Page 47 of Saving Mr. Bell

“You’re missing the point.”

“Oh, I’m missing the point, am I?” Annoyance crept into my voice, Arlo turning from where he’d left the sofa to make tea to stare at me. I didn’t look at him, concentrating on the sceneoutside instead. The perfect winter scene that seemed tainted by having Jade’s voice in my ear while I viewed it. If only I’d never insisted on Arlo returning my SIM card, I could still exist in a state of sweet oblivion. Instead of having to listen to her harangue me, I’d have Arlo’s mouth on my cock, teasing out an orgasm. “I’m fine, Jade, in case you were wondering. I assume you forgot to ask that question.”

“What?” She sounded genuinely befuddled by my comment.

“I’m assuming you’ve tried to call me multiple times. Usually, if someone goes missing for eleven days and can’t be reached, people fear the worst.”

“Rudolf, whatever game you’re playing, and whoever you’re playing it with, it’s time to stop. You’ve had your fun. Time to come back to the real world.”

I rested my forehead against the cool glass, wishing for a blizzard to start up. It didn’t. It hadn’t snowed in three or four days. Maybe even longer. Time had become an alien concept. This cabin had no sense of place or time. It was just Arlo. For once, though, Jade was right. It was time to return to the real world and face up to things.

“Where are you?” Jade asked.

I laughed at the question. “Where are you?”

“In France. Where you should be.”

“I’m still in Austria.”

“Where exactly?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

I risked a glance at Arlo. Never had making a cup of tea required so much concentration. “It’s complicated.” I might have once stated that I’d throw Arlo to the Austrian police, but that was another world. No way was I going to mention his name. Not to Jade. Not to anyone. Which left me in something of a bind. Well, that and the fact that I wasn’t lying when I saidI didn’t know where I was. “Somewhere outside Salzburg. I got snowed in at a cabin and there was no phone reception. I didn’t deliberately take myself off the grid. It just happened.” Jade made a noise which disputed that without her needing to put it into words. “I have a car, but the roads aren’t clear enough for it to be safe. A few more days, maybe.” And if I was lucky, it would snow again.

“I can send someone,” Jade said without hesitation. “I’ll make sure they have a roadworthy vehicle. Four-wheel drive. Snow chains. Whatever’s required. I just need to know where to send them, so cough up the information.”

Arlo appeared next to me. He passed across a piece of paper and I stared at the words written on it.This place is called Villa Taube.

“Villa Taube,” I said.

“Great. Now we’re getting somewhere. I’ll have someone there by tomorrow morning and they’ll drive you to the airport. Be ready, Rudolf. No more fucking about. We’ll talk when you get to France. You can make a statement about your illness to the media, say that you’re almost back to full health and that you’ll be resuming your promotional duties once you’re well enough. I’ve made a list of private clinics. You can choose which one you’d prefer, but you need to attend one of them.”

“Oh, I do, do I? Thanks for letting me know that. Very kind of you.” I hung up before she could say anything else that would have the rage building in me boil over.

Arlo passed me a mug of tea and I curled my hands around it, the slight sting of a too hot mug welcome on my palms. “I’m guessing,” he said carefully, “the conversation didn’t go well?”

I shook my head, my throat too thick with a mixture of emotions to risk saying anything. Arlo lingered for a moment, but when I said nothing, withdrew to give me some space. Istared out of the window until the mug in my hands had gone cold, all without taking a single sip.

Chapter Eighteen

Arlo

Three hours after taking the phone call from his manager and Rudolf was still upset. He wouldn’t admit to it, but he didn’t have to. It was in his monosyllabic replies to any question I asked, the hour he’d spent staring out of the window, the time after that he’d spent alone in the bedroom when we were usually together, and in the way he was playing with the food I’d put in front of him rather than eating it.

It felt like one conversation with his manager had undone all my good work in bringing him here and getting him to open up. I appreciated it wasn’t quite that simple, but it was hard to know what to say that wouldn’t make things worse. The alternative, though, was just letting him walk out of my life without saying anything. “So, what happens tomorrow?” I asked. “After Jade has someone pick you up, I mean?”

Rudolf moved a meatball from one side of his plate to the other. “They’re going to drive me to the airport.”

“What about your stuff at the hotel in Austria?”

He shrugged. “No idea. She never mentioned it. I guess she’ll get someone to pick it up if she hasn’t done so already. The room was only booked for a couple more nights after you—”

“Borrowed you.”

A hint of a smile, gone so quickly I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined it. “It’s all replaceable. Clothes mostly.” He dropped his gaze to his chest, where he wore one of my T-shirts as usual. “I haven’t worn my own clothes in over a week, so I’m not going to get my knickers in a twist over them. If they’re gone, they’re gone.” He plucked at the fabric, pulling it away from his chest. “Do you mind if I borrow this tomorrow? I don’t want to wear my club clothes to the airport, in case I get papped.”

---