‘Tut, tut,’ Solomon said, collecting five small bundles off the floor. ‘Only five thousand. And this is Dan’s money, isn’t it? None for me.’
He strolled towards Dan and deposited the money in his hands. ‘You should always pay your debts, Nathan. Rule number two.’
A pearl of sweat was betraying Nathan, slipping down one side of his forehead. Lorie tried to hold him, but he brushed her off. Solomon strode slowly towards Nathan, eyeing him carefully. Carter shifted closer to Dan who threw the money down and skipped free of Carter to Naomi’s side. He firmly took hold of her hand. Solomon hadn’t noticed. His whole focus was on Nathan.
‘You know what this means, don’t you Nathan?’
Nathan had lost the ability to speak. He twitched his head from side to side.
‘Means the debt’s outstanding. And the interest keeps mounting. And if you have no way of honouring it, someone’s got to pay, right?’
Solomon from nowhere, produced a handgun. Nathan stepped back, palms rising. The terror in his eyes moved Dan into action.
‘No, come on,’ Dan said. ‘There are other ways.’
Solomon swung round and wouldn’t let Dan speak. ‘Don’t come another step closer.’
Naomi shrugged Dan off and moved between Nathan and Solomon. She turned to Solomon, the gun close to her chest.
‘Look, I thought we agreed no more violence. I paid the price for Nathan’s freedom so he could be tried by law. Not this. Please, don’t hurt him.’
‘You got that right. You paid, not him.’ Solomon had a chilling look in his eye, especially when he smiled as he did now. ‘It was never about money. We understood that. You wanted him to suffer. I was happy to help.’
He sidestepped Naomi and put the gun to Nathan’s head. Lorie screamed. Carter clamped her mouth and held her firm. Nathan drew a huge amount of air as if it might be his last. Naomi dropped to her knees. Dan fell beside her.
‘Please don’t hurt him. I instigated this. I’m responsible. I’ll give you all the money I have,’ Naomi pleaded.
‘It’s not about money. It’s about justice.’
‘This isn’t just,’ Naomi yelled from the ground. ‘Kill me if you have to hurt someone. No one even knows I’m alive.’ Naomi glared at him defiantly.
Dan threw his arms around Naomi’s head to protect her. ‘Naomi, no. You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m not going to let you –’
‘You can’t stop her.’ Solomon said, withdrawing the gun from Nathan’s head. He stepped back from the group and laughed. ‘This is amazing, Nathan, isn’t it? Have you ever seen a more charitable pair? It’s a novelty for me, I have to admit.’ He eyed Nathan carefully now. ‘I always thought we’d make a great partnership,’ he said to Nathan.
Nathan nodded, confused, a glint of hope in his eyes along with the fear. His expression said that he was suspicious of another chance. What was the catch?
‘Maybe it’s not too late. Let’s solve our first problem. Interesting one, isn’t it?’ Solomon asked Nathan, who didn’t answer. ‘Two people falling over themselves to offer their own lives as a ransom. Two people whose lives mean nothing to you. I can’t choose.’ He held the gun out to Nathan. ‘Take it. There’s one bullet. You choose where to put it.’
After a delay, Nathan accepted the weapon and looked down at it like he’d never seen a gun and didn’t know how to use it. He had a crazy look of euphoria though.
‘One shot, Nathan. There’s your wife who’s in possession of all your money. She shows up alive, you’re screwed. There’s your brother who saved her life and betrayed you. There’s even Lorie who landed you in this mess by going to see them when she should have paid me first. Big mistake.’ He eased his way face-to-face with Nathan, almost nose-to-nose. ‘But then there’s me. And I own you now. And I want to see how you work under pressure. So make your choice. Be decisive. Grave’s ready. Ten seconds.’
Nathan tried to step back and create some distance, but Solomon moved when he did, with him. Nathan’s eyes flicked wildly round the group as if he was weighing up his options, one by one.
Solomon began his slow count. ‘Ten, nine, eight . . . ’
‘Don’t be stupid, Nathan,’ Dan yelled. ‘Put the gun down. It’s over.’
Nathan pointed the gun at Dan, who glared at him, breathing hard.
‘Seven, six, five.’
‘Put it down,’ Dan screamed, trying to lunge at him. Solomon prevented it.
