Page 36 of The Bodyguard

“I think I’ll be fine.” She pours herself a glass of wine and takes a sip, her eyes meeting mine. “Don’t you?”

“You won’t even know I’m here.” I throw her a grin, but I get nothing back. I’m sensing she just wants this night to end now.

“Whatever.” She sighs and starts to make her way out of the kitchen. “I’m going upstairs, for a bath. I trust you’ll at least let me do that on my own?”

“I’ll be here if you need me.”

“Unlikely.”

She disappears into the hallway, and I wait until I hear her making her way upstairs before I do a quick check of the house, just to be sure. No windows are open, no doors left unlocked. It’s as safe as it’s going to be.

I’m at the back of the house now, as far away from the main living areas as you can get. This is where Mikkel Nielsen’s office is, and as I reach out and take hold of the handle it is, as I’d expected it to be, locked. But that’s not a problem. It takes just seconds for me to rectify that, and step inside, quietly closing the door behind me.

It’s an impressive, if not slightly imposing space. Dark walls, a deep brown wooden floor covered partially by a large, patterned rug, and a massively over-sized mahogany desk at the far end. The windows have dark wooden shutters on them, adding to the dim feel of the place, and the walls are decorated with a mixture of family photographs and ones of Mikkel and Tawnee Nielsen with their various high-powered contacts. Friends. Associates. Partners in crime.

Walking over to one of the portrait-covered walls, I zone in on a photograph of Mikkel and Lena. It was taken somewhere hot, not here in the UK, possibly their Greek island holiday home, I’m guessing. There are olive trees in the background and a bottle of Ouzo on the table in front of them. The powerful crime boss and his beautiful princess.

Turning around, I head over to the desk, sit down, and open Mikkel’s laptop. It’s switched off, and I’d be astounded if it weren’t password protected, so switching it on is pointless. For now. I can get around this, I just need to make a couple of phone calls. And tonight isn’t the right time anyway, this is nothing more than a snatched chance at a brief recce. However, now I’m here I figure I might as well try my luck and check the desk drawers. They’re locked too but, again, no surprise. And again, that isn’t a problem. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this, he won’t even know I’ve been here.

Pulling the top drawer open, I find nothing more than a dozen or so pens, a pile of empty envelopes, and a couple of notebooks, both of which are brand new and blank. I try the second drawer. Inside this one is a fairly non-descript manilla file, and I pull it out and open it, quickly scanning the handful of papers inside. But they’re nothing more than copies of Nielsen Construction contracts for building work, all legal and above board. What I really need is to get access to Nielsen’s laptop. And I’m working on that.

Putting the papers back exactly as I found them, I slide the file back into the drawer and close it, making sure everything’s secure before I get up, and leave the room. It wouldn’t be wise to do too much in one go, especially as Mikkel and Tawnee could be home at any moment. I have a small window of time left, and all it would take is one tiny slip-up to ruin everything. I need to be careful.

I can hear Lena moving around upstairs, and I take that as my cue to leave, so, making sure everything is just how I left it, I close the door behind me, check it’s locked, and head back to the kitchen just as Lena walks in, dressed in an over-sized fluffy white robe, a just-as-fluffy white towel covering her just-washed hair.

“I thought you were taking a bath?”

She reaches for the wine and tops up her glass. “Too tired. Took a quick shower instead.” She leans back against the sink and takes a sip of wine. “You can go now. Mum texted me a few minutes ago, she and Dad are on their way home. I’ll be fine.”

I’m sure she will, but I’m still not taking any risks. “I’ll stay, until they get here.”

She takes another sip of wine and rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t argue. I think she’s finally learning that it gets her nowhere.

“Okay,” she sighs, moving over to the centre island and pulling herself up onto a stool, crossing her legs, which causes her robe to ride up slightly, exposing a toned, tanned thigh. And she doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to cover up, so I shift my gaze, turning my head to look out of the window. But there’s nothing to see, it’s dark outside.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink?”

“Hmm? Oh, no. Thanks.”

“Still on the clock, right?”

“I’m never off it.”

She continues to sip her wine, and she smiles at me. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”

She’s not asking me a question, she’s making a statement. And then she slides down from her stool, puts her glass down, and comes over to me, reaching out to straighten lapels that needed no attention. And I should move her hand away, moveheraway, but I don’t.

“It makes Bodie a very dull boy.” She stands up on tip-toes, her hand now pressed against my chest, her fingers splayed. “And I don’t think you’re dull. I don’t think that’s you, at all.”

She smells of lemon and lime, and her mouth is so close to mine I feel her breath on my cheek. And I can’t let her get this close. I can’t do that. I can’t…

“You’ve had a lot to drink, Lena.”

I gently push her away, and she steps back, her hands resting on her hips, her head slightly cocked. “I’m not drunk.”

There’s that defensive side showing itself again. “I didn’t say you were drunk.” Because she isn’t. But she isn’t exactly sober, either. Her judgement’s clouded, and that’s dangerous. I don’t want anything to happen that both of us might regret.

She turns away from me, picks up her drink and downs the last of it, slamming the glass down onto the counter. “I’m going to bed.” She turns back around to face me, and I frown as I watch her expression change to something I want to understand, but I don’t. Or I’m choosing not to, I don’t know, I just think we should put this day to rest now. “I’m guessing you’re still going to hang around, until my parents get home?”

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