Tell Me No Secrets

by Lynda Stacey

  Both Kate and Eve glanced toward each other. They had a way of communicating without having to say a word and both had picked up on the news that their father was away, which was why he hadn’t been answering the house phone and his mobile seemed to be permanently switched off. No longer was she threatening divorce, nor was she calling him a sociopath, and just one look between them created a silent acknowledgment to keep quiet on the subject.

  Kate’s mobile buzzed and she checked the message that popped up.

  Hope you are having a good day. Ben x

  A smile turned the corner of her mouth. It was only the second text that Ben had ever sent and, what’s more, for the second time, there was a kiss at the end of it. Kate felt herself glow inside. She liked him, but still found it hard to believe that a man like Ben would be so nice to her and wondered if she’d somehow mistaken his affection. Brushing the thought to one side, she picked up the phone and replied quickly.

  Today is a good day, but yesterday was better x

  She closed her eyes as she pressed Send. Was it best to take a chance and say exactly what was on her mind or should she have been a little more casual and play it cool?

  She lay down on the grass, allowing the sun to warm her face.

  ‘Mmmmm sounds like you had a good day yesterday too,’ Eve teased as she picked up Kate’s phone and read the text message. Kate grabbed the phone from her hand and they both simultaneously pulled a face.

  ‘Shush,’ she whispered, ensuring that Mother hadn’t paid attention to the exchange.

  Kate’s phone began to ring. The theme tune rang out and Eve began quietly humming the wedding march, as Kate glared at her to be quiet.

  Rob’s name flashed up on the screen and a sudden nervous reaction made Kate feel as though someone had punched her in the stomach.

  ‘What do you want, Rob?’ she snapped. The only way to not break down was to stay in control. The memory of him being with Isobel was still clear in her mind and she was unable to contain her anger. Besides, he’d stayed away from home for two nights now and, at a guess, he’d been at Honeysuckle House, in Isobel’s bed. But then again, had he? If he hadn’t stayed at Isobel’s, where had he stayed? After all, hadn’t it been Luca’s brogues that Eric had seen in her hallway, not Rob’s expensive Nike trainers?

  ‘Hey, baby, what’s wrong? I just called to check you were okay and you go snapping my head off.’

  ‘What are you up to, Rob?’ She stood up and walked across the grass, ensuring she was out of earshot of her mother who was currently leafing through a magazine. ‘You haven’t been home for days, again.’ She had to be careful what she said. Isobel was still under investigation and Kate couldn’t confront him, not about her. It could blow the whole case and, if it did, the reward might be lost to Parker & Son.

  ‘Come on, baby, so I haven’t been home for a day or two. It happens. You know what I’m like.’

  ‘Yes, I do know what you are like, Rob, and I don’t like it any more. What are your secrets, Rob? What are you hiding?’

  ‘Me, why would you think that, baby?’

  ‘As the saying goes, Rob, tell me no secrets, and I’ll tell you no lies. Problem is, I can’t keep up with all your bloody lies, and I no longer want to.’ The words were spat down the phone like venom. She’d had enough and this time he wasn’t getting away with feeding her the normal bullshit that fell out of his mouth.

  Rob went quiet and Kate could hear his deep breaths. She knew she’d caught him off guard and, knowing Rob, he was contemplating the situation and deciding what retort he’d come back with. ‘What’s got into you, Kate?’

  ‘I want you out, Rob.’ She couldn’t help herself. The words had just fallen out of her mouth like an erupting volcano. ‘I want you out of my cottage and I want you out of my life, permanently. Do you understand that?’

  There, she’d said it. Relief flooded through her and suddenly she realised that it was what she wanted more than anything else in the world. There was no way she could ever trust him again. Now that she knew about him and Isobel, and about her numerous sexual partners, the last thing she wanted was him sharing her bed.

