The clouds part again.
‘Oh, thank God.’
He’s standing absolutely still, rigid, holding on to the window frame, bent forward slightly and staring down at the ground ten floors below.
‘The lift!’ I shout, eager to knock him back into action. ‘Dan, there’s somebody coming up!’
Gathering his senses, he checks on me, and then the lift. But it’s too late. The door opens.
I hold my breath, then slump in relief at the sight of Beefy, holding a gun. I have no time to ask what’s going on. Dan staggers towards me, crashing to his knees, silencing the alarm and pulling me into his arms. Folded in his warmth, held tight as if he’ll never let me go again, I begin to shake and sob while he rocks me gently, soothing me back to life. At first, all I can hear is the thudding of his heart, the deep gasping of his lungs. And then, as the tears die away and we both steady ourselves, the sounds of the city return: a passenger jet soaring overhead; a train scraping along tracks; the distant roar of traffic.
At last, I hear Dan’s voice.
‘It’s over. He’s gone.’ He pulls away and checks my face, my throat, my arms. ‘Are you okay?’
I nod.
‘It’s over,’ he repeats. ‘It’s over.’
‘Untie me.’
I turn slightly, allowing him access to my hands. As soon as I’m freed, I run a hand through his hair and inspect the damage. A bloody nose, a bruise emerging on his left cheek, an eye that seems to be swelling.
‘You need to get checked out.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘You don’t look it,’ Beefy intervenes.
I glance up at him, realising for the first time that Carl’s by his side.
‘What’s he doing here?’ Dan spits.
‘He came to his senses,’ Beefy explains.
‘Came to his senses? He brought Maya down here. I should rip his fucking throat out.’
‘Calm down. Once he realised what Boyd was going to do, he swapped sides. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have Boyd’s minion handcuffed to a gate downstairs.’
Dan’s body grows tense. Certain he’s about to carry out his threat, I grab him by the arm and somehow manage to hold him in place.
‘Leave it,’ I plead. ‘He had no choice.’
Tightening my grip, I give him a determined glare. There’s been enough violence and I’ll be damned if there’s any more. While Beefy and Carl go to the window, I wait for Dan to relax, only letting go of him when I’m satisfied.
‘What happened? I didn’t see.’
He stares at me, breathing deeply, his face taut.
‘I killed him.’
‘You fought. It was self-defence, an accident.’
‘No.’ He wipes blood from his nose with the back of his hand, and stares at the floor.
‘The alarm went off, he looked away and I saw an opportunity … I pushed him out of that window.’ He pauses, just long enough for me to process the information. ‘I killed him, Maya.’
I put a palm to his cheek.
‘You’re confused. You did what you needed to do.’
‘I did what I wanted to do.’ His eyes search mine for understanding. ‘I hated him and I wanted him dead. That’s the truth.’
I frown.
‘But you didn’t plan it?’
His breathing quickens again.
‘No.’
‘It was a split-second thing?’
‘But I made a choice.’ He bites at his bottom lip, a fruitless attempt to maintain control. It doesn’t work. A tear betrays him, sliding down his cheek, and then another. ‘I couldn’t have him tormenting you, not any more. I couldn’t …’
I pull him into my arms, letting him dig his head into my neck, immediately giving him the words he needs to hear.
‘I understand, completely.’
It’s the only thing to say. Because I made him promise not to go down that route, but in heat of the moment, he took his chance and put an end to a life – a fact he could have kept from me – but he’s chosen to tell me the truth. And he thinks I’ll hate him for it. But it’s not that simple any more, because I have this new life inside me, a new urge to protect, a deeper, unshakable love for the man kneeling in front of me. Boyd threatened to destroy it all, and I’m glad he’s gone. In the last few hours, my world’s shifted on its axis, a move so slight it’s barely noticeable … and it’s taken my moral compass with it.
‘Sometimes, it’s just not black and white,’ I whisper.
He lifts his head.
‘If you hadn’t pushed him, he might have pushed you. If he’d had a chance, he wouldn’t have hesitated. As far as I’m concerned, that’s still self-defence. You have nothing to feel guilty about.’
‘I agree.’ Beefy’s voice cuts across us.
We both look up.
‘Maya’s speaking sense.’
‘I need you to check on Lily,’ Dan tells him.
‘I’ll get somebody else to do that.’ He pulls out a mobile. ‘I’m staying here.’
‘There’s no need …’
‘Yeah, there is. The police are on their way, I’m a witness, and I need to make sure you tell the truth.’ He kneels in front of Dan. ‘And I mean this truth. Listen to me. He came at you, you punched him, he lost his footing, and fell. That’s what I saw, and him too.’ He motions to Carl. ‘Now, you don’t want to land us in trouble, do you?’
Dan shakes his head, half-heartedly, and stares into the shadows. In spite of Beefy’s words, I’m not entirely sure he’s about to toe the line. Maybe, a little more persuasion’s in order. For a moment, I toy with the idea of telling him the baby news, but it doesn’t seem the right time or place to do it, not with Boyd’s shadow still lingering in the room. I’ll just have to try
