When he heard Lily’s voice and her laughter approaching outside the room, he turned away from the window and watched as she darted into the lounge. She threw a pink woollen item on to the sofa.
“Seth found me a couple of sweaters and he has kindly offered to do the honourable thing,” she rolled her eyes as she said that, “and take me to the shop to buy some necessities.”
Seth was taking her out of here? Why did that make him feel so unsettled? “Necessities?”
She turned around and lifted the back of her skirt, exposing one naked buttock. Adrian was reminded of a poster he had on his wall as a teenager. It had a tennis player in exactly the same pose. He shook his head and laughed softly. Her cheeky pose made him want to hold her in his arms. Making his way to a nearby armchair, he grabbed her from behind as he did so, pulling her onto his lap.
“Hey, be careful, watch that leg of yours.” Her cheeky expression turned serious.
“Yes, nurse.” He rolled her close against him and moved one hand under her skirt to caress the bare buttock she had shown him.
“Ah, I see you’re recovering your physical abilities, Mr. Walsh.” Her expression softened to a smile again. She put one arm around his back, settling in.
“That I am, so you better beware.” He was about to say more when Seth entered the room carrying a scarf in one hand. “Here, you can use this to cover your hair. We have to be quick and discreet about this. It’s totally unorthodox, but I guess it has to be done.” Glancing in Adrian’s direction he added, “Are you okay with this? It won’t take much longer than an hour.” He looked towards the patio doors. “I’d be much happier if we kept those curtains closed.”
Crossing the room, he switched on an up-lighter and a lamp, and then drew the curtains closed.
Adrian noticed that Lily was sparkling. Was she happy, or was she happy to be getting out of here for a while? With Seth. He tightened his grip on her. “We can’t have the lady in need of underwear.”
She wriggled on his lap. He was getting hard. “So long as you promise you’re not going to run-off and leave me here,” he added
“Don’t be daft.” She prodded him in the chest. “It’s only ‘cos I need undies.”
“Yeah, that’s what you say now,” he teased, “while you are under the influence of Stockholm syndrome.”
“Stockholm syndrome?” She looked at him with curiosity. “What’s that?”
Adrian immediately wished he hadn’t said it. He looked up at Seth, who gave him a concerned glance. “I’m just teasing you, it’s nothing.”
“No, tell me what it is. I want to know.” She wasn’t going to let him get away with it. She chuckled, as if she thought it must be some sort of joke, which was his original intention, badly timed though it was.
It was Seth who answered. “It’s a term that refers to a state of sympathetic and emotional attachment, specifically where captives get involved with the person who is their captor.” His voice was gruff and although he spoke knowledgeably, it clearly made him uncomfortable to do so. “It’s traditionally used to talk about kidnappers and their victims,“ he added, hastily.
“Oh.” Her smile faded.
“It was just a joke,” Adrian whispered, but she didn’t respond.
Stockholm syndrome. He mentally kicked himself for saying it. What was he thinking?
After a moment she turned and hid her face close against his neck, the arm she had draping around his shoulder tightening as she buried her face against him, clinging close. “Don’t say that, and don’t even think it. That makes it sound as if this is wrong, or…as if it’s not real. ”
Her response shocked Adrian, and his arms instinctively closed around her upper body, holding her close and stroking her gently. “Hey now, I only meant it as a joke, really, please don’t get upset, love.”
When he said that she clung to him even tighter, as if to deny it.
He looked across the room at Seth, and shrugged his free shoulder. Seth nodded, indicating he was concerned too. He hung back though, and Adrian knew that this was his problem. He also remembered what Seth said about being an add-on, and that Lily was with him. Did Seth really believe that? Nobody in their right mind would deny the strength of the attraction between Lily and Seth. The situation felt suddenly serious, because it went way beyond his mistimed joke.
