Allissa covered the light with her hand and looked upwards. She was close now. For a few seconds she let her breathing subside.
Being out of breath after five flights of stairs wasn’t good enough. When they got back to Brighton, she would have to start exercising more frequently. Maybe she would go running with Leo. With that thought, Allissa realised that it always seemed to come back to Leo. Any problem, any solution, any thought... it all came back to him. He was her sounding board and confidant. Her business partner, friend and —
A distant shout echoed down the stairwell. Allissa pushed on. She covered the phone’s torch so that only a tiny crack of light came through her fingers, and headed for the next set of stairs.
72
Leo fought a wave of panic. They had to be okay. Something would happen, and in a few minutes they’d be walking down those stairs again.
Breathe in, breathe out. Something will happen. It’ll work out.
Leo needed to stay focused. He couldn’t let the panic consume him now.
“You two,” the man with the gun said to Leo and Minty, “go and stand over there.” He signalled for them to move backwards.
Leo focused on his breathing. He couldn’t fall into a panic now.
Breathe in, breathe out. Calm, focus, breathe.
Leo and Minty took a step backwards.
He needed to stay in control now. There was no time for panic. If he didn’t do what this guy asked, then he might be the one getting shot.
Leo and Minty took another step backwards. Glancing sideways at the designer, Leo noticed how ashen the man looked. It was as though he had lost more than money.
Borya and the man with the gun were exchanging words that Leo didn’t understand.
Leo’s mind roamed. What would happen if he died here tonight?
He thought about his sister and nephew. He should have seen them more often. He should have been there for them. Now he might not be able to help his sister with anything. Dead was no good to anyone. Leo hoped, prayed, that Andy — his sister’s husband — would treat them well. If Andy could turn things around just enough to be a decent father, not even a brilliant father — just an acceptable one — then things would be okay.
Leo snatched his eyes open. The dark night. The muzzle of the gun shaking over muted words. No, he was still here.
Then, Leo thought of Mya. The woman he’d lost. The reason he’d gone to Kathmandu. The reason he’d met Allissa.
Allissa.
Mya dissolved into the darkness of Leo’s thoughts and Allissa appeared like a sunrise. Leo thought of the adventures they’d shared, how they’d found each other in Kathmandu and survived the evil plans of Allissa’s father. Then he thought of her in the clinging black dress. Leo felt his expression warm. Allissa made him happy and in the memory — the clinging black dress showing the curvature of her figure — she looked happy too.
Leo let the breath go. It slipped easily from his lungs.
He pulled in another one. It slid deep. Painlessly. Leo felt it nourishing every sense, cell and sinew.
Breathe in, breathe out. Calm, focus, breathe.
He repeated the mantra to himself.
“Take another step backwards.” The man with the gun was shouting at Leo and Minty. Whatever Borya had said had wound him up.
“It’s time for me” — he swung his gaze, and the barrel of the gun, back towards Borya — “to take out the trash.”
Then, without warning, the scene was plunged into darkness as the man holding the light crumpled to the floor.
73
“And remember” — Allissa heard the voice as she reached the bottom of the staircase — “you have already made yourself look dead, so it is no problem for me to do the job properly.”
She killed the light and felt her way up the final stairs. Reaching the top, she looked out from the darkness of the stairwell. A man stood with his back to her. He was holding the torch which illuminated the scene. Another man stood further ahead. He held a gun.
Allissa took two more steps and the rest of the scene came into view. Another guy stood in the centre; his long green coat flailed in the wind.
Then she saw a fourth man. She recognised him instantly — that was Minty Rolleston. Taking another step forward, she saw Leo. He was standing next to Minty, his posture tense, his eyes flicking between the men.
Allissa stepped forward again. The man with the torch was just three feet ahead. He was laughing to himself. Clearly, he was enjoying the evening’s events. Allissa sized him up from his silhouette. Although he was only six inches taller than Allissa, he must have been twice her weight. If he realised she was there, Allissa knew she’d be powerless. She needed to get this right.
Allissa raised the tyre iron above her head and focused on the man’s short-cropped hair. She inhaled a deep breath and steadied herself.
“It’s time for me…” said the man with the gun.
Allissa moved forwards and planted her feet securely on the concrete. If she missed or didn’t get this right… she couldn’t even consider it. Allissa raised the tyre iron further.
“... to take out the trash.”
Three… two… one…
The tyre iron jarred against the man’s skull. The man let out a short, throaty cry and slumped to the floor. The torch clattered down and went out. The scene was plunged into darkness.
The strike had found its mark.
The man was out.
Allissa leapt for the cover of the wall on the left. She expected the other man to fire when the
