El. I’ve had a bad time lately. Been working in Vegas. It fell through.’
‘What? You double-crossed them too? That sounds dangerous.’
I’m only kidding, but now he looks scared. ‘It was. Still is. In fact I’m on the run.’
I frown. ‘So what do you want from me?’
‘I want to make a fresh start. All I need is one good product to get me back on track. But I really need your help. After this you’ll never see me again, I swear.’
I frown. ‘My help? Why me?’
‘Because you’re the only person I can ask. I’ve got a product ready to launch but I need to know if Wolfe’s already using it. We worked on it together for a while, before …’ He tails off.
‘Before you stole it and tried to pass it off as mine?’ I say sweetly.
‘Whatever.’ He licks his lips. ‘Anyway, my version’s still not out there so maybe he’s shelved it. That means I can use it.’
I glare at him. ‘Give me one good reason why I should trust you, after last summer.’
‘I’m desperate, El. That good enough?’ His face contracts.
I see his lip tremble and now I notice he looks thinner, unkempt. For a split second I feel sorry for him. ‘Go on,’ I say coldly.
‘He may be using it in private, like here, say. Testing it pre-launch. In that case I’ll drop it. If not, it’ll get me back on track. Be a whole lot quicker than starting from scratch and I can save a bunch of money on research and development. Please, El. All I need is for you to check a line of machine code for me so I can see if it’s a match. One line, that’s it. Not much to ask, is it?’
I roll my eyes. ‘Why me? Ask him.’
He snorts. ‘What? You crazy? One, he’d turn me down flat. Two, he’d launch it himself. You saw his fancy footwork back in the summer. His company launched an upgrade faster than I could tell you about the original.’
He outlines what he wants me to do, his eyes wild and staring, like he’s unhinged.
I listen patiently. I once shared space with him. If he’s fallen on hard times maybe he’s stressed, while I’m on Easy Street … I look at the trainwreck of my former boyfriend and feel a twinge of guilt. ‘So what’s in it for me?’
‘For you?’ His eyes gleam. ‘Plenty. You know those shots of Lydia they’re all so bugged about? I’ve got them. I’ll give you them. Just get me that sequence.’
I stiffen. All at once this is a very big deal. That contact strip, a vital link to Lydia’s murky past, is one of the Wolfe family’s biggest skeletons and buried in their darkest closet. And he’s used a shot from it already, back in the summer – as a coded threat. He means business.
‘And if I don’t?’
He scowls. ‘I need money real bad and I need it fast. Sorry to press you on this, El, but you’ve got a week, max. After that I’ll send the whole strip to the press. They’ll pay me plenty. Cash on the nail.’
His eyes narrow and now I glimpse the two-timing low-life I finally dumped still lurking below the superficial charm.
But he’s not done. He lowers his voice. ‘And know what? Just for jolly I’ll say they’re of you. And then lover-boy Darnley will have to come right out and deny it. And the only way he can deny it is to tell everybody who’s really in them.’
He grins. ‘Thought nobody else knew, huh? Freda lets rip when she gets carried away.’Specially in her sleep.’
‘You wouldn’t dare.’
‘Wanna bet? Could be fun. Some people, the FBI, say, may even start asking questions. Like, why a set of pics of a former porn star now married to a hotshot lawyer took fifteen years to turn up. Like, how close she and photographer-turned-popcorn-millionaire “Korn” Kraik really were, if he spent so much time with the family. Like, how come “Korn” Kraik was found dead in her garage … you get me?’
My mouth goes dry as he recreates the Wolfe family’s worst-ever nightmare right here on the beach. I lick my lips. ‘OK. What do I have to do?’
* * *
When I walk into the house thirty minutes later, a full ten minutes after Ryan’s powerful motorcycle has roared off into the distance, Darnley walks in. If he passed Ryan on the approach road he says nothing.
Maybe he thought it was a delivery.
Maybe he missed him.
His look burns into me, making my pulses race. Or maybe – I’m simply feeling guilty.
‘Have a good time out there on the high seas? Or is that bright smile simply a natural response to my charms?’
I’m so pleased to see him I wind my arms round his neck and kiss him deep. ‘OK. Your charms. Every time.’
His busy hands are making short work of my skinny jeans and my slim, damp jacket, now wet with sea spray and early-morning mist.
‘Your pretty boat’s already losing its appeal? After all the trouble I took to get it for you? What were you doing all morning?’
I take a deep breath, summon up a bright smile and for the first time ever I start to tell him lies.
If he knows Ryan’s out there he’ll freak. If he freaks, those pictures will be all over the papers in a dozen countries and all the Wolfe family secrets will be out.
All Ryan wants is the chance to go straight.
If I help him, he may even make a go of it.
If he succeeds, we’ll be free of him for good and the Wolfe family can finally bury one of its best-kept secrets – plus I’ll have done somebody a good turn.
Is that so bad? One line, that’s it …
To my shame, the lies bubble up like I’ve lied for years. ‘I was hunting troll. I heard that noise again. I tried to track it down, but …’
But Darnley’s not even listening. He’s peeling away my clothes, loosening fastenings, mussing my hair. ‘You talk too much. And you smell of seaweed. You need a shower. Now.’
The heat in his eyes warns me the term ‘shower’ is used loosely here, and only for the benefit of any servants listening in. His dark glint hints at thrilling possibilities.
In our rooms my clothes are swiftly removed and my hair scraped back into one large, lank bunch. He’s right, I do smell of seaweed. He proceeds to haul me towards the bathroom, making me yell every time he yanks.
‘Whoa. What’s with the caveman thing?’
‘You like that?’ His slow grin hints he does, for sure. ‘I’m making you shout and watching your breasts bounce while you do it. Very fetching. Now get in the shower
