Chapter 65
Three men had come for the token. None of them especially large, none that Robin would have looked twice at had he passed them in the street, but each giving off a quiet air of menace.
All white, two were heavily tattooed, the third gaunt enough to be an addict, but with clear eyes, decent teeth and a steady hand.
That hand had locked the back door and held a chair for Jax to sit down.
He stood behind her now, one steady hand on the back of the chair.
He glanced down and the tips of his fingers moved towards Jax’s hair, as though he might twirl a lock around them. His eyes lingered.
Jax sat upright on the kitchen chair, her jaw tight, her eyes fixed on Robin’s. She looked tense. Not terrified. He was terrified.
‘Let this lady leave,’ Robin said. ‘She’s a client. That’s all. Nothing to do with … anything.’
The thin man’s gaze left Jax to fix on the kitchen table, laid for two; on the opened bottle of wine and two glasses.
Bending, he caught hold of Jax’s hand. Before she could react, he’d drawn it up towards his face.
Jax tried, and failed, to pull away. The thin man was looking at the huge diamond engagement ring.
His eyebrows raised in a silent question.
‘She’s not my fiancée.’ Robin tried hard to put some incredulity into his voice as he registered that she hadn’t yet taken the ring off. ‘I told you, she’s a client. I’m a wedding planner.’
Releasing Jax’s hand, the bloke gave a nod to his two companions. One moved to the line of cupboards above the worktop and began looking inside each, the other opened the door to the walk-in cupboard where Robin kept his washing machine and ironing board.
‘It’s not here.’ Robin decided there was no point trying to bluff. ‘Once I knew it was all for real, I made sure it was safe.’
Thin man’s eyebrows rose again.
‘I had an appointment with the solicitors on Tuesday,’ Robin went on. ‘I took it straight to the bank after that. It’s in a box at the bank. HSBC on the high street.’ He could hear his voice shaking. ‘I can get it first thing in the morning.’
In the walk-in cupboard, something fell off a shelf.
‘You won’t find it in the bloody utility room.’ He sounded angry, which was better than scared to death, he supposed. Unless it pissed them off. The thin man was still hovering over the back of Jax’s chair.
‘Oh, we’re not looking for the – what do you call it, the token?’ the thin man said, as the one in the cupboard said, ‘Found it.’
He emerged, carrying Robin’s steam iron. Jax gave a tiny squeal as the iron was carried to the counter and plugged in. Smiling now, the thin man brushed her hair away from the side of her face, exposing her cheek and the left side of her jaw.
‘Guys, this is unnecessary.’ Robin felt his stomach clench. ‘First thing in the morning. You can come with me to the bank.’
The thin man ignored him. ‘While we’re waiting,’ he said, turning to the counter where Jax had left her handbag.
He grabbed and upturned it, emptying its contents onto the table.
Wallet, phone, hairbrush, hair bands, tissues, a small make-up bag, and Jax’s NHS ID card and lanyard.
‘Jacqueline Reynolds,’ he read. ‘Consultant anaesthetist. Take a picture, Mike, so we can find this lady again.’
The man called Mike aimed his phone at Jax’s ID card as the iron, heating rapidly, let off a burst of steam.
‘For God’s sake, Robin, give them the token.’ Jax’s composure had collapsed. She was visibly shaking.
‘Only for safe-keeping,’ the thin man put a wheedling note in his voice, but he was still smiling. ‘Just till you pay us what you owe. Then we don’t have to take your car. How’s that iron coming on, Tyler?’
Tyler licked his index finger, before bouncing it off the iron’s surface. ‘Ouch,’ he said, with a wide grin.
‘Give it another couple of minutes,’ the thin man said.
Jax’s eyes were full of tears.
‘OK, OK.’ Robin held his hands up. ‘I’ll get it. Just don’t hurt her.’
‘Go with him,’ the thin man instructed Tyler. ‘Make sure he doesn’t try anything.’
On legs that didn’t feel steady, Robin left the kitchen.
It was only five paces to the hall table.
On reaching it, he stepped back so that Tyler could see what he was doing, and opened the single drawer.
The solicitors’ letter lay on top of the other contents; the token, neatly enclosed in plastic, sat on top. Robin handed both over.
Back in the kitchen, the thin man looked at the letter for long seconds, then stared at the token.
Robin’s heart was thumping painfully against his chest. He was calculating the leap he’d have to take to clear the table and land on the gangster if he tried to go anywhere near Jax with that iron.
There were knives in the drawer under the sink.
If he could reach one of them, he could go batshit crazy with it.
Create enough of a distraction for Jax to get out of the house.
Thin man held the plastic casing up to the light. Robin told himself he couldn’t vomit, not now. Then the man nodded.
‘OK,’ he said. ‘I hope I don’t need to say that if the police get involved, we’ll be back.’
‘You don’t,’ said Robin.
The thin man slipped the token into his jacket pocket and folded the letter. He nodded at Mike, who unlocked the back door. All three men stepped out into the night.
‘How much do you owe?’ Jax asked a short while later. The Chinese food was cooling rapidly in the kitchen, but neither of them could face it. The bottle of red, though, was almost empty.
He thought for a second and gave her a ballpark figure. Her eyes widened.
‘You’ll never see that token again,’ she said. ‘That business about it being surety for what you owe, it was—’
‘Bollocks, I know.’
‘Thank you,’ she said. And shuddered.
‘You need to leave,’ he told her. ‘Have you somewhere you can stay tonight? Somewhere they can’t find you?’ He stood up.
She stayed where she was. ‘I’m staying with a friend,’ she told him. ‘But what’s the point? They’ve got what they wanted.’
‘You’ll be safe enough at the hospital,’ he told her. ‘But you need to be careful when you arrive and leave. Probably until Logan Quick actually dies.’
He reached down, took her hand and pulled her up.
She pulled a face. ‘Robin, this isn’t necessary. And frankly, I’m a bit shaky to be on the bike right now.’
He took a step back, away from her. ‘Jax, I can’t see you again.’
She frowned. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Perfectly. Those three were just the first. There’ll be others now. My name’s out there. Others will come and they won’t believe me when I say I don’t have it anymore. I’m not putting you at risk again.’
Her helmet was by the front door. He left the room, pulling her with him, and found her jacket hanging at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Do you need me to call a cab?’ he asked.
She stared at him, a look of stunned disbelief on her face. ‘That’s it? We’re over before we began?’
Robin’s resolve broke. He stepped closer and took her face between both hands, shuddering at how close she’d come to losing that smooth, creamy skin.
‘My love,’ he said. ‘If I survive the next few months, I’ll be destitute. I’m not subjecting you to that. Now, do you need a cab?’
She shook her head. A few seconds later he heard the roar of her bike as she left his life.
Robin locked the door, checked the back door was locked too and then went back into his living room.
Falling to his knees in front of the TV, he reached for the DVD case of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Inside was the token. The real token, not the gold leprechaun’s coin he’d slipped into the plastic case when he’d realised that, sooner or later, someone would come looking for it.
He wondered whether he’d ever tell Jax how close he’d come to getting half her face burned away.