‘All right. We were called to your apartment this evening by a member of your Security team, Kenneth Trent. When we arrived, we found two men had been shot, one wounded but alive, the other dead. You were injured and a lady was unharmed. Two other men had arrived, one of whom was Kenneth Trent; both men claim they arrived at the scene after the injuries took place. Does that match your understanding?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Okay. So tell me in your own words what happened tonight. How did you come to be in your apartment and injured?’
‘We’d been to a party hosted by my mother at her house in Cobham. It’s an annual thing. My mother’s a handbag designer; she throws the party every year around fireworks night.’
‘Cobham, Surrey?’
‘Yes.’
‘And when you say “we,” who do you mean?’
The image of Scarlett comes to my mind: walking down the stairs, flawless in her black gown, diamonds glimmering around her delicate neck. Her eyes never left mine as she smiled thatmesmerising smile, until she reached me. I had to remind myself to breathe. My eyes close as I think of the kiss that followed, her soft lips against mine.
‘Mr Ryans?’
‘Sorry, it’s been a long night. Scarlett Heath. I was at the party with Scarlett Heath and my driver.’
‘Jackson?’
He knows him. I nod.
‘For the record, please.’
‘Yes, Jackson is my driver.’
‘We spoke to Geoffrey Jackson and he called himself your bodyguard,’ Trina adds. ‘Why would you need a bodyguard?’
Clearing my throat, I turn on my best impression of modesty. ‘I’m a very wealthy man. Wealth can breed enemies, whether you’re a good man or not.’
‘Mmhmm, and are you? Are you a good man, Mr Ryans?’
‘I’d like to think so.’
‘Thank you, Mr Ryans,’ Barnes interjects whilst shooting Trina a glare. ‘You were at your mother’s party, go on.’
Absentmindedly, I rub a hand around the painful ligature bruising around my neck. I need to concentrate. I need to get this right.God,I need to know where she is. I need to see her.
‘We left the party sometime after eleven, just as the fireworks were starting, maybe closer to midnight.’
Trina frowns. ‘You left the firework party before the fireworks started?’
I’d be irritated by her but I’m distracted by the memory ofthatdance and the desire Scarlett and I both had, the urgency we felt to get home. I was desperate to feel her skin on mine, to satisfy my growling erection inside her.
‘Yes.’ I throw a brief and knowing look at Barnes.
He continues his questions. ‘Scarlett Heath is your… girlfriend?’
He startles me. I clear my throat again. ‘We know each other romantically.’
Trina rolls her eyes. She’s annoyed. Her flushes and smiles are replaced by a moody pout.
‘Where did you go when you left the party?’
‘Jackson drove us to my apartment. When we got to the car park at the Shard, we noticed that the tyres of my Mercedes had been slashed. I grabbed Scarlett.’There was no gun, I remind myself. ‘Jackson led the way to the lift vestibule. The door into the lift had been tampered with.’
‘We need to check the CCTV,’ Trina states, making a note in a small, ring-bound notepad with a cheap, plastic pen.
