Max came over and clapped both Newt and Andy on the shoulders. “Well done, both of you. River, go back to Dila and charm everyone you talk to. The pair of you stay close to them.”
Newt’s heart continued to race. Thank God the police had the man restrained.
When everyone began to file into the auditorium, Newt and Andy guided their charges out of a side door. They weren’t the only ones making an escape. River walked out talking to a good-looking guy in his twenties. Newt guessed he was the one playing the character from the Middle East.
The sooner they were all in the car, the better he’d feel.
Eighteen
River hadn’t seen the guy with the knife until he became aware of a kerfuffle behind him. He’d turned to see Newt had pinned someone on the ground. He’d tried to pull away from Dila so he could help Newt, but they’d been quickly surrounded by security and pushed into the building. River was so shaken, he’d been unable to talk to anyone until Newt came inside and he’d seen for himself he was okay.
Now they were on their way back to the hotel to drop off Dila and Andy before the driver returned them to the house.
“I was so scared.” Dila snuggled against River. “Oh my God! It was terrifying.”
“Do you recognise him?” Andy asked and showed her his phone.
“No.”
“He had his gaze fixed on River,” Andy said. “Looked a bit manic.”
Dila didn’t know about the hate mail, as per Max’s instructions, though it felt wrong to keep her in the dark. She ought to know she was at risk with him. Maybe she’d like to dump him.
“I’ve been getting h…hate mail.”
Newt shot him a glance.
“What sort of hate mail?” Dila asked. “Is it about me?”
Fuck off, Dila. Not everything is about you.“No.”
That didn’t seem to pacify her.
“Oh God. That guy had a knife.” She wrung her hands. “He could have killed us both.”
“Maybe the guy in custody is the letter writer,” Andy said.
“Maybe.” River hoped he was. Hoped he was behind the incident in Croatia too, though that seemed a lot to ask.
He’d wondered if a time would come when sending letters no longer felt enough to whoever was doing it. It had struck him that they’d either get fed up and stop or things would escalate. Maybe there were three people out to get him. The letter writer, the guy with the knifeandthe person who’d sabotaged the climb. Did that sound paranoid?Common sense suggested it was all the same person. With a bit of luck, that’s what the police would discover.
“It could have been someone who wanted to hurt River because he was with Dila,” Andy suggested. “Some rabid fan. She has a few.”
Whoever had been the target, they were all shaken.
Up until the knife incident, everything had been going well. River had managed to get through the questions without hesitating for too long, or making a mistake. He’d even coped with a couple of questions that he hadn’t prepared for and he’d talked briefly to Misha. Luckily, Misha had been called away to speak to someone else. That was probably Max’s doing.
But his brain hurt now. He wanted to be at home with Newt, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet.
They’d not long dropped off Dila and Andy before Newt fell asleep. His head was resting against the window and River wished he was leaning against him. But he didn’t know how much the driver knew so he stayed where he was.
It was dark when they pulled up in front of the house. River had to wake Newt who opened his eyes and gasped. Hislook of alarm immediately faded when he saw River.
“Thank you,” River told the driver and handed him a tip.
Newt unlocked the door, turned off the alarm and pressed the button to close the gate after the car pulled out. When Newt turned, River tugged him into his arms. They stood together for a long time, just holding each other. Newt was clutching him tightly and River realised that Newt was more shaken than him.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
