“What is this?” he said again but there was less attitude this time.
“What this is,” I said, “is the time that you stop bullshitting us and tell us exactly what’s going on here.”
His eyes slid to Sean’s face again. Mine followed and just for a second I saw what he saw. Without animation Sean’s face was hard, even cold, the slanted cheekbones like the angles of a mask, studded with that black wintry gaze. An arresting yet deadly set of features, capable of showing no mercy.
As I knew only too well.
Jamie swallowed and whatever snappy comeback he’d been about to make died on his lips. But he wasn’t quite out of courage yet.
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said. He heard the nerves tightening his vocal cords and swallowed again, forcing himself to relax.
“Come on, Jamie,” I said. “What was all that about with Gleet? Why is he getting so bent out of shape about this Irish trip? What’s the big deal with Tess not being allowed to go with you?”
“Slick paid up front,” Jamie said. “Gleet just wants to make sure she gets her money back.”
“How much are we talking about?”
He shrugged, as far as he could with me hanging onto the front of his shirt. “I dunno. There’s the ferry, hotels, that kind of thing. A fair amount.”
“Come on,” I said again. “That’s not enough to get so excited about.”
“It might not be for you, but Tess is on her own now and she’s got a kid to look after,” Jamie said, reproachful. “Slick wasn’t exactly the kind of guy to have life insurance, now was he?”
He was right there. The Slick Grannells of this world were too convinced of their own immortality to bother with anything so mundane. There was more, but I had a sense that Jamie wasn’t going to volunteer it.
“Clare’s asked me to go with you to Ireland and watch your back,” I said instead.
“
“Charlie’s job is close protection, did nobody tell you that?” Sean said, his voice mild. His eyes made a lazy pass over me. “She’s very good at it.”
Jamie’s own eyes shifted back to me and there was something else in them now. It was fleeting enough to be almost subliminal, but there might just have been a hint of relief. Then it was gone.
“No dice,” he said. “This isn’t some kind of grannies’ outing. You can’t just put your name down and turn up at the docks. It’s members only. You’ve got to earn the right to be there.”
I chose to ignore the granny gibe. I was only twenty-six – a year younger than Clare – but I suppose she was, technically, almost his stepmother. “Members of what?”
Jamie went silent, realising he’d probably said more than he’d set out to. Again the little flick of the eyes to Sean. Sean didn’t speak, didn’t change his expression, he just moved forwards maybe half an inch, barely more than a shifting of his weight. It was enough for Jamie. More than enough.
His gaze snapped back to meet mine, caught and held it like he was afraid to let it go. Like if he didn’t look at Sean the danger he represented might go away.
“The Devil’s Bridge Club,” he said quickly. “It’s just a group of bikers who’ve got together for a bit of a laugh, you know.”
“So how do I join?”
I felt his shoulders drop a fraction under my hands and he grinned at me unexpectedly. There was the sharp reminder of Jacob’s bones under his skin. It served to make me ease off a little. But not that much.
“Simple,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is qualify. There’s a meet on Wednesday up in the Lakes. You ride the route quick enough, you’re in.”
I got the impression from his sudden change of heart that the procedure was actually far more complicated than it sounded.
“Is that why William and Paxo are so set against Tess coming with you?” I asked. “Is she not quick enough?”
“She doesn’t even have a licence,” Jamie said, dismissive. “Slick was going to take her on the back of his. He reckoned he was just as quick two up.”
“Was that what he was doing when he crashed?” I demanded. “Proving it – with someone who didn’t matter on the back?”
I felt him flinch under my hands. I gave him a shake.
“Come on, Jamie,” I said. “It doesn’t end there. What were you really after when you broke in last night? And even without the drive alarm, why didn’t the dogs go crazy?”
He huffed out a breath. “Maybe they’ve got good memories. Look, you’re making way too much of this, Charlie.” He paused, then hit me with that brilliant smile again. “And I told you, I was just after a place to stay. Fuck me, I used to live there, remember? It used to be my home,” he said and the smile turned bright and brittle. “I’ve more of a right to be there than you have, so back off or clear out, OK?”
And with that he jerked himself free of my loosened grasp, stepped round me and walked away, twitching one shoulder like a cat that’s had its fur thoroughly ruffled. We watched him go.
