Page 9 of Midnight
She stopped when she heard Stefan say her name, lingering just out of sight in the main restaurant.
‘No, she’s been … distracted lately,’ Aaron replied, a bitter edge to his tone. He’d done a good job of keeping it hidden, but she knew he felt some resentment towards her for how she’d behaved over the past few months. What she’d caused. How could he not? But hearing it made Olivia’s stomach flip with guilt.
‘So you don’t think we’ll have any trouble.’
‘The threat seems to have disappeared. It appears my last message worked.’
‘Good. At least we’re on the other side of the world. Besides, in two weeks everything will have changed …’
She stepped backwards. She didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping – and besides, none of what they were talking about made any sense to her and was only making her more anxious.What threat?
Was there something else Aaron had been hiding from her?
She knew she’d spent the past few months in a dense fog, her mental bandwidth overloaded. But now she was on the mend, she’d have to ask … this sounded like a burden Aaron needed to share.
‘Olivia, there you are. I thought you’d run away before I could say goodbye. See you on board?’ Ingrid swept her up in a double-kiss, enveloping her in a cloud of perfume, still potent at the end of the night.
‘Absolutely.’ She plastered on a big smile, shaking off her anxiety.
‘And remember what I said about finding me for a drink. Champagne fixes all problems.’
‘Is my wife attempting to turn you into an alcoholic too?’ Cutler thrust his arm over Olivia’s shoulder. ‘This one needs to keep her wits about her, Ingrid. She’s the money woman. Aaron tells me she’s some kind of financial genius.’
‘I wouldn’t say that,’ said Olivia.
‘She’s being modest.’ Aaron appeared from the hallway, took Olivia’s hand and squeezed it. ‘Until tomorrow, Mr Hughes?’
He unhooked his arm from Olivia and shook Aaron’s hand. ‘Two weeks of snow, ice and lots of sales, I hope.’
‘Undoubtedly.’
They stepped out on to the street. Aaron was busy, saying goodbye to the remaining dinner guests individually, shaking hands and kissing cheeks.
‘Who’s up for another drink?’ asked Delilah. ‘There must be somewhere I can get a decent Martini in this tumbleweed town.’
‘We’ll join,’ said Greg, looping his arm with Delilah. Tariq didn’t seem quite as sure. Of the pair, he had been more reserved throughout the night, but a stern look from Greg made him yield.
‘Why not? This is a vacation after all,’ Tariq said.
‘I don’t think there are many options, but there looked like a nice wine bar further down the main street,’ said Aaron. ‘What do you think, Livi?’
‘Maybe one,’ Olivia said, forcing a smile. But she couldn’t relax. From the moment they left the restaurant, she felt eyes on them, watching them. Aaron’s words echoed in her mind.The threat seems to have disappeared.She glanced over her shoulder. A few people were lingering on the pavements, but no one specific to cause alarm.
She walked close beside Aaron as they headed in the direction of the bar. That’s when she saw him. The same man was staring at them from beneath an awning.
He caught her eye and stalked away, moving briefly into the pool of light from a nearby street lamp. His hood fell back, revealing a close-shaven head, a small design etched above his ear. His ice-blue eyes never left Olivia’s. She gripped Aaron’s jacket tighter.
‘Who is that?’ She turned back to Aaron.
But when she pointed him out, the man was gone.
5
The next morning, they boarded the ship. It was every bit as impressive as Sara had made out. As they wandered from the dining room into the central lobby, Olivia could almost forget that they were on the water, pretending instead that they were in the foyer of some luxury hotel, far from any shaven-headed figures lurking in the shadows. A glittering glass sculpture rained down from the ceiling, echoing the same spiral as an impressive brass-railed staircase, each piece hovering on a near-invisible wire to keep them suspended like ice splintering in the air.
‘I wonder who the artist is,’ said Olivia, leaning over the banister to get a closer look.
Aaron followed her gaze. ‘It’s inspired by Lasvit installations. Cutler has pulled out all the stops on his redesign.’
