Page 39 of Pervade London
And he knows this.
Xander stared at me. “I’m sorry, Em, you’re going to have to delay—”
“James knows about my audition.”
A stark silence filled the room.
“He had the maître d’ give me his business card. On the back was a note wishing me good luck for Friday.”
Xander glanced in the direction of the front door. “Have you got it?”
“In my purse.”
“Give it to me.”
A minute later, in the kitchen, I watched Xander at the sink holding a flame to James’ business card as wisps of smoke spiraled toward the ceiling.
I glanced at the smoke detector, which thankfully had not gone off. “Does he know where we live?”
“Emily, I need you to pack.”
“So that’s a ‘yes.’” My voice trembled. “When can we come back?”
His expression was apologetic.
“You burned his card so I wouldn’t call him?”
He didn’t respond.
“We have to pack up the flat,” I said. “We can’t walk away from all this.”
“The stuff doesn’t matter.” He reached for me. “You do.”
I stepped back. “I’m not missing that audition, Xander. I’ve put in years of practice building to this one chance.”
“Em, please…”
I shook my head. “I’m calling the police.”
“They own the police.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Let me deal with this.”
“You need to tell me everything.”
“It’s best you don’t know. Trust me, right now it’s the only thing keeping you safe.”
I hurried back to the living room to grab my phone. “I’m calling Kitty.”
He came after me.
“I need to tell someone, so they know we’re in danger.”
“You need to do what I say.” He snatched the phone out of my hand and threw it on the coffee table.
“Then give me an explanation.”
