Page 107 of Carbon

“Is she safe?”

“We’ve got no reason to believe otherwise.”

Ben sighed. “I couldn’t leave her in Africa. After her mother died, she had nobody. When I couldn’t get her to France through proper channels, I spent the last of my savings on smuggling her in.”

“Where is she?”

“With an old friend of mine from the legion. He and his wife tried to have kids for years, but nothing worked. We timed Kali’s arrival over the border with their move to Mougins. Everyone there believes she’s their daughter, and she won’t say otherwise. She’s the brightest kid I’ve ever met.”

The pride in his voice when he spoke about her was evident, and I fell in love with him just a little bit more. Before I could stop myself, I slipped an arm around his waist.

How would he respond?

I held my breath as he reciprocated and then leaned over to kiss my hair, and I knew at that moment we’d be okay. No matter what we had to face, we’d do it together.

And later. We’d do it later. Our tender moment was interrupted as the door burst open. Emmy came through first, followed by Gideon with the blonde woman from the hospital cradled in his arms. Ben leapt up and crouched at her side as Gideon lowered her to the sofa.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded, looking around the room, wide-eyed.

Black didn’t come any closer, but left it to Ben and Gideon to offer some comfort. In the hospital, Roxy had been wearing a short skirt and bandeau top, but in the pair of baggy jogging bottoms and oversized sweatshirt she had on now, she looked even more vulnerable.

“Do we need a doctor?” Black asked.

Her eyes focused in on him, and she shook her head.

“Sure? I can get someone to come here, no questions asked.”

Ben answered for her. “Roxy got through four years of a medical degree. She’s been keeping her wounds clean. Mine too.”

Emmy raised an eyebrow, and I imagined my face showed surprise too. How did she end up here, in this state?

The door opened again, and Ruth walked in, wearing make-up I’d never seen her in before and an elegant black dress. Not her usual attire. Black had obviously called her back from somewhere.

He jerked his head towards Roxy, but Ruth already knew what to do.

“Oh, you poor love. Let’s take you upstairs and get you cleaned up. You look like you could do with a good meal in you as well.”

Gideon helped Roxy to stand, then Ruth took over, leading her from the room in the kindly manner my own mother had never managed to exhibit.

Then the room went quiet again. What now?

“Everybody sit,” Black said. “And we’ll continue our discussion.”

29

“What happened to Roxy? How did she get from studying medicine to that?” Black jerked his thumb towards the door she’d just walked out of.

“I only know the bare bones,” Ben said. “Funnily enough, she doesn’t enjoy talking about it. Her father owed money to some guy, and they couldn’t afford to repay it. The guy told her she could earn enough to cover it by modelling in London over her summer break, only when she got here, another man took her passport and forced her into the sex trade.”

“Who?” Gideon asked.

He looked different, and at first I found it difficult to put my finger on why. The only evidence of the evening’s escapades was a smudge of dirt near the collar of his white shirt. Then I realised. It was his eyes. Earlier they’d twinkled with an easygoing charm, but now darkness radiated from their depths.

“I don’t know who. We’ve been too concerned with surviving to trawl through our personal histories.”

“No matter. We will find out.”

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