“You can always ask me, little girl.What is it?”
“It’s about Fabian.”
I didn’t know why the man who’d leased us the house was on my mind, but somehow, I couldn’t shake my latent sense of suspicion.I’d accepted his offer gladly.Without it, we’d have had nowhere to go, but I was still skeptical about the coincidence that a man with spare rental properties to lease just happened to be in the same café as us when we needed accommodation.
“What about him?”
“Do you trust him?”The question was more direct than I’d intended.“I mean, what were the chances that he’d have exactly what we needed from the next table?”
“I agree, it was all a little convenient.”He stroked the side of my face.“But we really needed his help, so...I suppose I squashed my concerns in favor of our practical requirements.”
“Yeah.”It seemed neither of us truly trusted the man who owned the house we were cuddling in.“I think that’s where I got to.”
“Listen, I’m sure it’s fine.”His hand fell to my shoulder and squeezed.“Who do we think he’s working for?Fewer than a handful of people knew about our plan, and only Andrew and Hans knew we were in Switzerland.How could they have possibly got in touch with Fabian and told him to meet us in a café we didn’t even know we were going to until we went there?”
The sound of his chuckle eased some of the tension from my muscles.“I understand what you mean.We’re probably just a little paranoid.After the last few years, who would blame us?”
“Right.”I leaned against the back of his hand.“You’re right.”
“I had similar concerns about Hans, but if we hadn’t trusted anyone, we’d never have made it from Felixstowe.”
“I know.”My thoughts returned to those fateful moments when Andrew had finally revealed himself.After Macmillan hadn’t showed, I’d truly thought we were done for.“We’ve been lucky.”
“Very lucky.”He sighed, and when he spoke again, his voice was tinged with anguish.“I just hope they haven’t hurt Macmillan.”
I wrapped my arm around his muscular abdomen and held him.“I hope they haven’t, either.”
“What the fuck am I saying?”His laughter sounded haunted.“Of course they’ll have fucking hurt him.Even if his no-show hadn’t meant the worst for him, Ian will have put the pieces of my deception together by now, and he’ll have made sure he tortured the old guy before he hanged him.”
Anxiety clawed at my insides.Experience had taught me Harper’s assessment was likely to have been accurate, but hearing Macmillan’s plight really brought the tragedy home to me.
We’dbeen lucky, and other people had paid the price.
“He was a good guy.”Harper’s tone was more contemplative.“I always liked him.”
“Maybe he got away, too, Sir?”But even as the words escaped, I knew they were folly.
Nobody ever escaped.
We were one of the first, and based on the draconian way I suspected the so-called president would react to our departure, we’d probably be the last.
“I like your version, little girl.”He offered me a weak smile.“Let’s go with that.”
“I’m sorry.”I wished there was more I could offer him as consolation.“He always seemed like a decent, respectful man.”And there hadn’t been many of those.“He doesn’t deserve to be punished for our choices.”
“Yeah.”Harper frowned.“It sucks, and it hurts even more that I helped to build the dictatorship that probably crushed him, but there’s no way any of this is down to you.I’m the one who made the call to leave.I asked Macmillan for his help.”
“I’m not sorry you did.”Turning my head, I kissed his bare torso.He might have been an erotically cruel lover who’d left me hopelessly frustrated, but in that moment, my lack of fulfilment was irrelevant.“I love you, Sir.”
“Oh, little girl.”His hand rose to the back of my head, holding me as he lowered to press his lips to mine.“I fucking love you, too.Whatever the cost, what we have will always be worth it.”
My eyes closed at the sensual vow, and in the silence that followed, I rested my head against his skin and listened to the comforting thud of his heartbeat, while praying that he was right.
There had been so much pain and suffering in recent years.So much loss and grief.The trauma had to be worth something, didn’t it?
Deep in thought, I hardly noticed the knock on the front door.
“That’ll be the pizza we ordered.”Kissing me again, Harper wiggled free from my grasp and collected the money he’d already counted from the bag, which was safely ensconced on the other side of the lounge.“You stay put.”
