‘See you, Emily,’ he said calmly, looking totally unconcerned.
‘I doubt it,’ she replied, airily tossing her hair so that he would remember exactly what he was missing. I watched him from under my lashes, as he eyed her thoughtfully as she and Barney disappeared from view in the wake of WPC Cartwright.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daniel and I left the flat in the hands of the crime scene guys. The twilit sky was awash with blue flashes; the unsynchronised lights illuminating the faces of curiosity seekers crowding around the scattered police cars.
‘This way.’ The attractive brunette WPC who had been assigned to accompany me to hospital ushered me into a waiting car. Daniel, sliding into the back with me, perked up momentarily. His first time too. He was leaning over the seat avidly looking at the different gizmos. I managed a wonky smile. He gave my hand a squeeze.
‘Which one do you think is the siren?’ he said in a loud stage whisper. WPC Jennings gave us both a ‘and-no-one’s-ever-said-that-one-before’ patient smile.
Once again she went through the procedure at the hospital. We’d be met there by a specially trained SOCO who would ‘harvest’ any evidence — her description — and she would be taking my statement as soon as I felt up to it.
The journey to the hospital, despite the novelty of the transport, went by in a haze, as was my time there. I remember clearly Daniel being a constant, at my side the whole time. Everything else had a dream like feel; the low, gentle tones of my police lady as she took copious notes, the crime scene photographer taking hundreds of pictures of me, gently angling my head this way and that to get close ups of every bump and bruise and the low hum of the hospital beyond the cubicle curtains.
The only one bonus to the evening was that I was seen very quickly. The doctor wanted to admit me, but when I questioned her closely about my injuries, she said in patronising tones that if I wanted to, I could go home but she wouldn’t advise it. ‘You’llneed someone with you,’ she said acidly, when I said that I really would rather.
‘She’s coming home with me,’ interjected Daniel, giving the doctor a tight smile. He hadn’t said much in the last few hours, his face had been grim for much of the time. A little light bulb lit up within me — only a fairy light admittedly, given the way I was feeling. I looked at him gratefully, although he didn’t see, he was busy looking at his shoes. I craned my neck to see what was so interesting but couldn’t spot anything.
* * *
Never in his life had he needed to hold on so tightly to his temper. Escorting Olivia for the second time out of the automatic doors of the hospital, he shook with the control he needed to stop himself giving into the desire to lash out at something. If he started, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop a descent into a frenzy of violence. Every knuckle on both hands hurt where they’d been clenched so hard as if physically clutching onto his self-control. He found talking difficult, in case he upset Olivia.
Guiding her along the uneven pavement, he saw passers-by glance quickly at her poor face. Wide-eyed, almost punch drunk, no wonder they looked, she looked so fragile and bruised.
He consoled himself with glaring at them, the only outlet for the violence he held in check, he worried if he let it show it would push her over the edge.
As they stepped into the car park to wait for their Uber, for the first time ever, he was suddenly aware of the openness of the area and their vulnerability. Anyone could lunge out of the darkness towards them from any direction. Quickly he took her hand into his. It was the only part of her he dared touch. It also kept her at arm’s length. The swelling on her face, the streaks of blood on her clothes were a constant reminder of what she’dsuffered and he knew if he didn’t keep a distance, he would break down, hug her to him and never let her go. She needed him to be strong.
Getting her home was the priority. Once they were there and safe, he could let go of the terrible anxiety spiralling through him. Seeing her so vulnerable, at the mercy of Peter, had tugged at a frail thread inside. He’d never felt so helpless or useless. Just thinking about it made his breathing shallow. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on ushering her through the lamp-lit car park.
It never occurred to him to ask her where she might want to go, he was taking her home with him and keeping her by his side for the rest of the night. If not the rest of his life.
When they got back to the flat, he unlocked his car and transferred Olivia from the taxi, settling her in the passenger seat, and then checked there was no one nearby, resisting the urge to lock the doors as he moved around the back of the car to get to the driver’s seat.
‘Do you want anything from the flat?’ he asked, loathe to leave her.
‘I can’t think.’
‘Don’t worry. We can buy stuff or borrow from Miriam. I just want to get you home.’
It was funny how everything suddenly dimmed into insignificance. All the wasted time, Emily’s lies, the near misses. As he started the engine, immediately soothed by the revs under his foot, he turned to Olivia. Her eyes were closed and her lips pressed tightly shut. He let out a breath, slipped the car into gear and glanced at the clock. In another hour they’d be home.
* * *
Daniel couldn’t have driven all the way home in second gear, but I don’t remember him ever relinquishing my punishinggrasp on his hand. My lap was full of first aid remedies pressed upon me by the sulky doctor, antiseptic salve for my face and industrial-sized boxes of paracetamol and Ibuprofen. The latter were just starting to work, so the journey was a blur of cat’s eyes on the road. There was silence apart from the purr of the car on the road and low music that I was aware of but unable to hear. I felt strangely disconnected. The warm hand in my lap was the only thing linking me to the world. I wanted to speak but couldn’t form the words. They were stuck at the back of a tunnel that my brain couldn’t dig its way through.
As I stepped out of the car, the shadows and rustles of the country night immediately soothed me. Emily had said she found the country night alien but I felt comforted by the dark. It felt safer here. The urban jungle was far scarier, concealing the feral under a civilised veneer. The only predators out here were the four-legged variety — I could cope with those.
Daniel unlocked the big, solid wooden door, ushering me in. In the dim light of the hall, he looked the worst I’d ever seen him. Tufts of hair stood ranged across his head, his face grey and eyes shadowed.
He caught me staring at him. ‘This way.’ He nodded towards the kitchen. It was hard to believe that it was only two days ago that I’d been here, all a flutter, with the promise of things to come. I smiled wanly.
‘Daniel, I’m sorry. You must be absolutely bushed,’ I said in a low voice. He ran a hand through his hair. No wonder it looked as bad as it did, he’d been doing that all evening.
‘It’s been quite a night,’ he said looking at me.
Now that we were inside there was a physical distance between us. I was shy and he seemed to be avoiding touching me all of a sudden.