Lily sighed against his neck, snuggled closer, still seeking comfort. He didn’t want her to be upset—she was usually so strong, bouncing back from everything that happened to her so unexpectedly of the last few days. And yet it also made him see that she didn’t want to think this was temporal any more than he did, she didn’t want to think their connection was anything to do with being locked up here, away from their normal lives.
That meant she cared.
Something that felt like joy—but was even bigger than that—took hold of him. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “Hey, Laidbacklady, this is real. Don’t fret.”
Eventually she pulled back and looked at him with searching eyes, her pretty mouth down-turned at the corners. God, she was beautiful. The misgiving in her expression only emphasised the open quality she had, that thing he loved about her.
“This time we have together is special, very special, and it’s also very real.” He moved his hand to her bottom again and waggled his eyebrows. “Would you like me to pinch you to prove it?”
He teased her skin with a gentle pinch. Her expression broke. She laughed and wriggled out of his lap. He let her go, reluctantly, and but held onto one hand, tethering her. When she glanced back, smiling his way, he felt an immense sense of relief. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She didn’t pull her hand free, and she nodded. “I’m sorry, that was a bit silly of me, reacting that way.”
”No, it wasn’t.” He squeezed her hand before letting it go. “Enjoy your shopping trip. Take pity on me and buy something black and lacy to wear, I want to see you in something black and lacy.”
Chapter Thirteen
Stephen Ward was smiling. Emery Lavonne hadn’t seen the chief smiling for some time. He watched as Ward emerged from his glass cubicle with a woman in tow. Curious as to whether it had anything to do with the Adrian Walsh case he made his way to the office gossip’s desk. “What’s going on?”
Janine looked up from her monitor and beamed, evidently glad of chance to spill. Who needed a newsletter with this woman around? Janine was on the case like a dog with a bone. “Well, it looks as if we might have found out who the mystery woman was; the one Seth Jones took along with his witness when he did a runner.”
Lavonne’s attention was back with the woman and he memorised her face in case she was an important lead.
“Apparently she reported her flatmate missing at her local station, but they didn’t go beyond normal procedures until she called back and mentioned her flatmate had a date. The flatmate had left a note with the name and location. Turns out her date was with Adrian Walsh.”
“I see.” He cast his mind back. The brunette in the elevator? Could be. She’d been looking at doorways in the corridor when he’d last seen her. He hadn’t got a look at the woman’s face when Jones was helping her into the car, but it could be the same person.
Janine kept talking, but Lavonne was watching Ward shake hands with the woman. Did this mean that she might have information about where her flatmate was currently located? Ward signalled to a nearby officer to show the woman out of the building. When he returned to his office, he left the door open.
“Looks as if she got more than she bargained for when she went on her date.” Janine’s voice just about reached him, but Lavonne was already on his way to Stephen Ward’s office.
“Morning, Chief, any news on Seth Jones?”
Ward shook his head. “He’s still AWOL with the witness, that’s assuming they haven’t both been taken down…worse case scenario, but we can’t rule it out.”
Ward was developing a twitch in his cheek. This was really getting to him. It
was because it was his buddy who was letting the side down. Reporting that bit of information to the higher authorities must be so hard.
Ward looked up and focused on Lavonne. “Where would you take a witness if there was some reason why you didn’t want to use the designated safe house?”
Lavonne shrugged. It was a good question. “Somewhere I could lock down. Somewhere I knew well.” His mind was ticking. “Where is home, for Seth Jones?”
Ward took his seat. “Seth’s lived in London for the last twelve years or so. He’s from Wales, originally.” The phone rang. He put up his hand indicating he’d have to take the call. “Stephen Ward.” He listened for a moment, frowning. “Look, love, I’m up to my eyeballs in the proverbial here. Tell Colleen I’ll talk to her tonight.”
