Gentleman Sinner(10)

‘Fine,’ I say for the sake of it, taking the door handle and quickly exiting his office, falling against the door and taking a few deep breaths.

‘Miss Izzy?’ A hand rests on my arm, and I jump a mile into the air with a silly squeak. ‘Oh dear, I didn’t mean to startle you.’ Jefferson’s hand recoils, and his old eyes behind his specs run a quick check over me, frowning. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes,’ I breathe, pushing myself away from the door. ‘I’m sorry.’ I rub the sleeve of my coat, my head beginning to pound, and I smile tightly at Theo’s friendly butler. ‘I’m ready to go home now.’

‘Callum is waiting for you outside. It was lovely to meet you.’

‘And you, Jefferson.’ I make tracks to the giant doors that will get me out of this pressure box, finding a Mercedes idling under the canopied driveway. Callum, the blond guy who was in the alley with Theo, is holding the door open for me, his face expressionless. I notice for the first time that his eyes are deep brown, warm, but he still seems cold. And inconvenienced. As I approach, he takes a step away from the car, giving me way more space than I need, and I give him a small, nervous smile as I slide into the back, a smile that’s not returned.

As we drive away, I look over my shoulder through the back window, a bit bewildered by the turn of events that my regular evening has taken. The house is still illuminated, glowing up from the ground, and then it suddenly falls into darkness, disappearing from sight. I turn in my seat, resting back, and close my eyes. I’ve never sensed so much danger in my life. And yet, the most disturbing part is how enthralled I was.

What’s Theo Kane’s story? Who is he?





Chapter 3

‘What are you doing up?’ I ask Jess as she plods sleepily into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes. It’s eight in the morning. She must have only gotten in from work an hour ago. She plops on to a chair, and I immediately get to making her a coffee.

‘I had a shower when I got in. I should never have a shower when I get in from the red-eye shift.’ She gratefully accepts the coffee I hand her and takes a hungry sip. ‘Sleep well?’ she asks.

I don’t mean to hesitate, but the beat of silence doesn’t go unnoticed, and she looks at me questioningly. It was a standard question that’s usually answered in a standard way: so-so. I never sleep particularly well, often restless and constantly telling myself that I’m safe, that he will never find me. But last night was a different kind of restlessness. When I finally made it into bed at nearly midnight, I found it impossible to clear my mind and stop thinking about Theo Kane.

‘Izzy?’ Jess presses, setting down her mug.

‘Something really strange happened on the way home.’ I take a seat opposite her, needing to get it all off my chest.

‘What?’

‘I was attacked.’

She coughs and splutters all over the table. ‘Oh my God. Are you okay?’ I can see her immediately start to assess my face and chest. ‘Where? Are you hurt? Who was it?’ Her urgent questions come one after the other, knocking me back a little in my chair. ‘Shit, Izzy, were you taking that fucking shortcut again?’

I shrug sheepishly, and she lands a furious glare on me. ‘I’m fine,’ I assure her, ignoring the fact that it could have been a very different story had Theo Kane and his entourage not shown up.

‘Damn it, I’m mad at you. What happened?’

‘Someone intervened.’

Her mouth snaps shut as I begin to chew on my lip, my hands gripping my mug tighter. ‘Intervened? Like saved you?’

‘Not just me. There was a woman I stopped to help. She’d been beaten up.’

‘Oh my God.’

‘She’s fine. Just a bit battered. I thought whoever was responsible had fled, but when I tried to help her I was attacked. He came out of nowhere.’ I shudder again, dreading to think what could have happened. ‘But he was interrupted by . . . some men.’

Her eyebrows rise, interested. ‘Plural?’

I nod. ‘Two of them, but one was . . .’ I pause, thinking how best to word Theo’s status. ‘The boss.’

‘The boss?’

I nod again. ‘Important. I don’t know. He was massive. Well, they were both big, but him exceptionally so.’

Jess leans forward over the table. ‘Massive?’

I’m nodding again.

‘Massive fat, or massive solid?’

‘Fit,’ I confirm. ‘And very tall.’

‘Handsome?’

‘Deadly.’ I think I mean that in more ways than one.

Her lips purse. ‘And what did he do?’

‘Took me back to his house.’

Her eyes widen.

‘Or mansion,’ I add.

‘Mansion?’

‘That was massive, too.’

She’s concealing a grin now. ‘I wonder what else would be massive.’

‘Jess!’

‘I’m just wondering,’ she argues, defensive. ‘Who was he?’

I get up from the table and rinse out my mug, then place it on the drainer by the sink. ‘I have no idea.’ I reflect a moment, remembering Theo evade that question when I’d wheezily asked it.

‘I do,’ Jess says. ‘A rich, hot man with a big house and, potentially, a big cock.’