‘If he doesn’t, Scott? What then?’
Scott’s phone rang. He took it from his pocket and looked at the screen. An unrecognised number. He knew who it would be.
‘Hello.’
‘It’s me. You get the money?’
Scott stared down at the pitifully inadequate sum on the table. ‘I got it.’
‘Good. Then we need to meet.’
‘Okay. Where?’
‘Get a pen.’
‘Wait.’ Scott went to the sideboard and pulled out a pen and notepad. ‘Go ahead.’
He listened and wrote down the directions. The route took him out of town, at least a twenty-five-minute drive.
‘When you get to Shiverton Lane, call me back. I’ll tell you the last bit then.’
‘Why not tell me now?’
‘I’m making sure you don’t try to do anything stupid. I’ll be able to see everything you do from there.’
‘I’m not planning to set any traps if that’s what you mean. I just want to get this over with.’
‘Fine. Let’s do that. You clear about where you’re going?’
‘I think so. What time are we meeting?’
‘Midnight. On the dot.’
‘Midnight?’ He saw the alarm on Gemma’s face. ‘Why so late?’
‘Because I say so. Be there, alone.’
He hung up. Scott lowered his phone and stared at Gemma. She turned the notepad towards her.
‘Where the hell is he sending you?’
‘Miles away. Middle of nowhere.’
‘And you’re going? In the middle of the night?’
‘What choice do I have? He’s calling all the shots.’
‘Not if you don’t let him. Call him back. Tell him he needs to come here for the money.’
‘He won’t agree to that. He’ll think it’s a trap.’
‘Then tell him you want to meet somewhere more public.’
‘I can’t do that either. It’ll piss him off. Just . . . let me do this, okay? Let me pay him what we can afford, and then we can get on with our lives.’
‘Well, then I’m coming with you. That little shit doesn’t scare me.’
He looked at her, and knew that she was definitely scared, just as he was.
‘I wish you could, Gem. I’d like nothing better than to watch you kick the crap out of the little bastard. But you know we can’t do that. He said to come alone. Besides, you need to be with Daniel.’
She hesitated for a few seconds. ‘You said something before. About a trap.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Why can’t we do that? Set a trap. We go to the police and we tell them everything. We get them to follow you, and then they catch him red-handed.’
‘It won’t work, Gem. He said he’ll be watching me when I get to – what’s it called? – Shiverton Lane. He’ll be able to see everything I do. Do you really trust the police enough not to fuck everything up? And what if they do catch him? What then? You think we’ll be safe? You think his family or one of his druggie friends won’t come after us? And, to be honest, getting to us probably won’t be all that difficult when we’re sitting in a prison cell for the things we did to Ronan’s brother.’
He stopped when he realised how loud he was getting. He leaned towards Gemma and lowered his voice. ‘This is our only option. You know that. Let me try.’
She turned shimmering eyes to his. ‘I know it’s our only option. Deep down, I know that. I just thought . . . I was hoping one of us might come up with another way out.’
‘Me too. I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I don’t have any other answers.’
‘It’s not fair, is it? We do everything by the book. We work our fingers to the bone. We do what we can for Daniel. Why do these horrible things happen to us? Why can’t they happen to someone evil?’
‘I don’t know. Some people always have it harder than others. It’s just the way it is. Maybe it’ll make us better people.’