Lavonne’s attention swept over the papers on the desk while Ward was busy. If he could get his hands on Seth Jones’s personal file from human resources, he could perhaps track down the next of kin. Might be a wild goose chase, but he was willing to try anything right now. If he had to deal with Keane phoning him every hour for one more day, he’d get even more trigger happy than he currently was, and it would be Keane who’d be his target. Seth Jones’ next of kin was worth a try, and he could sweet talk it from one of the women in HR. His attention moved back to Stephen Ward.
Ward had his fingers pressed against his forehead, but he was surveying the scene outside the glass frontage to his office as the voice on the other end of the phone talked on. After a moment his gaze settled on Lavonne, and he made a move to end the call. “No, you definitely did the right thing. It explains a lot. Give Colleen a hug and tell her we’ll definitely play that game.”
Family business. Lavonne was itching to get out of the office now that human resources had opened up as a possible avenue of information. He got ready to give his excuses and leave, but when Ward put his phone down he also rose quickly to his feet.
“I appreciate you trying to help out here, but I’m going to have to make a move. I’ve got a meeting upstairs.” He gave a brief, artificial smile, his eyes hooded and thoughtful. “They want to keep tabs on what’s happening with this.”
Lavonne nodded and left. He headed off in the direction of human resources, but glanced back just as he was about to leave the division. Stephen Ward was still in his office, standing close to the glass frontage, arms folded across his chest. A serious expression shadowed his face as he contemplated the people working outside. For a split-second, their eyes met across the expanse of the witness protection division.
Ward seemed to scrutinise him. Lavonne turned away, shrugging it off. He had a new lead, that’s all that mattered. The sooner he took the witness and Jones out of action, the better.
* * * *
Routine, regular solid routine. Focus on the job. Seth repeated the mantra to himself as they sped through the countryside towards Conwy, the nearest town. At the same time he was trying to ignore the woman who sat by his side, peering out at the passing scenery.
“Are you warm enough?” He flicked the heating up a notch.
She nodded and smiled. She was wearing one of his mother’s sweaters under her coat. He could handle that. That wasn’t underwear. Concentrating on the road, he told himself he couldn’t afford to be distracted by her any more. He was a well-respected witness protection officer, and that’s because he’d never done anything stupid. Until now. Now his routine had gone to hell because he’d broken his own rules and got involved.
To add to his torment, he wasn’t altogether sure he’d done the right thing sending that email message to Ward’s daughter. And he’d told Lily about Lavonne. There hadn’t been any way out of it at the time, but now he regretted it. He’d even wanted to comfort her over the Stockholm syndrome incident back at the house. How ludicrous was that? The working foundations that had been so solid for him were crumbling. He needed to rebuild them.
A moment later he caught sight of her crossing her legs from the corner of his eye, high on the thigh, making her coat fall open. Still looking out at the scenery, she felt for the coat flap and re-covered her leg with it.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel,
“It’s clouding over,” she commented. “I think we’ve seen the last of the winter sun for the time being.”
“We’ve been lucky.” He wasn’t just talking about the weather.
A few minutes later they were on the bridge that crossed the Conwy estuary and led into the fortress town.
Lily commented on how pretty it was.
“Let’s do this, and quickly,” he said, as he parked the Land Rover in a car park nestled between the ancient castle and the centre of the small town. It wasn’t a big place, but he was pretty sure there was a shop that sold women’s stuff of the underwear type. When he switched off the engine, he looked at her. She was hesitant to get out of the vehicle, but wide-eyed, looking around the scenery. “Come on, put the scarf on.”
She did as instructed, wrapping the length of fabric around her hair and neck, letting the loose corners dangle down the back of her coat. Satisfied, he walked around to her side of the vehicle and opened the door, watching as she climbed out and gazed up at the castle, entranced. He’d grown up here and it was a familiar landscape, but her enthusiasm for it made him look anew. That’s what she was doing to him, breaking him out of familiar patterns. It would be easy to forget the job for a while, with her around. He took her arm and led her quickly away from the car park and across the street towards the shops. They had to get what she needed and get back to the house, sharpish.
