Chapter 31
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
EMMA
Ilay awake in one of the most luxurious spare bedrooms I’d ever seen, listening to Alex pace back and forth outside.
I stared at the door, wondering if he’d come in.
Wondering if I wanted him to. He had a magnetic aura, I couldn’t deny that, and being with him did something to me.
It made me feel alive and nervous at the same time.
My heart fluttered in my chest as I lay still, barely breathing as I listened intently.
Was that a gentle tap I heard on the wood?
Not a knock, but a brush against it, maybe?
No. It couldn’t be.
I was hearing things.
Wishing for things.
I tried to calm my beating heart, keeping my breaths slow and steady and willing sleep to find me. But I couldn’t switch off my brain and right now, all I could see was him.
I hadn’t been this excited about a guy in forever, and considering the rest of the shit going on in my life, that was something. He was something, because he had the power to override my fears and make me feel excited for what could happen.
Did I have the same effect on him?
Maybe I did, because he stayed outside for quite a while, and it was only when I heard him retreating, and the sound of a door closing nearby, that I eventually closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
But as I slept, the dreams I hoped would come, soon turned into nightmares of murder, blue boiler suits, and red words painted with blood, promising death everywhere I looked.
I woke with a start, sitting up in the bed with sweat slick on my body, and I prayed I hadn’t cried out loud in my sleep.
I didn’t want anyone to know I’d had a nightmare. Especially Alex.
Instantly, I reached for the bedside lamp to switch it on.
Light filled the room, to show me I was alone.
I was safe. I lay back on the damp pillow and focused on using breathing techniques and anything else I could do to calm my racing heart.
I stared at the wall and began to count the flowers, the leaves, the petals, anything to take my mind to another place.
I tried to compile a list of all the types of lilies I knew, then expanded it to include all flowers.
But nothing seemed to work. The nightmares kept tapping away at my brain like a tree branch on a windowpane in the wind, tricking me and begging me to take a closer look.
That night, I slept with the light on.
The next morning, I was woken by the sound of my phone ringing. I sat up, turning the lamp off before reaching for my bag and pulling my phone out. And there, on the screen, was Grace’s name.
“Where the hell have you been?” I answered, cutting right to the chase.
“Em, I’m so sorry,” she gasped down the phone. “I meant to tell you I was away on a team building thing for a few nights. The Wi-Fi out there was non-existent. What can I say? I’m the worst friend ever.”
I wanted to tell her that, yes, she was shitty for not telling me, but I couldn’t.
“You’re not the worst,” I replied. “Not the best right now, but you’ll probably climb back up there after this phone call.”
She gave a throaty laugh, and then said, “Congratulations, by the way. It was about time you told that fucking pig to stick his job where the sun doesn’t shine. But is everything okay? I got a few messages to say you weren’t feeling well. Shall I come over?”
“No,” I jumped in. I didn’t have the energy to explain what’d happened over the phone, but I didn’t want her turning up at my door to find out I wasn’t there. “I’m okay. I just had a few days of feeling sick, but it’s passed now. I’m fine. No need to come and check on me.”
“I feel dreadful for not being there. I wish my bloody phone had been working.”
“Don’t worry. It couldn’t be helped. You had no Wi-Fi.”
“Any news on your artistic stalker?” she asked.
“That’s all over now.” I lied.
“Really? What happened?”
“He just stopped.” I replied, hoping deep down that what I said was true and Alex would work his magic and make the demon disappear. But for now, I just wanted to forget he existed and have a normal conversation with my friend.
“What, just like that? How do you know he’s stopped?”
I had to think on my feet and come up with something that sounded plausible without telling her the truth.
“Because he left me a message to say it was over.”
I didn’t want to dissect it further, so I tried to distract her by asking, “Anyway, what’s happening with you?”
Surprisingly, it worked.
“Mate, I had the strangest night, last night. I went on a date with this guy. He was so fucking hot, Em. He was wearing a suit, definitely designer, but he still had an edge, you know? I could see his tattoos underneath his collar and best of all, he had hand tattoos. You know I’m a sucker for those. ”
“Aren’t we all,” I mused, thinking of Alex’s and sighing.
