“She should know. She was f…freaked out. This is right moment to stop.” He mentally crossed his fingers. “And to come out.”
“Because of Newt?”
River gulped. “No, because it’s time. I want to.”
“Let’s give it a little while.”
“Not months.”
“Okay. But…”
Of course there’s a fucking but.
“You have to realise you’ll open yourself up to scrutiny. Just because you don’t have the same name as you did when you were seventeen, doesn’t mean some enterprising hack won’t uncover it. All it takes is one school pal to recognise you.”
“Hasn’t happened so far. Maybe…” River hesitated. “Maybe time to come out about that too. Say who I am.”
“That would mean exposing Newt to the same scrutiny. Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
River almost dropped the phone.Fuck.He could tell from the tone of Max’s voice that he was aware of Newt’s background. Should he deny or admit that he knew about it too?
“You’ve gone very quiet, which makes me think he’s told you. Admittedly, I had no idea of his background when I brought him to the house. I only knew what he’d told me. He didn’t lie, he just didn’t tell me what he should have done. Didyou really think I wouldn’t check up on him? He’d changed his surname while he was in prison but he was still traceable. Not Newt Jones but Newt Walsh. Once I knew, I considered driving back and getting rid of him but…” He gave a heavy sigh.
River clenched his teeth.
“Well, I didn’t drive back. There was something about him that made me want to give him a chance. And once I saw that what he was doing with you was working, that you two were becoming friends, I left him in place. He was a boy who’d made a mistake and paid dearly for it. He deserved a break and I didn’t consider for a moment that you’d be at risk. I was hoping he’d both help you and become your friend and—fine, I’ll admit it, maybe a little more than a friend. But in all honesty, had I known at the beginning where he’s been for the last seven years, and what he did to get put there, I wouldn’t have made the job offer.”
“I like him.”
“I know you do. I’m pleased that you do. I like him too.”
“Things…not what they…”
“Seem? Sometimes they’re exactly what they seem. Newt’s been good for you. He might well have saved your life and Dila’s life today. But… And there is a but whether you like it or not. He has an unredeemable background. If it’s revealed, I’d have to sack him. You need to treat him like a throwaway toy. Have fun but grow out of playing with him. I’ll make sure he’s paid well when you no longer need his services.”
River was so furious, he couldn’t speak.
“I can hear you getting bent out of shape, River. Stop it. Maybe the toy reference was a little cruel of me, but how could it possibly work? He has a conviction for armed robbery andmanslaughter. I know he didn’t shoot anyone but he discharged a gun and the guy he threatened ended up dead of a heart attack. He can never go to the States with a record like that and your life will be split between America and the UK. There can be no Newt in your future.”
River wanted to tell him that Newt was completely innocent, that he’d been set up, except he’d promised not to. But he didn’t care what Max said. This was his life and who he had in it was up to him. He cut off the call while Max was still talking.Fuck him! Fuck him!!
River was on his way downstairs when he met Newt coming up.
“Feel better?” River made himself smile.
“Yes. I’ve put potatoes in to bake along with a mushroom tart thing out of the freezer. Looks tasty.”
“I do vege…tables…vegetables?”
“That would be great. Asparagus? Peas?”
River was relieved he hadn’t shown his distress on his face. There had to be a way to fix things. He was so…disappointed in Max. And he was wrong. Newtwouldbe in his future.
River didn’t sleep well, even after he’d fucked Newt and Newt had fucked him, which usually exhausted them both. Now Newt lay gently snoring, curled up against him while River’s mind sprinted in so many directions, he felt dizzy.
How could he help Newt? Could he go alone and speak to Phelan, ask him to reveal what had really happened? Would it make any difference? What if the police didn’t believe him? River could see how they might not and he could also see that Phelan might not want to make trouble for the man who’d been with him.
What if the guy with the knife didn’t have anything to do with the letters or the incident in Croatia? River didn’t want Dila to have been his target but, in a way, he hoped she was because otherwise there was someone else trying to hurt him. Why the fuck would anyone want to stab him or Dila! Then again, Christian Slater had narrowly avoided being stabbed outside a London theatre. His bodyguard had apparently borne the brunt of the attack. Yet later, Slater had denied it had happened. River had no idea whether it had or not.
