‘I’m going to call you Ren for short.’
She didn’t mind. Ren was close enough.
‘I’m Midge.’
Reaching for the sides of his jacket, she pulled it closed at her neck, trying to stem the chilly tremble that shook her whole body.
‘You’re in shock. But don’t worry, these guys will get to you in a mo.’
‘Are you a doctor?’ She assumed he was a medic.
‘No,’ he laughed. ‘I’m a Royal Marine. We all are.’
‘Marines?’ She twisted her head to look at the group, who were folding down their sleeves and wiping their hands on the thighs of their jeans.
‘Yep, we’re on a training exercise not far from here and we were just off out for a bite to eat.’
‘Midge?’
‘Yes?’ He leaned in closer, a big man who radiated tenderness.
‘Is Tony, my friend, is he alive?’ She hardly dared ask, as the prospect of losing him sat like a stick wedged into her throat and about as painful.
‘He is. He’s alive.’ His reticent tone suggested that this might not remain the truth as the night wore on.
Her tears were ribbons of distress that washed her face and now offered scant respite at the fact that her friend was not out of danger. She couldn’t imagine a life without Tony in it.
‘They, they hurt him!’ – she hiccupped – ‘for no reason! We were just walking along,’ she sobbed. ‘Just walking along!’
‘Don’t cry. I never know what to do or say when a girl cries.’
She sniffed up her tears as best she could.
‘Are you with the young lady, sir?’ A policeman knelt beside her.
‘No, no, we’ve just met.’ He smiled at her, a nice smile, a nice face.
‘You’re one of the men who came to the rescue?’
‘Yep.’ Midge nodded.
‘Do you mind if I give you some advice?’ The officer lowered his voice.
‘Please do.’ Midge leaned in.
‘Get out of here, all of you. Get out of here before my over-officious colleagues start taking names and addresses.’
‘Right.’ He took a sharp breath through his teeth. ‘Will you be okay, Ren?’
She nodded, and with the one arm that didn’t hurt, went to remove his jacket.
‘Keep it.’ He smiled.
‘I can’t keep it.’
‘Yeah, you can. Give it to me the next time you see me.’
He held her eyeline, and just the thought of seeing him again was a thin beam of light shining in this, the darkest of moments. She didn’t want him to leave, wary of being alone here; what if the bad men escaped from the police van and found their way back to her?
