He set up again, and she opened as she had before, but again it was to no avail.
‘I am good at this!’ she said.
‘You are.’ Mikael smiled. ‘But I’m better.’ He wasn’t pulling rank. ‘I’ve played a lot.’ And, as naturally as breathing, he told her a bit about his time on the streets and how chess had saved his sanity.
He didn’t want pity, and he didn’t get it from Layla.
‘I have played a lot too,’ she said. ‘I would be out of my mind otherwise. Before I had my students, chess was the best company I had.’
Mikael looked up. ‘Have you ever heard the saying, “at the end of the day the pawn and the king go back in the same box”?’
‘No.’
She thought about it for a moment too long.
‘Checkmate.’ He smiled. ‘You are too easily distracted. You need focus.’
‘I will beat you one day,’ she warned, and then he saw her jaw clamp down, because no matter how they hid from the world and got lost in their own they were constantly reminded that the clock was counting down on them.
But instead of dwelling on that Layla focused on the game. She opened differently and awaited his response.
‘I’m thirsty, Mikael.’
‘Then get a drink.’
She didn’t. She moved into attack again and again, and suddenly they were game on.
‘I’m very thirsty, Mikael.’
‘Good,’ he said, refusing to allow her to distract him. ‘Shall I get up and run a tap?’
She shot him a look and stood up. Usually nothing distracted Mikael, yet as she returned and repositioned herself a very ripe nipple might have done. Had he had his time again he would not have made the move that he did. Not that his face told her that, and he hoped she wouldn’t see the opening he had given her, but as he watched her fork him with her knight he realised she had.
‘Your phone is ringing,’ Layla pointed out as she sacrificed her queen.
‘So?’
He let it go to voicemail as they played on, and soon her pawn had crossed the board and Layla had reclaimed her queen.
She smiled at him, but it wasn’t returned for his phone was ringing again.
‘What the hell does Demyan want?’ Mikael’s voice was irritated.
‘How do you know it is Demyan?’ she asked as he stood.
‘He has his own ringtone.’
‘That’s sweet!’ she said, and watched as he took the call.
The vague irritation in his expression disappeared and his face snapped to impassivity. She had a growing sense of unease as Mikael spoke in length to Demyan in Russian.
‘What did he want?’ she asked when he ended the call, and when he did not answer her straight away she knew that something was wrong. ‘Is it the baby?’
‘The baby’s fine,’ Mikael said.
But just as she relaxed he took her hands, and she knew she was going to hear bad news.
‘Layla, Demyan and Alina were so curious about you that they looked you up. Your disappearance has just hit the press. The police are looking for you…’
‘No…’ she whimpered. ‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘They won’t find me here.’
‘Yes, Layla, they will,’ he said. ‘The staff at the hotel will recognise you, and the booking was under my name. This is serious now.’
He let go of her hands, turned on the television and found the news.
There she was: black eyes, black hair, and a face that was unforgettable.
The police could be there in a matter of moments.
‘We need to get you back.’
When she didn’t respond he elaborated.
‘Layla, it will be better for you if you return under your own steam than have the police find you.’
‘One more night,’ Layla begged. ‘Mikael, please, I just want one more night.’
She was not manipulating him now; instead she was pleading.
‘Just one more night and then I promise that I will go back happy. I will never interrupt your life again, Mikael, if you will please just give me one more night.’
‘One more night…’ he said. ‘We’ll take out my yacht…’
He was already loading a cool bag with supplies: champagne, fine food—anything he could think of to give Layla the very best final night.
‘Go and get dressed and sort out the clothes that you’ll return to your family in.’
‘Mikael?’ She frowned. ‘I’ll get changed here, tomorrow, after our night.’
‘We won’t be coming back here, Layla. If we’re going to leave then it has to be now.’
It was the most horrible thing she had ever heard, and she simply did not now how to respond.
‘Layla?’ He was very calm; he could see how much she was struggling. ‘Come on,’ he said, deciding to find clothes for her. Just now it had nothing to do with her being a princess that she could not dress herself.
She was simply trying not to break down.
They were heading to his car in a matter of moments.
‘Mikael…?’ She said as he opened the passenger door for her.
‘You’re not driving.’
‘No, of course not.’ She was suddenly serious. ‘Tonight, if I tell you to make love to me, if I plead with you that I don’t care, please…’
‘You’ll be fine, Layla.’
She would be—he knew that.
But only for as long as she was in his care.
IT FELT LIKE the last night on earth.
Mikael sailed the yacht till it was far enough from his home that he was satisfied they would not easily be found, and then dropped anchor in a pretty cove.
He looked over to where she