“Anyway, the date was going amazingly. He had crazy eye contact, asked me questions about myself and actually listened to what I had to say. He was interested. I was too. Em, I really thought this could go somewhere.”
“So what went wrong? Did his mum ring in the middle of dinner?”
“Worse,” she replied. “I got up to go to the bathroom. When I came out, some random waiter told me there was a fire drill and dragged me through the kitchens to the back of the restaurant, where no one else was, by the way. Then after moaning at him to let me back in, he finally did, and when I got to the table, he’d gone. ”
“Gone?”
“Yes. Just disappeared. Left a pile of cash in the middle of the table with a note on top that said, ‘You’ve had a lucky escape. Thank me later.’ That was it. I mean, what the fuck, Em. What was that all about?”
“I have no idea, but maybe he was right. Maybe you did have a lucky escape. You don’t need to be dating a guy who can bail on you like that.”
I heard her heavy sigh.
“I suppose you’re right. I’m just so fed up with the dating pool resembling a cesspool these days. I wish we could find a couple of decent guys who don’t come with a whole heap of baggage.”
“I hear you,” I told her, even though a spark inside told me I might’ve found someone who was so far away from a cesspool, he was on another planet entirely. But I didn’t want to make her feel any worse than she already did.
We arranged to meet up for a coffee soon, and I made her promise she wouldn’t go AWOL again. Then we hung up, and I stared at the door, wondering what today would bring. Feeling nervous and excited to see Alex again.
I showered and got myself ready, putting on a nice yellow sundress that made me feel good, even though it was freezing outside, and I left my room.
I walked down the corridor, my feet sinking into the plush carpet, then made my way down the staircase. Once at the bottom, I could hear male voices and I turned left, following the noise.
As I grew closer, I heard Alex say, “I won’t be coming to Italy. I told Tobey last night.”
“But I thought you had an important business meeting in Milan?” a familiar voice asked, and Alex replied, “I’m attending by video call. They don’t need me there in person and I have too much on to leave the U.K. right now.”
I walked through the door into the dining room, where a delicious breakfast was laid out on the table, and Alex was sitting at the head of that table, with Ethan right next to him.
“Emma.” Alex stood up when he saw me. “Did you sleep okay? Can I get you anything?”
I sat down on the other side of Alex, opposite Ethan, who currently had a look of shock on his face.
“I slept really well. Thank you. Your bed is really comfy. And this,” I gestured to the table, “Looks amazing. I think you’ve got everything covered.”
Alex smiled and sat back down.
Ethan continued to stare at me with his mouth open.
“You remember Emma, don’t you?” Alex said to Ethan.
“I do.” He smiled then, and after giving Alex a knowing look, as if to say, ‘You kept that quiet’, he turned to me and said, “It’s lovely to see you again, Emma. I’m glad my friend is looking after you so well.”
I tried to find the words to respond. I didn’t know whether to say that I was only staying for a short while, or that I was grateful for Alex’s help. But my words didn’t seem to want to come. So I smiled, poured myself a cup of orange juice and sipped it to give myself time to think.
“Anyway, I won’t keep you,” Ethan suddenly announced, standing up to leave, but grabbing a croissant from the table as he did. “You’ll be missed in Italy but keep me updated. I’ll be in touch. Nice to see you again, Emma.” He nodded his goodbyes then left
“You’ve cancelled a trip?” I asked. “I hope that’s not because of me.”
Alex shrugged.
“I don’t need to be at the meeting in person. A video call is more time effective. And besides, there’s nothing else there for me. I’m needed here now.”
“I have to ask you something,” I said, fussing over my cutlery because I felt nervous about my next question.
“Go ahead. Ask me anything,” he replied, putting his elbows on the table, and steepling his hands together so he could rest his chin on them as he gave me a thoughtful look.
“Is it Tobey?” I asked, looking back at him with apprehension.
“Is what Tobey?”
I took a breath, and then added, “I heard you say to Ethan just now that you’d spoken to Tobey last night and told him you wouldn’t be going to Italy. Is that because Tobey is the artist? Is he S.K.A.M.?”