They walked quickly through the main thoroughfare. Lily walked quietly and quickly alongside him, her hand inside his.
“Gillian?” A voice queried behind them.
Seth stopped dead, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He had a bad feeling about this. Gillian was his mother’s name. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Annie Conroy, an old friend of his mother’s. She was staring at the back of Lily’s head with a confused expression. Surely to god she couldn’t have recognised his mother’s scarf on another woman? A baseball cap and shades was all he needed to go shop for food, but apparently the scarf was a mistake.
Mrs Conroy peered his way, and her eyes lit. “Seth, is that you?”
This was bad news, really bad. Lily had paused and turned around. Mrs Conroy frowned, and looked from one of them to the other.
Damage limitation was the only option. Seth rolled into action. “Mrs Conroy, how lovely to see you.” He forced a smile—hopefully a winning one.
The woman’s expression melted into a smile. Good sign.
“Seth, it is you. I wondered.” She examined Lily again. “Is this your young lady?”
My what? Could this get any more difficult?
Lily gave the older woman a tentative smile, before looking at him expectantly. This sort of complication was just what he had been trying to avoid. He couldn’t find a single thing to say. Lily put out her hand to the other woman. “I’m Lily Howard, its lovely to meet someone who knows Seth. He’s just been showing me his old haunts.”
Fuck it. She’d used her real name. This woman was nothing but a damn liability. He wanted to lock her up and throw away the key. Should have briefed her, should have been ready. Seth forced a smile, it took a huge effort. “We were just passing through the area and I decided I’d show her the place I grew up.”
Mrs Conroy beamed when Lily put out her hand and rattled a long introduction. “It’s a pleasure my dear. I’ve known Seth since he was born and he attended my Sunday school classes as a wee lad in shorts. It’s good to see him with a companion. You must be very special; it’s the first time he’s brought a young lady home. What a shame his parents aren’t at home to meet you.”
“It is indeed,” Lily responded.
This amused her, for Christ’s sake. Seth gritted his teeth. He knew he had to let this run a moment longer or Mrs Conroy’s suspicion might bring her up to the house. He was eager to move on and get
this outing done with before anyone else who knew him popped up to complicate matters. Her voice droned on, and he disengaged as he scanned the street, reassuring himself but there was no way Lavonne would find them here. They were as undercover as they could get, but it was second nature for him to expect the worse and be ready for it.
“You know, Seth’s mother has a scarf just like that. I know because I gave it to her for her birthday, three years ago. “
Bad luck choice, Seth reflected, glaring at the scarf. Nothing got past this woman. She should work for the police. His sense of unease quickly magnified, making his patience evaporate and his temper turn sour. Images of Adrian alone at the house, while they played social butterflies, assailed him. The pavements were getting busier too, as it closed on lunchtime. All of it seemed to mock him and the idiot choices he’d made. He should have come up here alone and just bought her something himself, fuck the embarrassment factor.
Mrs Conroy scrutinized them both again. “You are bound to get on with Seth’s mum, having such similar taste in accessories.”
Great, just great. How the hell do I get out of this?
A moment later the two women were chuckling together and he peered at them. Whatever Lily had said to the other woman, had done the trick. Mrs Conroy blinked at him like a contented cat. “Your mother is very proud of you and what you do, Seth. I doubt she tells you enough, but…I just thought I’d mention it. Her only regret is that you don’t have time for a proper family life. I’m sure she’ll be delighted when she meets Lily.” She winked conspiratorially, as if she’d approved Lily and would put in a good word for her.
Surreal. Seth wasn’t sure how to handle this; it was way beyond his experience. And his temper was getting worse by the moment.
Lily seemed to notice and pulled into action before he did, shaking Mrs Conroy’s hand. “We’d better make a move. It’s been lovely meeting you. I could listen to your lovely Welsh accent all day. Seth’s isn’t so strong, what with living in London, although I still hear it in there. It’s a beautiful accent.” She looked at him with sparkling eyes.
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