  ‘Err, what? Where the hell …?’ Rob shouted. ‘Why the hell would you say that?’ He felt the panic rise within him. Where had the ‘grateful to be loved’ Kate gone? She couldn’t throw him out. It was imperative that he lived in Yorkshire, and more than imperative that he lived with Kate. To the outside world he was a personal trainer. He was a man engaged to be married to the daughter of a barrister. To the outside world they appeared happy, content, and that couldn’t change, not now. It gave him a certain standing within the community. Men trusted him with their wives. If he were single, the trust would be lost and the drugs wouldn’t get sold.

  ‘Baby, we can sort this out. You know how much I love you,’ his voice quivered and he tried desperately not to lose his temper. ‘We’re good together, Kate, you know that. What about the other night, you know, the night in the bathroom? It was good, wasn’t it?’

  He had to make his sweet talk work. After all, why wouldn’t it? It had always worked before. He’d always been able to talk her round and make sure she kept loving him. Besides, she was lucky to have him. What woman wouldn’t want a man like him? Especially since the accident, she should be thankful that anyone wanted her at all. He remembered the day he saw her at the hospital. Her car wouldn’t start and she’d looked sad and broken, sitting there in the driver’s seat with a car that was going nowhere.

  Unbeknownst to her, the whole situation had been engineered between Giancarlo and himself. They’d found her, watched her and targeted her home as a safe house. A woman who’d inherited a cottage would be reasonably well off and, as the local PCSO, she was well known to the community, which was a bonus in itself. But then the accident had happened. Things had gone wrong and it had been unfortunate that her brother had been a casualty, but the accident had been part of the plan. The car had been supposed to run off the road, no one should have been injured, no one should have died and he should have been able to rush in and save her. She was supposed to fall in love with him for being the hero, and then they were supposed to live happily ever after. At least, for as long as Giancarlo allowed them to.

  Their brother, James, was dead and murder hadn’t been part of the plan. He’d pulled both her and Eve from the wreckage and without a second thought he’d gone back for James. But it was too late, he was already dead and there would be no super hero moment, meaning that Rob had had no choice but to leave the scene and abandon the plan.

  But when Giancarlo says that something has to be done, no one argues and it wasn’t long before he’d been ordered to find a new way to get close to Kate. And tampering with her car and making it look like a breakdown had been a perfect plan. He’d turned on the charm, had asked her out on dates and had allowed her to believe that he’d been falling in love with her. Because by pretending to fall in love with her he’d been given the perfect way of infiltrating the village and its people.

  ‘As I said, I want you out, Rob, and I want you out before I get home,’ Kate shouted, her voice angry but controlled.

  She quickly looked over her shoulder. The last thing she needed right now was the ‘I told you so’ talk from her mother. The less she knew, the better. ‘Get your things and get out. You should easily find a bed for the night, after all you don’t normally have a problem, do you?’

  She knew that she should be upset. There had been so many times when he’d been tender, warm, gentle and affectionate toward her. Yet still, she could think of no reason why she’d want to stay with him. He didn’t love her. He couldn’t love her. If he did he’d come home at night, rather than spending nights away with women like Isobel Reed. God only knew how many other women there were or had been. She tried to think of how many women would have been on his books. How many training sessions he took each week and his constant showering and changing of clothes between each one. How many of his clients had he slept with?


  ‘Rob, did you hear me?’

  ‘Oh, I heard you,’ he shouted with a high-pitched shriek that could have shattered glass and Kate pulled the phone away from her ear. ‘You can’t do that, you bitch. I stood by you, Kate. It was me that had to look at that disgusting scar, me that had to make love to you looking like that, yet still, I stayed.’ He paused, giving Kate the chance to draw breath.

  ‘Had to? Had to?’ She couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Get out … I want you out, and I want you out now,’ she screamed. At this point she didn’t care who heard, she just wanted him to realise that she meant what she said.

  ‘Ohhhhhhh, I get it. Who … who is it? What’s his name?’

  ‘Don’t try and turn the tables on me, Rob.’

  ‘Who are you shagging, Kate? There must be someone, I mean come on, why else would you throw me out?’

  ‘Rob, you’re being both cruel and ridiculous. I don’t have to justify myself to you. Now get out of my grandmother’s cottage before I get back. I don’t want you there anymore and I’d rather be alone than be with you. Is that clear enough for you?’

