“Like you’ve never used a woman before,” I say.
“No. I don’t need any man’s approval and I don’t need to sleep my way into someone's family to get respect,” he says coldly.
“You’re so amazing,” I mutter sarcastically. “Why isn’t your ol’ lady here with us if there’s a mad man on the loose?” I ask.
Blu finally looks over to me. “I don’t have an ol’ lady.”
“Then if you’re so amazing, why aren’t you and your kid’s mum together?”
A look passes over Blu’s face which tells me he isn’t happy. “That ain’t none of your goddamn business, princess. Stick to pleasing your brother, fucking his prodigy, and running your office of fake dreams. The rest of us live in the real world where we don’t rely on our family name to get us through life.”
My eyes widen. “Scuze me? What are we, ten?” He stares at the television. “Who the fuck do you think you are? I’ve always been polite to you and you’re so fucking rude!” Anger radiates from me, but he continues to stare at the television. I move to stand in front of him, blocking his view of the screen. “I’m talking to you,” I yell. He suddenly reaches out and grabs my wrist, standing in one fluid motion. I yelp in surprise. The look on his face is odd, like he can’t see me. Blade rushes over, but when he spots the vacant look too, he pauses.
“Hey, brother,” says Blade calmly. “You’re okay. We’re at the clubhouse and you’re okay.”
Blu takes a sudden loud, deep breath and then his eyes focus on me. He frowns like he’s surprised I’m there, and then when he sees his hand gripping my wrist, he suddenly drops it like I’ve burnt him. His head whips to face Blade, who holds his hands out in a defensive stance. “You’re okay, brother,” he repeats. “Shall we go somewhere quiet?” Blu nods. “Let’s go,” says Blade, turning slowly and leading the way from the room.
I turn to the girls, who were all watching silently. “What the hell just happened?” I ask.
“It looked like he went somewhere else in his head,” says Leia. “He’s ex-Forces, so it’s common to have flashbacks.”
“Like PTSD?” asks Anna, and Leia nods in response.
“He scared the shit outta me,” I say, rubbing my wrist.
I get one of the spare rooms on the top floor. I like these rooms the best because they have balconies that look over the city. It’s not a great view, all houses and high-rise buildings, but London is my favourite city and I like the busy chaos it brings. Sitting out at night and listening to the streets is something I love to do.
I pull a blanket from my bed and wrap it around myself before stepping out. Police sirens sound in the distance, which is normal for London but I always wonder what they’re rushing towards. I take a seat on a wooden bench and breathe in the cold air.
“I like the night sounds,” comes that deep, gruff voice. I jump in fright but then spot Blu sitting on the floor at the far end of the balcony. Shadows hide his face and I notice his hood is pulled up.
“You scared the shit outta me,” I mutter, clutching my hands to my chest. “For the second time tonight.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he mumbles. “It’s cos I’m tired.”
“So you often zone out like that and grab hold of women?”
“You were yelling,” he says. “Took me back to another time is all.”
“Thanks for the heads up. Next time, I’ll whisper yell when you piss me off.”
“You don’t know how good a life you got,” he says quietly, shaking his head.
“I do actually. You don’t even know me to make that judgement.”
“Well, you got the next week or so to convince me,” he says. “From tomorrow, I’ll be hanging around that office of yours, watching you make people's dreams come true.”
“You’re my bodyguard?” I snap.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m there to watch Eva at Riggs’ request. Luckily for you, she works at your office, so you get to see me every day.”
I head for my room. That's the last thing I need.
BLU
I stare down at my phone, pretending not to listen to the awkwardness of the room. Eva and Gia had an appointment on a caravan site with a Traveller bride who’s got a dress fitting. I’m sitting at the far end of the luxurious caravan as the bride's family stare in horror at the bride-to-be. The bride looks delighted with the bright pink puffy dress as she looks at herself in the full-length mirror.
Gia is tapping her chin thoughtfully, probably trying not to laugh. “It’s gorgeous,” she finally says and murmurs of distress come from the bride's mother. “But,” she adds and a sigh of relief slips out from a few of the family members, “it’s too much. Everyone will be discussing the dress, which is what we want, but not to the point where they forget to look at you. We need something beautiful yet subtle.”
“But this is perfect,” says the bride, plucking at the puffy skirt.
“For a toilet roll holder,” snaps her mother.
“And virgins wear white. If you wear that, everyone’s gonna think you’re not pure,” says one of the other women. The bride's mother sniggers.
“I have a back-up dress that I think will be perfect,” says Gia. Eva rushes off to the car and returns with a bagged-up dress.
An hour later, we’re packing up and heading back to the car, leaving behind one happy bride with an even happier family. “Oh Christ, how the hell did you pull that off?” whispers Eva. We get into the
