True Colours:The You Don't Know Me Trilogy Book 2(52)

'I love you,' I murmur. 'I fucking love you.'

'And I fucking love you too. I'll never stop loving you. I'll never stop  protecting you. You'll never come to any harm, not while there's breath  in my body.'

He begins to move again, driving into me, over and over, with a slow and  steady pace. And as the edge of pleasure broadens out, I don't know if  it's the storm moving on or the fact that he's managed to distract me,  but the thunder seems more distant now, hardly relevant. All I'm seeing  is the man who's arched above me, the powerhouse of his body, the  reverence in his eyes. Completely focussed on him, I might just have  fear on the run.

'Are we ready?' He smiles.

'God, yes.' I smile back.

He picks up the pace, thrusting into me now, taking himself deeper every  single time. And as the pressure builds, I slide my hands over his  broad shoulders and down his back, bringing them to rest on his  backside. Clutching at his taut buttocks, I thrust up against him,  struggling to catch a tattered breath while my muscles twitch and  tighten and glow.

He watches me constantly, even as he begins to untangle.

'Fuck it,' he growls. 'I'm coming.'

And I let go, completely and utterly, tumbling into oblivion as my insides pulsate.

'See what you did then?' he asks, slowing the pace. 'You rode out a storm.'

He collapses on top of me, digging his face into my neck.

'I sure did.'

Lifting his head, he smiles and kisses me deeply for an age before he  pulls out and sets about cleaning me up with the edge of the sheet.

'Yuk.' I scowl.

'No tissues. I'll put it in the wash in the morning. Kathy's never going to know.'

He rolls onto his side and draws me against his chest, face on.  Snuggling into his arms and drinking in his scent, I listen to the rain  against the window panes. I have no idea how long we stay like this,  enjoying the closeness, the quiet, but as the minutes tick by, my  new-found bravery seems to grow.

'I want to go and look,' I say at last.

'You do?' His eyebrows dip. 'But there might be more lightning.'

'And if there is, just hold me tight.'

'Seriously?'

'Seriously,' I confirm. 'I'm sick of running away. I'm sick of hiding.  Sometimes it feels like that's all I've ever done. I don't want to do it  any more.'

He watches me for a moment. His eyes flicker with admiration.

'Fair enough,' he murmurs at last, pecking me on the lips. 'Let's do this thing.'

Out in the lounge, we stand naked in front of the window, Dan behind me,  his arms around my waist. Over the sea, a fork of lightning hits the  water. I wait for the sound of the thunder and there it is, rumbling  across the Atlantic. A small knot of anxiety forms in the pit of my  stomach. The arms tighten and I will the knot to disintegrate.

'It's passed,' he whispers.

'Thank God for that.'         

     



 

Another minute or so slip by in silence before he speaks again.

'I could stay here forever. No problems. No work. Just you and me.'

'So, this is how it's going to be?'

'With Boyd out of the way? Yes.'

I smile to myself, thoroughly contented. I have the man I love and in  every possible way, I'm in paradise. Things are perfect, and they're  only going to get better. In fact, I remind myself, he's already working  on our future together.

'Why didn't you tell me before?' I ask.

'Tell you what?'

'That you're thinking of selling Fosters?'

He takes in a deep breath.

'I only thought of it tonight, Maya. I'm as surprised as you are.'

***

It's a brilliant morning. With the storm over, the air's a little  fresher now, the sun as bright as ever. When we finally join Bill at the  main house, we find him buried in a newspaper.

'And so.' He smiles, folding up the paper. 'The love birds emerge from their nest.'

'Sorry, Bill,' Dan says. 'We didn't wake up until late.'

He gives me a sneaky wink. In actual fact, we woke early. We just didn't get out of bed until almost eleven.

'You seem to have relaxed, both of you. The tea and coffee are fairly  fresh. We'll have to wait for food. I think Kathy's just gone down to  your place. She likes to keep it tidy.'

I stare at Dan, knowing for a fact that he didn't put that sheet in the  wash. With a shrug, he pulls out a chair and waits for me to sit before  he lowers himself next to me. Without asking, he pours me a cup of tea  and then helps himself to coffee.

'Any more thoughts on selling?' Bill asks.

Taking a mouthful of coffee, Dan shakes his head.

'You know, there are other building companies that would snap it up. But  they'll dismantle it. Take what they want. People will lose their  jobs.'

