Page 94 of The Last One to See Him

‘I know. I know.’ Jamie flops down on the bed and buries his head in his hands. ‘Don’t you think I wish I’d made different choices?’

Harper closes her eyes. ‘I don’t care any more. You can stay in the Richmond flat tonight and then first thing in the morning I’m putting this house on the market. Severing all ties. Dexter and I can move back to Southend. We’ll both be happy there.’ The hostility in her voice unsettles him.

‘No! I won’t let you take my son away from me.’

Harper shakes her head. ‘Don’t you get it, Jamie? Dexter isn’t your son!’

Her words shatter in the air, turning Jamie’s blood cold. ‘What are you talking about? Of course he is. Just because I’m?—’

‘No, he isn’t!’ Harper screams. ‘That night I followed you from that restaurant – I was on a date too, remember? His name’s Pierre. I spent the night with him after I followed you to that woman’s place. I was in a dark place and wasn’t thinking straight.’ Harper’s voice is quieter now, flooded with shame.

But Jamie can’t blame her for this act, not after what he’s done. Lying about Dexter, though – that’s unforgiveable. Rage overcomes him and his hands clench into fists. It’s an involuntary action but he’d never hit Harper. Never hurt any woman.

Numb, he turns away from her and begins packing his clothes. He doesn’t care if Harper’s telling the truth and he’s not Dexter’s biological father – that boy is still his son and always will be. Nothing can take away the ten years that Jamie’s been his dad. ‘I’ll leave,’ he tells Harper. ‘But I’m not giving up my son. I’d have to be dead before I let anyone take him away from me.’

Jamie tries to force Harper’s words from his head as he walks along Putney High Street. He comforts himself with the thought that she’s lying, and he vows to never think of it again. Dexter might not look exactly like him, but Jamie sees little of Harper in him too. That happens sometimes. Dexter is his son. End of story.

He makes his way to the bar with the silly name; he knows that’s where Kate Mason is headed tonight as he’d overheard her talking to her friend while they walked their kids to school. He was right behind Kate, as he has been for days now, getting a sense of her so that he knows how to strike when they’re face to face. And what Jamie’s learned about Kate Mason is that she seems like a decent woman. What she’s done to deserve what’s happening to her, he has no idea. He’s just following instructions, and he tries not to dwell on the reasons.

In Tequila Mockingbird, he makes his way to the bar and stands next to a group of men, all of them dressed in suits. He assumes they’ve come straight from the office. Jamie’s got his suit on too, minus the tie, so he easily looks like he’s part of this group.

On a sofa in the corner, Kate and her friend are sitting with drinks, and Kate’s rigid body language tells him she doesn’t feel entirely comfortable here. Jamie can use this to his advantage.

In a stroke of luck, Kate approaches the crowded bar and stands right near him, and Jamie tells the guys he’s near to make room for her. She’ll appreciate that, and it gives him a way in. It might even make her think he’s with this group, not a lone stalker like he is.

It’s easier than Jamie thinks to strike up a conversation, and soon they’re sitting alone, talking about their lives as if they’re old friends. It makes Jamie sad. This isn’t what he’s used to doing – Kate isn’t his normal target. And on top of that, she’s nice. He likes her. Under different circumstances he might actually want to start something real with her. But he’s got a job to do, and he needs to see this through, as much as he detests himself right now.

Again, luck is on his side and they end up sharing an Uber. Kate’s idea. No coercion from him necessary. Which only makes him drown in guilt.

By the time the Uber pulls up outside Jamie’s apartment building, Harper, and the bombshell she dropped, is far from his thoughts. Kate has helped him escape his life, even if only temporarily. He doesn’t know what kind of trouble she’s mixed up in; all he’s been given is a brief to spike her drink with some concoction he knows nothing about, so that he can get her back to his place. But Jamie has no intention of slipping anything into her drink, and it’s untouched in the inside zipped pocket of his coat. This isn’t Jamie’s world, and if he wasn’t desperate for the large cash sum, he’d have no part of it. He doesn’t know what the plan is for Kate, but he prays she won’t get harmed. That was the assurance Jamie had demanded when he agreed to do this. But there’s no honour among thieves.

Kate is laughing, and her smile lights up her face. All the tension she exhibited in the bar seems to have evaporated, and he’s pleased to think that might be something to do with him.

His streak of luck continues when the Uber driver claims they’ve only made one booking, and the next Uber Kate can book is forty minutes away.

‘Want to come in for coffee?’ Jamie asks. ‘At least you’ll be dry while you wait.’

‘I’m not going in your house – I don’t even know you.’

‘Actually, it’s a flat. Does that make a difference?’ Jamie laughs, to hide how nervous he feels now that this is really happening. He tells Kate about letting his wife keep the house, and mentions Dex, just to make her feel more secure.

It works, and Kate agrees to come inside for coffee, once he’s shown her some ID.

‘Here you go,’ Jamie says, handing her his driving licence. ‘Just ignore the mugshot.’

It hasn’t been Jamie’s intention to sleep with Kate, that was never what this arrangement was about. All he had to do was slip her the drug, then get her to his flat. Well, he’s done that now – minus the drugging part – and now he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do.

But Jamie is enjoying Kate’s company, more than he’s done with any other woman for years, including Harper. And now they’re in bed together, ravishing each other’s naked bodies.

Afterwards, while they’re lying together and Kate talks about her son, Jamie wonders why he hasn’t had a call or message asking if Kate is unconscious yet. Jamie looks at her and smiles. Twisting a strand of her hair around his finger, he allows himself to get lost in her. Fuck the money. He’ll find a way to give it back the half he’s already received. He wants no part of this.

‘What are you doing tomorrow? Well, today actually,’ he asks, when she’s getting dressed to wait for her Uber. It’s gone two a.m. and he’d asked her to stay, but Kate had insisted she needed to get home.Probably better that way. She shouldn’t be in this flat.

Kate shrugs. ‘No plans. Thomas will be with his dad.’

‘Then come back and see me. I’ve got some things to do in the morning but you could come in the afternoon. Around two?’

She smiles and nods. ‘Yeah, okay.’

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