Page 80 of The Price of Love
‘Then you’ll have to use your charm, won’t you?’
‘Which one? The shrunken human head or the silver horseshoe?’
‘Very funny.’
‘Willow.’ Cal reached across the prostrate body on the floor and took my hand. ‘You realise that if Luke even so much assuspectsthat you know about him, he might not just disappear. He could be dangerous.’
The thought had occurred to me. ‘That’s why I have to make sure that he is one hundred per cent convinced of my undying devotion to him. Plus, of course, I have the world’s most powerful aphrodisiac at my disposal.’
‘Mmm? It’s working for me, by the way.’
‘Oh this one wouldn’t work on you, you’ve got enough of your own. I’ll call you later, okay?’
‘Be careful.’ His eyes were guarded now. ‘I don’t want anything to happen to you.’
‘Not, I would bet, quite as much asIdon’t want anything to happen to me. See you tomorrow.’ And I skipped off down the stairs, with the sting of adrenaline sharp in my mouth.
Chapter Thirty
By Saturday morning the storm had swept clear of York, leaving trails of gravel strewn with petals and branches about the streets as though a thousand careless landscape gardeners had passed by. I was up as soon as it was light, pacing about my bedroom, muttering to myself — there was still so much that could go wrong, so much that I couldn’t leave to trust, to faith, toCal.
But I had to, didn’t I?
It had to work. It justhadto.
At least I knew that Luke would be there. Whoever,whateverelse might go wrong, Luke would be there. Yesterday’s phone call had made sure of that. Although he’d been a bit cool to start off with.
‘How did the gig go? I would have come and said hello as soon as I realised it was you, but you were . . . chatting to that man.’ A clever insertion of a pause, long enough to make me wonder whether he’d seen anything incriminating, until I realised we hadn’t beendoinganything incriminating.
‘It was good, thanks. I thought I’d ring to let you know that the bank is releasing the money, so that I can write you out a cheque tomorrow, if you like. At the hotel? Are you still on for that?’
The word ‘money’ acted on Luke like Viagra cream applied direct to his libido. Suddenly he was the besotted, devoted boyfriend, couldn’t do enough for me. Did I want picking up? Could he bring anything? Oh, and by the way, the dress I’d worn on Sunday to perform in — stunning, made me look like Jennifer Lawrence.
I wasn’t entirely sure who Jennifer Lawrence was.
* * *
I set out for the hotel at ten. I’d booked the suite from lunchtime, but I wanted to get to the place early to spy out the land, wander round a bit, settle in. I wanted to be in control, confident and relaxed, when Luke arrived. I had to play perfect girlfriend a while longer. Accordingly, under my plain slip dress I was wearing the tightest black lace basque that I’d been able to find. The ‘God’s gift to Men’ picture was completed by sheer stockings, a pair of lace knickers which obviously weren’t meant ever to be walked in and the highest heels this side of a transvestite’s cocktail party. My hair was piled up on my head and secured with a few indolent pins which let random swathes tumble onto my shoulders, and when I walked into the hotel reception they clearly thought I was a hooker.
Having reassured them with my credit card, I found my way to the honeymoon suite and began laying out the first stage of my plan, although I had to take my shoes off to do it. The carpet pile was so thick that my heels kept snagging. The alluring knickers, which had looked so sexy on the rail, kept riding up between my buttocks, and the boning in the basque meant that I couldn’t bend down without being suffocated by my own breasts. Obviously I hadn’t missed my vocation as a top-class prostitute. Although, looking around the room at the velvet blindfold beside the bed, the serious handcuffs and silk restraints, the scented massage oils, maybe I had.
I’d finished and it was still only twelve thirty. Luke wasn’t due until two. Somewhere, elsewhere in the hotel, Cal was hopefully putting the rest of the plan into action. I was slightly disturbed that I hadn’t heard from him, nor seen any sign of his presence. The Micra definitely wasn’t parked at the front. Maybe they’d worried about their profile and made him park around the back. Maybe he’d got a lift. Maybe the whole thing had fallen through and I was here alone. I shuddered. Don’t even think it. Trust him.
I ought to have been hungry. Maybe I should eat something. If nothing else it would pass the time.
No. No room. My stomach was caught in the pincer movement of anticipation and fear, boiling and rolling with something that fell between both emotions and might even have been guilt. Was it fair to do what I was going to do? Was it right? Was it my place to deal out justice? Maybe those other women hadn’t cared that he’d taken their money, maybe they’d shrugged their shoulders and got on with their lives?
Maybe this was wrong.
But then I thought of Nadine. He’d conceived a child with her, a woman he was planning to abandon. Brought another innocent person into his filthy schemes without caring that Nadine was going to find herself a single mother, without a penny.
A tap at the door and my heart nearly fell out through my mouth. ‘It’s okay. It’s only me.’ Cal put his head inside the room. ‘Just wanted you to know that I’m here. Everything is fine.’
I ran over and grabbed him, hiding my face against his chest, feeling his warmth and the press of his bones against me. ‘God, Cal, I amsoscared.’
‘Hey.’ And then he caught sight of the arrangement on the bed. ‘Hey. Whoo, where’d you getthisfrom?’ He held up the silk restraint. ‘Don’t tell me, Ash.’
I gave a shaky giggle. ‘How did you guess?’