‘Four, three, two.’
‘No,’ Naomi tried to come between Dan and the gun, but Dan pushed her to one side.
‘One. Time’s up.’
Nathan switched direction and aimed the gun at Naomi’s head.
‘No,’ Dan yelled, trying to break free of Solomon’s grip.
‘Love you, Dan,’ Naomi breathed just as Nathan squeezed the trigger.
30
There was muffled gunfire. Naomi recoiled, wondering why the pain was delayed. Nathan pulled the trigger again frantically until Solomon stepped forward and took the gun off him.
Naomi flew into Dan’s arms and stayed there. Solomon pushed Nathan to the floor. ‘Rule number three. Avoid deception. And rule one, always remember this. Never cross Vincent Solomon.’ Nathan said nothing. ‘A round of blanks, Nathan. An experiment, call it a character profile.’ He picked up the money off the floor and stashed it in the bag with the papers and handed it to Dan. ‘Yours.’
Carter dragged Nathan and Lorie away across the grass.
Solomon turned to weigh up Dan and Naomi glued together.
‘I think we’re done here.’
Dan followed Vincent Solomon with his eyes, but kept protective arms right around Naomi. ‘That was a pretty sick way of solving a problem.’
‘Good enough for King Solomon, good enough for me.’
‘What?’ Dan asked.
‘Naomi’s a Bible basher. I’m sure she’ll fill you in.’ He wiped his polished shoes on the grass. ‘You had to believe I was going to do it. And now you know where you stand. Now you can send him down without losing sleep.’
‘I planned to anyway.’
Solomon walked right up to Dan, who was clinging to Naomi almost cheek-to-cheek. ‘I read eyes all the time,’ he said, searching Dan’s. ‘Your eyes are the type that sit in front of a lot of deep thinking; the type that can’t see an old lady struggling without offering a hand. They’re the type that can’t turn a blind eye when something’s wrong. I spared you a truckload of wasted guilt, Solomon’s way. And that part was for free.’ He half smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘In my line of business, I don’t look into eyes like yours very often.’
‘Change your line of business,’ Dan suggested.
‘I never said I enjoyed looking into eyes like yours,’ Solomon said. ‘No money there.’
‘Nathan wouldn’t be in the mess he’s in if it weren’t for you,’ Dan said back.
Solomon’s eyes narrowed. ‘Yes he would. I read it in his eyes the first minute I met him. He doesn’t have eyes like yours.’
Naomi watched him from the safety of Dan’s chest. She didn’t even try to understand this man who was turning to collect his spade like a man collects a briefcase after work.
Solomon switched his attention to Naomi and handed her a single car key. ‘The police are about to get an anonymous call about a stolen car spotted near a cemetery north of the city. Same car that disappeared after a wedding two weeks ago. Keep the call anonymous, yes?’ He waited, staring. Naomi nodded. ‘I bought this back at a financial loss. So we’re even now, you understand?’ He eyed her more intently than anyone ever had. Naomi looked down at the key to her dad’s Rolls-Royce and nodded gently again. ‘Good. I’ll leave you with the business of resurrecting yourself. You were buried just here,’ he flicked his head toward the grave, ‘so it’s a good place to start. You won’t need to look over your shoulder either of you, at least not for me.’
‘Nathan’s going down,’ Dan said. ‘If he lands you in it
, we’re not responsible.’
Solomon smiled. ‘Nathan’s small fry. He can’t touch me. If he ever thought he could, it’s only because I allowed it, so I could manipulate him.’
Another hard stare later, as if he wanted to imprint a silent message upon them, Vincent Solomon disappeared into the darkness.
Dan held Naomi as if he couldn’t bear to let go. ‘Don’t ever do that to me again.’
‘What?’ Naomi whispered.
‘Place yourself at the mercy of a lunatic.’
‘Nathan?’
Dan released some tension and laughed. ‘Him too.’
‘No more danger, Dan,’ Naomi said. ‘I just want to go home – safe, boring, uneventful, blissful home.’
Dan looked at her for a long moment. ‘Then what will you do?’
She sighed and thought. ‘Take a rest, get to know my family again, rebuild my life.’
‘Will you go back to music college?’
