making a difference?”
“For sure, and that’s only two kids. There are hundreds more who need help.” The cheeky git caught the barmaid’s eye and held up three fingers. Of course, she smiled and nodded. “You should try it. Blackwood provides every mentor with training and backup. You never know—it might take your mind off Ash.”
Hmm, training? Perhaps that would give Luke some extra skills to handle Tia. He needed all the help he could get there. And although he hated to admit it, Rob and Mark were right. He did need something to occupy his newly created spare time now Ash wasn’t there to share it with him.
“Fine, I’ll come to the dinner thing, but I want to know more about this mentoring scheme before I commit to anything.”
“I’ll text you details of the place and time. It’s black tie.” Rob leaned over and poked Luke in the stomach. “If you can still fit into your tux after all the junk you’ve been eating, that is.”
“Thanks for being so sensitive, mate.”
Luke looked down then closed his eyes to block out the roll of fat hanging over his belt. Where had that come from?
A roar went up in the bar as Chelsea scored, and a group of blokes in blue team strips started doing a drunken dance in front of the bar. Luke surreptitiously switched to drinking water, suddenly concerned over whether he would in fact fit into his tux, or indeed any of his other suits. After all, the number of healthy meals he’d eaten over the past month was in single figures.
His diet started now.
With something to focus on, Luke found it easier to get out of bed in the mornings. He forced himself to use the gym before breakfast and ditched his beer and crisp habit in favour of protein shakes and salads. By the time Saturday came, he fitted into his tuxedo—just—and figured the trouser buttons would survive the evening as long as he didn’t breathe too much.
Mark had insisted they start with a beer to line their stomachs before an evening of “poncey wine,” and when Luke arrived at the pub across the road from the Black Diamond Hotel and Casino where the event was being held, Rob and Mark were already seated at a table. Chris, a doctor of something-or-other Luke had met a few times before, raised his hand in greeting.
“Got you a beer.”
“Cheers.” Luke took a sip to be polite, but he’d already promised himself he’d go easy on the alcohol tonight. He raised an eyebrow at Rob and Mark. “Why do you two look so glum?”
Chris grinned, while the perky pair glowered into their pints even more.
“They played some little security game yesterday, and it didn’t go so well.”
Mark dragged his gaze upwards. “Didn’t go well is the understatement of the year.”
“In what way?” Luke asked.
“At first, everything went to plan. We caught one terrorist at the entrance, and when he took a WPC hostage, we talked him down and arrested him. Except it turned out he was just a distraction for a bunch more bad guys to sneak in around the back.”
Even to Luke’s untrained ears, that sounded like a big problem. “What happened next?”
“Carnage. Pure carnage. Then it got worse. At the debrief in the conference hall, the dude playing the prime minister turned over the lectern he was speaking at and showed us the bomb built into the bottom of it.” Mark leaned forward and smacked his head against the table. “We’d completely missed it.”
“At least it didn’t go off.”
Rob half groaned, half snorted. “Our superiors didn’t see it that way. And once the fake prime minister finished berating us for that error, someone shot him in the chest with a paintball. They had a sniper hidden inside the suspended ceiling at the back of the hall, and we hadn’t checked it properly.”
“And just to emphasise our utter incompetence, the gunman escaped before we could catch him,” Mark finished up.
Luke couldn’t help laughing, earning him dirty looks from his two friends. Before he got a thump in the arm, he checked his watch and pushed back his chair.
“Time to head over the road. We don’t want to be late.”
“I’m not sure I want to go anymore,” Rob muttered. “I can’t face anyone from Blackwood without wanting to sink into the floor.”
Luke took hold of his arm and pulled him up. “You’ve dragged me away from a comfy sofa, and I’ve been living on rabbit food all week to fit into this penguin suit. We’re darn well going.”
Not to mention that when Luke checked the TV schedule earlier, there wasn’t anything on worth watching. He didn’t want to go home to sit through a reality show marathon again.
“And the tickets are like gold dust,” Chris added.
“I’m only going for the alcohol,” Rob said, sighing like a drama queen.
Right, time to get this over with. Mark finished his drink, and the four left the bar.
The drinks reception was in full swing when they reached the Black Diamond. The security staff on the door peered closely at their tickets and checked for ID. No doubt Blackwood had provided the four giants crammed into surprisingly well-fitted suits.
Inside the modern bar, gaggles of people stood around, cocktails in hand, chatting and laughing. An old pro at networking, Luke dove right in out of habit. He’d had to learn the art of meaningless small talk fast after his father died and he’d been forced to take over HC Systems. After half an hour, he’d spoken to fifteen people and had the pocketful of business cards to prove it.
The crowd proved to be a little different to the usual, though. Yes, Luke spoke to several captains of industry, a well-known football player, and an actress, but he also met a schoolteacher, two nurses, and a soldier. Every one of them brimmed with enthusiasm over the mentoring scheme, leaving Luke keen to hear more.
As a small woman with a big voice flitted from group to group, asking people to take their seats, Luke took a chance to admire his surroundings. The hotel was one of the nicer establishments he’d visited, the décor stark yet expensive. Abstract paintings added a splash of colour to the black and white theme in the bar.
The ballroom was done out just as tastefully. Purple orchids graced glass vases in the centre of each table, and the waitresses wore matching flowers in their hair. Luke slid into his seat next to Rob as the servers brought out warm bread rolls.
Perhaps this wasn’t so bad, after all.
“I’m nipping out to the bar,” Mark said. “I hardly got a wink of sleep after the disaster yesterday, and if I don’t get a Red Bull, I’ll be snoring in my soup.”
Luke knew how he felt, except it had been thoughts of a certain brunette that kept him awake. “Make that two.”
“Sure thing.”
Ten minutes later, Mark returned with the drinks but without his colour. Luke had never seen anyone so white.
“What’s up?” he asked. “You look as if you’ve seen Hugh Hefner in a bikini.”
“Emerson Black’s here.”
Rob’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? I mean, we don’t even know what she looks like.”
“Well, she’s standing with the bogus prime minister, and he just introduced her to the man next to him as Emerson Black. So I’d say there’s a fair chance she is, in fact, Emerson Black,” Mark screwed up his face the way he always did when he was pondering. “Plus she looks familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen her somewhere before.”
“You’ll be needing this.” Rob pushed Mark’s wine glass towards him. “So, she’s finally reappeared. Maybe the rumours are true and she really is immortal. Say, I wonder if she was the shooter yesterday afternoon?”
“Is that all you can think about? Work? You never said how fit she is.”
“Didn’t I? Yeah, she’s hot.”
“Hot? She’s smoking. No, hotter. Scorching. Does my hair look okay? Has anyone got breath mints?”
“Forget it. She’s way out of your league.”
“C’mon, let a guy dream. Anyway, it’s not just me. I bet the gents’ is full of guys jacking off over her. She’s a walking wet dream.”
“I’m glad there aren’t any ladies at this table,” Chris said. “One of them would have slapped you by now.”
“Hey, I’m paying her a compliment.”
“You reckon?”
Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It didn’t take much to get Mark’s tongue hanging out, but Luke had to admit to being slightly intrigued by the mysterious Emerson Black.
Trying to be subtle, he angled his chair so it faced the door. How long until she walked through it?