Page 71 of The Question of Us
“Youthink?” Samuel managed to sound distressed and furious at the same time. “Exactly what kind of trouble?”
I sucked in a breath. “The kind where Nick thinks Gazza’s been roofied and is being held somewhere in the house.”
“Fuck.” Samuel inhaled sharply. “And Nick?”
I hesitated, knowing this wasn’t going to go down well. “He cut our call short because he thought someone was coming and I haven’t heard from him since.”
There was a two-second pause before Samuel said warily, “He was in the car, right?”
My hesitation gave me away, and Samuel swore loudly. “I’m going to kill that man. And then I’m going to bury his arse. At least I’ll know where he is then. Whose brilliant idea was that?”
“Calm down, babe,” Jerry soothed. “Hear the poor man out.”
I grimaced, knowing Jerry was there as well.“Hey, Jerry.”
“Hey, Mads.” Jerry’s warm honey tone filled my ear. “You better get out what you need to before this man explodes, yeah?”
I drew a deep breath. “Nick keeping eyes on Gazza was always part of the plan,” I admitted. “We were never going to let him go in on his own. We just didn’t tell you because... well, you know why.”
It was Jerry who broke through the thick tension. “He’s turning an interesting shade of red, just so you know.”
“I am not,” Samuel grumbled, but it lacked any heat. “Get Angela on the line for me, will you? Her number is on the fridge. And apologise for the intrusion.”
“On it,” Jerry said, and I heard the soft sound of bed linen being moved aside.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “But you can’t blame Nick. We all agreed to the plan.”
“I will blame that idiot if for no other reason than it makes me feel better,” Samuel griped, then added something about idiot fucking brother-in-laws, amateur detectives, and a lot of foul language that didn’t bear repeating until he eventually calmed down. “Tell me the rest.”
And so I did, right up until the point when Nick stopped answering his phone. “I’ve cruised past the house but there’s nothing to see. The party is still going strong.”
A stark silence greeted my words.
“Samuel? Please.” I couldn’t hide my panicked tone. “I don’t know what to do. Please, tell me what to do. I need your help, dammit.”
Something in my voice must’ve warned Samuel how very fucking close I was to losing my shit completely, because his next words came in a much softer voice. “I’m here. I’m just thinking.”
“To be fair, we couldn’t have foreseen the drugging thing,” I tried.
Samuel huffed. “I’m going to ignore you said that, considering you were kidnapped just a few weeks ago by the same people.” He sighed. “Mind you, I should’ve foreseen that possibility too.” Another long pause. “But your little phone call was a clever idea.”
I blinked. “Really?”
He grunted. “Don’t push it. There’s no knowing what this arsehole will do if he puts two and two together between Gazza and Nick and Lee.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my heartbeat rising.
Samuel sighed. “You know exactly what I mean.”
Then it hit me, and I choked out, “You can’t mean... he wouldn’t... kill them... would he? Why the fuck would Marty do that?”
“Because we have no idea who this guy really is,” Samuel reminded me. “Or what you idiots have stumbled into. Your average fiftieth birthday party does not include roofied guests, potential rape, and kidnapping alongside the buffet table. But as long as Marty continues to think Gazza is just a hot lay and doesn’t see any connection with Nick or Lee, then Gazza is likely okay. But if Marty makes that connection, he’ll know he’s in big trouble and he’ll be furious...” Samuel trailed off.
Shit.“What about Lee? Nick thinks he’s in the shit after tonight as well.”
“Forget about Lee,” Samuel snapped. “Our priority is to get Gazza and Nick safe. Lee and his brother are a separate issue.”
I hated his answer but I understood it. “Okay. Tell me what to do.”