'I know.'

'And I know what you're like. More sensitive than you let on.'

With a grimace, he looks up over the edge of his cup. 'It's time to move  on, Bill. I've got other fish to fry. I'll do my best for the people  there but, like you said, I can't be responsible for all of them. Not  any more.'

'So, how will you keep busy?'

'I have Maya.' He pauses. 'And there are other things.'

'Such as?' I ask, suddenly intrigued.

He doesn't get a chance to answer. Huffing and puffing her way up the steps, Kathy comes to a halt by the table.

'Danny boy! You left your phone in the bedroom. It keeps ringing.' She hands it to him.

'Take a seat, Kathy.' Bill waves at a spare chair.

'I haven't got time for no chopsin.' She shakes her head. 'There's linen to sort.'

With a half-disgusted smirk, she waddles back down the steps and  disappears inside the bungalow. I take a peek at Dan, wondering if he's  feeling as embarrassed as me, but clearly he's not. Instead, he's busy  scrolling through his messages.

'Anything interesting?' Bill asks.

Dan shakes his head. His face clouds over. 'Excuse me. I won't be a minute.'

Getting to his feet, he clasps the phone to his ear and walks away across the lawn.

'Clive, what's going on?'

That's all I hear. Coming to a halt in the shade of a tree, he stays  there for a minute or two, listening intently. It's not good. I can tell  from the way his shoulders have suddenly hunched. At last, he says  something, thrusts the phone into his pocket and returns to us.

'We need to go home, Bill. I'm sorry.'

'But why?' I demand, stunned by his announcement. 'What's the matter?'

'Jodie. She's disappeared.' Sitting back at the table, he takes a sip of coffee.

'Jodie?' I'd virtually forgotten about the pink princess. 'But she's a  teenager. She's probably just slipped off the rails. She'll be back.'

'She's been gone since Saturday morning and she's not answering her  phone. She's never done anything like this before. She's always kept in  touch with her mum.'

'Are we talking about Norman's grand-daughter?' Bill interjects, his face suddenly creased with concern.

Dan nods.

'And they've called the police?'

'Yes, but they're not concerned yet. She's not been gone long enough. And besides, she's been a bit of a tearaway in the past.'

But not recently, my brain muses. It might be nothing more than a simple  coincidence, but then again  …  Even though it must be a hundred degrees  in the shade, I shiver. After what happened at the Savoy, there's every  chance that this isn't a coincidence at all. I look at Dan, almost  certain that our trains of thought are heading in exactly the same  direction.         

     



 

'What about her dad?' I ask. 'Can't he go looking for her?'

Dan shakes his head.

'He walked out on them years ago. He doesn't care.'

'You don't think  … ' I falter.

'I do,' he confirms. 'And so does Clive.'

I feel sick. Boyd may well be unbalanced, but surely he wouldn't go that far.

'What's going on, Dan?'

Bill's voice causes him to start. He turns and fixes our host in his  sights. And then, without hesitation, he launches into an explanation of  everything: right from his first visit to Boyd's flat in Edinburgh  through to Jodie's disappearance. And then he fills him in on Boyd's  past record. Listening intently to it all, the old man strokes his chin.  When Dan's finished, he takes a minute or two to process the  information before he speaks. And when he does, he sounds different.  There's a hard edge to his voice.

'And you're absolutely sure he's got something to do with this?'

'Yes,' Dan answers crisply. 'I underestimated Boyd, but I won't be doing that again.'

'I don't like the sound of this man. He's got it in for you.' He points  at Dan. 'And that makes him my enemy. You know, I still have a few  contacts back in London. They'd find him soon enough.'

'You're not talking criminals?' I venture.

From the look on Dan's face, I'm pretty sure I've just said the wrong  thing. I'm about to apologise for jumping to a ridiculous conclusion  when Bill confirms that I haven't.

'Let's just say I managed a few shady financial deals back in the day. I  know people with clout. They can help with finding this bastard  …  and  then they can scare him off.'

I can't help but think he's planning on a little more than a simple  talking to. And while I know the world would be a better place without  the likes of Ian Boyd, I'm not entirely comfortable with the  possibilities.

'But  … '

Holding up a finger, Bill stops my complaint in its tracks.

'From what Dan's just told me, this man's playing dirty. You need to fight fire with fire.'

Dan gives me an uneasy look. 'Let's leave it to the people I've hired.'