Page 27 of Savage Obsession

“Don’t go bandying that about. There’ll be chaos.” He heaps ground coffee into the machine. “Half my soldiers will be wanting Christmas off.”

“You’ll see, once this little one is born. But by then it could be too late. Baz will have found another job, and you’ll have someone nowhere near as good as your underboss. Or as loyal.”

He gives a noncommittal grunt and switches on the machine. “We’ll see.”

CHAPTER 7

Baz

Casey calls me less than an hour after my conversation with Janey. I’ve never spoken to her before, but I’d recognise that soft Scottish brogue anywhere.

“Janey tells me you have a problem,” she starts, without preamble, as soon as I pick up.

“Yes. Did she explain?”

“A bit. How about you run through it for me?”

Straight to business, then. I like that approach. I relate the circumstances and our progress so far.

“So, we think she most likely caught a train out of Warsaw on Monday morning, possibly headed for Tenerife.”

“She has cash?”

“Around two hundred quid, as far as we can tell. A passport, definitely.”

What about this… man? Debinbski, did you say? Might he have any ideas?”

“Debinbski’s dead.”

“I see. Probably a good thing. So, you need me to get access to their cameras and see which train she got on?”

“Yes. I’ll pay you, obviously.”

“You’ll certainly owe me, that’s for sure. Right, I’ll need my gear on Caraksay. That’s where my serious kit is. I have shit to do here, in New York, but I could be there in two days. How about you?”

“Me?”

“I’ll need you there as well. There are sure to be questions I need to ask you, grunt work to be done while I crack on with the real magic.”

“I’m in Poland,” I tell her. “Caraksay’s thousands of miles away, at the back of fucking beyond.”

“And your point is?”

I sigh. “Okay. Okay, I’ll be there in two days.” Or thereabouts. I’m already wrestling with how best to make the journey. “What about Ethan? He doesn’t exactly welcome visitors.”

“I’ll deal with him. You have my number now. Call me if there’s any update or any new information. Otherwise, I’ll see you in two days” She hangs up without further chitchat.

“Where are you going?” Julia demands. She’s been seated beside me, listening to my half of the conversation. “What’s this ‘Caraksay’?”

“An island in the Outer Hebrides,” I reply.

“Outer…?”

“Hebrides. Off the west coast of Scotland. I’ll need your car.” I’m already planning to drive through Europe and catch a ferry across the North Sea. “I need to pack.”

“Why are you going there?”

“Because Casey needs me on hand. I’ll keep in touch.”

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