She shook her head. ‘Only to see my good friend, Siobhan. I owe her an apology. Long story.’ Dan rubbed her back. ‘I can finally admit that music’s not what I want to do. I can thank Nathan for that much.’
Dan looked at her some more. They held each other in silence for a long time. Eventually, Dan released his grip a little. ‘What do you want?’ he asked, uncertainly.
‘All day today, I sat in the tree house in our front garden, waiting for someone to come out of the house so I could watch them. No one came. I knew Nathan wouldn’t follow me there. I sat for hours, churning over all my old memories and trying to imagine the future.’ Dan kissed her forehead. ‘So right now? I just want to hug my sister and my cat, and I want to tell my mum and dad for the first time in my life that I love them.’
Dan nodded and pulled away. ‘OK.’
‘I haven’t finished.’ Naomi dragged him back and secured her arms around his neck and studied his eyes, picturing the blueness in the dim light. ‘But first, I want you to kiss me again.’
‘Here?’ Dan hesitated. ‘In a cemetery?’
Naomi nodded. ‘The dead are less scary than the living.’
Dan removed the loose strands of hair from across her eyes. The palm of his hand was warm and smooth as he took hold of her face on one side and closed his eyes. Her eyelids dropped as Dan pulled her to him and leaned forward.
‘Are you sure about this?’ he whispered.
She could feel his breath on her face and the pulse in his wrist fluttering against her cheek. ‘Certain.’
The cemetery disappeared as Dan’s lips, cool and soft, connected with hers. Slowly, tenderly, he kissed her.
Eventually, they pulled back. ‘So how did this future of yours look?’ Dan’s voice was low.
‘I couldn’t picture it,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t get beyond today and how things might work out.’ Naomi withdrew something from her pocket and held out her hand. Dan looked down. Her gold necklace with the cross sat in her palm.
‘I found this in Lorie’s flat along with my wedding necklace.’
‘Shall I put it on for you?’
‘No.’
‘No? I hope this doesn’t mean you’ve lost your faith.’
‘I haven’t. But the necklace didn’t save me, Dan.’ She tipped it into Dan’s palm. ‘You did. I want you to have it.’
‘OK.’ Dan put it into his pocket and met her eyes again. ‘Did you mean it when you said you loved me?’
‘It was instinct. I thought I was about to die. In a moment like that, there was no time to plan words.’
Dan tried to smile. ‘I get it.’
‘You don’t. Look, Dan, I’m a mess. It’s going to take me a while to sort through my feelings, OK?’
‘Yeah. I understand. I just need to know that you don’t still love Nathan.’
She shook her head. ‘I loved who I thought Nathan was, which wasn’t real.’ She fingered his face. ‘I’d have put my life on the line for anyone tonight, even Lorie.’
‘They didn’t deserve it.’
‘Maybe, but I couldn’t have lived with myself if anyone had got hurt, Dan. I don’t even know the Nathan I saw tonight.’
‘OK,’ Dan nodded, satisfied. ‘So, what was that all about, Solomon’s way?’
‘Solomon was a king, Old Testament, known for his wisdom. Two women came to him with a baby. Both claimed to be the mother. Solomon thought about it and offered to cut the child in half so they could share it. The fake mother told him to go ahead. The real mother begged him not to hurt the child, but to give it to the other woman. Guess who got the baby?’
‘Cruel to be kind, hey? Find out which mother’s the real deal?’
‘Correct.’
Another silence. A breeze worked through Dan’s hair. ‘Does that mean I’ve passed the test and get the girl?’
Naomi smiled. ‘Maybe. Look, you’ll have to be patient with me.’
‘It’s my speciality.’
‘Good. The way I feel at the moment, I can’t promise anything long term. It’s going to take a while for me to trust again. But I do have feelings for you, Dan. I can’t think about facing the future without you.’
‘You won’t have to,’ he kissed her forehead. They stood, breathing against each other in silence a few moments.
‘I think I must be the only married virgin in this country right now. How messed up is that?’
Dan laughed and held her tight and loaded in her ear, ‘Listen, any time you need help with that . . .’ Naomi giggled. ‘Ready to go home?’
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. ‘Definitely.’