  Rob went quiet and Kate pulled the phone from her ear and checked the screen. For just a moment, she thought they’d been cut off.

  ‘Have you been dieting, Kate?’ Rob said completely out of the blue. ‘The jeans you have on, are they looking a little loose?’

  The words made her panic. Where was he? What did he mean? The jeans did look loose, but he hadn’t seen her for days. And how would he know she was wearing them today? Her breathing escalated and she spun around, her eyes searching, looking for Rob.

  Where was he?

  ‘Are you watching me?’ Her eyes were fixed on the castle’s turrets; it was the only place he could hide. ‘Would you stoop that low, you bastard?’

  She spun around once more, and then relaxed as she saw the area around her was clear apart from Eve, her mother and Max. All the other people appeared to have left and there was no movement around the turrets.

  ‘Where are you, Rob?’ she murmured. Her soft voice and attempt to keep calm made Rob give off an evil laugh that went on forever.

  ‘I’m everywhere, Kate, and don’t you ever forget it.’

  She stared up at the sky, trying to clear her mind. What if she’d been seen in Whitby, what if he’d seen her with Ben? But, then again, why would that matter? Rob didn’t love her, so why should he care?

  He was making her angry. ‘Everywhere, are you? Rob, you might think you are, but in reality you are nowhere, you are no one. You’re not important to anyone, especially to me. I really do want you out. I want you gone and what’s more, I never want to see your evil face ever again.’

  ‘Who’s telling you to do this, Kate? Is it that new boss of yours, or your good for nothing mother? If it is, they’d better watch their backs.’ He paused. ‘Or, actually, I get it, could it be that pathetic crippled sister of yours? It’s her, isn’t it? She’s never liked me. If it is, mark my words, I will make her pay.’

  Kate reeled at the multiple insults. She didn’t much like her mother, but she wasn’t going to listen to Rob or anyone else saying anything bad about her. He had no right to threaten her and as for threatening Eve … and Ben.

  ‘Do you really think that I don’t know my own mind, Rob? Do you think I can’t live without you? Well, I’ve got news for you, I can. Now get your filthy cheating backside out of my fucking house.’

  ‘Cheating? Is that what you think?’ He paused. ‘What the hell makes you think that?’

  Kate inhaled. She had to be careful and not reveal what she knew about Isobel Reed.

  ‘I’m not naïve, Rob, whatever you might think. Why else would you not be coming home at nights? I’ve had enough and I want you gone.’

  ‘You might think you’ve won, Kate, but I can guarantee you one thing. There’s nobody else that would ever want you. You think that tidying the house within an inch of its life will ever make up for that mess on your face? Do you?’ The words had been carefully chosen, vindictive and meant to hurt, but Kate was past hurting. She knew her scar was ugly, red and puckered. She didn’t need him to tell her that. She saw it every time she caught her reflection in the mirror.

  She was absolutely determined that Rob would never humiliate her again. She was sure that Ben cared, but if he didn’t, it didn’t matter. Yesterday he’d given her hope and that was all she’d needed to move forward.

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong, Rob.’ She looked up to the sky as a drop of rain landed on the tip of her nose. She smiled at the irony. It reminded her of her chat with Ben and the advice he’d given. She laughed. ‘Do you know what, Rob? I don’t need you. But it’s raining and what I do need to do is to go. That’s right. I need to go and I need to dance in the rain.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Kate pulled up outside the house to see Rob’s truck clearly parked on the drive. She sat for a while, watching and hoping that he’d leave, but knowing deep down that he wouldn’t go, not without a fight.

  Thankfully, her mother had agreed to stay with Eve for a few days, much to Eve’s disapproval. She’d been invited to go back with them, watching DVDs had been mentioned, but Kate had been tired and after her confrontation with Rob had opted to go home in favour of an early night instead.

  Taking a deep breath, she stamped up to the back door and walked in. She fully expected Rob to be packing, or that he might have already packed and would be ready to go. But as she entered the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks.

