Glad to have something to do – my insides were somersaulting – I went to the minibar and poured two glasses of brandy, then handed one to Tommy.
We sipped, both forgoing a toast. But what would we toast to? Old friends? Hah.
Tommy looked around, obviously stalling.
‘Would you like to sit down?’ I asked, already heading for one of the long sofas. I perched on its edge and Tommy sat opposite me on the other sofa, the wide coffee table between us.
This was when he was supposed to start talking, but he seemed to be stuck in a loop of sipping, licking his lips, and staring at me. No, make thatfrowning.
Any moment now…I thought. But I didn’t prompt him and silence filled the room – almost louder than my heart pounding in my ears.
‘Sorry,’ he said eventually. ‘This is harder than I thought.’
I inhaled slowly through my nose, exhaling from slightly parted lips. At least the brandy was chiselling the edges off my nerves –ish.
‘Fuck it,’ he said to himself. Then he looked me right in the eye and said, ‘Ally, I think you should leave Aetheria. As soon as possible.’
Of everything I’d expected to hear, this was such a left turn that my mouth popped open of its own accord. I blinked a few times, shaking my head, then finally found my words. ‘I’m sorry, but what the fuck are you talking about?’
He exhaled loudly – an exasperated sigh, as ifhewas entitled to be annoyed.
‘Look, I’ve been here several weeks now and there’s something going on – something nefarious and it’s escalating. And the last thing I want is for you to get caught up in it.’
My mind flew in a dozen different directions at once. It was impossible to pin down a single thought.
I set my glass down on the table. ‘Get caught up in what exactly?’ I asked. ‘Is this to do with Julian?’
‘Yes.’
‘And?You can’t just leave me hanging like that. What’s going on? Is he in trouble?’
‘Potentially.’
I stood and gave him a hard stare. ‘Tommy, you’re going to have to give me more than one-word answers.’
‘I know, okay, I’m sorry. Just… Please sit down.’
I hesitated for a second, then plopped onto the sofa, glowering at him. Clearly uncomfortable under my gaze, he shot up and started pacing.
‘The day after Elsa and I arrived, I was supposed to meet with Julian in his office – in the building behind the restaurant. Only when I got there, he was in the middle of a heated argument – a phone call, so I only heard his side of it. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but the window was open and it was impossible not to. It was something about a business deal that had soured and at one point he shouted, “Don’t you dare threaten me!” The call ended right after that, and I walked away, waited five minutes, and pretended to be late for our meeting, so he wouldn’t know I’d overheard the conversation.’
I watched Tommy intently, picturing Julian on that call. I’d witnessed similar conversations a handful of times during our marriage. But that was just Julian’s way – he was a hothead one minute, and the next, he went back to being the affable larrikin.
‘But Julian would’ve only—’ I started to protest, but Tommy cut me off.
‘That’s not all, Ally. There’s more. Alotmore.’
13
Thought of the day…
You can’t control everything,but you can control who you let in.
(And this means your heart, your door,andyour knickers.)
Tommy’s tone was deadly serious and his expression so intense that I was struck mute.
He returned to the sofa and sat, leaning forward and balancing his elbows on his knees. ‘You trust me, right?’
