But when Gethin returned, he merely sat and regarded me for a long moment, his head on one side. Finally, Luc growled under his breath and Gethin inhaled. He sat forward and steepled his fingers on the desk in front of him.
“Been thinking. It’s fairly unlikely anyonecouldtrace you via your bank account. Not unless they’re deeply, seriously dodgy, or the cops are involved.” He fixed me with a look that set my teeth on edge. “Something you’re not telling us, Charley?”
I stared at the floor, willing the creeping flush I could feel attacking my pale skin to recede. It was no good, I knew my face was bright red. I rammed my hands in my trouser pockets and sighed, then lifted my gaze and concentrated instead at the wall on the other side of the room.
“My parents,” I whispered.
“What about them?” Luc bristled at my side, as if expecting me to confess they were abusive or some shit. I ignored him, and continued to vaguely address Gethin, my cheeks burning with the sheer mortification of it.
“They…they have a bank account linked to mine. Or mine’s linked to theirs, I dunno. It started when I was a kid, so they could transfer money into it for birthdays and stuff. Or pay for things for me out of my money before I had a card. You know?”
Out of the corner of one eye I saw Gethin smile easily. “I know. Helps kids learn about budgeting when they’re still young.”
“Guess so.” I swallowed. “Well, they still have it now. So, I mean… They say they don’t look at my transactions, now I’m an adult and all, but I don’t know if that’s true. They think I’m immature. Unsettled. Unreliable.” My voice was a mere shred by the time I confessed. “So maybe…”
“Maybe someone leaning on them could persuade them to divulge your whereabouts,” Luc ground out. “Nasty, but entirely possible.” The touch of his hand on my back was comforting. “Good call to tell us.”
He didn’t sound as if he was about to ridicule me for being tied to mummy’s apron strings, so perhaps at some point I’d be able to recall this conversation without turning puce. Or maybe he’d let me ride his dick until we both passed out and his memory glitched. I preferred that version.
Confession over, Gethin insisted I count every note, then repeated his request for me to log in. Grimacing in case I fucked up, because computers hated me, I did, however, manage to log into my bank, then moved aside for Gethin to quickly type in the sort code and account number for the payment of everything in my account bar a few quid. He suggested we put ‘car’ as the payment reference. “It will look like a private purchase,” he said over my shoulder. “Leave the account open. With so little in it, anyone staking out your movements will assume you’re running for cover in a new-to-you motor as a last-ditch attempt to disappear. They’ll also waste time searching for updated DVLA details under your name.”
Luc asked, “Do you even have a driving licence?”
I paused in the act of shoving bags of cash into the pockets of my combats. “Yeah, I do. One of the only good things David did was insist I should learn to drive. Not that I’ve ever owned a car, but I know how to drive.” I frowned at him. “You know that. You’ve seen my driving licence. That first night.” God, was that only last night, or more accurately, earlier today?
To my surprise, Luc flushed. And then Gethin laughed, which had us both turning to stare at him, me in shock that Mr Serious was capable of levity, and Luc whose colour deepened as he growled, “Cut that shit out, Hughes.”
Gethin laughed harder. “Keep your filthy thoughts to yourself then, boyo, and nobody gets hurt.” He gestured with a jerk of his head to the door. “Go get the food, then shift your arses. You’ve got a long drive. And you shouldn’t use the location app on your phones, so take a map from the white unit by the front door.”
He followed us down, and nodded, apparently approving of the steaks, lamb chops, chicken breasts and burgers that Luc packed into a massive cool bag, as well as a carrier bag of assorted fruits and vegetables. Gethin checked Luc knew where we were headed according to the map. Luc eyed me thoughtfully. “Don’t suppose you can read a paper map by any chance?”
I gave him my best offended sneer. “I went to Scouts. I can use a compass and read a map.” No need to tell him I’d learned everything from the internet, because Scouts and me hadn’t been a good fit and I’d never gone back after the first time David dropped me off. Thursday nights had morphed quickly into alone time with the local woods for company, and a growing pile of coins that kept me in the occasional slice of black pudding for a couple of years, until I got caught out in my lie and it ended.
He blinked in surprise. “That’s cool. Excellent.”
Gethin unlocked the front door.
“Drive safely. And remember Charley’s loaded down with cash, so fight dirty if you get jumped on the way back to the car.”
“Way to scare the dude,” Luc countered sourly, but he shook Gethin’s hand briefly, and didn’t resist when Gethin pulled him in for a quick hug-back slap combo, although he looked surprised.
We met no problems on our way back to the car park. I didn’t expect any as my hearing was acute enough to pick out footsteps in all directions, and where they were headed, but Luc seemed relieved when we were locked inside the vehicle. He plugged his mobile in to charge and suggested I do the same. “Not saying you should use it, but it’s worth keeping both of them fully charged while we’re on the road.”
I frowned at my phone. The screen was dark again, but I knew the battery wasn’t flat. Or shouldn’t be. I sighed, and pulled my charging cable out to do as Luc suggested.
“Where’s the safe house?” I asked him.
“Snowdonia.” He put the engine into first.
“The mountain?” My knowledge of Wales’ geography was scant, but this seemed unwise.
“The national park, you dopey git.” There was no heat in the insult, and I could see he was smirking as he took the exit ramp to get us back on the road.
7
LUC
We’d not gonefive miles before Charley asked what I’d known was coming. “So why did that Gethin dude laugh when I reminded you you’d seen my driving licence? I mean, youblushed.What’s that all about? It’s like he could read your mind or something.” He inhaled loudly, then added, in a sullen tone, “And I’m sure he was gonna say something rude about me but you cut him off. What was that all about?”
