‘When were you talking to Gwen?’ Rafael asked.
‘Oh, she phoned. And when I said you were tucked away in here, she wanted to know all the details. She’s on her way over now. She’ll be after everything you find for her museum, you know? Everything.’
As Jason unfolded his legs and stood up, he checked his phone and frowned. ‘I’ve a ton of missed calls from Nico. I never even heard the phone.’
‘The signal can be patchy here,’ Laure offered, but Jason was already dialling.
Ari paused in her work and checked her own mobile. ‘Me too. Jason?’
But Jason was just listening intently to the messages and looked even more confused. That expression melted to horror as the blood drained from his skin.
‘He’s in the hospital in Douarnenez. There was a car accident. We’ve got to…Ari? We’ve got to go there now.’
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
The drive to Douarnenez seemed to take forever. Rafael manoeuvred the car with ease at the breakneck speed that Ari was convinced all Bretons employed on their narrow roads, but she didn’t care right now.
As he pulled up outside the emergency entrance to the Centre Hospitalier, Jason spilled out of the car before she could move and was gone.
‘They’ll only let one person in to him,’ Rafael told her, a note of apology in his voice. ‘We’ll park and wait until we hear from your brother. OK?’
She nodded reluctantly. ‘Yes. Thank you.’
He pulled off again, found the car park and a space effortlessly. They sat there in awkward silence, Ari fidgeting with her phone, Rafael staring at the buildings beyond the rows of cars like he was meditating. There was no pretty sea view here, no fishing boats or island of doomed lovers to gaze at. Just cars and low utilitarian buildings in white and terracotta, interspersed with manicured lawns and shrubs.
‘Do you want me to ring and find out more?’ he asked.
She had no doubt he was ready and willing to pull rank and possibly fund a new hospital wing to get answers and the thought made her smile briefly. Before the realisation of what those answers might be stole all humour from her again.
She shook her head and without thinking reached out for his hand. His grip was strong and reassuring and she threaded her fingers with his, relishing the contact. His other hand smoothed over the back of her hand.
‘Nico is a good driver. He’d never be in an accident. I just don’t understand—’ Her phone rang before she could continue and she answered it, her fingertips skidding over the surface.
‘He’s OK,’ Jason babbled. ‘He’s OK. Just cuts and bruises. They brought him here because the car was a write-off and he might have a concussion or something. But he’s OK.’
Ari finally found that she could breathe again. Her eyes burned with sudden tears. Nico had been part of her life for so long, he was like another brother. ‘Are you sure? What happened?’
‘Here, talk to him.’
There was a brief sound of discussion at the other end of the line and Nico, resigned and fed up from the tone of his voice, spoke. ‘Ari, I’m fine. I promise you. They’re completely overreacting. I’m happy to go home now.’
‘Well, you aren’t going anywhere. Not until they discharge you,’ she heard Jason say quite clearly. When he did leave, her brother would be watching him like a hawk.
‘What happened?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know. The car came out of nowhere and sideswiped me. I went off the road and down into the river. I’m just lucky I got out before—’
‘Nico, you could have drowned.’
She said the word before she thought about it and something terrible and cold gripped her chest.
‘But I didn’t. It wasn’t even that deep. I’m fine,chérie. Absolutely fine. I blacked out, that’s all—’
‘Twice!’ Jason protested.
‘Yes, fine, twice. I fainted when the ambulance came. I just got up too fast. I’m better now. Really.’
He was not winning in his campaign to be released from the hospital any time soon. And now Jason was on his case as well, in no mood to allow Nico to pretend nothing was wrong.
