True Colours:The You Don't Know Me Trilogy Book 2(43)

'Beautiful, isn't it?'

I turn quickly, and then I'm frozen to the spot.

Ian Boyd is standing right behind me.

'How did you  … '

He takes a step forwards, his face silhouetted against a street light.

'What's the matter? Have we fallen out with Mr Swanky Pants? Where is  he?' He makes a theatrical show of looking around, and then he shrugs.  'Oh, he's not here.' He pauses, and I'm pretty sure he's smiling. I  catch a flash of teeth in the shadows. 'Nowhere to be seen,' he goes on.  'And where's your Neanderthal of a bodyguard?'

Not here. Neither of them are here. I'm totally alone, totally  unprotected. A strange, cold sensation oozes through my veins, like  lead.

'Leave me alone.' My voice sounds timid, pathetic.

'There's nobody to rescue you.'

'Oh fuck off, Ian.'

'Still swearing. You know, I never liked that about you. But I suppose a woman can change.'

Not this woman. This woman is never going to change.

'I'm not interested. I never will be. Get that into your head.'

'And get this into your head,' he shoots back. 'I never give up.'

He takes another step. Close now, he reaches out, runs a finger down the side of my face. I flinch.

'There'll be no secrets with me, Maya.'

The sounds of London ebb away. There's nothing now. No traffic. No  sirens. No shouts. Apart from Boyd's voice and my own heartbeat raging  in my chest, I can hear nothing.

'You can't trust a man like that. A man who keeps secrets.'

My mouth falls open, and he smiles.

'It's easy enough to dig up the dirt, you know. And where Mr Swanky Pants is concerned, I've found it by the shovelful.'

Desperately, I will my brain to kick into gear, my mouth to function. At last, I hear the words come spilling out into the dark.

'Don't waste your breath. I already know it all.'

Boyd smiles. He's clearly about to waste his breath anyway.

'Really? Did you know he grew up in the same town as you?'

'Yes,' I sneer, determined to steal his thunder. 'And I know he was  adopted. I know he was thrown out of university. I know he ended up in  Rome. I know he lived with a woman.'

'And married her?'

'Yes, I know that,' I snap, and suddenly I'm wondering if Boyd is behind Claudine's meddling.         

     



 

He reaches up to touch me again. I take a step to the side.

'And, of course, you know about his penchant for kinky clubs.'

'Yes.'

'He's got a reputation, you know. He's into the serious stuff.'

'Not any more.'

'Are you sure about that? Is it just the light version for you? I can offer you kink, if that's your thing.'

'You can't offer me anything.'

'I can offer you plenty.'

I look past him, at the steps, the row of little white lightbulbs strung  out between the lamp posts. If I'm quick enough, I could make a run for  it, but he'd only follow me. My head's swirling now: a mess of panic  and fear. There's a hand on my arm, fingers closing around my flesh  …   Boyd's fingers.

'Come with me, Maya. I'm not the man I used to be.'

I shake my head and do my best to glare at him, but it's almost  impossible. The world's a blur. And suddenly I realise that I'm crying.

'Back off.'

I jolt at the sound of the voice.

The fingers release my arm and I let out a breath. Moving away, Boyd  turns his back to me, revealing a figure on the steps behind. And even  though I hate him right now, even though he's destroyed every last  remnant of trust in my possession, relief floods through me at the sight  of Daniel Foster.

'And so, like a bad penny ...'

'I said back off. If you lay one finger on her, I'll rip your fucking head off.'

'Nice. I'm not here for a fight. Not this time.'

'Then what are you here for?'

Boyd laughs: an empty, curious sort of a laugh.

'I need to sort out the Feng Shui. It's all wrong.' He wafts a hand  between us. 'You don't go with her  …  and she doesn't go with you.'

Moving forwards into the light, Dan holds out a hand to me.

'Come over here, Maya.'

Drowning in confusion, I stare at the hand.

'Maya,' he pleads. 'Just come over here.'

I falter, take a step towards Dan.

'You're going back to him?' Boyd demands. 'With what you know?'

With his eyes firmly fixed on mine, Dan repeats himself, slowly.

'Just come over here, Maya. I'll explain everything. I promise.'

He turns the hand, opening his palm to me, as if he's offering  everything. And what choice do I have? I watch as my own hand slides  into his and before I know it, I'm standing by his side.

'Just make sure he doesn't lie to you,' Boyd's voice echoes in my ears.  'You never know what else you're going to dig up with this one.'

