For Your Own Protection(51)

‘Maybe you do.’

He let her kiss him deeply, enjoying her efforts at persuasion. She was trying to force him to submit.

They banged back against the cubicle door and slipped inside, hands fumbling in the tight space, hungry for one another.



Minutes later, they both exited. James splashed his face in the sink, as Jessica watched on from behind. She looked smug.

But here was the twist.

‘It’s over,’ James stated.

Her face collapsed in disbelief. ‘What?’

He smiled. ‘It’s over. I thought you deserved a last time.’

She came at him with a raised arm, but he turned around and held her firm, so she spat in his face. ‘Bastard!’

‘Classy.’

‘After what I did for you.’ Jessica smiled as a plan formed in her mind. ‘I’m sure once your darling Beth knows the truth about what you did, she’ll see you for the arsehole you really are.’

Rage surged through him. He thrust his free hand around her swan neck and moved forward, pinning her back against the wall. He squeezed harder and delighted in her horror, her eyes bulging, choking noises gurgling from her throat. ‘You utter a word to anyone,’ he hissed into her face, ‘and I swear I’ll snap your neck in two.’

He let her drop to the floor and calmly straightened his tie in the mirror, brushing down his lapels.

‘You know,’ she gasped, clutching at her throat and looking up at him, ‘you’re a monster.’





CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE


Matt retreated to his flat to mull over what Sean had said regarding Beth’s concern over his state of mind, and how she’d worried about him being with Charlie.

It pained him to think that she could ever believe he’d pose a risk to his own son.

The thought that Natalie might have been hired by Beth to protect Charlie from him weighed heavily on his mind. Feeling helpless, he grasped for a way forward – something that could help to explain what was going on.

And then the thought came to him.

It didn’t take long for Matt to find out where Rachel Martin was being treated. A quick search on the Internet revealed she’d been rushed to UCLH – University College Hospital – in central London.

He left the flat and headed for the Underground station.

If Natalie was right, and the man she’d seen on the boat was the same man wanted for the Tube incident, then this at least seemed a step in the right direction towards getting some answers.



‘Hi,’ Matt said to the lady at the hospital’s reception desk. ‘I’m looking for Rachel Martin. I’m a work colleague of hers, and I know she’s being treated here.’

‘One moment,’ the lady said. She tapped away on a keyboard, then frowned as she stared at the screen. ‘I’m sorry, we’re not currently allowing visitors outside of normal visiting times. Only very close family. It’s because it’s such a . . . sensitive situation. There are added measures.’

Security measures, Matt thought. They’d be worried that if someone had indeed tried to murder her, they might try and finish off the job. He tried to think. ‘Are any of Rachel’s family here?’ he asked. ‘It would just be good to speak to someone, to see how she is. I have to dash back to work in a few minutes, and this was the only time I could make it.’

The receptionist thought, then nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll call the ward, see if anyone is up there and willing to speak to you.’

Matt waited nervously as she called through.

‘One of the family members will see you,’ she said, as she replaced the handset. ‘Do you know where you’re going? It’s ward 7B. Eighth floor. Straight through the double doors opposite the lift.’

‘Thank you.’

Matt headed for the lift. As it ascended, he began to regret doing this. To speak with a family member, pretend he knew Rachel, it didn’t seem right. Maybe there was another way he could phrase things.

He stepped out and, after pressing the buzzer at the double doors, was let in.

‘You’re here to speak with one of Rachel’s family?’ the ward clerk asked.

‘Yes.’

‘In the room across the corridor,’ she directed.

As Matt entered the room, the woman who was inside turned and smiled softly. She’d been standing at the window, arms folded tightly across her chest, as if giving herself a comforting hug.

‘Hi,’ Matt said, wanting to leave and end the conversation before it began. But then he reminded himself why he was doing this. ‘My name’s Matt Roberts. I’m a friend of Rachel’s. I was hoping to find out how she is.’

‘Hilary McKenzie,’ the woman said, extending a hand.

Matt clasped her hand. ‘You’re Rachel’s . . . mum?’

‘Oh, no,’ she said, ending the handshake. ‘Her parents have just flown in from the States. I’m not strictly family, but Rachel was my son’s long-term girlfriend, so as far as I’m concerned, she is and always will be one of the family.’

Was my son’s long-term girlfriend.

‘How is she?’

‘They’re keeping her in a medically induced coma, until the swelling goes down.’

My God, it was serious.