How to Kill Men and Get Away With It(77)

This isn’t right.

This is James. My surrogate dad James.

‘Charlie is a man,’ I say and stand to leave.

‘Hey, don’t rush off.’ I startle as he grabs my arm and manoeuvres me back down onto the sofa. ‘Now. You stay right there. Help yourself to some of that and I’ll get us a drink of something special. Then you can tell your Uncle James all your woes. How does that sound?’

‘James. I really do have to go.’

‘No, no. You came down here, Kitty. You came down here to my private quarters, so I have to assume you were looking for me. So, I think I get to say when you go. Okay?’ He thrusts a rolled-up banknote into my hand.

‘That’s not the case. I already explained I needed the loo.’

He narrows his eyes at me. ‘Stay. We can have some fun before you have to rush off.’ He runs one of his hands up my arm, making me shiver. ‘You really have grown up to be a beautiful woman, Kitty Collins. Very beautiful indeed. And I did promise your dad I’d look after you.’

I try to wiggle free from his grip, but he doesn’t let go. My heart starts to hammer and I’m worried I’m about to have a full-blown panic attack. I’ve always known James can be quite handsy, but not with Hen’s friends, not with me. I’m practically family.

‘You really need to let me go,’ I say. ‘I’ll scream.’

He laughs and claps his hands together like I’ve made a delightfully charming joke. ‘But darling, the whole place is soundproof. In my private space, no one can hear you scream.’

I try to stand up again but he grabs my arm and drags me back down. He’s more forceful this time and I know I’ll have bruises there by morning.

‘Now. Behave yourself. Have a line. Then I’ll help you relax. It can’t be good for your mental health to be so uptight.’

Bastard.

He taps the coffee table and I reluctantly lean forward. Holding my left nostril closed, I put the banknote against the other one and inhale a line. As I do this, James stands up and walks behind the sofa. When I sit back, I feel his hands on my bare shoulders. He’s squeezing and kneading my skin. I can’t move. He moves his hands over my shoulders, down to my breasts, under my top. He squeezes the flesh there too. His lips brush against my neck. I still can’t move. I’m totally frozen in fear.

‘I bet I can make this Kitty purr.’

It’s the slamming of a door that makes him leap away from me.

‘What the fuck is going on here?’ Hen’s voice is shrill with outrage.

‘Just having a little catch-up with Kitty,’ James says.

I rearrange my clothes, grab my phone and push past Hen. I heave the door open and run up the stairs, straight into Maisie.

‘Where’s Charlie?’

‘Um. I saw him talking to Roo a little while ago,’ she says. ‘What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you okay?’

‘I just want Charlie.’

I find him in a corner talking to Rupert.

‘I want to go home,’ I say.

‘Oh hey, I wondered where you’d got to. Sure, let me finish my drink and I’ll call a car.’

‘No, Charlie. I want to go now.’

Charlie looks at me, puzzled. ‘Kits, what’s wrong?’

‘I’ll tell you later, but please, I really really want to get out of here. Right now.’

‘Do you have to bring the drama all the time, Collins?’ Roo slurs. ‘Can you not let the man have some fun?’

Charlie turns to him. ‘That’s a bit much, pal. She’s clearly upset about something.’

‘Kitty’s always upset about something.’ Roo stands up and holds his hand out to shake Charlie’s. ‘Well, it was nice chewing the fat with you, old boy.’ Charlie ignores him and Roo shrugs before drunkenly bumbling off, singing some old rugby chant.

‘Kits? You’re worrying me now. Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, honestly. And I’ll tell you in the car. But can we get out of here?’

It takes about twenty minutes for a car to collect us and Charlie keeps asking me what’s wrong as we wait outside.

‘Come on, what’s happened? I heard you and Hen had words. Has that upset you?’

Our car pulls up and Charlie holds the door open before slipping in beside me.

‘It’s not that,’ I say as we pull away from Pemberton Manor. ‘Then what?’

‘I had a run-in with James.’

‘James?’ There’s an unexpected clipped tone to his voice.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, I needed the loo and all the bathrooms in the house were “in use”, so I went down to his studio in the basement because I know he has a bathroom down there. I knew it would be empty.’

‘Right, go on.’ I don’t recognise this new tone. And I don’t like it.

‘I was just about to leave when James came in.’

Charlie’s frowning now.

‘He was fully drunk and wouldn’t let me leave. Wanted me to stay and have a drink, a line and some “fun” with him. I was really scared. I kept saying no, but he wouldn’t let me go.’

Charlie’s jaw flinches.

‘He kept making all these inappropriate comments about how much I’ve grown up. Luckily Hen came in. I don’t think he would’ve let me go at all otherwise.’