‘I don’t believe you!’ came Nick’s voice again. I was startled at the ferocity of his tone. ‘You guys have been cutting it to make it go further, haven’t you? You’re undercutting the big boss, and you’re ripping off the street dealers.’
There was silence for a second before the other man spoke again. ‘You are wasting my time.’
These words sent a jolt of shock through my body. That was why his voice seemed familiar—it was the same man who’d put me on the train to Venice. Nick must have answered the phone intentionally so I could hear the conversation in case he got in trouble. And it sounded like he was about to do just that.
‘Nick!’ I shouted into the phone. ‘Nick, get out of there!’
But I knew he wouldn’t hear my voice over the sound of the music in the bar. And if he did, he’d probably ignore it anyway. I jumped up, but the phone jerked out of my hand as I reached the end of the charger’s cord. I dropped to my knees and snatched it up again. I could go to him, but my phone had almost no juice and wouldn’t last long. I’d have to leave it here, and that would mean hanging up on him.
And what was I going to do anyway? Rescue him? If something was going to happen, it would have already gone down by the time I got there. Nick could be on his way to another city, like me. Or worse.
I clutched the phone to my ear and listened.
‘You watch your mouth,’ came the voice of the other man, silky and sinister. ‘This has nothing to do with you.’
‘I beg to differ,’ Nick said. ‘I’m the one who’s getting caned on the streets for your poor-quality product.’
‘I personally oversee the quality of that product. It comes here direct from Amsterdam, and I am the first to see—and to taste—it. I can vouch for its purity.’
‘I want to speak to the boss.’
‘The boss does not do business with street dealers.’
‘Well, maybe the street dealers will have to take their business elsewhere. Like to the police.’
There was a crashing sound that made me jump with fright. I itched to run from the hotel and find him, but I couldn’t tear myself away from where I knelt in the middle of the room.
There was the sound of a scuffle, and the background music gradually receded until all I could hear were thudding footfalls and a lot of grunting. Then everything went silent for several long seconds before I heard the voice of the blond man. ‘Do not come here again.’
‘Tell me who you work for!’ shouted Nick. His voice sounded thick. I hoped they hadn’t drugged him too.
‘You will leave this place and you will not return. Your business with us is over.’
‘You can’t—’ started Nick, but then there was the sickening thud of fists on flesh, and Nick coughing.
I threw my phone on the bed and tore from the room. The shower would have to wait.
Halfway to Le Chat Masqué, I saw him. It was almost dark, but I recognised him at once. He was walking unsteadily towards me down Boulevard de Magenta, clutching a bloodied handkerchief to his nose. I started to run. Without thinking, I threw my arms around his neck.
He put his free arm around my waist and gave me a brief squeeze. ‘Burrowes,’ he said, taking the handkerchief away from his face. ‘You’re back. What are you wearing?’
I stepped away from him, embarrassed both at my impulsive action and my ridiculous outfit. His face was illuminated in the streetlights and I recoiled in shock. He tried to smile.
‘It’s not as bad as it looks.’ His nose was bleeding. One eye was already so puffy and swollen that it had almost disappeared into his face. The tightly stretched skin was split with a cut that made his face look like it could burst open at any second. It looked pretty bloody bad to me.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s get back to the hotel and clean you up.’
When we reached the hotel, I asked the girl at reception for an icepack and a bowl with a clean cloth, and she rushed to comply. Then I led Nick to his room and made him sit down on the bed while I filled the bowl with warm water from the bathroom. I sat down beside him and gently swabbed at the cut near his eye.
‘Ow!’ Nick protested. ‘Go easy, Burrowes.’
‘Serves you right.’ I rinsed the cloth in the water and raised it to his face again.
‘Jesus, thanks for your concern.’
‘You shouldn’t have gone there alone.’
‘Like you did?’ he retorted.
‘That was different.’
‘How exactly was it different?’
‘You don’t make the same mistake twice, remember?’
His mouth twitched into a smile. ‘Oh, I don’t know… some mistakes are worth repeating.’
My hand stopped in mid-air. ‘Are we still talking about the bar?’
His eyes met mine. ‘You tell me.’
My heart beat faster as I rinsed the cloth in the bowl again. ‘You shouldn’t have gone there,’ I repeated. But I was conscious of his gaze on my face, and the closeness of his body. Our knees were touching, our faces only inches apart.
I lifted my hand towards his face again, but he caught my wrist, dropped the cloth back in the bowl and held my hand between his. ‘I was worried about you too.’
His hands were warm. As if by osmosis, my body melted towards his until I was leaning into him, my head resting on his shoulder. It was so tempting to just let myself go, to let it happen, whatever it was. I allowed myself a few extra seconds to enjoy the feel of his body against mine, and then I sat up. I avoided his eyes.
‘Sorry about that,’ I said. ‘I’m wiped after everything that’s happened.’
I went over to the table and wrapped the icepack in a handtowel from the bathroom. ‘Put this on your eye, it’ll
