When he could take no more, he turned off the water and threw back the curtain. Through the clouds of steam he saw her.
Gemma clamped a hand to her mouth, but a sob still spluttered through her fingers.
‘Look at you,’ she said quietly. ‘Look at you.’
He climbed out of the tub and stood naked before her. There was no point trying to hide it now.
‘You should see the other fella,’ he said, but she didn’t laugh.
She crossed the room. Stroked a finger across his mottled chest.
‘I came in here to have it out with you.’
‘Catch me when I’m naked and vulnerable, eh?’
‘Something like that.’
‘And now?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You still want to have a go at me?’
‘No. I want to hug you. But I’m afraid of breaking you.’
‘Just be gentle with me,’ he said with a smile.
She put her arms around him, but with no pressure, her own flesh barely touching his. He felt a droplet run down his shoulder, and he wasn’t sure whether it was from the shower or Gemma.
‘We can’t go on like this,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘Lying to each other, I mean. Pretending. We’ve always been honest with each other. Always.’
‘I . . . I’m trying to protect you, Gem. You and Daniel.’
‘I know, I know. But look what it’s doing to you. They’ve got you now, haven’t they? You belong to them.’
‘Gem, I—’
‘It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me the details. I just don’t want it to change you. I don’t want it to come between us.’
He pulled back and looked her in the eye. ‘It won’t. Here’s the truth, Gem. Tomorrow it will be over. When I come home tomorrow night, it’ll be done.’
He saw her doubt, and it didn’t surprise him. He had developed a history of making unfulfilled promises recently.
‘I mean it,’ he continued. ‘No more lies. It ends tomorrow.’
‘But you will come home?’ She looked him up and down, waved her hand to indicate his battered form. ‘No more of this?’
‘No more of this.’ Which was the truth, whichever way it went. ‘They had to teach me a lesson, that’s all. Tomorrow, all I have to do is deliver a package.’
‘If it was as simple as that, they’d do it themselves. It’ll be dangerous, won’t it?’
‘Not if I play my cards right.’
She searched his face. ‘You’re not lucky at cards. This family has never had much luck.’
‘Then maybe it’s about time things changed,’ he said.
42
Hannah was surprised to find that Ben was still up when she got home. For some reason she had expected him to be tucked up in bed, fast asleep after his earlier exertions.
‘Well hello, Bruce Wayne,’ she said as she entered the living room.
Ben closed his book and got up from the sofa. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his dressing gown and shrugged.
‘Well, you know, I don’t like to brag . . .’
‘Talk about hiding your light under a bushel. Where the hell did that come from?’
He looked suddenly guilty. ‘Did I go too far? Are you ashamed of me?’
‘Are you kidding? Come here.’
She kissed him long and hard, then hugged him tight until her arms ached. Her head was aching too after the battering it had taken from alcohol, adrenaline and a toilet bowl.
‘You know how I hate violence,’ he said.
‘Yes, I know that.’