Hand in hand, they retraced their steps through the grass, along the narrow path, along the wider path, through the bushes, slipped through the railings. When they found the road, they also found Nathan and Lorie tied to the gates, pulling and tugging to be free, hurling abuse. The Rolls-Royce was parked close by them with papers trapped beneath the windscreen wipers.
Dan strolled up to the car and looked at the papers. It was directions and diagrams of the Hamiltons’ house in Lorie’s handwriting, with a number code to the garage and photocopies of the documents. It was all the proof the police would ever need that she’d betrayed the Hamiltons’ trust. And it was only the beginning.
Dan replaced the papers and turned to Naomi and Nathan.
‘Police are on their way. It’ll go better at the trial if you tell the truth for once in your lives,’ he said. ‘Naomi’s going home now, but tomorrow, she’ll be going public. One hell of a story. I advise you to make sure your side of it matches hers.’
They were yelling by now, both of them. Dan turned away and took Naomi to his car and placed her in the passenger seat like she was made of china, and closed the door. Two minutes later down a lonely country lane, a police car passed them, acting on a tipoff.
It was way past one in the morning when they got to Alderley Edge and turned into the Hamiltons’ driveway. Dan switched the headlights off and rolled to the front of the house as quietly as possible and cut the engine. Nothing moved downstairs. A light was on upstairs. Annabel’s room.
‘We don’t want to shock them,’ he told Naomi.
‘It’s inevitable.’
Dan took his phone out of his pocket and asked for the number. Naomi sat, thinking her heart might explode, trying to draw it to mind. She gave him the digits. He pressed them with his forefinger and held the phone to his ear.
It rang six times. Naomi could hear it clearly from Dan’s left side. Annabel picked up. Her voice was low and lifeless.
‘Hello?’
‘Annabel?’
‘Yes. Who is this?’
‘Sorry for ringing at this hour, but I have something important to tell you.’
A pause. ‘Who is this?’
‘It’s Dan Stone. I’m Nathan’s brother and I’ve come with some very good news for you. I’m sitting outside the house right now. Please don’t be startled.’
Naomi looked up and saw the curtain twitch upstairs.
‘OK.
What news?’ Annabel said, without enthusiasm.
‘Are you sitting down?’
Another short wait. ‘I am now.’
‘I have someone with me who wants to talk to you.’
Dan leant over the gearstick and soundlessly kissed Naomi’s cheek. There were tears in his eyes when he straightened up. He handed her the phone and Naomi held it to her ear and found it hard to speak. Her throat ached.
‘Hello?’ Annabel said, dazed.
Dan nodded once, encouraging Naomi to find her voice.
She did, with tears sliding down her face. ‘Annie?’ she said in a gush, clutching Dan’s fingers for support. ‘Annie, it’s me. I’m home.’
________________
** #2 in The Midnight Saga **
The Darkness Visible
Now available on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkness-Visible-Midnight-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00UVO8YVC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1426881883&sr=1-1&keywords=tori+de+clare
Message from Tori de Clare.
I wanted to personally thank you for reading Either Side of Midnight. I wrote this book during a time of waiting. A different book of mine was being read in full by two separate literary agencies in London. The total waiting time was 8-9 months. It was a time of suspense with my future in someone else’s hands. I felt powerless and uptight. My subconscious mind threw up this plot during that time. I’ve come to realise that I wrote this book as an outlet for my feelings. I loved doing it. It was escapism for me! I grew up a few miles from Manchester. My son is studying piano at the Royal Northern College of Music right now. His study of the piano started at home with me. I taught him until he was too good for me – no kidding! By then he was just 13. My passion for writing emerged at the start of 2009. I began to slot writing between the day job and couldn’t stop (either the writing or the day job!) A substantial portion of my heart remains in the north west of England, even though I now live in the north east. I hope you enjoyed Either Side of Midnight. Writing is like music-making. Something is artistically created and then given away with the purpose of bringing pleasure to others. Both literary agencies rejected my work. Tired of gathering rejection letters (I had enough to decorate one wall of my bedroom) I self-published. The only way I can spread the word about my book is through you, the reader. If you enjoyed it, please leave a review on the Amazon website, and tweet away and gossip over the garden fence. The sequel – The Darkness Visible – is out now. For updates, follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
Either Side of Midnight (The Midnight Saga Book 1) Page 39