“God, no!” Alex bellowed, and from the surprised look on his face, I actually believed him. “Tobey can barely draw stick figures, let alone produce art.”
“But you saw Tobey yesterday, and you cancelled your plans,” I ventured.
“I spoke to Tobey. I didn’t see him. I called him to ask for his advice about employment law. He’s more knowledgeable about that kind of stuff than me. And we share the same lawyer, so...”
“Oh,” I replied, feeling a little defeated.
Why wouldn’t he tell me who it was?
“Was Tobey helpful?” I asked.
“Not really. But it was good to talk to someone else about everything. I spoke to my lawyers this morning, by the way. They’re going to contact Gold first thing and get this all sorted out. By the time they’ve finished with him, Gold will be begging for your forgiveness.”
I couldn’t imagine Gold begging anyone, but at the same time, Alex could be very persuasive.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.” I paused, taking another sip of my drink. “Did you tell Tobey about the stalking? The messages and emails?”
“Of course not. That’s no one else’s business. I only asked him where we stood on the termination of your employment. But I was vague. He wouldn’t know it was about you. You can trust me, Emma.”
I nodded, picked up a pastry from the table and bit into it, but I wasn’t hungry, and trying to swallow was a feat in itself, my throat was so dry.
“Why won’t you tell me, Alex?”
He didn’t need me to elaborate on what I meant.
“Because I can’t. And besides, it doesn’t matter now. He’s gone. He’ll never bother you again.”
But it mattered to me. I wanted to know who it was that had such a hold over him.
“How do you know he’s gone? What’s happened?”
Alex sighed and sat back in his chair.
“Because I sent him away. And I know for certain he’s far, far away from here, locked up somewhere, so he can’t hurt you or anyone else. Please just...”
“Trust you?” I added. “I will when I have solid proof it’s all over.”
“For now, all I can give you is my word.”
I took another bite of my sawdust pastry. “I guess that’ll have to be enough...for now.” I couldn’t stop the weight of disappointment from dragging me down, though, the heaviness of it all made me feel exhausted, deflated even.
Alex regarded me, his eyes penetrating as he seemed to be internally debating something, frowning and quirking his lip. Then he announced, “Let me take you out tonight. To dinner. Everything has been so tough lately; you deserve a bit of fun.”
“I’m not sure. I have a lot to sort out. I need to find a place to stay.” I was making excuses, I knew that.
“You can stay here. I already told you that.”
“But I don’t want to encroach on your hospitality for longer than I should.”
“Okay. So you want to look for a new place to live. I can’t stop you doing that, but that won’t take a whole day and night, will it. You have to eat dinner at some point.”
“I can get a sandwich here.”
“But that’s boring.” He shook his head but gave me a cheeky smile with a glint in his eyes.
“Maybe I don’t want to leave the house,” I stated plainly.
His cheeky glint evaporated and he pinned me with a serious stare.
“And now I’m putting my foot down. I already told you you’re safe. You don’t need to stay locked up inside. You have to go on living your life. You can’t let what has happened in the past hold you back. Please, Emma.”
I hesitated and he took that as his cue to push a little harder.
“You need to move forward. And don’t worry, I won’t take you to some lame restaurant that serves tiny portions that’re ridiculously overpriced. We’ll go somewhere more relaxed. It’ll be fun. Come on.” He leaned forward. “Live a little.”
“Fine.” I smiled, feeling like I’d just given in way too easily. “I suppose I can go to dinner with you.”
He grinned back at me.
“I think I might surprise you.” He winked, and then he stood up, and as he walked past me, he brushed his finger across the top of my arm, and I swear I heard him sigh.
That tiny touch sent my pulse racing, and I turned to watch him leave the room, his strong muscular thighs straining against the material of his suit trousers, and his perfect ass that I felt embarrassed for staring at, teasing me with how fucking juicy and round it looked.
Then I noticed a selection of newspapers on the table beside me. I picked one up and saw the front-page story was the murder of Sirius Bell and an appeal for any witnesses to come forward.
‘The Heartless Murder of a Proud Man’ it said in the headlines.
They had no fucking idea who they were dealing with.