'There's nothing more to find,' Dan hisses, reaching into his jacket  pocket for his mobile. 'So you can keep your nose out of my life.'

'And you can keep your nose out of mine,' Boyd retorts.

The two men glare at each other, and I'm half expecting Dan to release me, to lurch at Boyd and rip him to pieces.

'Oh yes, I know what you've been up to,' Boyd pushes on relentlessly.  'You've had a private dick nosing through my affairs. Are you, by any  chance, trying to bury me?'

'I will bury you. There's no doubt about it.' Dismissing Boyd with a  glare, Dan taps in a contact on his phone and holds it to his ear.  'We're ready to go home. Get the car down to the embankment now. We're  at the Needle.' Fixing his attention back on Boyd, he slips the mobile  into his pocket. 'You need to disappear. Stay away from Maya. Don't come  anywhere near the apartment, anywhere near the house.'

'And if I don't, what are you going to do about it?'

'I'll think of something.'

'Is that a threat?'

'Could be.'

'Well, Mr Foster, I've got news for you.' Slowly, very slowly, Boyd's  lips curl into a smile, but his eyes remain hard. 'Two can play at that  game.'

He raises a hand, points a finger at Dan, squints  …  and pulls an imaginary trigger.





Chapter Nineteen


While Ian Boyd climbs the steps, Dan follows in his wake, his hand still  clasped firmly around mine. Watching as Boyd saunters off into the  distance, past a row of trees and a red telephone box, he releases my  hand, retrieves his mobile and makes another call.

'He's on the embankment, making for Waterloo Bridge. Be quick.'

'Who's that?' I ask, glancing back along the road. Boyd's already out of sight.

'It doesn't matter.' He shakes his head, drops the mobile back into his  pocket and takes me by the arm. 'I'm having him followed. I want to know  where he's holed up.'         

     



 

Struggling out of his grip, I meet his gaze, finding nothing but steely  determination in his eyes. And suddenly, with Boyd out of the way and  the whirlwind of the last few minutes beginning to calm, I don't know  what the hell I'm doing.

'How did you find me?'

'Lily followed you, saw you take off down here and came to get me.  You're bloody lucky she did. Your luck's going to run out one day,  Maya.'

'Maybe it already has,' I sneer, registering the fact that the Rolls-Royce is pulling up at the kerb.

'How come?'

'How come? I've just fallen in love with a man who's already got a wife.'

He grimaces. 'I told you, I don't have a wife.'

'She was making it all up then? Claudine was lying?'

'No.'

The word hits me like a bullet, and there I have it: a confirmation I  didn't want to hear. A wave of nausea rolls straight through my stomach.  My legs weaken beneath me.

'It was a long time ago,' he states flatly. 'It didn't last and it was nothing to do with love.'

'I need the details.'

'You'll get them later.' Without waiting for the driver, he opens the back door. 'Get in.'

'I don't want to.'

'Just do it, Maya.'

'You told me you'd never been married.'

'I know that.' He shakes his head. 'Okay, I lied to you. One stupid,  ridiculous lie. And believe me, I wish I could take it back.'

'And now, you want me to just carry on as if nothing's changed?'

'No.' His face stiffens with resolve. 'I want you to get in this car and  hear me out. I want you to remember that I love you. If we can get past  this, we have a future together  …  an entire life.'

'But you lied.'

'Because I was scared.' In an instant, the resolve cracks. While his  voice rises in desperation, his eyes plead with me. 'Scared that if I  told you the truth, you'd make a run for it.'

'You told me, no more bombshells.'

'I wasn't exactly planning on this.' He holds the door, watching me  carefully. 'Just get in the car and let me explain. You might  understand.'

'And what if I don't?'

'I don't even want to think about it.'

He holds out an unsteady hand, and I realise that I have very little  choice in the matter. After all, I have no handbag, no money, and the  last thing I want to do is wander off into the night while Boyd's on the  prowl. My body makes the decision for me. One minute I'm standing on  the pavement, the next I'm sitting in the back of the car  …  and Dan is  by my side.

'Get on with it then,' I mutter.

'Not now.'

'It's always not now.'

'I'll tell you everything tonight.' He leans across and fastens my seatbelt. 'I just need to organise a few things first.'

'I'm not going back to the apartment.'

'Where else are you going to go?'

'Camden. I need some space.'

I glare at him, knowing full well that Lucy's away for the night. If I  want to go back to my old flat, then I'm going to have to pay a visit to  Lambeth and dig out my own set of keys. And besides, I could do with  changing out of this ridiculous dress.