Page 185 of Pervade London
Ivor jumped aside and then leapt at James, flinging his entire weight on him. They fell to the ground and skidded along the highly-polished floor until Ivor got the upper hand, straddling James, grabbing him by the throat and strangling him.
It was impossible to watch.
James’ face flushed with blood as Ivor banged his head onto the deck.
I rushed into the room and laid my violin and bow on one of the tables. Then I reached for the back of a chair. When my hands slipped off, I realized the thing was secured to the ground. Desperately, I looked around for another object to use.
James snapped his hands straight up and outward, breaking the man’s grip and shoving him off. They wrestled each other out the door toward the back of the yacht. A sharp punch to James’ jaw tipped him back. Ivor hoisted him up onto the railing as James fought for balance.
I saw his terrible look of realization—he was going over.
I grabbed the neck of my violin with both hands, raising the Stradivarius into the air above my head and rushing forward, bringing it down hard on Ivor’s skull. A loud crack rang out as the violin splintered, spraying pieces of precious wood around us.
Ivor slumped forward onto James, only dazed.
I dropped the one recognizable piece of my violin—the neck with its strings dangling like stray wires.
I went for Ivor’s phone, but he saw what I was doing and rushed towards me.
James grabbed Ivor from behind and picked him up, using the momentum to hoist the man onto the balustrade. “You’ve outstayed Her Majesty’s welcome.”
James pushed him over.
I clapped a hand over my mouth, muffling a scream.
Breathless, James looked back at me. “You okay?”
I managed to nod my head, my hands shaking.
“Just sent him into third class.” He forced a smile and then his expression changed when he saw my shattered violin.
He looked horrified.
“Best moment of creativity I ever had.” I gave a strained chuckle.
With a sympathetic expression, he retrieved the pieces of my instrument, along with the bow, and threw them into the Thames to hide the evidence of our struggle.
From the stern, we stared out at the water as it swallowed up the pieces of the Strad into its greyness. It felt like icicles were forming along my forearms, a dreadful chill soaking into my bones.
James brushed broken glass off his trousers and then straightened his tie, looking calm and well-put together and nothing like a man who’d been in a deadly fight. But I knew that fairly soon, bruises caused by Ivor’s blows would appear on his face.
Sadness swelled in my chest. “He deserved it.”
Ballad drew in a steadying breath.
“Is he…?”
“The fall killed him.” He straightened his back and stretched. “Let’s get you to the cabin.”
He escorted me the rest of the way. When he opened the cabin door, he gestured inside and asked, “You know everyone?”
There were several students milling around inside.
I scanned their faces and nodded. “Yes.”
He held out his hand.
Reaching into my jacket pocket, I withdrew Mikhail’s phone and handed it to him.
