Page 96 of Knights Game

“Where are your painkillers?”

“Kitchen. In my bedroom there’s Aloe Vera moisturiser can you bring it please,” she says in a monotone voice.

I try to catch her eyes in the mirror, but she’s retreated into herself. And it fucking kills me that she knows how to treat this so well. Kills me that she does this, kills me that she’s done this because of me. Because she felt no control.

I leave her sitting on the toilet and walk in a trance to the kitchen, ignoring the sound of arguing coming from what I assume is Katy’s room.

I walk through her small flat and stand in the kitchen, rubbing my jaw.

“Alek Sokolov called. Shipment's running early, due in tomorrow.” Roman says, coming in.

Of course it is.

“Fuck.” I massage my temple; this is not what we agreed. Fucking Sokolov changing the plans last minute. “Katy under control?”

“Yeah. Are you good for what comes next?”

“Yes.” I grate out, rummaging through cupboards for the bastard pills.

“Layla, okay?”

“No.” I check the next cupboard.

“Plan the same?”

“Yes, Roman, the plan remains the fucking same. Just because Sokolov is flexing, doesn’t mean anything fucking changes. It just means we are going to have to pull a miracle out of our arses.”

I want to punch something. No, that’s a lie. I want to rip someone’s limbs from their body.

“James is taking point; he’s on his way to the warehouse. I’ll speak to Black, make sure he’s there in the morning too,” he says.

“Okay. Stay here tonight, make sure the girls are okay.”

He nods and I walk past him, past Katy who is sitting in the shadows with the fluffiest cat I’ve ever seen. I walk to the front door wearing nothing but the white fluffy towel around my waist.

“Luca.” She calls from the bathroom, my hand freezes over the front door handle, my muscles clenching. If I turn around, and I see her eyes, I’ll stay.

I can’t stay.

I’ve gotta get my head back in the game.

I open the front door and let the darkness swallow me.

32

Layla

“He’s gone.” Katy says.

My hands pause over my leg, the aloe vera soothing my red skin.

I’m so confused.

More tears fall, I don’t know how I’ve got anything left in me.

“Oh, babe.” Her face is full of sympathy, and she steps into my room and hugs me gently. “What happened?”

“I don’t…I don’t even know. It was almost normal, except you know the whole gala dinner and being dressed up, and his cousin threatening me again, and he licked my face.”

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