Before he throttled him to death, Jake wanted to know just how in god’s name he had made this flight. Or even knew Jake would be on board.
Jake tore at the headphones.
‘Hey!’ Marcus sat up in his seat in astonishment.
‘Sir!’
Jake turned in his seat to see the flight attendant storming up the aisle.
The few passengers that were in first class were throwing anxious looks in their direction.
Marcus followed Jake’s gaze. ‘I see the cavalry is coming to rescue me.’ Marcus raised his glass to Jake. ‘First-class service, Jake. Don’t you miss it?’
Jake grabbed his wrist, slopping the brandy down his bandage and Marcus’s sleeve. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘Taking a flight – what do you think? How very convenient of you to write your flight time down. I made a call, couldn’t have been simpler. I guessed you were flying out of City Airport.’
Jake glared at him. How did he work out which flight he’d be on. How did he even know he was flying somewhere?
‘Now, I know what you’re thinking,’ said Marcus, studying his face. ‘How did I even know you were travelling from London City Airport? Well, here’s the thing. You can be a bit of a creature of habit, so I’m thinking we’ve flown from this airport a lot for business, and I remember how much you liked it.’
Jake didn’t like it anymore.
Marcus looked exceptionally pleased with himself. He gave a self-satisfied smirk.
Jake grimaced.
Jake wanted to strangle him.
Marcus added, ‘I do love this airport. Just one runway meantI knew with certainty which flight you’d be on because I had the flight time. I was sitting in first class before you even boarded the flight. Although I must admit I was a little surprised you’d chosen to go to Scotland on holiday.’ Marcus looked at his hand. ‘Do you mind letting go of my hand?’
Jake let go roughly, causing Marcus to spill more brandy.
Marcus looked at his glass and shrugged.
Jake watched him finish what was left of his brandy. Marcus smacked his lips and put the glass down. ‘So, what’s the plan? What are we doing when we arrive?’ Marcus caught sight of Jake’s sodden bandage. ‘I bet that hurts.’
Jake’s hand curled into a fist. ‘Not as much as this is going to hurt.’
‘Sir!’ The flight attendant was now standing in the aisle right beside Jake’s seat.
Jake sat there with his soggy, sodden bandaged hand curled into a ball, about to knock Marcus’s lights out. He looked up at the flight attendant.
‘Is everything alright?’ she said to Marcus.
‘Everything alright?’ Marcus barked. ‘Alright?’ Marcus repeated purely for effect. ‘Does it look as though I am alright with some lunatic sitting beside me?’
‘Sir, do you know this gentleman?’
Marcus leaned away from Jake and looked him up and down. ‘Of course I do. He’s my brother-in-law – aren’t you?’
The flight attendant looked from one to the other.
‘Isn’t that right?’ Marcus said to Jake.
Jake nodded slowly. Marcus was wearing an expensive business suit, and despite the crumpled shirt and loosened tie, he still looked very smartly dressed in contrast to Jake’s old jeans, cheap white supermarket shirt and patchy, threadbare wool jacket. Of course, the bandaged hands weren’t helping any.
‘There, you see?’ Marcus looked back at the flight attendant.‘He says he’s my brother-in-law.’
