Page 157 of An Unholy Affair
Estelle nodded and went into the corridor.
‘Angel,’ he whispered to Eveline. ‘I need to get you out of your wet clothes. I’ll try and be gentle and I’m sorry if it hurts.’
Carefully peeling them off, he grabbed a t-shirt to absorb the sweat from her body. Eveline’s skin was on fire, but her teeth were chattering. He hauled her to the edge of the bed, where the sheet was still dry.
Estelle came back in and closed the door quietly behind her. ‘They’re sending an ambulance, but it might take half an hour or so as it’s apparently not life and death and—’
‘What the fuck?’ he hissed. ‘This seems pretty life and fucking death to me!’
She nodded. ‘But it’s Saturday night so they’ve got to deal with drunk idiots as well.’
‘Can you help me change the sheets?’
‘Yes. Let me get some fresh ones from the airing cupboard.’
Holding Eveline’s hand, Jack reached across her to untuck as much of the covers as he could. When Estelle returned, she helped him remake the bed, then they moved Eveline into the centre.
‘Do you know where her phone is?’ Estelle asked.
‘She rang me from here, so it must be somewhere. Can you shine your torch on the floor?’
He found it by the bed and passed it to Estelle.
‘I’m going to ring her parents,’ she said.
‘Do you know her passcode?’
‘Yeah. I wanted her to set it to six-six-six, but she used her birthday instead.’
Estelle left the room, and Jack sunk his head, his hand holding Eveline’s as if it were a lifeline. He should have known when her birthday was.
She was still shivering, but had stopped mumbling. Was she asleep?
Estelle crept back into the room. ‘Her dad’s driving up from Kent now. I’m going to ring her mum back once we’ve got her to hospital. She might fly out first thing tomorrow.’ She inclined her head to Eveline. ‘How’s she doing?’
‘Still burning up and shivering, but she isn’t shouting.’
Estelle sat on the other side of the bed and stroked Eveline’s hair. ‘You’re going to be okay,’ she whispered.
They sat in silence, Jack’s ears attuned to Eveline’s breathing as well as listening for any sound that might indicate the ambulance was on its way.
‘Should we get a bag ready for her? For the hospital,’ he murmured.
Estelle lifted her head. ‘Yes—’
She broke off, her eyes widening at a sound from downstairs.
Prickles of adrenaline shot across his skin. He glanced at Estelle, his muscles tensing.
There was a creak from a footstep on the stairs.
Jack glanced around for a weapon. No-one crept into someone else’s house in the dead of night with good things on their mind. But unless he started throwing Polly Hart books with the velocity of a bullet, there was nothing to hand.
Estelle had her phone out, finger poised over the screen.
Jack eased off the bed, stepping quietly to the door. He didn’t know who was on the other side, but he could bet they weren’t expecting to find him.
The sound of a footstep near the top of the stairs ramped up his breathing and heart rate. He knew without a second thought that he would lay down his life to protect Eveline’s.
