‘That’s not up to me. I’m sorry.’
‘Is there a way he can avoid it?’
‘Like I said, I’m not the one who can make that decision. Nor is Elsa.’
‘Okay.’
Only it was very muchnotokay. Whatever Julian had or hadn’t done, surely he didn’t deserve to go tojail?
An idea came to me.
‘Is there any wayIcan help? What if I persuade him to cooperate?’
‘Ally…’ Tommy angled his body towards me. ‘Pleasestay out of this. There are too many unknown factors and?—’
‘And Kovalec… He was the one threatening Julian on the phone,’ I cut in, ignoring his warning.
‘Ally,’ he said more firmly.
‘So, that’s ayesthen,’ I shot back. ‘AndKovalecis your actual target, isn’t he? Not Julian.’
Tommy expelled a loud breath, which I also took to meanyes.
Hmm, maybe I can wear a wire – cosy up to Kovalec and get him to confess. Not that I know what he needs to confess to – not yet anyway – but I’m positive there’ssomethingI can do.
But I still needed Tommy to fill in some gaps – well,lotsof gaps.
‘So…’ I ventured, only to be cut off.
‘I should go.’ Tommy stood suddenly and headed towards the minibar where I’d torn his clothes off.
‘Wait a minute,’ I implored.
I got up and followed, bewildered as I watched him hunt for his briefs. He found them next to the window and shoved them into his pocket, then stooped to collect his T-shirt from the floor, pulling it on before picking up his shoes.
‘So, you’re flying out tomorrow morning?’ he asked, as if it were a foregone conclusion.
‘No. I told you, I’ve extended my stay.’
‘Jesus, Ally.’
He huffed, and I bit my lower lip, suddenly too weary to fight any more. What was the point, anyway? If he wasn’t going to tell me more about what was going on with Julian, why try to keep him there?
‘Well, go on then,’ I said quietly, nodding towards the door.
He held my gaze for a long moment, then left without another word.
The door closed and silence descended, thick and deafening. Julian’s mess, with all its confusion and contradictions, fell away, and in its place rose a stark and sobering truth: Tommy had been a spy all along.
And his decision to join a secret organisation that sort-of-but-not-really spied on people had left a wreckage in its wake – our marriage.
I sank onto the sofa, a lump rising in my throat as the sting of tears threatened.
All those lies he’d told…
Those trips that had kept him away for weeks or months at a time… He wasn’t saving remote villages from flooding or preventing entire towns from crumbling to the ground whenever the tectonic plates collided. He was sneaking around, pretending to be a skipper, and bugging people’s villas! I cast my eyes about. Had he bugged mine? God, I hoped not. The thought of Tommy listening in while I pleasured myself…
‘Ugh,’ I groaned with a shudder.
