Daddy's Here(30)

I swore loudly, dragging her through. The hotel guests were making their way out of the front door as the alarm continued to ring. “Here,” I said, grabbing a couple of discarded coats from one of the armchairs that dotted the space by the reception desk. “Put this on.”

I didn’t give her time to stop, knowing our only advantage was in getting far enough away from the goons before back up came. There wouldn’t be just the two of them if I knew Tony Matteo.

“My feet hurt,” Isabel said as we ran outside, both of us throwing the coats on. I looked down and saw her limping over the crap that lined the pavement.

“Come here,” I said, lifting her up and throwing her over my shoulders. “There,” I said. “Just hold on.”

On the other side of the road was a train station. It would be perfect for us both. I ran over the road, ignoring the blaring car horns as Isabel continued to protest about her treatment. She clearly had no idea how close we’d been to disaster. With outside hires, there was always the risk that they’d not take her back to Tony but keep her for themselves. I’d be dead before I let that happen.

I didn’t dare look back until we reached the station. When I did, I could see both goons in the mass of people, shoving them aside in their impatience while they tried to track us down. I turned back into the station, running onto the nearest platform just as a train’s doors began to close.

I got a hand into the gap between two doors, stopping them from sliding shut by the narrowest of margins. “Get on,” I said, twisting her off my shoulders as the doors hissed open again. She landed in the train and I leapt after her, the two of us crashing to floor as the train began to roll slowly out of the station.





TWENTY-THREE



JAKE





‘You should have let them take her.’

I looked at the phone screen and had to resist crushing it in my hand. We’d been on the train for about half an hour when Tony texted me. Isabel sat with the coat wrapped round her, her legs crossed, looking terrified, as if she might never recover from what had just happened.

“Who were they?” she asked, holding the coat tight against her.

“Men hired to take you back.”

“Like you?”

I nodded. “Not as good as me.”

“What if they find us again?”

“We’ll be more careful.”

“We were careful. I can’t live like this, Jake. Maybe I should just give in, accept defeat.”

“You want to marry Kingsley?”

“No, of course I don’t.”

“Then we keep going.”

“Thank you,” she said as my phone vibrated in my hand.

“What for?” I asked, trying to ignore the phone.

“For saving me,” she said as I glanced down at the screen. The sound of the train rattling along faded away as anger took over me, my eyes scanning the message. He didn’t care about her getting safely home, that much was obvious. He just cared about his pride.

“What does it say?” Isabel asked and I wasn’t sure how to reply. “Is it from Tony?”

I showed her the screen.

“That bastard,” she said. “How could you ever agree to work for him?”

“I doubt I’ll be working for him much longer.”

My phone buzzed again and I glanced down once more.

‘You chose a hotel I own, you fucking moron. I don’t know what you’re playing at but if you think you can hold onto her to get more money out of me, you’re very much mistaken. Bring her back. Now.’

“What does that one say?” she asked as I turned the phone off.

“It says he’s not too happy with the choice we’ve made.”

“I’m sorry, Jake. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. Now you’re going to get killed because of me.”

“If I’m killed, it will not be because of you. It’ll be because I let my guard down.”

The door at the far end of the carriage slid open and the conductor appeared. “Tickets please.”

“Come on,” I hissed, grabbing her hand and moving the other way. “Before he sees us.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“In here,” I replied, pulling her into the toilet and closing the door.

I was squeezed up against the frosted glass window and Isabel was pressed up against me, the space barely big enough for one, let alone two.

“I never expected you to be afraid of a ticket inspector,” she said quietly.

“I’d rather avoid complications,” I replied. “Let’s hope he’s not the conscientious type.”

“Tickets please,” I heard through the door. I held my breath and waited but the sound of footsteps moved on. Still, Isabel remained pressed up against me.