Page 59 of Savage Obsession

“Yes. And?” He gets to his feet. “Red or white?”

I ask for white, and he quickly returns from the bar with two miniature bottles and a fizzy drink for Lily. She sips at it until she declares herself tired and reclines her seat. She’s asleep within minutes.

“She soon got over the dog,” Baz observes.

“You bribed her out of it.”

“I distracted her, that’s all.”

I respond with a disgusted snort. “Is that how it’s going to be? She complains, you throw cash at her? How am I supposed to compete with that?”

“Compete? Who said this was a competition?”

“Isn’t it?”

“As long as we both want the same thing, I don’t see why it should be.”

“You want my daughter,” I accuse bitterly.

“I want to be a part of the life of our daughter. How is that unreasonable?”

“If you hadn’t shown up like that?—”

“Our little girl would still have been trundling round Europe on her own, and that slimy pervert would have worked his way back into your knickers, all the while lusting after Lily.”

“Christ, I hate you!” I leap to my feet and storm off to the ladies’ room where I manage to make a quick visit last over half an hour. Eventually, though, I’ve no choice but to slink back to my seat as I have questions about what might be happening in Poland and there’s no one else I can ask.

His wine glass is empty, mine remains untouched. I pick it up and take a sip. “When do you think we’ll be able to go home?”

“I am going home.”

“Poland, I mean.”

He shrugs. “You tell me. It’s been my experience that the police have long memories, and I gather that guy was some sort of high-flyer. He’ll have influential friends. Family. They won’t give up, and they’ll turn up the heat when they continue to draw a blank.”

“What if they manage to trace us? To Tenerife?”

He winces. “Could be awkward. There’s an extradition treaty between Spain and Poland. They only have a description for me, no name. But you? We might need to think about a new identity for you and Lily.”

“What? That’s impossible. I have a business, customers…”

“It’s up to you if you want to take the risk. I am going to look into a new passport for Lily, though.”

“You’ll do no such thing!” I glare at him.

“It won’t cost much. I know a few folk?—”

“I bet you do. No, it’s not happening. You’re making a criminal of her already and we’ve not even left the UK yet.”

He glances about the lounge. “Keep your voice down, if that’s all right. There are armed guards everywhere, and these guys don’t ask too many questions.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

He leans in. “No, you wake up and smell the fucking coffee, Julia. Life is never going to be the same again. Bad shit has happened, you’re in it up to your pretty neck. You can’t just waltz about as though nothing changed. You shot a man. Agreed, he asked for it, but no one else will see it that way. You’ll do jail time for it. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not, but?—”

“Like I say. Coffee.” He gets up and stalks back over to the percolator for a refill.

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