‘I will. You take care of you too. And that baby.’
I swallowed hard. Then I hung up.
ChapterTwenty-One
Although I didn’t feel any better emotionally and my damned morning sickness was making an unwelcome return, I was considerably refreshed and energised when I stepped out of the shower an hour later. I towelled off my hair and checked my phone in case any of the people I’d sent my new number to had gotten in touch. There were a few messages of goodwill but nothing important. I was getting dressed and considering my next move just as the front door opened and I heard Lukas call out a greeting.
I padded through the flat and smiled at him. He didn’t hesitate but strode over to gather me in his arms. You would have thought it had been days since I’d last seen him instead of a few hours. ‘How are you holding up?’ he murmured into my ear.
‘I’m okay.’
‘Would you tell me if you weren’t?’
I considered. I’d already decided I wasn’t going to tell him about my most recent Cassandra vision. It would worry him far too much, and there was nothing either of us could do about it right now because I didn’t know when the attack would happen or who it would involve. I couldn’t let anxieties about what was going to come affect what needed to be done now.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘When I’m not okay, I will tell you.’ I wasn’t lying. I needed Lukas, and our recent separation had only made me realise how much.
Lukas kissed me and pulled away with a satisfied nod, then he pointed towards the living room. I heard an odd, strangled noise from that direction and my brow furrowed. Lukas’s jaw clenched. ‘Buffy!’ he yelled. ‘I told you not to hurt him!’
Uh-oh. My stomach flipped and I hurried through.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t a satyr trussed up on the sofa like a turkey with strands of sparkly tinsel hanging from one of his horns. Kennedy reeked of booze; the smell wafted off his body, though his eyes were reasonably clear and focused when he looked at me. ‘Bringing police brutality to a new level, are we?’ he enquired.
I hissed annoyance under my breath. ‘Why is he tied up?’ I demanded of both Lukas and Buffy
‘He didn’t want to come,’ Buffy replied with an insouciant shrug. ‘Or talk to us.’
I turned to Lukas and glared.
‘He was determined to refuse,’ Lukas told me, suddenly avoiding my gaze. ‘And we all know that time is of the essence, given the DNA test you took this morning.’
I grunted with irritation. Kennedy, meanwhile, began to hum tunelessly before turning to me and grinning. ‘They’re right,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I didn’t want to come and I don’t want to talk. Time spent talking is drinking time lost. I was having fun and these two ruined it. Tell me, have any of you every tried a mushroom cocktail?’ He smacked his lips. ‘They’re quite extraordinary. It’s like food and alcohol together – a drink, plus one of your five a day.’
‘Five a day?’ Buffy looked genuinely confused.
I stared at her. ‘You know. Five portions of fruit and veg a day, as per government regulations.’
She pulled a face. ‘What? Why is it their business what I put in my mouth? Andfiveportions? Are you crazy?’
This was not a conversation I wanted to get into. Instead I nodded at Kennedy. ‘Let him go.’
‘That’s not a very good idea,’ Lukas began.
‘Let him go.’
Buffy tutted, reached for the ropes and tugged at them.
‘I’ve seen him like this before, Emma,’ Lukas warned. ‘He’s on a bender that won’t stop until his body gives way.’
I’d seen drunk Kennedy plenty of times before. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him sober.
‘I’m a bloody satyr!’ he grunted. ‘Wine, women and song. It’s what I do!’
‘It happens every few years,’ Lukas said. ‘He’ll keep going for days until he passes out. Last time, he spent two days in a semi-coma in St Luke’s Hospital.’
Kennedy winked at me. ‘Don’t judge me. It’s a satyr thing.’
‘A satyr thing, my arse,’ I told him. ‘You’re using it as an excuse to abdicate responsibility for your own well-being.’