  ‘Hey, baby. I’ve cooked us some food.’ He spun on the spot, picked up the tea towel and threw it over his shoulder. ‘We have a chicken stir fry, with garlic bread and roast courgettes, with garlic, tomato and Parmesan.’ He smiled, took a sip from a glass of wine and passed her the bottle. ‘Here. It’s cold. Just out of the fridge.’

  ‘I’m not hungry.’ It was all she could think to say. She stood and stared at him. He was cooking, wiping down and sipping wine, like nothing had been said. What made the image even worse was that he never cooked, he never cleaned and he never normally drank.

  ‘Come on, sit down. I have it all ready.’ He took two pasta bowls from the cupboard, placed them on the table and opened the oven, where roasted courgettes sizzled in a dish.

  ‘I said I’m not hungry. Besides, what are you still doing here? I told you to get out.’

  Rob immediately spun. His eyes pierced hers. ‘Come on, baby, I’m trying to be nice. Now, please, sit down and bloody well eat.’ He put the hot dish containing the courgettes down on the oak table and Kate knew that a scorch mark would be left behind. She stared, and sat down, not daring to speak. She could feel her whole body tremble and looked towards her bag, wondering if she could get to her phone, and who she would call if she could. It was hardly a police matter. She’d asked him to leave, he hadn’t. Instead he’d cooked supper and she just knew that the police would say she was wasting their time.

  Kate’s stomach contracted as she picked at the food. She didn’t want to eat and eyed the food suspiciously. She’d never known him to cook and it occurred to her that he could have found a way to poison the meal. But she quickly dismissed the idea, as he was far too busy tucking into his own and he wouldn’t have hadn’t had time to poison one portion without the other.

  ‘Rob, I … I’m really not hungry. I … I think I’ll take a bath.’ She stood up, grabbed her bag and headed for the stairs, fully expecting him to follow and felt a huge sense of relief when he didn’t.

  Closing and locking the bathroom door behind her, she reached for her bag, grabbed at her phone and sent a text to Ben.

  I asked Rob to leave. But he’s still here. He’s acting all strange. I’m locked in the bathroom. I’m scared. x

  Kate ran the water. She knew she had to at least sound like she was doing what she’d said and her mind suddenly went to the last time she’d made love to Rob, in this bath, in this bathroom. She heaved.

  Sitting on the floor, she watched her phone,
willing Ben to return the text, praying that he’d see it. But even if he did, what could he do? She should have stayed in the car, driven off and waited until the coast was clear. But the last thing she’d expected to do was to walk into her kitchen and find Rob cooking and acting as though nothing had been said.

  She heard Rob’s footsteps on the stairs and panicked. She jumped up and picked up her work phone, and pressed in the panic code, just as Ben had taught her.

  The door handle moved and Kate froze, staring at the door.

  ‘You in the bath, Kate?’ Rob questioned as the handle repeatedly went up and down.

  ‘Let me be, Rob. I just want to take a bath in peace. I think it’s time you packed and left.’ She swished the water around to make a noise, in the hope he’d leave her alone.

  ‘Oh, it is, is it?’ A loud noise made Kate scream. The door burst open and Rob stood, with his frame filling the doorway. ‘You won’t let it go, will you? You just won’t let it go.’

  ‘Rob, I want you to leave. Please.’ She looked over his shoulder; she needed to get past him, but he blocked her escape, making her take a step back. ‘I really don’t want to fight, Rob. Please, just go.’ She backed herself into the corner. ‘I’ve phoned the police. They’re on their way and you need to leave before they get here.’ She called his bluff, but saw the way his eyes dilated, deep black and cavernous.

  ‘Why, baby? Why would you want to do that?’ He moved towards her. ‘Kate, I love you. And you know that you love me. Am I right? Come on, baby, let’s try again. I’m begging you.’

  ‘Love me? You’ve never loved me, Rob. Now, get out of my way and go to hell,’ she said, fear coursing through her body.

  Rob just stared at her, his eyes devoid of all emotion. ‘I thought you said that you wanted to dance? Well, come on then, dance with me.’ He grabbed at her hands and began moving them up and down. He put his hand on her waist, and began moving erotically against her.