Bianca had been the first to open the car door and witness the aftermath of Emilia’s attack. ‘Well, look who just woke up,’ Bianca exclaimed, her arms folded and her mouth beaming. ‘You’re a fast learner.’
She beckoned two field operatives who moved quickly and efficiently, bundling Bruno’s body into a waiting van. As the side doors opened, Emilia caught a glimpse of a second body inside, that of the staff member she’d paid to attack Louie.
Something warm and wet returned Emilia to the present. She had dug too deeply when cleaning her fingernails and now her own blood was merging with Bruno’s. She used a tightly pressed tissue to stem it and felt the pressure building inside her once more.
She set the car’s windows to privacy mode so that nobody could see what she was doing inside. Then she opened her mouth wide and screamed as loudly as her lungs would permit. Her body bent double as she struggled to squeeze every inch of air from them. And once empty, she repeated the action.
Her throat and lungs burned like she was swallowing scalding water but she wasn’t ready to stop. Even though the pain was close to unbearable it still wasn’t enough to eject the demon from inside her.
Chapter 67
FLICK, LEICESTERSHIRE
Grace’s car stopped on the horseshoe-shaped driveway of a country house and luxury spa in Leicestershire. A concierge with an androgynous appearance, slicked-back hair and clad in a smart white uniform, removed their luggage, loaded it onto a cart and programmed it to go to their rooms. Behind them, Grace’s vehicle drove itself away to park and left them to take in their surroundings.
Flick hadn’t realised just how plush the retreat was going to be when she’d asked Grace’s OS to book a spa in the countryside for a weekend getaway. ‘Wow, just wow,’ muttered her friend as the double doors to the entrance opened into a towering grey neolith foyer. Neither could hide their surprise at the grandeur.
Once they had unpacked their luggage in the linked double suite, they put on their slippers and white cotton robes and booked their treatments for the next two days. They passed a group of guests practising tai chi on immaculately cut lawns as they took a leisurely walk around the grounds. Others made use of tennis courts, a giant holographic chessboard or the eighteen-hole golf course.
‘I don’t think I ever want to leave here,’ said Grace, drinking it all in. ‘I don’t mean to pry but how can you afford to treat both of us on a bar staff’s wages?’
‘I have access to funds,’ Flick said coyly.
‘A lot of funds?’
‘I’m comfortable.’
‘So why work at the pub? And why are you staying in a chintzy little B&B if you can afford to stay at the Ritz?’
‘Aldeburgh doesn’t have a Ritz.’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘I’m more comfortable being around my kind of people.’ Flick chose her words carefully. ‘And before I arrived there, I’d shut myself away from the world for a very long time. This is a fresh start for me. Now, enough with the questions. I have a hot yoga class to find.’
‘Are you sure it’s safe to do it in your condition?’ Grace asked.
Flick caught herself just before saying she’d already asked the receptionist privately if it was safe for pregnant women. ‘My condition?’ she repeated.
‘You know, being super rich?’ Grace chuckled. ‘You wouldn’t want the gold coins in your yoga pants to melt in the heat.’
‘Oh, you’re hilarious.’ Flick feigned a smile as she walked away.
Later and alone, Flick caught herself with the palms of her hands resting against her stomach again. Only now, waiting outside the yoga studio for the class before hers to finish, she allowed them to remain.
As she scanned passing guests, she fixed upon a man sitting opposite her reading a magazine. She was sure they hadn’t met, but there was something vaguely familiar about him. A therapist appeared from behind a closed door and called his name.
It was only as the object of her attention followed the therapist that Flick noticed a mobile phone had fallen from the pocket of his robe and onto the sofa. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, leaning over to pick it up.
A sudden rush of oxygen filled her lungs as she drew a sharp intake of breath. She turned her head to face him, removed her phone from her pocket and held them side by side. The unbranded, silver clamshell devices were identical in every way. They weren’t the only people in the world to own that model, but he was betrayed by his expression. As soon as he saw the phones side by side, he drew his lower lip between his teeth and his eyes bored into hers. Both knew in that moment they had just come face to face with another Minder.
‘Follow me, please,’ the therapist continued, and led him to a treatment room.
‘Thank you,’ he muttered as Flick passed him his phone. And as he left, his head turned to face hers, their eyes still inextricably locked on to one another’s.
Chapter 68
CHARLIE, LEICESTERSHIRE
